I bought 2 honkers of snails about a week ago to fix my algae problem.. it was horrible.. well, they have been scooten around for a week now.. and now they arn't moving. I have a 10 gallon with 2 baby goldfish. Do they need food? I heard that they ate the algae so I never considered them need food.

Snails, eat algea .... Thats a common misconception. They'll only eat the algea as a last resort. They do need food, fresh veggies are best. YOu can give them carrots, romaine lettuce, Kale, spinach, mustard greens, pretty much any dark green lettuce (not iceburg). My snails looooove spinach

You can get a veggie clip for a few dollars at almost any lfs, they save a lot of grief trying to keep the veggies contained. For hard things like carrots you should either cook them till they're soft or slice them very thin.

are they dead? they are just sitting in there shells, ones on his side kinda... the fish are bumping him

Abbot and Castello

Abbot and Castello

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Abbot and Castello

how do i feed them?

ABBOTT IS ALIVE!!! theyve been eating nothing but algae for a week, will they live until tomorrow without food?

and left over fish food..

Abbot just ate some carrot and some fish food. the other might be in hybernation I read. I'm hopeful.

Castello is now up and about and eating! Yay! got through that hurtle

Yeah, snails will sometimes sit for days inside their shells. When they do that it usually means they're stressed about something, in your case its probab;y water quality. You said you have a 10 gallon with two goldies and two snails? The goldies need a minimum of 10 gallons PER fish, snails need 2-5 gallons PER snail. For your load you really should have a 25-30 gallon tank. Being that overstocked causes water problems, I'd suggest doing a large water change and see if that helps your snails out any.

They should be fine until tomorrow without food, snails can be pretty tough critters As for feeding, just find a way to safetly clip some lettuce to the side of you tank, or find a way to weight it down, maybe put a corner of the lettuce underneath the corner of your tank ornament. www.applesnail.net is a great place to learn about your snails, pretty much the whole forum is dedicated to the type of snails you've got

True they can sit in their shells if they are stressed. Devs also told me sometimes they just do strange things like float around or sit around for no apparent reason. Snails are strange critters.

You have a cute little setup going on there! Keep an eye on that water quality, do you have a test kit? The snails (or the fish) won't take very well to bad water for long periods, it will cause very bad damage. Also, you might wanna get a bottle of Kent's Liquid Calcium and add about 4 or 5 drops a day to you tank. The snails need calcium to keep their shells healthy. Make sure to keep your pH above 7, below that and the water is acidic. It will eat away at their little mobile homes! If you need any help, feel free to ask.

Senor Frog (our blue snail) went to town last night on a piece of squash.

BTW - where does one find liquid calcium?

If you look in the marine section of the fish section they usually have it. I use Kent's Liquid Calcium. Its a bit on the pricey side but a bottle lasts forever. You don't need to use more than a few drops a day if you feed high calcium foods

After a 10 day vacation, our snail is not looking so good. His shell looks thin, discolored and weak. We will try to find some liquid calcium today. Can we super dose him for a few days? What would that dose be in a 65 gallon tank? Will it affect the goldfish and plants?

I would just stick to the regular dosage,and feed him some veggie's high in calcium,Kale/Collard/Mustard Greens/Zuchinni/Squash,Green Beans,etc. I've been using the Calcium in my tanks for a couple of years without any problems with my fish or my plants.

You know, I didn't know they HAD to have food.
I thought that it was just a treat.

Wow. *feels ashamed*

Good thing I "treat" them to some lettuce every 2 days.

Algae is about the last thing that Apple Snails want to eat,and they really only do it when there's nothing else.
Depending on what snails you have,they'll eat anything from Carrots to Kale. There's a food list around here to give you some ideas.
http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=26854

So far we've given squash and that went over very well with our snail.

What is the regular dose for calcium? We found some today (also picked up some fresh veggies to share with the snail as well). Hopefully he'll be back on the road to a healthier shell now that we are home.

For the calcium dosage I would add one drop per every five gallons daily to the tank. A high calcium diet is crucial for snails, and also if you have an overpopulated tank the shells will never develop well. They use calcium like crazy because theya re always growing, especially at warm temps. You can also use a piece of cuttlebone (look in the bird section of pet supply shops) for calcium, just take it out when it starts to get yucky. Just break them off a piece, drop it in, and they will go to town.