Help! My Apple snail shell getting thin!

Star-flog · Post by **Star-flog** » 03 Jun 2005, 09:59

I've 2 apple snail in 2ft Pleco tank and one female layed some eggs about 1" above water level this morning. I hope I would see some small snails in next 2/3 week time?

Also, I do notice that 2 apple snail, the shell is getting thin and soft. What should I do? If not, they'll surely die.....

natefrog · Post by **natefrog** » 03 Jun 2005, 14:35

Thin shells in mollusks is a sure sign of a calcium deficency. If your water is fairly soft and acidic a snail can lose more calcium to the water than it can replace. There are two ways you can help this problem.

One is to add crushed coral or shells to the tank, this however, will increase the hardness of your water and will act as a ph buffer and make it difficult to maintain a ph below 7.

Option 2 is to feed your snail with something that is calcium rich. Off the top of my head I do not know of which vegetables are highest in calcium but I'm sure with a little research you can find out.

I would likley go for option 2, but that is because most of my tanks are South American and therefore enjoy a ph of below 7. You could try a bit of both if your tanks can handle a slightly higher ph and a higher dissolved hardness.

Good luck.

Star-flog · Post by **Star-flog** » 04 Jun 2005, 01:56

natefrog wrote:Thin shells in mollusks is a sure sign of a calcium deficency. If your water is fairly soft and acidic a snail can lose more calcium to the water than it can replace. There are two ways you can help this problem.

One is to add crushed coral or shells to the tank, this however, will increase the hardness of your water and will act as a ph buffer and make it difficult to maintain a ph below 7.

Option 2 is to feed your snail with something that is calcium rich. Off the top of my head I do not know of which vegetables are highest in calcium but I'm sure with a little research you can find out.

I would likley go for option 2, but that is because most of my tanks are South American and therefore enjoy a ph of below 7. You could try a bit of both if your tanks can handle a slightly higher ph and a higher dissolved hardness.

Good luck.

Thanks for your advice and much appreciated!

I would go for Option 2, which to give them food with rich Calcuim.

After extensive search of website, this link provides useful information http://home.houston.rr.com/applesnails/ ... Snails.htm

As stated, the top Ten Vegetables - Calcium per 100 gram serving:

Dill Weed 208 mg
Turnip Greens 190 mg
Collards 145 mg
Parsley 138 mg
Kale 135 mg
Watercress 120 mg
Beet Greens 119 mg
Chinese Cabbage 105 mg
Mustard Greens 103 mg
Chicory Greens 100 mg

I would surely try the above immediately..

Lastly, what should I do with the eggs? Just leave it and they'll take care by themselves?

YouTube · Post by **Jools** » 20 Jun 2005, 21:15

Years ago now, I had the very same problem, it was resolved by removing all bogwood and adding rocks and a lot of (in this case oyster) shells. They slowly dissolved over time but this slowed.

Depening on your local water supply, more regular water changes also help.

Jools

rubydoo · Post by **rubydoo** » 20 Jun 2005, 23:28

Hi here is a easy snail food recipe. Take a 6 oz jar of babyfood and heat in microwave for 1 min. Then stir in one package of unflavored gelatin. and stir in any fish flake, shrimp pellets, green vegetables etc that you happen to have on hand. The spirula flakes are great too. you can add as many ingredients you want 1 - 5 lol.
then put in refrig and let set, cute into cubes and feed to your snails. Some fish love them too.