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I didn't realize snails needed iodine I know for FW shrimp it is good.

I need to get some of that Kent Calcium. I've been meaning to do that.

Sorry, when you said "betta bowl", I was thinking "(with a) betta (in a) bowl".

Yes, use the sponge filter. Watch the water quality closely. But, as I said the snail can't repair it's shell. All you can do is prevent further damage. And, to accomplish that you'll need to keep the snail in hard, alkaline, well-filtered water for the rest of it's life.

I don't like the use of cuttle bone for calcium supplementation. It's actually the skeleton of the cuttle fish, so it's much more than calcium. And, in my experience it begins to rot and create nitrate problems.

I was actually thinking in a bowl all by himself.
Then I could put in a peice of cuttle bone andd feed him exclusively good calcium rich things until he recupes
I have a sponge filter I could probably use as well.
Would that be good for a snail?


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Be very careful with patching. Sometimes it can stress the snail to the point where it dies from the patch, not from the hole.

And as long as nothing is picking on the snail, it can live a fine life with a messed up shell.

I've never patched a snail myself.

Applesnail.net shows how those holes can be patched. Use those links I provided if interested.

Snails generally do well in Betta bowls. Make sure it's covered though. I've found more than one of mine cruising across the carpet. And if it's unfiltered, you may have to watch the water quality. Some bettas will nip, like some angels. But each fish is an individual.

Unfortunately, once the shell begins to erode, it can't be "fixed". New shell growth is added in the front. If there are holes in the shell, and tissue is exposed, the snail can calcify that area to prevent further damage.

Your best course of action is to move the snail to a tank where you can maintain the pH at 7.0+ and the gH and kH at reasonable levels.

Would it be possible that I could pop the snail into a small tank (like a betta bowl) and work on him until he heals and then pop him back in the tank?
Unfortunately there is no way he could go into my 75g tank- I have too many loaches in there, and I have never seen the Angels take a nip at a snail yet.


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I don't believe Iodine is absolutely necessary for snails like it is for shrimp. But, it does seem to make shells stronger, promote breeding, and keep laying females in good health.

And, I'm referring to Kent Marine Liquid Iodine (which is clear), not the stuff you can get at the pharmacy.

Angelfish do prefer soft, acidic water. So, if you're really trying to breed them, you may have to move the snails out. They tend not to be good snail tankmates anyway since they nip antennas thinking they're worms.

Wouldnt raising the PH and hardness be detrimental to breeding Angelfish though?
Thats really my major concern.
I have iodine, so I will dose some for the snail, and I will see what kinds of food I can gather that are rich in calcium.


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I have a large Ramshorn (apple) snail in my 25g tank. I have had him for some time. Mysteriously, I lost 2 large apple snails about 3 months ago. It seemed their shell had degraded slightly. Now this ramshorn, literally has pock marks and dents, and raised ridges on his beautiful shell.
What would be causing this? I can get a pic if necessary.


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Cory_Di is definately on the right track. And applesnail.net has all the information about snails you'll ever want to know.

I will make the following suggestions, since this is how I maintain my tanks to promote good shell development. I have four dedicated snail tanks, and extremely soft, zero-alkalinity (kH) water out of the tap.

Crushed coral is present in every tank as either the substrate or part of the filter media. This will maintain your kH without driving the pH through the roof (which baking soda can do). The max pH I ever get in any tank is 8.0, no matter how much is in the tank. You have to replace it every couple of months.

Baking soda is added to two of my tanks to raise the pH (from about 6.8 to 7.2) with each weekly water change. Basically, there's not enough crushed coral in those two to maintain it.

Liquid Calcium is added daily. I use Kent Marine brand (1 drop / 5 gal. daily). This increases the gH and makes calcium readily available in the water. This also minimally raises the pH.

Liquid Iodine is added weekly (a squirt, real scientific). Shrimp pellets are also fed to supplement iodine. This also minimally raises the pH.

Last edited by Georgia at 12-Apr-2005 15:11

I'd still get a kH reading at an lfs. Just take a bag of water in.

Did you check that site out? They are really the experts.

I think it is a mistake to focus only on pH. pH and kH kind of go hand in hand, but if you are using co2, using pH alone can be misleading. To me, the more important value is the kH.

Once we know that value, you could consider adding like 1/8 tsp of baking soda daily until you bring it up, if it is below 4 degrees or so. This will raise your pH a bit. In fact, once we know your kH and current pH of 7.0 we can calculate roughly where your pH will be at a given degree of kH. Your plants may appreciate the added hardness, especially the val.

Are you adding co2?

I wonder if some fertilizers can erode the shell. Are you using anything like Flourish Excel? Have you used algaecides?

I'd focus on giving the snail high calcium foods. Depending on the type, it may require boiling. If he's not eating it, it will need to be really softened - on the border of rotting first. Copied from a post on Applesnail.net in the forum under "Care". IN that same thread, which I cannot link to, they show the ratio of calcium to phos. You don't want high phos foods in the tank long or it cna lead to excess algae.

[hr width='40%']
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
Spinach 99 mg
Okra 81 mg
Leaf Lettuce 68 mg
Cilantro 67 mg
Purslane 65 mg
Endive 52 mg
Swiss Chard 51 mg
Broccoli 48 mg
Cabbage 47 mg
Rutabaga 47 mg
Brussel Sprouts 42 mg
Celery 40 mg
Sweet Potato Leaves 37 mg
Green Beans 37 mg
Romaine Lettuce 36 mg
Parsnips 36 mg
Head Lettuce 32 mg
Alfalfa Sprouts 32 mg
Squash (winter, all varieties) 31 mg
Turnip 30 mg
Carrots 27 mg
Kohlrabi 24 mg
Sweet Potato 22 mg
Cauliflower 22 mg
Asparagus 21 mg
Pumpkin 21 mg
Squash (summer, all varieties) 20 mg
Beets 16 mg
Cucumber (with skin) 14 mg
Red and Green Peppers 9 mg
Tomato 5 mg
White Corn 2 mg


Fruits Calcium per 100 gram Serving:

Seedless Raisins 49 mg
Orange 40 mg
Lime 33 mg
Blackberries 32 mg
Kiwi 26 mg
Lemon (no peel) 26 mg
Papaya 24 mg
Raspberries 22 mg
Sweet Cherries 15 mg
Strawberries 14 mg
Tangerine 14 mg
Apricots 14 mg
Grapefruit, White 12 mg
Grapefruit, Red & Pink 11 mg
Pear 11 mg
Cantaloupe 11 mg
Grapes 11 mg
Mango 10 mg
Watermelon 8 mg
Persimmon, Japanese 8 mg
Pineapple 7 mg
Apple (with skin) 7 mg
Cranberries 7 mg
Banana 6 mg
Honeydew Melon 6 mg
Blueberries 6 mg
Casaba Melon 5 mg
Nectarine 5 mg
Peach 5 mg
Plum 4 mg



Last edited by Cory_Di at 12-Apr-2005 09:29

Ph at my new place is 7.0, I dont know what KH is I have a GH tester, and it comes in at ~100ppm.
Other occupants of the tank are:
A Large sized Pair of Breeding Angelfish
2 Buenos Aires Tetra Large as Dither fish
5 Corydoras Aenus (bronze/albino)
Many small ramshorn and pond snails (no problems with these guys that I have seen)
Plants are:
Several Stems of Wisteria (hygro. Difformis)
Vallisneria Spiralis
Java Fern
Marimo Balls (2)
Dwarf Red Lotus

The strangest thing of all is that what Im getting here is that Calcium is needed for the snail- however, I lost both my Apple Snails at my old place, which had a PH pf 7.8 (perhaps higher,t hats how high my test goes), and a GH of over 380ppm. It was so high in calcium that my showerhead was clogged after 6 weeks and unusable, and the water so hard and mineralized that I couldnt even drink it for ending up with a gut ache. This snails problems started there- we lived there for almost 1 year, and I had nothing but problems with Snails.




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I think that its calcium that snails need to build and strengthen their shells or I could be the ph but that would have to be pretty low.

Pete - can you get us pH and kH values? If you don't have a kH tester, just take a bag of water to the fish store. We need a number.

Definitely missing calcium and/or other minerals required to build shell. I would run out and get some Hikari Crab Cuisine or Freshwater Lobster and Crab Bites. You don't want plain hermit crab food, but the kind they put in the tank for freshwater crab, lobsters, yabbies, whatever they call them . Look to see if it claims to be calcium fortifited. Hikari is for both hermit crabs and freshwater inverts.

http://www.hikariusa.com/crab_cuisine.htm

I would drop it right in front of him because I don't know if there are any repercussions for bottom feeders if they eat too much of the calcium (like constipation ).

You can also add baking soda, but lets look at your pH and kH. We also need to know what else is in the tank with this snail? List all living things and plants.

Oh - and high calcium food is good like Dill is really high. If you have a golden mystery snail, boil it a few minutes in the microwave, let it cool and them put it in at the bottom with a rock or something. That will give calcium as well.

This site is really good. If you go into the forums under care there are some great lists for food.

If you go specifically to "Care", then select "Diseases" from the upper icons, you can find your "pits" half way down the page with explanation. Just be careful with adding baking soda in arbitrarily without measuring kH and pH. It would be wise to have both test kits if you can find it.

http://www.applesnail.net



Last edited by Cory_Di at 11-Apr-2005 22:23

Mineral-poor water - a situation which can be allayed with certain food supplements and the provision of cuttlebone - is probably to blame.

What's your pH? Low levels are known to do that.