Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

currently i have a pH of 7.2 using baking soda to buffer the water.
For some reason, i find the cherrys to breed better in a higher pH. how bout you guys?

also, my trumpet snails' shell rots away at the end therefore destroying the perfect cone... what's happening?

How are you checking your pH? Sounds like you really have acid rather than basic water. Acidic water will break down shells. Also check your hardness. If the water is too soft the shell can leach away. The tip of the snail shell is dead, so slightly basic hard water is what most snails need. Also be sure there is calcium in their diet. Mine like to eat scaps of blanched & frozen collards left over from what the briggs eat and they are a good source of all sorts of stuff.

I have not noticed a relationship between pH and breeding. When I was running up around 8.2 they mostly just died, but I had other water issues too. Now I run 7.5 and use Pproper pH 7.5 to buffer and Reef Calcium (calcium gluconate) for hardness. I start with R/O water so I have to add everything I want.

From my experience, they prefer a slightly higher pH (my is pH 7.2 - 7.5) and they have been breeding tremendously so far. Your water also needs to be hard (not too hard, with a GH of at least above 2 or 3 - again that is my experience). I used to have very soft water and most of my RCS died slowly and never molted (see my prior experiences in my previous post). I do use crushed corals, and sometimes RAISE CALCIUM from Seachem once a month and have fed my RCS good calcium/protein/algae diet and they are doing fine. Hope this helps.

thanks you guys helped alot... look at this:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebInde ... ilfaqs.htm

"You may want to dose with iodine to help with shell formation. Kent Marine Iodine is what I use. Add one drop per 10 gallons per week or after water change. This is a tiny amount, no more!"

hah.. the iodine from kent i purchased awhile back isn't useless afterall!

It's useless. Search the forum for "Iodine" to see why I (and others) argue that liquid iodine supplements are useless for shrimp. Amazing how various websites keep repeating the same old iodine supplement myth.

no no, the iodine liquid drop mentioned is for the trumpet snails to develop a perfect cone

Cajunspice wrote:no no, the iodine liquid drop mentioned is for the trumpet snails to develop a perfect cone

Iodine has nothing to do with the cone of the snails. Snails build their shells primarily of calcium carbonate. That's why you see snails with brittle shells in very soft, low ph water. If you have harder water in the alkaline range then their shells will be just fine.