it was climbing on the side of the glass when she pulled it off. and it was a teenage girl...that didnt seem to care to be there
First Tank, snail fail. help?
- Thread starter wowvalanex
- Start date
well if i get the money i will be getting 2 more very soon from a breeder that my fiancee met on these forums and i guess the breeder has shipped over 100 snails with no losses.
It does sound like the girl at the lfs may have injured the snail. That's a shame. I'm sorry for your loss.
If you don't have someone local that is trusted, from whom you can purchase snails, msjinkzd, or lupin, or several others here have beautiful, healthy snails that they sell. They package them and send them safely. I have read so many posts of people praising those folks for the excellent snails they received, and the manner in which they were shipped.
Also, try to get the API liquid test kit to check your parameters everyday, especially since it is a new tank.
The terminology that we throw around on AC sometimes can be misunderstood. When we ask if the tank was "cycled" we're wanting to know if the tank has been through the nitrogen cycle.
Having a girlfriend that has an aquarium you probably already know this.
Forgive me
if this is something you already know about and you've already accomplished with this tank, but a cycled tank has had a period of time in which ammonia has been present in the tank, which then causes a bacteria to flourish that loves ammonia and starts to eat it and break it down into nitrites.
Once nitrites appear then another good bacteria begins to flourish that love to "eat" nitrites, and begins to break it down into nitrates which plants love and is like a fertilzer for them, and nitrates are less harmful to the fish if kept below 40ppm and preferably 20ppm. This process takes several weeks.
My 10 gallon took 9 weeks. If you were able to seed the filter with bacteria from the squeezings from the filter media of an established tank, or perhaps had gravel from an established tank, then the process is very much speeded up.
A cycled tank, having all the good or beneficial bacteria in sufficient quantities, will have healthy water conditions for your fish, snails, shrimp, etc. When fully cycled the parameters will be: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrates 20 or less.
Between the actions of the beneficial bacteria and your good routine of frequent water changes the parameters will stay in the safe range.
Vacuuming each time you do a water change will help to remove leftover food that will rot, and poo, and other decaying matter. This helps to keep the beneficial bacteria from being overwhelmed and unable to keep up with the ammonia and nitrite production.
So, having said all that was the tank fully cycled?
After adding fish to an uncycled tank they will be happy and healthy for a period of time, until ammonia levels from pee and poo and feedings start to climb. If the tank has not gone through the cycle then, as msjinkzd mentioned, there may be dangerous levels of ammonia or nitrite.
Until all the beneficial bacteria are present in sufficient quantities, the ammonia and nitrites that will be present in the tank are very bad for the creatures in the tank.
You need a really good water conditioner that removes chlorine, and chloramines. One that does that is Prime, and it also detoxifies ammonia and nitrites for a period of time (about 24 hours). Prime does all that and is especially helpful for someone with a new tank because the detoxifying aspect of Prime is HUGE and can really help your water change routine be less frantic and desperate. (speaking from experience, lol)
Pristine water is the biggest factor in having a healthy and happy tank.
What size tank do you have? I have a 10 gallon and I do about 50-60% water change every 5 days using Prime every time.
If you don't have someone local that is trusted, from whom you can purchase snails, msjinkzd, or lupin, or several others here have beautiful, healthy snails that they sell. They package them and send them safely. I have read so many posts of people praising those folks for the excellent snails they received, and the manner in which they were shipped.
Also, try to get the API liquid test kit to check your parameters everyday, especially since it is a new tank.
The terminology that we throw around on AC sometimes can be misunderstood. When we ask if the tank was "cycled" we're wanting to know if the tank has been through the nitrogen cycle.
Having a girlfriend that has an aquarium you probably already know this.
Forgive me
if this is something you already know about and you've already accomplished with this tank, but a cycled tank has had a period of time in which ammonia has been present in the tank, which then causes a bacteria to flourish that loves ammonia and starts to eat it and break it down into nitrites. Once nitrites appear then another good bacteria begins to flourish that love to "eat" nitrites, and begins to break it down into nitrates which plants love and is like a fertilzer for them, and nitrates are less harmful to the fish if kept below 40ppm and preferably 20ppm. This process takes several weeks.
My 10 gallon took 9 weeks. If you were able to seed the filter with bacteria from the squeezings from the filter media of an established tank, or perhaps had gravel from an established tank, then the process is very much speeded up.
A cycled tank, having all the good or beneficial bacteria in sufficient quantities, will have healthy water conditions for your fish, snails, shrimp, etc. When fully cycled the parameters will be: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrates 20 or less.
Between the actions of the beneficial bacteria and your good routine of frequent water changes the parameters will stay in the safe range.
Vacuuming each time you do a water change will help to remove leftover food that will rot, and poo, and other decaying matter. This helps to keep the beneficial bacteria from being overwhelmed and unable to keep up with the ammonia and nitrite production.
So, having said all that was the tank fully cycled?
After adding fish to an uncycled tank they will be happy and healthy for a period of time, until ammonia levels from pee and poo and feedings start to climb. If the tank has not gone through the cycle then, as msjinkzd mentioned, there may be dangerous levels of ammonia or nitrite.
Until all the beneficial bacteria are present in sufficient quantities, the ammonia and nitrites that will be present in the tank are very bad for the creatures in the tank.
You need a really good water conditioner that removes chlorine, and chloramines. One that does that is Prime, and it also detoxifies ammonia and nitrites for a period of time (about 24 hours). Prime does all that and is especially helpful for someone with a new tank because the detoxifying aspect of Prime is HUGE and can really help your water change routine be less frantic and desperate. (speaking from experience, lol)
Pristine water is the biggest factor in having a healthy and happy tank.
What size tank do you have? I have a 10 gallon and I do about 50-60% water change every 5 days using Prime every time.
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just did my cycling research and im gunna keep and eye on the tank while it goes thru this cycle.
Just holler if you need any other help and good luckk with the tank Water changes are your friend 
Water changes are your friend 
I know this seems obvious and your girlfriend already told you, but don't medicate the tank while you have snails in it either, just a bit of medication in the tank can make it unlivable for less hardy snails for quite some time.
