Golden apple snail's shell deteriorating, liquid calcium, and acidic water.

[tyrantt23]

I have a golden mystery snail that has been having problems with its shell deteriorating. The water was on the acidic side the first time I tested it, at 6.5. I bought Kent's Liquid Calcium 5 days ago and have been adding about 6 drops every other day. I *think* the shell is still deteriorating, and today the pH was at 6.0. Is the liquid calcium helping the shell at all? Is it making the water more acidic?

How can I feed the snail dill weed? Collard Greens? Do I have to boil them first? Is it ok to feed it on my aquarium, or will it make the water dirty/mess up the parameters, in which case, would it be ok to place the snail on a vase with treated water for feeding purposes?

Also, I know that adding co2 raises the pH, but is it temporary? I have finished making a nice DIY co2 system, but have been trying to find airline tubing holders to make it look nice inside the aquarium. I also know that if the co2 level drops, the water will rapidly become more acidic, so I'm a little worried to start up my co2 device.

Sorry for the long post, and thank you for the help!

 

[echoofformless]

CO2 lowers pH.

The snail's shell might be too far gone now to be saved.

But the best ways to get calcium into your water are crushed coral and baking soda.

 

[wataugachicken]

in the pet bird section of any pet store of walmart you can find cuttlebone - get a piece that is unflavored and break it up, put a piece of it into the tank, the snail can either nibble on it or it will dissolve into the water.

 

[Flaringshutter]

Head on over to applesnail.net and look in the "discussions" forum. The snail care section should supply you with everything you need. It's also a good idea to ID your snail species while you're over there too. Most "golden mystery snails" are Pomacea bridgesii, or brigs, but you'll want to be sure.

The pH of your water should ALWAYS be between 7.0 and 8.0 for a healty shell. Also, I feed my snails collard greens, microwaved to soften, because they have a very high calcium content. This will not mess up your water unless you let them rot in there. If the snails have not eaten them within 3 days, remove and replace with fresh leaves.

Many applesnail owners also make snail food and add powdered calcium to that. There is a sticky on making snail food in the snail care section on applesnail.net.

I also have an unflavored cuttlebone in the water, and every day I rub on it so some dissolves in the water. Or you can just put them in your HOB filter. You could also buy crushed coral and add a bag of it to your filter or just mix some in with your gravel, to raise the pH and add calcium.

The liquid calcium is a good idea, but you have to make sure that it does not TOUCH your snails in undiluted form. Mix it with some water first and add the mixture to your tank so your snails won't be hurt. A search on applesnail.net should get you some good dosing instructions.

As an emergency fix, go get some Hard as Nails clear nail polish, hold your snail so the shell is out of the water and the snail is still in the water as much as possible, dry the shell, and put polish over the deteriorating parts. MAKE SURE not to get any in holes in the shell or on the snail's body parts. This could kill your snail. When the polish is dry, put the snail back in the water. This will work as a temporary fix.

Definitely get rid of your Co2. It will lower your pH even more.

Getting healthy shell growth is sort of a complicated issue, because not only does pH affect growth, but so does hardness and alkalinity/acidity of the water.

Remember that any time the snail moves from one body of water to another, the shell will show some stress. So if you have a somewhat flaky shell growing in, or some ridges showing up, don't freak out too much, just make sure you have a calcium source in the water and raise your pH.

Good luck, keep us updated.