Snails and Iodine? And a ? on GH

[tmtpowers]

OK, so I have a few snails now.... LOL I have one giant apple snail with two more on the way, 2 purple striped mysteries, 2 pink stripped mysteries, and a Florida apple snail on the way. Anyways my question is....
Is iodine that beneficial to snails and will it hurt my fish? I've been told to get calcium and iodine for the snails. The dosage is 1-2 drops of calcium per 5G per day and 1 drop of iodine per 5G 2-3 times a week. My fish are:

(55G)
3 Dwarf Sunset Coral Patties
1 Dwarf Gourami (Male)
5 Red Tailed Dalmatian Patties
3 Sunburst Patties
5 GloFish Danios
5 Albino Cory Cat Fish
5 Dwarf African Frogs
11 Neons

We are waiting for our Proper PH 7.5 to arrive to bring our PH up a bit (its at 6.6-6.8 now. I'm working on bringing my GH up a bit. Currently its between 35.8-53.7. What should it be at and how do I get it there?

[plah831]

I add iodine for my shrimps and my fishies are fine. I use 1 mL per 25 gal of prepared iodine supplement designed for corals and clams (saltwater), about once or twice a month.

As for GH, it may be beneficial to have it higher, as the minerals in the water (especially calcium) are helpful in shell formation for them, I believe. What is your KH reading? I have read that you can supplement snails by putting a cuttlebone (the white chalky thing that caged birds chew on) in the tank with them. I don't know if they eat it, or it just dissolves into the water.

There are other ways of increasing dissolved minerals and hardness, but I can't remember them off hand.

[plah831]

I don't know why the website is not registering my post from last night. Oh, well, here it goes again.

[tmtpowers]

Well I have liquid calcium coming in this week. Will that raise the hardness? I've heard about adding the cuttle bone as well but I worry about over doing the calcium.

My KH was also at 53.7 A bit low from what I'm reading? What do I do about that?

[plah831]

I'm not an expert in water chemistry, by any means. But if your KH is the same as your GH reading, that means that all your hardness is only in the form of carbonate? I wuld guess taht means that you would need to add other minerals and solutes, calcium being one of them.

I think someone with more confidence in their aquatic chemistry needs to help us out.

Maybe try searching these forums for "increasing hardness" or Google it.

[tmtpowers]

OK, thanks. I'll see what I can find

[plah831]

Just found that this forum has an article on snails! Check it out at the link below

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50705

Also an article on water chemistry
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35281

[tmtpowers]

Thanks for the links!!! Very helpful!

[Roan Art]

Are you guys adding iodiNE or iodiDE? Do not add iodine to your tank; it is toxic. You want to use iodiDE, which is not the same thing:

http://aquafacts.net/showthread.php?t=980

Roan

[tmtpowers]

Nope, was talking about iodine. Here is where I ordered it from (still have yet to use it) and the information that the site said about it:

Calcium -- What your snail needs to produce a strong thick shell!

The liquid calcium that you get at the pet store is packaged for saltwater tanks. Snail tanks only need drops and it's easy to over do it. This will make it so much easier on you.

1 or 2 drops per 5 gallons every day

Iodine -- For overall shell health and strength

Iodine is a great supplement for your snails but overdosing can be easy to do. This packaging is snail friendly, you can get the exact number of drops you need.

1 drop per 5 gallons --2 or 3 times a week

Taken from: http://www.thesnailstore.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=30

[tmtpowers]

I emailed the lady on the site and this is the responce I received:

"The iodine I use is made for freshwater and saltwater aquarium use. It is perfectly safe, I've used it myself for over a year. Iodide is for saltwater tanks and in my opinion would be much to potent to use in freshwater aquariums. Salt water tanks need much much more than freshwater.

I found this dosing info for iodide
**As little as 1 mL in 160 Liters (40 gallons) will raise iodide to natural seawater concentration

That sound very strong!"


Thoughts?

[Roan Art]

Read the post I linked and if you have any questions, ask RTR (the poster of that message). He's WAY above me in the aquaria knowledge chain and I would trust HIS advice over anyone on here or anywhere else. Here's his brief biography on AquaFacts:

http://aquafacts.net/wiki/index.php/Template:AboutRTR

So, when I don't know something or need advice, I research it, then confirm what I think I have learned with RTR. He sets me straight every time.

Roan

[tmtpowers]

Thanks Roan! I did read the post but with the email I got from the sell was still a bit confused so I send RTR a PM. Thanks so much for getting me headed in the right direction :)

[plah831]

Hmm, I use an iodiNE supplement for marine reef tanks. I definitely wouldn't just add the hospital-grade stuff right into my tank. Maybe I should do some more research to see if it's needed, or even harmful, in a freshwater situation.

I was just following the recommendations of several pet invertebrate websites.

hmmm...
After a look at www.petshrimp.com forum, it seems that the iodiNE thing is a myth. I do have pretty hard water, so it's probably not necessary in the first place.

tmtpowers, don't know if it's also a myth as far as snails are concerned.

[daveedka]

Marketing is the issue folks. The fish tank supplements labeled as Iodine are in fact Iodide. Aside from fish tank supplements I would trust nothing. If it says Iodine for a reef aquarium it is safe for your snails. I Use Kent Iodine for my shrimp.

Calcium will increase the GH, The GH test picks up on Calcium and magnesium so any increase in either will register as an increase in testable GH.

IME Snails need in excess of 80ppm of calcium. some need more some can survive with less. Cuttlebone doesn't dissolve but the snails will graze it for calcium. IMO cuttlebone will not compensate for calcium defeciancy in the water column.

The rift lakes are listed as having calcium between 5 and 20 ppm, I suspect there is a zero missing in my data and it's actually between 50 and 200 ppm calcium, but I have been unable to verify tonight. Either way I have seen snail sites claiming a need for 300-400 ppm of calcium, and THat is simply not necessary. The snails would in fact thrive in that environment, but They will do fine in a much lower calcium environment as well so long as you keep it at or above 80 ppm. Just for the record, 400 ppm is pushing marine levels.

Last note, Ammonia, and nitrite do not effect snails like they do fish. Since snails do not breath from the water column, there is no risk with these nitrogen compounds. I have kept snails in a tank with 5 ppm ammonia and unmeasurably high nitrites without issue during fishless cycles.
Dave

[tmtpowers]

Thank you so much for the informatin Dave! That is very helpful!!!

One question though, how do you measure the calcium in the water? Would that be the Gh test alone or is there a special test?

[Roan Art]

Thanks Roan! I did read the post but with the email I got from the sell was still a bit confused so I send RTR a PM. Thanks so much for getting me headed in the right direction :)
He might not respond to a PM. He gets an awful lot of them and, like me, prefers that people post where the information can be gotten by others.

Roan

[Roan Art]

BTW, Daveedka is another guru whose advice I fully trust, especially on this type of thing.

Roan

[tmtpowers]

Thanks Roan and RTR did respond and is helping me a ton!

[daveedka]

One question though, how do you measure the calcium in the water? Would that be the Gh test alone or is there a special test?

I have a calcium test kit made by Aquarium Pharmeseuticals. I find it's accurate enough to let me know what ballpark I'm in. When I first got it I tested it against calculated dosages, and also compared tap water tests to the city water report. Even though the calcium kit is designed for Saltwater it's pretty close on the freshwater, and very consistant as well.

With tap water at 40 ppm Ca, I really like being able to test calcium for my snails and shrimp.

Gh can tell you calcium if you know Mg levels, but their is still some worry for me of inconsistancy in the tap water so I like the Calcium kit.
Dave

[tmtpowers]

Thanks again Dave! I'll check into getting that test :)

[Roan Art]

I have a calcium test kit made by Aquarium Pharmeseuticals. I find it's accurate enough to let me know what ballpark I'm in. When I first got it I tested it against calculated dosages, and also compared tap water tests to the city water report. Even though the calcium kit is designed for Saltwater it's pretty close on the freshwater, and very consistant as well.I could never get that kit to work for me; the colors are always off. Maybe because my levels are too low or I have a defective kit? Dunno. I've switched to the Hagen test instead and have found it to be pretty accurate. My water report is 40ppm and the Hagen gives me the same. 'Course there are probably changes between the plant and my house (dunno the distance), but at least I have something to work with.

Roan