Unusual ich question

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Oct 28, 2005
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Hello all,

This past Tuesday, I added four neon tetras to my 3-gallon tank which holds one adult mystery snail and four baby mystery snails.

Later that night, one of the tetras died and was removed. Thursday afternoon, I came home to find another tetra dead with the two remaining tetras having white dots, so I returned them to the LPS. :sad:

So, now my tank is back to having just the snails. My question is (might be silly), but can the snails get ich and what action should I do with the tank?

Thanks in advance.
 
Probably some basic questions are in order.
3-gal is a small tank.... do you have any sort of power filter?
Do you run a heater?
How often do you do water changes (and do you dechlorinate your tap water)?
Do you know your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, levels?

These answers will lead to further help. :thm:

Generally, in its early stages, ick isn't fatal, but how you introduce your new fish into their new home could be a problem. You've got to be certain the water temp is the same and slowly acclimate your new fish to your tank. This will help them get used to any PH differences, etc. Ick can stick to anything in the tank....including laying dormant in the substrate.

Here is the scoop on how to deal with ick:

Awesome Ick Treatment Article
 
Wow I'm surprised you were able to return them.

It's the gravel in the aquarium you should be most concerned about. There's a very high chance that ich is developing there. Basically, do nothing. If you do not add fish for four (maybe less but you want to make sure) weeks, any ich will die off since it has no host to attach to.

Your snails will not get ich.
 
Thanks for the replies, guys.

- This is a 3-gallon Eclipse tank with a "power filter".

- I just installed a small 25w heater yesterday.

- I've had the tank for a month, no water changes yet. I plan on it this weekend though. Yes, dechlorinated.

- Tested with the water test strip, everything was good. pH was high though.

Glad to hear my snails are safe (I've grown quite fond of them). I guess I'll just not add fish for a month or so.

Thanks again!
 
TheMightyQueenPixie said:
You should provide 2.5 gal per mystery snail-MINIMUM...Also bear in mind that snails poop ALOT...Have you checked you ammonia lately???
Click to expand...

I have not, but I will check for that tonight!

The mystery snail "babies" are tiny. When they get a little bigger, I plan on giving them away.
 
Weekly 25% water changes are recommended. After a month, your levels of ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate could be too much for the new neons. A month-old tank with only a snail could have built up any of those three....especially depending on how you feed the snail. Although...if you just added a heater, temperature shock may have killed the neons.

Chances are, the neons had ick from the pet store. They may have just arrived at the pet store, so its not always noticeable. Mine brought ick with them.
 
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