Couple of questions...

[Iamjustifyd]

I have snail pests in my tank and bought an Assassin snail and a Clown Loach. I would like to get more Assassins but nobody here seems to have anymore. I know they like to bury and I have a gravel tank. Can I use some plastic strips to keep sand and the gravel separate to make him a little area to bury in? So far he's been hiding in a little nook in my driftwood.
I usually gave my oto cucumber once or twice a week but I noticed last night he was sucking on one of my Cory. I am guessing with all the snails he may need cucumber more since snails are eating so much?
The Loach I know is very sensitive to clean water with low PH...or soft water. We have hard water down here. I had one piece of driftwood and added another knowing I would be getting another Clown. I clean the tank once a week with 40-50% and half way thru the week suck the gravel a bit and add at least 1 gallon of distilled water. Does that sound like enough to keep him alive?
Sorry for all the questions. I like having the tank and the fish are fun to watch. Seems like new stuff keeps coming up for me to find answers to. OH, one more..if buying a live plant what to look for to see if it comes with snails? That was so irritating!!
Thanks so much!!

 

[KI4WLG]

I would think that you could make a little sandbox area with plastic, just be sure that if you are joining plastic you use something that's not going to leach out chemicals for the bonding agent. How big of a tank are you running and how much freespace do you have on the bottom right now?

 

[platytudes]

Hey Sherry! Is your username a NIN reference? They were my favorite band in high school

Honestly, I have never had any luck separating substrate. It works at first, but eventually they will mix and you'll never be able to get the sand out of your gravel again. Provided your gravel isn't huge (like pebble size) it should be ok. They don't absolutely need to bury, and they will partially in gravel anyhow.

The cucumber is probably why you have snails. That's a tough one! You might try feeding your oto some strips of nori (roasted seaweed) which you can get at an Asian market or ethnic section of a well stocked grocery store. (I use plastic clothespins to weigh down the strips.) Snails don't seem to go for it as much. Otos do tend to suck on other fish, unfortunately...I've never heard of cories, but goldfish, discus and angelfish are all common targets.

I wouldn't worry about the pH with clown loaches, they're adaptable. I wouldn't add distilled water either, just regular water will be fine. Unless your pH is really extreme, like in the 8s, it should be ok. Driftwood won't really bring down the pH of hard water much. Hard water resists change, so it is unlikely to make much difference except visually, by staining your water tea colored. So while the clowns may like the driftwood to hide and play around in, it is probably not going to make much of difference as far as your water chemistry is concerned. What size is your tank?

The clean water is what's most important. Unless your tank is too small, you don't need to do such a big water change, although it won't hurt. I wouldn't gravel vacuum that often, myself. Once a week is kind of extreme...but if you are seeing a lot of debris in the gravel, it's a sure sign that you're overfeeding. Try cutting back to about half of what you feed and see if that makes a difference. One feeding or twice a day light feedings is plenty.

The blobs of snail eggs are pretty much invisible on plants, you need to dip the plants if you are worried about snails. This is a good article on it: http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatfishblog/2011/07/20/dipping-plants-to-eliminate-snails/

 

[KI4WLG]

If your tank is big enough to accommodate it, get either a porcelain mini saucer (can find some that are only a couple inches in diameter at some cookware stores) or a terra cotta pot base saucer thing... (not really sure what it's called). I'd suggest finding a deep one of either of those if possibel and filing it partway with a heavy sand.

 

[Iamjustifyd]

I had bought a plant and at first the couple of snails were cute, now not so cute. I know over feeding and the snails will reproduce faster and they love the cucumber. Actually, when they are all over it I take them out with the cucumber. I have a 20 gallon tall tank, I'll try to take a picture of it when I get home. I didn't know there was so much to learn about having a tank but I can see getting a bigger one in the future
Thanks!

 

[Iamjustifyd]

Ok, I got a little saucer that
should do the trick. Since it will be so little sand, does it matter what type of sand I use?

 

[jpappy789]

I prefer pool filter sand myself. It's really cheap and easy to use after some rinsing.

I hate to be "that person", but I have to ask....what are your long term plans for the clown loach? Your tank is well below the recommended size for an adult.

Snails will hitchhike on all sorts of things, and you wont always be able to tell...especially with eggs. They are really only a visual nuisance and population control is simple. Don't overfeed, keep up on maintenance, and manual removal is always an option.

 

[Iamjustifyd]

I hoping to get a bigger tank, if not a new tank a friend of mine has a 100 gal. tank.