I am a first time snail owner and I have noticed a darker blue section on the front part of my blue mystery snail. His whole shell was a light blue when i first bought him and now it looks like he's growing a new section of shell that is darker than the rest of his shell is it possible that he's grwoing? Is it a good thing that his shell is darker?

yup, sounds to me like growing. the new shell will be very thin and transperant, and fragile.

Yeah, his new section of shell is kinda transparent! Thanks Smack! I'm so excited that my Sherlock is getting bigger!

Yeah, that's new growth....mine are doing the same thing!

In order to keep the new growth healthy and the same color as the rest of the shell, you will need to add calcium to your water. I use Kent Marine Liquid Calcium, but you can use cuttlebone, crushed coral, or even eggshells. Your water will also need to be hard - about 7.0 - 8.0.

Thanks for the advice airwen! About using a cuttlebone for calcium does it need to be crushed up or what?

Hmmm. Is that why snaily's new shell is much lighter yellow? It looks very smooth and healthy, just almost ivory rather than yellow.

yep! it will eventually turn to the same color as it hardens, etc as long as he has enough calcium and PH is high enough.

as far as the cuttlebone, you can just break off a peice, and either bury it in your gravel or stick it in your filter. just be sure to check on it every once in awhile because it can rot.

Thanks I'll be sure to pick one up for him when I'm at the petstore tomorrow!

When I used cuttlebone, my snails' shells still didn't grow too well, but it worked better than the eggshells. I would pick up the piece daily and scrape it with my fingernail, while submerged, so the powder would come off - I hoped that would find its way into the shells quicker, but I'm not sure if it worked.