Snails have become a big part of the fish keeping hobby. They can be added to most aquariums, and are a great touch. Both decorative and helpful, snails are often added to help keep the aquarium clean of algae.
Although snails are very easy to keep, some extra attention may be necessary to keeping their home strong and sturdy.
The biggest thing that needs to be remembered about your snail’s shell is that they build it out of calcium. This means that having a calcium source to your tank is essential to keeping your snail healthy.
This also means that keeping a higher GH (general hardness) is also very important to keeping your snail healthy. More calcium=Higher GH. I personally recommend you keep a GH of at least 75ppm for your snails.
Calcium deficiency can be very bad for your snail. It makes it difficult for the snail to build its shell, and it can be easily observed.
This is an example of a snail with a healthy shell:
The snail has even coloring and a smooth, thick shell. Some growth lines may be present, and they are okay as long as they are faint and in small numbers.
This is a snail with a not so healthy shell:
This snail grew a much healthier shell once calcium was available, but you can see how calcium deficient he was beforehand. It’s very rough and blotchy, and shows almost no color.
Another thing to note about keeping your snail’s shell healthy is the pH of your tank. It is often said that having an acidic pH can dissolve your snail’s shell. While this can be true, whats most important is keeping a stable pH. All of my snails live in water with a pH of 6.2 and I haven’t had issues. As long as your pH isnt crazy low, and you’re properly supplementing your snail, it should be fine. It is however very important to keep a stable pH, because a sudden pH swing can be extremely stressful and even fatal.
Some ways you can supplement your snail with calcium is:
Although snails are very easy to keep, some extra attention may be necessary to keeping their home strong and sturdy.
The biggest thing that needs to be remembered about your snail’s shell is that they build it out of calcium. This means that having a calcium source to your tank is essential to keeping your snail healthy.
This also means that keeping a higher GH (general hardness) is also very important to keeping your snail healthy. More calcium=Higher GH. I personally recommend you keep a GH of at least 75ppm for your snails.
Calcium deficiency can be very bad for your snail. It makes it difficult for the snail to build its shell, and it can be easily observed.
This is an example of a snail with a healthy shell:
The snail has even coloring and a smooth, thick shell. Some growth lines may be present, and they are okay as long as they are faint and in small numbers.
This is a snail with a not so healthy shell:
This snail grew a much healthier shell once calcium was available, but you can see how calcium deficient he was beforehand. It’s very rough and blotchy, and shows almost no color.
Another thing to note about keeping your snail’s shell healthy is the pH of your tank. It is often said that having an acidic pH can dissolve your snail’s shell. While this can be true, whats most important is keeping a stable pH. All of my snails live in water with a pH of 6.2 and I haven’t had issues. As long as your pH isnt crazy low, and you’re properly supplementing your snail, it should be fine. It is however very important to keep a stable pH, because a sudden pH swing can be extremely stressful and even fatal.
Some ways you can supplement your snail with calcium is:
- Adding unflavored cuttlebone to your tank; it can be found in most pet stores for birds, and it will simply dissolve in your tank raising the GH.
- Food formulated for snails, or food rich in calcium
- Homemade food for snails, like “snello”
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