Mystery snail questions

[Alliebird]

So, influenced in large part by this forum, my tank (20g) now has 3 Mystery snails!! A purple one, one with a brown shell and white/yellow body, and a little wild type one that the LFS lady threw in for free when she heard my kids exclaiming over "baby snails."

I. Love. Them. They are so much fun to watch!

Anyway, I wanted to ask: how often should I give them calcium carbonate? Also, I bought some sinking veggie tablets for them--I was thinking I'd put them in twice a week, is that adequate?

Thank you so much!

 

[TMaier]

Calcium rich veggies and calcium carbonate often. How is your ph?

 

[Alliebird]

7.2.

There was a snail emergency this morning. One was on the filter intake and appeared to be partially sucked in. I got him off, but since then he hasn't really come out of his shell. Hope he will be okay.

 

[TMaier]

Ok you are right on the edge. Keep an eye out for shell dullness or pitting. Just in case it should drop on you.

 

[Alliebird]

Another question: Do all veggies for the snails have to be blanched? Or are there some that can be put in raw?

I put some cooked spinach in the yesterday and the snails were very, very happy.

 

[TMaier]

I would swear I read something about spinach oxalic acid not being good in large quantities. Kale, collards and dandelion are high in calcium and the tougher the lead the longer to blanch. Zucchini and cucumber, anything soft doesn't need blanching.

 

[Alliebird]

Thank you!

 

[Alliebird]

Reactivating this thread with more questions and some excitement...

Our female snail laid eggs this morning!! So we may have babies in our future. The eggs are fairly close to the filter intake, and I'm a bit concerned that when the babies come out they might get sucked in. The intake has a prefilter sponge but I think the mesh is still too big. I guess I will need to move the eggs? (Or the filter?)

How do you handle babies and cleaning the tank? Just change water without disturbing the gravel?

Next question:

Two of our three snails seem completely normal, are very active, going at it like rabbits (or snails?), etc.

The third, aka "the baby," who is considerably smaller than the other two, has been acting odd for a couple of weeks now. Hardly moves and seems to spend lots of time upside down. He comes partially out, but not all the way. I have checked several times to see if he is alive, and he can close himself in just fine. I've seen some frass coming out of his shell, so I assume he's managing to eat somehow, but we are talking days of not moving at all. Do I need to be concerned?

Thank you for all your advice.

 

[TMaier]

I would leave the eggs if possible. If your worried they could get sucked into the filter just cover it with a stocking. The eggs will get grey/white moldy looking when they are close to hatching.

As to your shut in, it’s not uncommon for a snail to go into a coma for days and then suddenly seem fine. But sometimes something isn’t right and they fail to thrive and fade away. Just keep the tank clean and offer good foods. I don’t vacuum the substrate if babies are in the tank unless it gets funky. If I have to I keep the water and bucket and the baby snails will attach and I can pick them out and put them back in the tank. Imagine picking up a hundred glass seed beads. Lol