# Snails and Low pH



## Ryzilla (Oct 29, 2005)

ph of less than neutral will start to erode(sp) their shells. The acidity in the water is the cause of this. You also need to have a decent kh, my guess would be 6+. You could add kh to your tank by adding crushed coral to your filter. This will rise your kh and your ph and will make it harder for CO2 to dissolve, but your CO2 should still be fine. I currently have red ramshorns, mystery snails, and a few smal spixi's. I havnt noticed any erosian on their shells though I have had them for about 2 weeks. My ph is in the 6.8 range and my kh is 7. I do not belive that they will be dying from my ph and I judge that they are more than happy with my kh. I also wouldnt reccomend adding kh to your tank if you currently have soft water fish and/or plants. I hope this may clear a little up. I am no pro on this so if anyone else wants to correct me or add please do so, you will be helping me learn as well.

Peace,
Ry


----------



## catwoman (Aug 30, 2004)

I have nerites snails in a CO2 tank and their shells do erode. Seems do be worse on the snails whose shells were already scratched up. I started with 35 nerites and I have at least one die every couple weeks. not sure how to keep them alive in freshwater for a long time. I've tried adding reef calcium but maybe I should up my PH and KH some more. My CO2 recently ran out and I am using Excel right now but the nerites keep dying off. I have some with nice complete smooth shells and some with barely any shell left at all so I am confused.


----------



## jmccalip (Oct 17, 2005)

Is it cruel to have all my 200 pond snails in 6.0PH water? :icon_redf roud:


----------

