snail advice

[Crush]

iv tried mystery snails before and had issues with their shells eroding. I assume this was due to lack of calcium. Iv searched for some sort of calcium supplement but I find mostly supplements meant more for corals. my root tabs has calcium and the shrimp food has some calcium. Is this enough? I didn't have this stuff before but before I add anymore snails I want to make sure I don't waste money and kill anymore poor things. also is there a calcium supplement geared towards snails?

[Crush]

oh and will that calcium supplement for corals work?

[ptran]

More vegies! That's their main diet.


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[mnemenoi]

Try adding some holey rock, it is essentially just calcium and will buffer the water up as it might be depleted. Far cheaper and looks better as part of the hardscape.

[morpheus]

i have never had to add any calcium supplements or veggies, but tats just me. water is pretty hard, so probably has a descent amount of calcium carbonate in it.

i have some limestone in my tank which has assassin snails, which i agree is cheap and does buffer the water slightly. my other tank with nerites doesnt have anything in there, just plastic plants and java moss, but they have been going strong for maybe 2 years now. plus they clean up flake food and/or pellets and probably get something from that.

[Crush]

I have soft water unfortunately. I decided today to get a few nerite snails and 3 mystery snails. Im trying out something I read last night about calcium pills you get in the health section of walmart and such. its primarily calcium carbonate. Iv got a mystery snail that jumped on the pill and now looks like al pacino in scarface...white powder all on his nose and face...lmao

[Crush]

nerites are loving the algae on my substrate...should have gottens these guys a long time ago.

[Beth777]

I've read about people using cuttlebone. Excellent place to start some research.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/MollusksFW.htm/AppleSnailsF.htm

[Crush]

I read that too. it was hit and mis with cuttlebone. some said it clouded up their tank for a while, others said it cleared up quickly. the pill I used clouded the water for 30min to an hour. Though the cloudiness came from the mollies I have left picking at the pill. I also read about seashells. I found a lot of options last night. I didn't find any that wouldn't mess with the ph.

[Beth777]

I've been noticing that my mystery snails shells look a bit rough. I'm wondering if my brichardi are beating them up. I don't think I'll buy any more of them. Got my nerite in the 10gal and so far he looks real good.

I read that too. it was hit and mis with cuttlebone. some said it clouded up their tank for a while, others said it cleared up quickly. the pill I used clouded the water for 30min to an hour. Though the cloudiness came from the mollies I have left picking at the pill. I also read about seashells. I found a lot of options last night. I didn't find any that wouldn't mess with the ph.

[Crush]

I swore I wouldn't do snails again but I had to try a more natural way of ridding myself of some algae. I love these nerites now. of course since I got the nerites my daughter had to hit me with the "so now your going to get snails again" so I had to get the mystery snails cause of her...lol

[morpheus]

spinach is very high in calcium. some people gently blanch it, others just wash it well, and anchor it in the tank for a few hours. whatever snails do not finish just remove it so it does not foul up the water.

there are some veggie sticks from Ken's Fish i hear work well although i never have used them personally. they are on amazon like 1/2 pound for $9 plus shipping.

[Crush]

Sounds like a viable option, shouldn't change my ph I wouldn't think. Thanks for the tip

[mredman]

I believe it is a matter of symptoms rather than the cause. My first suspect would be pH and not diet. Most snails die due to lack of food but a thinning shell is a different matter.

Mike

[sassymare]

I raise several different kinds of snails from mystery to pink ramshorns and I have found that the best way to keep their shells healthy is by using reptoguard. It has helped me with numerous babies and adults. My mystery snails are actually growing quite large.