Spewn
04-13-2008, 6:40 PM
I've had two of my three brigs go overboard in the last 8 hours. I've been dealing with nitrites for a while now, they're under control but still present(which is undesirable). I would suspect the nitrites, but other evidence suggests against that.
First, this tank has been running on bottled "spring" water from the grocery store(it's a 10g, and afaik water quality *sucks* out of the tap here, gave me very strange and confusing test results...), but last night I started changing the water with a 50/50 mix of spring/tap water hoping to ween my tank onto the tap water slowly. When I fill from the tap I make sure I let the water run for some time before filling, and I've also been adding my dose of prime directly to the tap water long before it goes in my tank; I've read that binding heavy metals can take a lot longer than ammonia or chlorine, and I'm concerned about my snails. The next change like that was this morning, and after that was when I had the first jumper. It wasn't immediately after, probably 2-3 hours later. Maybe 4-5 hours after that, a second snail jumped(not the same one that jumped the first time). So far the third has remained in the water.
All three look and behave normally to my eyes. I know the nitrites are a problem, and I'm trying to change the water as often as possible to deal with this(the reason I'd like to use tap water). Basically, the possiblities are:
Water quality(Copper? Nitrites, etc.)
Trying to find a spot to lay eggs(coincidental that two snails do this within hours of each-other?)
Ignorance? Perhaps they just didn't notice the 3-foot drop to the floor?
If it's likely the water, I'll have to get the tap water tested for heavy metals I think. The water here does not seem to be...good, at all. I can keep waste under control by doing as many water changes as it takes as long as I don't have to buy the water from the grocery store :P
As for eggs...not sure. I don't want to leave a 2" gap above my waterline for various reasons. I'm sure I could *make* something for them to use, but how would they know it was there or what to do with it?
First, this tank has been running on bottled "spring" water from the grocery store(it's a 10g, and afaik water quality *sucks* out of the tap here, gave me very strange and confusing test results...), but last night I started changing the water with a 50/50 mix of spring/tap water hoping to ween my tank onto the tap water slowly. When I fill from the tap I make sure I let the water run for some time before filling, and I've also been adding my dose of prime directly to the tap water long before it goes in my tank; I've read that binding heavy metals can take a lot longer than ammonia or chlorine, and I'm concerned about my snails. The next change like that was this morning, and after that was when I had the first jumper. It wasn't immediately after, probably 2-3 hours later. Maybe 4-5 hours after that, a second snail jumped(not the same one that jumped the first time). So far the third has remained in the water.
All three look and behave normally to my eyes. I know the nitrites are a problem, and I'm trying to change the water as often as possible to deal with this(the reason I'd like to use tap water). Basically, the possiblities are:
Water quality(Copper? Nitrites, etc.)
Trying to find a spot to lay eggs(coincidental that two snails do this within hours of each-other?)
Ignorance? Perhaps they just didn't notice the 3-foot drop to the floor?
If it's likely the water, I'll have to get the tap water tested for heavy metals I think. The water here does not seem to be...good, at all. I can keep waste under control by doing as many water changes as it takes as long as I don't have to buy the water from the grocery store :P
As for eggs...not sure. I don't want to leave a 2" gap above my waterline for various reasons. I'm sure I could *make* something for them to use, but how would they know it was there or what to do with it?