I have apple snails in my betta tanks. Is there a way to supplement their calcium that is safe for the betta?
keeping snails with bettas
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Lupin
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Yes. Use Tums or Caltrate (without Vitamin D added). You can try the one with Vitamin D but not as often as I would with the one without it. Vitamin D may be toxic if used excessively. You can always try cuttlefish bone or broken egg shells for them to rasp on. See snail jello recipe sticky thread for list of veggies with high calcium content. Try collard greens.
Be careful with hard water and bettas. Bettas do best in soft water and can be prone to finrot when you add calcium for the snails. This is one of the many reasons it is best to keep the two species separate.
Lupin
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It will work but as snails are attracted to any sugary smell, they seem to like the flavored ones a lot. Caltrate (with or without Vitamin D) is inert and unflavored yet this one attracts snails better than the Tums. You don't want to use the one with Vitamin D frequently though. Weekly is okay, just not daily. They're the ones with pink label. The one without Vitamin D is packed with blue and white label.
I just mixed up a batch of jello. Finally have a use for the sample packets of fish food that came with my tanks!
You can just throw a tums in the tank? How often can you do that and does it make the water hard?
Lupin
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I just throw the calcium pills right to the tank and let the brigs and canas go crazy over it. It's a matter of seconds before a tablet can attract over 20 snails in one go. I throw 2 tablets in each tank every 2-3 days. It is calcium carbonate so it can increase hardness.lol The snails simply enjoy chewing off the tablets.:grinyes: