Are Crushed Egg Shells Useful for snails and/or shrimp?

[Tobielakeshore]

I have seen youtube videos that recommend crushing/grinding up egg shells to add to the tank for keeping snails and shrimp healthy. Does this work?

[Sarina]

Yes, but it's messy and I don't recommend it tbh. Wonder Shells are cheap and they don't make a mess, and are actually formulated for shell health. 

[Tanked]

I have carefully washed and used the uncrushed egg shell .  Over time it either dissolved or the snails ate it.  I have very hard water so it takes a while to dissolve.  I wash under hot water to help remove the inner membrane, but I'm told that there is no need for that step.

[Lennie]

I use it in my snello recipes. 

 

I wash the egg and boil it. Then I peel the outer shell very carefully from the membrane. I powder the shell and add it into my snellos for calcium. Ive never added it to the tank directly tho

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I've added crushed egg shells directly to the tank.  It does make the tank look messy, but it makes calcium available to inverts.  Some have reported shrimp loss after using Wondershell. I am not sure what it is about the Wondershell, but I try to avoid using it if there are shrimp in the tank.  I haven't had any issues using it with snails.

To prepare the eggshells, I remove the membrane, then I bake them for about 10 minutes to kill bacteria.  I then crush them.  Try your best to not leave any sharp edges that could hurt the snail's foot. In my experience, that was tricky. Some people use a coffee grinder dedicated to that purpose (make sure it doesn't have any coffee left in it or that will mix with your shells).  Nowadays, I just get the free calcium carbonate from Crayfish Empire. You get a good amount and just need to cover shipping, and you can try their other free samples too when you order, like snail cookies, snail pellets, and shrimp lollies.  I put that into Snello, because the snails do need to actually consume the calcium as well, not just have it in the water. It is necessary for shell growth and laying eggs.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea