Feeding question

[jamiya0727]

I am making some snail jello using gelatin, baby food, calcium, and fish food. Will this be a complete food for my baby snails? I feed the momma snail algae wafers and I assume she also eats the fish food that I feed the fish, and any algae growing in the tank. I am going to start feeding her the jello as well. How often should I put the jello in for her? In the baby snail tank, should I feed anything besides jello? Should I be adding calcium to the water?

[Lupin]

The recipe is adequate enough along with other foods you give. Slice the jello to small squares. If you have plenty of snails, an inch cube slice would be enough. Offer one cube at a time first and see how the snails react to it.

With baby snails, calcium is very important and unless your water is hard and alkaline with series of water changes, then calcium dosing is really imperative. I feed my baby snails plaster of Paris pucks, commercial foods and snail jello.

[msjinkzd]

I feed it every other day or so. With the baby snails, you can offer blanched veggies in between or even prepared foods. Do you have them isolated or are they in an established tank?

[jamiya0727]

Lupin - what commercial foods do you feed?

The baby snails are isolated. I swished my biowheel from the established tank in their water hoping to get some good bacteria growing in it, and I am doing daily water changes.

So, to recap, for the momma snail (I only have one grown snail) - I should feed her the algae wafers and the snail jello and she'll be good. I have been giving her a half an algae wafer twice a week up until now, and she has grown really fast. I also put a pinch of fish food in every day. So....how often should I feed the jello? A couple times a week? An inch cube is huge compared to what I usually give her.

For the babies, I was just going to put several very small pieces in the tank so they won't have to travel too far to find them. Should I be feeding them fish food as well as the algae wafers and jello?

Plaster of Paris pucks....is this the recipe for Calcium Blocks? They can really eat plaster of paris?!

[Lupin]

Lupin - what commercial foods do you feed?
Since there is no restriction to its diet unlike most fish, I just feed them anything available. Cheap shrimp pellets, Hikari pellets and anything but still add calcium via snail jello and other recipes.


So, to recap, for the momma snail (I only have one grown snail) - I should feed her the algae wafers and the snail jello and she'll be good. I have been giving her a half an algae wafer twice a week up until now, and she has grown really fast. I also put a pinch of fish food in every day. So....how often should I feed the jello? A couple times a week? An inch cube is huge compared to what I usually give her.
What is your temperature? 76 degrees should be the maximum as anything higher will shorten their lifespan even though they would grow rather quickly. There is no limit to feeding snail jello or any food as long as you do water changes as frequently as possible to compensate the amount of wastes produced. With baby snails, I would not go under three times a day feeding.

I didn't know you only have one adult snail. With an inch cube, it covers 5 snails per cube so I aim for large chunks since I have over 100 mouths to feed.:footinmouth: You could go with 1/2 inch only and cross your fingers your fish would help it eat the jello.


For the babies, I was just going to put several very small pieces in the tank so they won't have to travel too far to find them. Should I be feeding them fish food as well as the algae wafers and jello?
Baby snails will eat anything as long as they are soft enough to nibble.


Plaster of Paris pucks....is this the recipe for Calcium Blocks? They can really eat plaster of paris?!
Yes, they do. My snails take 2-3 weeks per cube of plaster.

[jamiya0727]

LOL! I put five small chunks of jello in with the babies. They are now all glommed onto each piece - looks like little snail balls. I think they like it. :)


I put a chunk about the size of an algae wafer in with momma, and I don't see it now so either she ate it, or she is sitting on it. The fish were very interested in it as well.