Shell corrosion is one of the major problems faced by aquarium snail keepers. We have tested several methods to overcome this problem and would like to share about our findings here!
Weekend Food Block
Weekend food block is a kind of fish food that melts overtime, and commonly used by fish keepers when they are going to be absent for some time. Besides frozen dried tubifex worm, brine shrimp, daphnia, and mosquito larvae, weekend food block also contains calcium sulfate and magnesium which help in strengthening snail shells. We recommend using weekend food block as an easy method to provide calcium to your snails, but keep in mind that it takes some time for snails to recover from shell corrosion.
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| Our red ramshorns feeding on a food block |
Calcium Concentrate
Another way to overcome the shell erosion problem is by adding in calcium concentrate solution directly. This product could be found in some fish stores, especially those that sell marine fishes. Calcium concentrate is actually made for marine aquarium's snails,corals, and other invertebrates. Nonetheless, we have tried this method with freshwater aquariums and apparently it works for freshwater snails as well. Yet, there is no guarantee that every kind of calcium concentrate will work in freshwater tanks; some may contain chemicals that are only suitable for marine tanks.
.JPG "Aquarium Calcium") |
Water changes
Changing water frequently is very crucial in tackling shell corrosion problem as it replenishes minerals in the water that are used by snails to form their shells. We recommend you to change your aquarium water twice a week (at around 30% to 40% of water each time).
Snails' population
We have conducted an experiment by opening two different tanks with different amount of snails in each tank. Tank A contained 10 red ramshorns while tank B contained around 30 ramshorns. We did not change the water for two weeks. Shells of ramshorns in tank A did not show any sign of corrosion but this was not the case for those in tank B. Therefore, we could conclude that keeping a non-overcrowded population of snails in each tank is essential to prevent the calcium in water from depleting quickly.
