What is my snail doing?

[Cammywammy]

I bought a mystery snail two weeks ago. The first week I had him he was all over the place and even dug in the sand. Ever since that first week that I've had him he's been doing this



He defiantly is alive and has always been alive because if I tap him he goes back into his shell.

If anyone knows why he is hiding please let me know I don't know what's wrong with him

 

[Cammywammy]

Water:
pH: 6.6
Ammonia: 2.0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate: 2.5

 

[molliwopp]

Well i dont know much about these snail but 2ppm ammonia needs addressing! 2ppm is quite a high reading. are you doing water changes? Your fish wont last long at a climbing 2ppm reading, you should be below 1ppm. change a nice chunk of the water and im sure your snail will perk up.

Whats your stock and how much and how often are you changing water?

 

[creic38]

Actually, your ammonia should be zero. Inverts are extremely sensitive to even the slightest amount of ammonia. Was that tank cycled?

 

[molliwopp]

The tank is in the process of cycling. Otherwise it would be zero.

 

[Cammywammy]

So months ago the tank was cycled. I removed the stock and added a betta and later 5 platies. Not knowing this would kill all of my bacteria I changed from gravel to sand and changed from a tetra whisperer 30 to a aqueon 20 but I did use some old filter media to seed. I added a lot of plants and co2. I also added tetra aqua easy balance. The combo of easy balance and co2 caused the ph to decrease to >6. This killed/stopped my beneficial bacteria. Next my tank leaked. Yesterday I redid everything in my tank plus I added an inch of organic soil under the sand. I didn't add easy balance this time. So I guess the tank is not cycled now and I don't know what to do. If its still possible I can put the fish in another tank and do a fish less cycle in this one if it will cause my tank to cycle faster.

Sorry I had to explain it all

 

[Cammywammy]

Should I turn uncap my 2 liter from the diffuser until the tank is cycled? The inhabitants are two platies and the snail. The other fish are now in another tank.



Here's a pic so you can see how many plants I have.

 

[creic38]

You really need to get that tank cycled, first and foremost. If you can take out the livestock, that would be ideal. At least get the snail out of there because it will not survive the process. CO2 doesn't play a part in the cycle, so it is ok to leave it on. Just make sure it is off at night as it is not needed, and running it 24 hours will surely drop you ph way too low. Products like easy balance do not work. You have to be patient and cycle the tank properly or you will continue to have problems.

 

[Cammywammy]

Ok I might just buy an aquaclear 20.. They have more room for customization and beneficial bacteria. Also my biology teacher has a 5 gallon tank. Split into 3 with dividers with slits in them and in one side he has a mystery snail, another baby convict fish, and another more fry and pond snails. The tank is full of algae and algae wafers but nothing dies and everything looks healthy. Why is this?

 

[Cammywammy]

Oh and is it true that using ammo lock and prime to convert ammonia into ammonium will stall your cycle?

 

[creic38]

I've heard that ammo-lock will, but you shouldn't use that stuff anyway. It only masks your problem and doesn't fix it. The only chemical you should use is Prime. Nothing else.

 

[Cammywammy]

I mainly use it for dechlorination

 

[creic38]

The Prime, correct? Yes, that's the only thing you should be doing. If you cycle the tank properly, you won't need anything else but water changes.

 

[Cammywammy]

I guess I just don't understand what steps I need to take from this point on to quickly cycle my tank. Do I need to do fish less cycle? Do I need a new filter? Do I need an airstone? My tap water is very hard but some how it goes down to 6.4 in the fish tank.

 

[molliwopp]

I guess I just don't understand what steps I need to take from this point on to quickly cycle my tank. Do I need to do fish less cycle? Do I need a new filter? Do I need an airstone? My tap water is very hard but some how it goes down to 6.4 in the fish tank.

Do more water changes, while cycling, forms of acid that the bacteria produce as a bi-product when converting can lower the ph.

I usually recommend doing a fishless cycle but youve already got your fish right? It can be done fish in but you need to change water whenever nitrites or ammonia read higher than 1ppm. It will take time, how long have you had fish in it? What do you have and how often are you doing water changes?

 

[Cammywammy]

My fish have been in for over a month they've been fine I do at least a 25% water change every day but I can move the fish to another tank to do a fish less cycle.

 

[creic38]

You can do fish in or fishless at this point since they've already been in there a month. But the snail has to be moved.

The only way to speed up the cycle "correctly" is to use established media from a running tank. The media has to have been on use for a little while. You only need a little bit: a few biorings, a piece of the sponge or floss, etc. Even with this you will have to be patient for a couple of weeks. Your tank is cycled when your ammonia and nitrite readings are consistently zero, and you have some nitrates present.

 

[Cammywammy]

Would it be bad to change filters now? I don't like the design of the Aqueon Im thinking of an aquaclear 20

 

[creic38]

You can, but only if you can use the media from the old filter in the new filter. Otherwise, you would basically be starting from scratch.

 

[Cammywammy]

My current filter media is already gunked up after a week or two is that bacteria? If so then why hasn't it altered my water?