Questions regarding calcium and food

[a]

Hi all!

This is my first time around here.. I've been interested in axies for a while now but I have a few questions before I take the plunge!

1) IF I get an axie, he would be sharing a tank with my snails. I have a divider, and they would be on one side, and the axie on the other. (Not together, don't worry!) However, I have to add calcium to the water for the snails. It's in the form of cuttlebone and Kent Marine Liquid Calcium (http://www.kentmarine.com/saltwater/lc.html), which is perfectly safe for freshwater plants and fish. Would it be ok with an axolotl?

2) My snails lay too many eggs for me to hatch. Instead of throwing the clutches away, would they be ok as food for an axie?

Any opinions would be great!

Thank you!

 

[stipe]

Hi A W,

I dont know about feeding the snail because they have a hard shell, or you can shell them butthat sounds brutal and slack, lol.

There is an argument in this forum wether snails can be with axolotls but alot of us actualy have snails with our axolotls for ages without any problems.

Im not sure about the Calcium stuff because its for a reef aquarium and i think its for salt water aquariums. IF the divider compleatly seperated the 2 bodies of water and it cant leach in to the other side then you could use it.
Just dont use any until Ed or joan sees as they are usually the smartes at these sort of things.

 

[a]

Ok thanks.

Well the eggs, when they are unfertile as they usually are now, are basically goo.

I wouldn't have them together though, just because my snails are pretty special to me (hehe, yes I am weird) and I wouldn't want any harm to come to either party.

The divider has holes in it, which is why I am asking. It is for reef aquariums (although it contains no salt), but it is essential for the snails and it has absolutely no detrimental effects on fish or plants, so I was wondering if it would be the same for axolotls.

Thanks!

 

[jinny]

I'm a member of applesnail.net (I'm snailboom over there), but so far, I think I'm only member of applesnail actually keeps both if you're airwen.

Mine are not in the same tanks. I don't know about hers, but I can ask.

I think the divider is reef-safe, rather than the divider having properties specifically for sw aquariums. In any event, any divider you insert will not keep water totally out of the either side.

The problem with trying to feed an axie snail eggs is the taste. You're better off feeding the eggs back to the parents or a more um, indiscriminate species like canas, saltons, or insulariums.

(Message edited by j4782 on January 09, 2006)

 

[a]

Oh hi, yeah I'm Airwen there.

The divider is reef-safe? You mean calcium or am I not comprehending?

Mm ok, just wondering if it was possible. Oddly enough, my Cana babies like eating their parents' unfertile eggs.. which is weird.

 

[jinny]

LOL, I was going to pm you about your own question! Sorry. If you get a message about a new pm and there's nothing there, that was me.

NM, about the divider comment, that was more of a response to Stipe's post.

I think this may be unusual even for those with lots of experience with axies, so I'd probably search the forums and axolotl.org (as well as any links to the research web pages at Indiana) about water hardness. It's essentially a KH/GH tolerance question.

(Message edited by j4782 on January 09, 2006)

 

[a]

Yes, well is there any reason that calcium in the water would <u>harm</u> an axolotl? I mean, if it's fine with fish and plants and inverts, is there any reason that axies would be different? That's kind of what I would like to know.

 

[jinny]

http://axolotl.org/requirements.htm#hardness

Looks feasible. With the snails sucking the hardness out of the water and you putting it back in, the axie should be fine.

On a different topic: Do you already keep the snails in the low 70s? You won't get much leeway with the temp ranges of the two species.

(Message edited by j4782 on January 09, 2006)

 

[a]

I don't keep my snails for breeding purposes, just as pets really, so the water temperature is lower than optimal, which isn't too detrimental, it just makes them less active and it also makes their lives longer. I can drop the heat down a few more degrees to find a happy medium, that's the plan anyhow.

 

[sharn]

id wait for ed to comment- hes super human with all his knowledge about this stuff. maybe PM him...

seems everyone got confused about your calcium suppliments haha- for those of you that are still lost i think he means people generally use the calcium stuff for reef aquariums but you can use it for snails as well...

 

[edward]

There have been recorded instances of "MBD" in axolotls but these have all been in animals that were fed diets high in vitamin A.
In general, if you are feeding a varied diet, the axolotl should recieve enough calcium from the diet and the water to prevent issues. If you offer food items that are high in vitamin A or very imbalanced with respect to P as a regular food item then you may want to supplement with D3 and/or calcium.

With the liquid calcium additives make sure to keep with your water changes as these are often caclium chloride which can cause osmotic disruption if the chloride gets too imbalanced. With the ones that are calcium oxide/hydroxide based make sure to monitor your pH on a regular basis.


Ed

(Message edited by Ed on January 09, 2006)

 

[a]

Ok thank you!

So which foods should I offer more than others, to counteract any possible imbalance? And also, if there is too much calcium in the water, are there any physical signs I should be watching for?

Thanks for all the info!