Freshwater Calicum Supplement - Apple Snails

[chotee]

Just wondering if anyone out there knows of a freshwater safe (copper free) calcium supplement.

I have been researching this a little online and haven't come up with any products. That being said I have read of people putting antacids and those stones for birds to groom their beaks on in the tank. As well some people have also said they use saltwater or lizard calcium supplements. I am hesitant to use anything of this nature as I would not know the appropriate amount to dose. As well I am weary of the copper content in some of these products.

The reason this is of concern to me is because we have a bunch of apple sails which are breeding. Even with housing them in multiple tanks and placing some aragonite in a media bag in the filter we are having trouble keeping enough calcium in the water for proper shell development. I have even purchased other shells and have watched many disintegrate in the water but this does not appear to be a solution even with a load of them in the tank. Over time their shells are degenerating and holes are appearing...we have had a number of snail deaths which I suspect is due to their shells.

So if you have any suggestions I would appreciate any insight into this I could get. Would be a bonus if this was a safe/natural DYI item or a product that could be purchased online as I live in a place with limited access to aquarium products and I have found nothing in any of my LFS that is good for this purpose.

Thanks in advance.

[cale262]

Here's a good artical with some solutions that may work for you...

http://kh-aquarium.blogspot.com/

[BrentC]

Have you seen Shirakura supplements? I haven't tried them myself, but I've got a buddy who uses them.

http://www.shirakura-shop.de/en/shir...us_calcium.htm
http://www.shirakura-shop.de/en/shir...morillonit.htm

[High tide]

Cuttlefish bone or two should work. Made of Aragonite, totally safe, and dissolves readily. They float so you'll need to anchor it down or float it.

Part of the problem could be your top up/water change water. Do you know what the calcium/alkalinity levels are? If the levels are low you may need to bump them up with supplements. If they are fine it would probably be good to do more frequent and larger water changes.

[chotee]

Originally Posted by BrentC

Have you seen Shirakura supplements? I haven't tried them myself, but I've got a buddy who uses them.

http://www.shirakura-shop.de/en/shir...us_calcium.htm
http://www.shirakura-shop.de/en/shir...morillonit.htm

I haven't seen them around town but as I've said I live in a small place with no real great selection when it comes to aquarium supplies. I will have to check around at a few places I order from online and see if it's there.

[chotee]

Originally Posted by High tide

Cuttlefish bone or two should work. Made of Aragonite, totally safe, and dissolves readily. They float so you'll need to anchor it down or float it.

Part of the problem could be your top up/water change water. Do you know what the calcium/alkalinity levels are? If the levels are low you may need to bump them up with supplements. If they are fine it would probably be good to do more frequent and larger water changes.

I've heard of people using these but didn't know how safe they were or how quickly the calcium dissolved out of them.

Our water has very low levels which is the main problem. I've also found that when using aragonite the calcium doesn't leach out of it at a quick enough rate to satisfy the need of all the baby snails we have...even when dispersing them around in a few tanks.

[BrentC]

Originally Posted by chotee

I haven't seen them around town but as I've said I live in a small place with no real great selection when it comes to aquarium supplies. I will have to check around at a few places I order from online and see if it's there.

Well, I feel you there. I'm 3 hours away from St. John's, so I have to buy everything I need on weekends / order online.

I peeked online for you, and Shirakura actually has a North American website, if you're interested:

http://www.shirakura-shop.com/