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Clacium

2K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  iamntbatman 
#1 ·
How do I dose calcium for my snails? I know they need it for their shells but I don't know how to do it.
 
#3 ·
I use weekend feeders. My snail loves the betta ones. Other people make their own out of plaster of paris. The DAP brand at Home Depot is the one they recommend. Some people drop in calcium tablets for humans, but you have to make sure it doesn't have lots of additives or other stuff that could hurt them. I also feed my snail nuked broccoli and nuked yellow squash...veggies with lots of calcium.

There is lots of info over at www.applesnail.net. Several threads about making your own food and making your own calcium pucks.
 
#7 ·
I have a similar question. I keep one of my tanks at a ph of around 6.5 but this has had a negative effect on my mystery snails. They're very active, but their shells have started to lose color (they're black mysteries) and have some pitting.

I did some research and found out that human calcium supplements can be a good idea. I bought the simplest type (no vitamin D, as I wasn't sure how good/bad it would be for my tank) with the fewest additives. The pills are 1200 mg each. For two 2-inch mysteries, how often should I dose and what's the recommended dosage (like in mg/gallon? Or should I dose in mg/snail?) So far I've just been dropping one pill in after every weekly water change, since I don't want to overdo it. I've noticed slight improvement in the appearance of my snails' shells. Any further suggestions?

(Unfortunately, any vegetables I've tried usually get eaten by my other fish before the snails can get to them.)
 
#8 ·
iamntbatman said:
I have a similar question. I keep one of my tanks at a ph of around 6.5 but this has had a negative effect on my mystery snails. They're very active, but their shells have started to lose color (they're black mysteries) and have some pitting.

I did some research and found out that human calcium supplements can be a good idea. I bought the simplest type (no vitamin D, as I wasn't sure how good/bad it would be for my tank) with the fewest additives. The pills are 1200 mg each. For two 2-inch mysteries, how often should I dose and what's the recommended dosage (like in mg/gallon? Or should I dose in mg/snail?) So far I've just been dropping one pill in after every weekly water change, since I don't want to overdo it. I've noticed slight improvement in the appearance of my snails' shells. Any further suggestions?

(Unfortunately, any vegetables I've tried usually get eaten by my other fish before the snails can get to them.)
While I'm sure the additional calcium helps your snails' shells, I think the main problem is the pH. A pH below 7 is too acidic and can cause the shells to deteriorate, which seems to be happening in your case. I'm not sure that simply adding calcium will fix this problem. The pH needs to be raised to at least 7. I have never raised the pH in my water (as it is naturally at 7.5), but I have heard crushed coral, either in the substrate or filter media, is a good option.
 
#9 ·
A pH of at least 7 is the verylowest it should be. 7.6-8 is much better and you will have less problens with the snails shells pitting. Crushed coral will help a ton to raise pH. When I added it to my substrate, 1 cup for 10 gallon, it kept my pH at 7.6-7.8.

As for calcium, Calcium citrate is one of the better ones I have used in powder form but the snails really thrived when I used Calcium Carbonate pills with vitamin D. 2, 600mg tablets every other day for 6 mysteries kept them very happy and I got egg clusters every few days. Peas, Romaine and other greens are supposed to wrk well but mine wouldn't eat them, even blanched. Algae wafers andf shrimp pellets were their favs.
 
#10 ·
I have a community setup with zebra danios, dwarf gouramis, peppered cories and kribensis. From the research I've done, all of those fish can tolerate a pH of around 6-8, so I assume 7 is pretty good. However, the Kribs apparently thrive with a lower pH (even as low as 5) so I've kept it in the 6.2-6.5 range for their benefit, since the other fish won't mind.

The snails' shells *have* been looking a little better since I started the pill regimen, but I'll up the dosage a little since you were using a good bit more than I have been with no problems. If they don't improve after a while, I'll try upping the pH.

Thanks for the help!
 
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