# Calcium from seashells and cuttlebone's



## Sravis

Hello again all! I have been researching different ways to add calcium to my tank, for my single 1/2" black mystery snail, so that he can rebuild the piece of his shell by his foot were i didnt think it would be good to glue more shell. I have added three small seashells today but read that they breakdown very slowly, but i also read that the snails "may" be able to collect it directly from the shells. What i want to know is if anyone has any experience with providing calcium with seashells and how well does it work for a single snail in a ten gallon? I also have a my girlfriend getting me a cuttlebone well she is out to the stores. What i wondered about the cuttlebone is: how much should i add to my tank, will it harm my other inverts and fish, and would it be ok to use both shells and bone or would that be an overload of calcium?
Any suggestions or opinions gratefully accepted


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## phys

you can get some calcium bicarbonate in the form of a KH raiser from places like seachem. You could probably find it at your LFS. Dont put too much in as it will raise your PH also. So watch the ph and the KH as you add stuff to make sure it doesnt get too outta whack.


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## James0816

Cuttle bone is fine. I just break off about a 2" piece and boil it for a few minutes. Let cool and drop in the tank. It takes a while to break down in the tank though.

You can also suppliment with calcium enriched foods.


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## Sravis

Phys i dont have a kh and gh test kit yet (gotta go to petco today blehch!) so that sounds like a more dangerous option than i would feel comfortable with yet. James why in the world boil it? i will but i just want to know why lol.


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## James0816

Sravis said:


> James why in the world boil it? i will but i just want to know why lol.


Boiling it will help it to sink. ;o)


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## phys

Adding the shells and bones may raise the KH and GH a bit (and higher KH will raise ph). So you should test those before and after you put the stuff in and still do it in small amounts over the course of a week just to be safe.


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## Sravis

Thanks i placed them in for a day and a half then did a partial water change cus it was a lil dirty. My parameters are so far well within bounds for my fish and inverts thankfully and i went out and bought a quick dip 6 tests in one type test kit my nitritites were picking up a little so after the PWC i added in some aquarium salt and everything evened out nicely, thank you for the heads up though


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## James0816

You are showing nitrItes? Is this a new tank?

Also, if you don't mind me asking, why are you using salt?


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## Sravis

the set up is a few months old now and the levels were well within bounds and easily taken care of, as to why its cheap and silly though it may sound it says to on the box of six-in-one test strips. Is there something else that i should be using, im still learning about tanks (though ive had a few they all just seemed to work, only lately am i learning of ways to actually care for my tank beyond regulating my ph, light and heat) and welcome any knowledge anyone is willing to impart.


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## James0816

A nice friendly piece of advice I can offer is to replace the paper test strips with an API master kit (liquid drops). The paper strips are often inaccurate and are suseptable to contamination which can further skew the results.

Salt generally is not needed in a fresh water aquarium unless you have certain species that need it such as mollies or you are treating for disease.


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## Sravis

Yea i saw a master kit a petco (blehch) but it was like 30 dollars out of my range at the time but soon very soon ill be taking your advice


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## Alasse

I use liquid calcium for my snails. Its for saltwater but works brilliantly for all my guys


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## Sravis

I heard about liquid calcium but wanted both a cheaper substitute and something that wouldnt overpower my 10 gal.


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## Alasse

I find it extremely cheap. AU$10/bottle and it will last 6months or more

I only add 6ml into my 55gal, my 20gal only get 2-3ml, the 10gal gets 1ml, these measurements are on fullwater changes, if only doing partial i add less of course. Far easier to use than adding cuttle etc. More reliant also

Cuttlebone, cal carb etc are very slow releasers, add that to weekly water changes and they really dont do much. Been there done that. Thats why i chose the liquid. Instant improvement in my snails shells.


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## Sravis

I must say that does make it sound much simpler, ill have to check my local pet stores again. thanks very much


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## chris oe

I've used cuttlebone in my tanks before and my snails loved it, currently trying powdered limestone (food grade) to see how it goes. Thinking I might try making my own snail biscuits.


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## Sravis

Now that does sound interesting Chris let me know how that works out for you if you would because im always on the lookout for more cost effective ways to care for my pets.


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## Niki7

I just got a small block of compressed calcium from my lfs that sits in the bottom of the tank and slowly dissolves. It is sold as a turtle calcium source. If you go this route just watch the GH. Mine partially dissolved to the point that the GH was at the top of the scale so I just took it out and put it into another one of my tanks. It did not affect the KH nor the pH.


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