Problem with the tank...

[bevoholic]

My 5.5g has gone crazy. My ammonia has gone off the charts, but the pH has dropped suddenly down to around 4. I used a real pH test after it didn't register on my API kit.

I need to get my snail out of there, but my question is...

Will he be alright in my 1g tank with my Betta until I get this tank under control?

Also, I tested pH yesterday and it was at 8.0. I have no idea why it would just drop suddenly.

 

[Bensparky]

Hi ,

From what i have read around on the internet , people have put snails with bettas and they have done fine. But people have put snails with bettas and the snail has been killed. Is you fish aggressive or is it peaceful? Because if it is aggressive at times then i wouldnt suggest putting a snail in there.

Good luck!

-Ben

 

[phishfriend]

Have you done any thing new to the tank? When was the last time you did a water change?

Do a 80% water change and wait an hour. Retest and post.

 

[bevoholic]

I'm not worried about the Betta and the snail, I'm just worried about this size of tank with 1 Betta and 1 snail.

 

[bevoholic]

Have you done any thing new to the tank? When was the last time you did a water change?

Do a 80% water change and wait an hour. Retest and post.

I haven't done anything to the tank. I'm about 2 weeks into a fishless cycle minus the snail, so I haven't done a water change yet.

 

[Bensparky]

Opps , im sorry.

What type of snail is it , do you know?

Try this website:http://www.planetinverts.com/snail_species.html

 

[bevoholic]

Opps , im sorry.

What type of snail is it , do you know?

Try this website:http://www.planetinverts.com/snail_species.html

It's a Zebra Nerite.

 

[phishfriend]

Ok I would move you snail to the one gal. He will
be fine. I wouldn't put anything else in your tank while cycling. Fish-less means no fish that includes snails. I would also add some crushed coral to raise your ph or do a water change.

 

[Bensparky]

Ok I would move you snail to the one gal. He will
be fine. I wouldn't put anything else in your tank while cycling. Fish-less means no fish that includes snails. I would also add some crushed coral to raise your ph or do a water change.

I agree.

 

[librarygirl]

So you're fishless cycling with pure ammonia? If not what are you using? I'm not sure how ammonia would rise on its own without fish?

 

[bevoholic]

So you're fishless cycling with pure ammonia? If not what are you using? I'm not sure how ammonia would rise on its own without fish?

I was using fish food, not pure ammonia. I have no idea what happened and I'm not sure how to fix it.

 

[phishfriend]

I would switch to ammonia. Fish food is ok but its very hard to be accurate with.

 

[bevoholic]

That's what I'm going to do. I emptied it out and washed everything. Filled it back up and I'm going to let it run for 24hrs and then take a pH reading. Monday morning I'll add some pure ammonia and go from there.

I put my snail in with the Betta and he was curious at first but never did touch the snail. The snail is freaked out a bit and he went back up in his shell, but he has one antennae out testing everything out.

 

[phishfriend]

You know you just kicked two weeks of cycle
In the trash, right?

 

[bevoholic]

Yea, I know...but I want to make sure I'm doing this right and I shouldn't have added the snail at all, but I was getting impatient just looking at an empty tank.

So using this calculator for a 5.5 gallon tank it's telling me to add just over 1mL of ammonia to get it up to 5ppm. Since I only really added 4 gallons of water to the tank to fill it, should I use 4 gallons instead of 5.5?

 

[phishfriend]

Yeah, try to be as accurate as possibly

 

[bevoholic]

So I added the snail into the 1g with the Betta and they had a standoff for awhile, and the snail hid in his shell for about 3 hours. Then he popped out and started cleaning the tank. Woke up this morning to a bubble nest, so I guess he's happy.

I let the 5.5g sit for almost 30 hours and just run before doing anything to it and got a pH reading of 7.8. So my tap water does rise a bit after it sits.

Also dropped my first dose of ammo this morning so the cycle has started!