Snails for soft water

[Ferg42995]

I would like to add just 2 or 3 snails as part of the new tank once it is fully cycled and I begin stocking. I will probably get one each of 2 or 3 kinds that don't breed with themselves so I can keep the numbers down. My question: I have soft water and all of the sites recommend a harder water for snails. While they may PREFER hard water, can they do ok in soft water?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Well, here's the thing: If you give them adequate calcium in their diet (spinach, etc.) they can grow a good, healthy shell. But as they age, the older parts will get thin and brittle in soft water. Eventually this will probably result in a cracked shell, which is generally fatal. So, yeah, they can live in soft water with the right diet, the they don't live as long.

T

 

[Ferg42995]

I hope they eat a lot of algae! I have no idea how to give a snail spinach. Or any food actually. Seems everyone else would eat it first.

 

[Essjay]

You could put a piece of cuttlefish bone in the tank, the thing they sell for budgies (or whatever they are called in America )