Apple Snail and calcium

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svtcontour

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Aug 6, 2004
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Hi guys, I have an applesnail thats about the size of a small...um apple :) His shell has been slowly eroding because the PH is a bit low in the tank that he's in (6.2). The tank has lots of driftwood and plants and not many rocks. Its got all my tetras in there and an angel. Anyway I read that having sea shells might help or having a piece of cuttle bone for him to eat.

I put 1/2 of a cuttle bone yesterday and after about 20 mins of it being in there, he went over and touched it and almost looked like he jumped up to get away from it. Promptly turned around and went away. I checked the package and on the back it does say the cuttle bone may have up to 5% salt content and 25% calcium content. Could it have been the salt from the cuttle bone? Will the cuttle bone release that salt into the water after a few days and make it safe for him to touch? I know snails and salt dont mix but everything I've read online about cuttle bone seems to indicate its fine for use on snails as a calcium substitute.
 
So things like spinach? How do you keep stuff from floating to the top. I put gravel on it or a small rock but always, the snail manages to move the small rock. If I put a big rock on top, then the part thats hidden under the rock tends to get wasted :(
 
apple snails are very capable of catching floating food check out applesnail.com

but a veggie clip on the glass will hold it in place - and he'll always know where to look for food.
 
i use one for feeding veggies to my pleco- works well

you should check out the apple snail sight too - there is some facinating info 'bout these cool snails i especially think the way they skim the waters surface by creating a funnel and water current is sweet.
 
sounds like you have the one species that gets very large, I think they are illegal here since everthing else is. Hell Even my newts are illegal in Cali, but I purchased them before the law was passed lol.

I had a PH that woudl drop from tap 7.5 to 6.2 every week, not sure why but probably C02 Plants and bogwood doing it. I added some crushed coral to my filter and the snails seem heathier and the PH stays right at 7.0. It slowly disolves the calcuim into the water (rate depends on how low the PH is so it should onyl disolve as needed). Give it a shot!
 
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Definitely go with crushed coral in your filter, that will not only release calcium into the water for them, but will also keep your PH stable. Things like spinach, broccoli, kale, etc. are very good for apple snails. Go to applesnail.net, they are very helpful there, and they also have plenty of info to read over in the snail care section. I personally reccoment them, since they've helped me out with the ten apples I aquired recently.~Angela
 
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