i have a tank thats half sand and half pebbles, and my apple snail who has yet to be named was moving around the tank and as soon as his foot got on the sand part, he retreated back into the shell. Is sand bad for snails? also, what do you feed your snail(s)?

I love to use Aragonite in my snail tanks. It helps keep the pH up to the proper levels because it acts as a buffer. The grains are also pretty smooth, so they do not irritate the snail's foot. It is called 'sugar sand' by some people because if you look at it really closely it resembles sugar grains. Check out this link, it's what I use. I got my bag at a LFS that sells saltwater supplies.

Aragonite Sand from PetSmart

And as far as feeding goes you can choose a wide variety of foods that are high in calcium, but I like to make everything easy and order mine. I get snail biscuits that are completely balanced, that way I know that I am giving them all of the nutrients that they need. Here is where I order mine, my snails love them!

For a wonderful research site, check out Applesnail.net, they ahve all the info you ever wanted to know.

thanks so much! this helped alot. i'm already planning some new possibilities

Great to hear. Keep us posted.

well, i thought he/ she was ok, but then i went into my room later and he/she was kinda hanging out of the shell . not entirely in or out, but he/she was still moving. is this normal?

I am not sure exactly what you mean by hanging out fo the shell... Was it floating and hanging out?

it was just kinda lying on the ground not entirely out of the shell, but not all the way in. I decided to move him out of the tank because my fish pisces is a little bit mean and when i would walk into my room i would see him nudging the snail. so now goliath (the snail) is in his own tank, and is doing much better

Yeah, the fish probably had the little snail freaked out. They honestly do not go well together, goldies and apple snails. They need totally different water conditions to thrive.