Thin Apple Snail Shells

[windhopper]

Hey, back in February i bought some apple snails off of pippoodle. They are growing like made and although i lost 2 i have a large striped one, and 3 medium sized blues. On the large one i can see clearly a line from when i've had it in my tank where the shell is much thinner and nowhere near as stunning as it is from when pippoodle had the snail (i feel so bad about it). Is there anyway to help the shell growth?
Thanks

Here are 2 of my blues (sarah if you read this these are thos tiny newly hatched ones they are so cool)

 

[saltynay]

add some sort of calcium product anything from limestone block ( will change your ph) to an actual calcium snail solution

 

[windhopper]

add some sort of calcium product anything from limestone block ( will change your ph) to an actual calcium snail solution

So does that mean they take their calcium from the water? Because i live in an area with exceptionally hard water so assumed they would get it from that. Would a cuttlefish bone work ive heard that recommended before

add some sort of calcium product anything from limestone block ( will change your ph) to an actual calcium snail solution

So does that mean they take their calcium from the water? Because i live in an area with exceptionally hard water so assumed they would get it from that. Would a cuttlefish bone work ive heard that recommended before

 

[saltynay]

They absorb partially through the water but if you have heard water and its not working then dietary supplements help. Cuttlefish bone will work

 

[windhopper]

They absorb partially through the water but if you have heard water and its not working then dietary supplements help. Cuttlefish bone will work

OK so do i just drop it in and hope they go and munch on it? Or grind it up?

 

[saltynay]

Either or doesn't really matter keep an eye on your ph as it will cause it to rise

 

[Amerce]

I buy seachem liquid calcium and also give them spinach and that should help with thin shells, you don't need to add a lot of calcium just when you do water changes.

 

[windhopper]

I buy seachem liquid calcium and also give them spinach and that should help with thin shells, you don't need to add a lot of calcium just when you do water changes.

Do you blanch the spinach or just wash it off and stick it in? Also how long does a bottle of the seachem last you?

 

[pippoodle]

OMG they are sooo cute

The first picture looks like you have a female snail there hun

I add cuttlefish bone to my tanks and it hasn't affected my readings one bit
i buy the cheapest bird ones available - rinse it - drop about a 3" bit at the back of the tank every so many months
as soon as i see that its disintegrating i add another bit
Worked fine hun

Good luck lovely seeing pics of my babies

Take care Sarah x

 

[windhopper]

OMG they are sooo cute

The first picture looks like you have a female snail there hun

I add cuttlefish bone to my tanks and it hasn't affected my readings one bit
i buy the cheapest bird ones available - rinse it - drop about a 3" bit at the back of the tank every so many months
as soon as i see that its disintegrating i add another bit
Worked fine hun

Good luck lovely seeing pics of my babies

Take care Sarah x

If you ever have some more colours going drop me a pm i absolutely adore them
By the way how can you tell what gender they are im abit clueless you see.
And thanks for the tip on the cuttlefish will get some tomorrow

Take care, Jorel

 

[Amerce]

I buy seachem liquid calcium and also give them spinach and that should help with thin shells, you don't need to add a lot of calcium just when you do water changes.

Do you blanch the spinach or just wash it off and stick it in? Also how long does a bottle of the seachem last you?

I thoroughly wash it, but then again I do prefer to buy bags of baby spinach (you can use them in salads as well if you have too many), I don't blanch it as baby is so fine that they have no problem munching it, even the shrimps will take the smaller particles once the snails have eaten some.

 

[windhopper]

I buy seachem liquid calcium and also give them spinach and that should help with thin shells, you don't need to add a lot of calcium just when you do water changes.

Do you blanch the spinach or just wash it off and stick it in? Also how long does a bottle of the seachem last you?

I thoroughly wash it, but then again I do prefer to buy bags of baby spinach (you can use them in salads as well if you have too many), I don't blanch it as baby is so fine that they have no problem munching it, even the shrimps will take the smaller particles once the snails have eaten some.

Luckily for the snails i actually have spinach growing this year on the allotment lol

totally organic too

Thanks for the info

 

[milkton]

WOW AWESOME PICS! i love the last one where u could see the eyes .

try adding some "Argonite" <-- its a brand.... sand substrate, it is for saltwater but can also be used for fresh water. It provides alot of calcium but the bad thing is that it raises ur pH to somewhere about 7.2-7.5

 

[windhopper]

WOW AWESOME PICS! i love the last one where u could see the eyes .

try adding some "Argonite" <-- its a brand.... sand substrate, it is for saltwater but can also be used for fresh water. It provides alot of calcium but the bad thing is that it raises ur pH to somewhere about 7.2-7.5

Thanks for the idea, sadly i dont want to add anything like that which will raise my ph as it is already between 7.4 and 7.6 as it is.

And thanks for the pic comments, the snails are the only things i can actually photograph well because they are slower lol!

 

[Sarah5098]

Liquid Calcium Snail Shell - its about a fiver but not readily available so check the internet