j2Raptor

They ded. I was going to move them to a bowl before changing out some of the water. I lightly pushed on their trap door and got a whiff of ammonia. ☹️ Is the morale of the story is to wait until nitrate is detected? Is it okay to have "some" ammonia and nitrite? Or should there be zero ammonia and nitrite before adding critters? I tried to lightly scrubbing all the surfaces before adding new water, and the pink paint from the castle started coming off. I'll have to get something else. One last question, once the water is good, should I stick with a nerite snail or should I try amano shrimp? Any recommendations for this beginner are greatly appreciated. Thanks to all for your input and help.

In my Petco's defense, the girl that helped me seemed very passionate about her fish and tried to educate me. She tried to tell me about the nitrogen cycle, and suggested two weeks before introducing animals. I was the eager one. Everyone is suggesting "Prime". Is this it? https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/seachem-prime

The units are different, ppm vs mg/L. And if I had to say so, the strip does look off-white-pink rather than the stark white it should be for 0 nitrite. I'll change out some of the water tomorrow. Hopefully these guys survive until the nitrite converts. It seems I was to quick to introduce them to the tanks. I thought they would be hardy enough. I just don't remember going through all this trouble when I was a kid. But then again, I was a kid, who knows what trouble my parents went through to keep those black mollies alive. Thanks! She was very proud of it. Unfortunately, there's less excitement with the "dead" snails and with the tank turning green, but you guys have given her hope. I've never heard of kuhli loaches. I think she would loves those! Is a 5 gal tank appropriate for them? Can they live with a beta or would guppies be better? Something else for me to look into.

Still no movement from either snail. I've picked each one up once to smell them, and there's no noticeable smell. They are completely inside the shell, not attached to anything. The snails have not clung to anything since first being introduced to the tank. I don't think this is the issue. My house does not contain copper pipes, and the testing strips show zero copper. It appears to be around 7.8, it might be bumping up again 8. Ammonia appears to be low, nitrite at 0.25, and nitrate less than 5.

After introducing them to the tank, they started moving right away. All three of them went up to the waterline and stopped. For the first two, I moved them down, afraid they would escape, but they never moved again. I exchanged the first and second one, placing the second in the tank and putting the first in the bag the second came in. The first never moved again and I tossed it out with the bag after a day. The second is still on the bridge and hasn't moved since Tuesday. For the third one, it also climbed to the waterline, but this time I didn't touch it. Now it's in the corner as though it fell from it's spot. They don't smell, but I'm not hopeful. I will give them a chance and keep them around for a few days. I do not have an airstone. I assumed the hang-on-back filter was enough. Let me know if that's a bad assumption. I set up the tank two weeks ago, I thought that would be enough for the nitrogen cycle. Though, I started this snail journey about a week after setup.

The ammonia looks like it's near 0 ppm, picture below. And I haven't seen it high. The link is the stabilizer I used. I was told it's beneficial bacteria to help break down the ammonia from using the tap conditioner when the tank was first setup. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/seachem-stability-water-conditioner-5024275--1 Tagging others who were also very helpful in a similar thread. @Guppysnail @TeeJay @eatyourpeas @Chick-In-Of-TheSea

First of all, I am a beginner. I wanted to start a simple 5 gal tank for my 1st grader. Our plan was to get a few guppies or a beta and a snail to help clean. I've now gone though 3 snails. I set up the tank with tap water and used tap water conditioner. After a few days, I added some stabilizer. After a few days, I added a nerite snail. By the next day it was not moving. I thought maybe there wasn't enough food for it. I replaced the snail and included a couple canned green beans. Again, dead with 24 hours. For the last one, I floated the bag to help it acclimate. Still died. I've tested the water and all the numbers are good as far as I can tell, picture below. They haven't changed in the past week. The tank is now starting to turn green. The pictures below show the tank from last week, and then how it is now. In the last photo, you can see two snails. The one on the bridge hasn't moved in more than 48 hours. I don't know what to do. Should I give up on snails? Is there another algae eater that is appropriate for a small tank? Any help is greatly appreciated.