# Keeping snails in a CO2-rich tank?



## g4search (Aug 10, 2014)

Hi everyone,

Is there anyone who has been keeping successfully either ramshorn or pond snails in a planted, CO2-injected tank? 


I switched my low tech tank to a high tech, planted tank with 24/7 CO2 injection about 5 month ago. I had about half a dozen of each ramshorn and pond snails (_Lymnea stagnalis_) in the tank. First I didn't notice anything, but now it is clear that over the last 3 month all of the snails but 1 ramshorn disappeared. 

I am wondering now if this has anything to do with having a high level of CO2 in the tank?
(A reply is gratefully appreciated)


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

I stopped trying to keep snails in any of my co2 tanks. The shells just erode and they die. what is nice though is that I can offer snail free plants now though lol


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## chautrung (Aug 30, 2005)

I added some red ramshorns to my tank to help clean the plants (they're really good at it) about a month ago but now they're starting to die off; most of their shells eroded; i saw one that was crawling around with his shell in two pieces


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## g4search (Aug 10, 2014)

Thanks guys for your responses. 

It confirms what I suspected that the CO2 slowly dissolves the calcium in their shells and it cannot be repaired due to the low pH.

Seems we will soon have a similar problem in our oceans as well.


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## ChadRamsey (Nov 3, 2011)

the only ones that i can keep alive in my high tech tanks are MTS and Nerites

bladders and rams die off rather quickly


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## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

MTS is the only thing that lives in my tank too. Their shells erode also, but much less since they stay underground.


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## Zoomy (Sep 13, 2014)

Is it possible to add anything to help maintain their shells? This is interesting to me as I contemplate a high-tech aquarium in the near future.


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## cjstl (Mar 4, 2013)

If you add crushed coral in either your filter or your substrate, it will release calcium into the water and should help. I have noticed that the snails suffer when I dose Excel, and this has helped remedy the situation. Plus, If you go heavy on the calcium, it can make them grow really huge shells.


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

You need to keep the GH up. 4+ degrees should be enough. I've had pond snails in my CO2 injected tank with no issues. If the GH is low then you will see their shells erroding which usually indicates pretty low calcium content in the water.


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## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

My gh is high and they still don't survive in my tank. Not sure why 

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk


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## cjstl (Mar 4, 2013)

bsantucci said:


> My gh is high and they still don't survive in my tank. Not sure why
> 
> Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk


Maybe your water hardness is from minerals other than calcium.


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## g4search (Aug 10, 2014)

*plenty of calcium in the tank*



bsantucci; said:


> My gh is high and they still don't survive in my tank. Not sure why





cjstl said:


> Maybe your water hardness is from minerals other than calcium.


It is not the GH!! The GH is 12, and that's because I have sea shells in my tank and they are slowly dissolving too. They have large holes in them now. I added these because I wanted to make sure my snails got enough calcium.

When the same tank was low-tech, the pH was around 7.6 and the snails layed eggs and multiplied. As soon as I switched to CO2 injection the snails stopped laying eggs, but no other changes were noticeable. Slowly their shells were turning grey however, and they eventually stopped moving and died. One ramshorn (grey shell as well) is still hanging on. I wonder for how long. The pH in the tank is now between 6.4 and 6.6.

I have done some research, and it appears that the enzyme that sequesters CaCO3 to make a solid shell, can not function at a pH below 7. 

I'm still not sure if I can do something about the situation, other than turning my CO2 supply off.


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## cjstl (Mar 4, 2013)

Hmmm... that's a tough one. I'm a CO2 novice, but I'm starting to add either DIY or small pressurized to my tanks. I'll be interested to see if you figure it out, because I don't want that happening to my snails.

For the time being, you should get some jars or extra tanks to breed them in. I have one 2.5G where the substrate is a 60/40 mix of sand and crushed coral. The rams in that tank are the size of quarters! I just set up some grow-out jars for moss and other stuff, and did the same mix of substrate and put snails bin them too. I feed them the Fluval Shrimp Granules a few times per week since not much algae grows in the jars.

I got these really nice kitchen jars from HomeGoods that range from 1 to 4 liters.










If you need to restock, I can send some blue and pink rams to you for cost of shipping.


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## g4search (Aug 10, 2014)

cjstl,

thanks for the offer to send me snails, but I have more than I can handle (all low tech).


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