Perfect water for snails.

[DaisyTattoo]

I now have 3 snails in my 10g with my betta. I moved my giant apple snail out of the 55g since the yoyos kept bothering him every time he tried to come out of his shell. Anyway, my question is, what can I do to make sure the 10g is perfect for them as well as the betta? My ivory apple snail has grown about an inch and a half of shell in the 3 weeks that Ive had him, but the new shell is yellow and the old is white. Does that mean there is not enough calcuim in the water? I know once the shell erodes, there is no going back, so I want to stop it before it starts, if it starts that is.

[dorkfish]

thers not much you can do with the water, but what you can do is:

always have food available for the snails.
keep the water as clean as possible (meaning a lot of water changes because of the above).
have some sort of calcium in the tank for the snails to eat, snails actually don't get the calcium for thier shells from the water, THEY EAT IT!
Keep the water line an inch below the tank rim, this will give the snails somplace to spawn.

[DaisyTattoo]

What can I put in there for them to get calcium? I have some shells from the ocean. If I boil these will they work? I also have a shell in there from a mystery snail who passed away awhile ago. Maybe I should add some cuttlebone? However unsightly it may be.

[OrionGirl]

Cuttlebone will work--but you can easily hide it at the back of the tank. This will work better, since it won't dissolve and alter water parameters as badly as something like sea shells.

[DaisyTattoo]

Ok...thanks for the advice. I really do love my snails and have always had a hard time keeping them alive, but that was before I knew about water tests and doing regular water changes. I am hoping to do these snails better than the ones Ive had in the past. I guess I will be buying some cuttlebone for these guys. I will just stick it behind the driftwood.

[Gena575]

You can add crushed coral either mixed in with your substrate or in a media bag in the filter. If your pH is 7.5 or higher, it shouldn't be needed though. New shell is laid down in layers. The last layer to be laid down is the color. As long as the new shell is smooth and free of cracks or fissures you're fine. What are you feeding the snail? They don't do nearly so well with just leftovers from the other fish. Though, your snail seems to be finding plenty with as much shell as has been put on! I mostly feed snail jello along with veggies. I tried snail cookies and they didn't go over that well plus they REEKED when I was cooking them.

[sillyputty]

Are you all talking about cuttlebone for birds? Do the snails eat it? I looked at a website for pet stuff and they said it has calcium and iodine in it which would be great for snails. Just never heard of this one.

[DaisyTattoo]

I feed my betta frozen bloodworms and betta pellets, so they get the leftovers of these plus I throw an algae tablet in every few days or so. They usually jump right on those. What else do you suggest?

[mandimoron]

Are you all talking about cuttlebone for birds? Do the snails eat it? I looked at a website for pet stuff and they said it has calcium and iodine in it which would be great for snails. Just never heard of this one.
Yeah, it's the same cuttlebone as one would give to a budgie, say. I'm not so sure if the snails eat it, or if it dissolves in the water, though. I have a piece of it in my tank, and I see the snails nibbling at it every now and then, but I don't know if they're actually eating the cuttlebone, or picking stuff off its surface.

[Gena575]

I feed my betta frozen bloodworms and betta pellets, so they get the leftovers of these plus I throw an algae tablet in every few days or so. They usually jump right on those. What else do you suggest?

They love cooked/frozen veggies. The veggies have to be pretty soft for the brigs (your ivory and blue are pomacea bridgesii more than likely), but the other may eat them firmer if it is a cana (pomacea canaliculata). Cana's are the ones that get BIG, like baseball sized and I have never heard of them being ivory or blue. Anyway, back on topic LOL! Green beans, shelled peas (your betta might enjoy those too), romaine lettuce, mustard/collard/turnip greens are good bets. Or you could make snail jello. I'm such a dork I think it is fun to make :D
Snail Jello (courtesy applesnail.net)
1 jar baby food (look for 4% or so calcium)
1 envelope plain gelatin
1 tsp fish food, crushed
1 tsp powdered calcium (jurassical is the brand I use)
Heat baby food in microwave until very hot. Stir in gelatin until smooth. Stir in fish food and calcium. Pour into a flat bottom dish and chill until very firm. Cut into small cubes for serving. This freezes well for about a month. Thaw before feeding of course :)

[DaisyTattoo]

Thanks Gena. I put some peeled frozen peas in there last night and the giant apple snail(he is yellow colored) went to town on them. The 2 little ones(they are only about the size of a large marble) didnt even notice it. Maybe I will put some lettuce in there tonight. Where do you buy powdered calcium? The LFS? What kind of babyfood do you use? Veggies? Fruit? And will all this calcium cause any problems for my betta?

[DaisyTattoo]

Does anyone know where to get the powdered calcium?

[raymgnz]

I'm not sure if its the same stuff, but I used to give my Iguana powdered calcium on his veggies. I would get it at any petstore that has lizards, I think it was called rep-cal. Again I'm not sure if its the same stuff. If you find out please post it because I'm interested in making that jello for my snails.

[Gena575]

If the lettuce is iceburg, I wouldn't feed it very often. It is mostly water and very little nutrition, but it doesn't hurt now and then. Romaine is better, for them and us :)

For the powdered calcium, I use Jurassical brand, but I'd guess other reptile dusting calciums would be fine if they were plain calcium carbonate. Petsmart carries it for less than $5. http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444178 0624&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030052&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023694&bmUID=1146630476313&itemNo=0&Ntt=jurrasical&In=All&previousText=jurrasical&N=2

For flavors, I've used mixed veggies, green beans, peas, sweet potato (lower calcium, but they LOVE it) and carrots. I'm going to make some fruit flavors next, maybe mixed veggies and apples or something.

Edit: I forgot to add that the calcium won't hurt the betta. I feed the jello in my tank with cories and rasboras with no bad results. The cories eat as much of it as the snails do and they are happy and healthy.

[GenGen]

In reference to the snail jello it lists baby food.. which kind? a vegetable? I do appologize if it seems a silly question but i've never made snail jello before :)

and for those that mentioned feeding frozen peas (my bettas love them! :)) how do you feed them so that the snail can eat them? will they be eaten simply by letting them float?