SunniSki

I have 2 assassin snails for my 75 gallon, but I'm not sure how much of a dent 2 can make. How many are needed for 75 gallons? My next problem is the bladder snails are in my canister filter and I tired to clean it out twice now and then when I open it again... they have taken over the filter again. So now I over cleaned the filter and now Im having ammonia spikes. I was thinking... I wont throw my tank off, I'm sure it will be fine... good lord such a Rookie Mistake.

I purchased some Wondershells per a recommendation on an Aquarium Co Op video... Right now I have cycling issues in my tank... I am dealing with Ammonia spikes... with that... does anyone know if Wondershells can cause an imbalance or a bacterial bloom? I saw this in some reviews but I take reviews with a grain of salt most times. I just am hoping they wont cause any more issues than I'm dealing with. I feel I am the cause for the ammonia spikes in my tank, my canister filter had a ton of bladder snails and crap ton of eggs on all the trays, filter media and inside the canister... so I believe I "over-cleaned" my filter thinking it wouldn't matter since I have a sponge filter inside my tank and all the good bacteria all with-in my tank and gravel... Well I think I was WRONG... 😒 I am waiting for a new bottle of Stability to hopefully move the cycling process along... ugh....

Actually I have been using Maracyn, I lost one fish already due to a fungus/infection and I have one still living that has a fungus so hopefully I can beat that fungus soon.

You know what…. Ammonia is back up…. You are correct it’s NOW a cycling issue. I was looking at all the meds I have been using and I do recall Paracleanse did mention that it could affect your biological filter. I believe I actually did 4 rounds of it and I do believe it killed off everything good in my aquarium. My tank has been established over a year and I have never had ammonia issues…. Welp…. Now I do. 😩 I’m super frustrated, the good thing I did notice is that now I see SOLID poop from many of my fish where before it was white and stringy. Dang it…. I ordered some stability since I literally only had one capful left and that won’t do much.

Just looked at the test kit and the nitrate levels do start at 5.0 ppm so I didnt make a typo. I will redo my all water parameter tests later. I did purchase some Wondershells but I want to test the water before adding in the shells.

Now I wonder if I made a typo…. I thought it was 5ppm but now that you say that… I think it should have been 10ppm 😩. I’m testing my water again this morning and will insert a pic of the tube colors if I do not forget to take the picture.

It actually odd that the test strips showed 0- to maybe super pale pink. When I did the API drops for Nitrates it was Sunday , it’s was super low like 5ppm. I have been doing a ton of water changes since I believe I was dealing with parasites then ick after introducing some new fish. So I know for sure I'm not dealing with cycling issues. I have an established canister filter that is being overrun by bladder snails at the moment and I have an established sponge filter in my tank. My ammonia is 0, Nitires are 0, and my Nitrates still remain at 5ppm with the API master test kit. I have been looking into KH and GH a little while ago and it definitely looks lows.

I wanted to add in pictures of my snail... I just happen to catch him doing is job. I didn't even notice that "pocket" opening on the bottom of his shell until today... I literally just caught him in the best spot for pictures. Too bad the fish don't do this. I feel he is in bad shape, I touched the end of his shell and it does not seem he is "exposed" but I'm sure that shell is super thin there.

Thanks for the suggestion, I ordered the Hikari Shrimp Cuisine. 🙂

Ok got my test strips!!!! GH 120 / KH 40 / PH 7.0 / NO2 & NO3 both 0

I have a Mystery Snail and 2 assassin snails. The shell that has issues is on the mystery snail.

I actually ordered some test strips today. 😊 I did previously have Cory’s and the white clouds flashing which I know are egg layers. I’m going to just “watch” them for now and I should get the test strips tomorrow. Today I added in some more of those calcium rocks that are supposed to help Shrimp and Snails. Now that I mentioned my snail, I noticed it has some holes that have started and the tip of its shell either dissolved away or chipped away, not completely but now the end is transparent . Scares me since I feel it may crack open at any time. I would assume this is due to lack of minerals.

I have bladder snails that rode in on plants like 2-3 months ago... the little buggers got into my canister filter at some point and now they are multiplying quickly in my canister filter. (I want to get shrimp screens or something on the filter intakes to hopefully prevent anything else going in my filter) I have been doing my best job in cleaning the canister filter without destroying every bit of good bacteria in there that helps to keep my tank stable. Any one else encounter this... what did you do. I'm seriously considering scrapping everything in the canister filter and doing a hard reset. I do have a sponge filter in my 75Gal so I'm hoping that would "save" my tank. Below is my temp fix to help shrimp and bladder snails from being sucked into my filter going forward. (sorry the pic is turned but I didnt know it was going to do that until it was uploaded. 😞

I actually did almost the same move as you but... I didn't move gravel. I moved everything from a 45 to 75gallon. I ended up dealing with fluctuations in nitrites for about 8 weeks I believe. I don't have a miracle fix but I did daily water changes to reduce the toxicity of the nitrites... which was maybe about 20 gallons a day. It seems like it took ages to cycle again and be "normal."

I found the below but dont see the hardness. GH / KH listed. These are the 2021 (its says 2020 on the image, not sure why) reports for our area, I didnt see any newer ones posted on our water company website. The ammonia badge this morning is a light green now, 0.50 Ammonia ppm. Ugh!! For my water test kits I use the API Freshwater master test kit. I have bladder snails taking over my canister filter and I feel like that plays a spike in the Ammonia as well. I don't know how to completely get out all the bladder snails without completely killing all my good bacteria. This is probably a good post to start on a separate thread... I might just do that.

Im going to test the water in the morning again. I think the ammonia is registered on the water test since I just did a water change yesterday with Prime. I didn’t rinse any filter media or touch my sponge filter so my good bacteria is still there. It’s all the rubbing on rocks which I keep seeing which is really bugging me.

I don’t use activated carbon in my filter. I use Prime or Aquarium Solution to treat my water. I may have to treat the fungal infection first since I feel that might kill my fish or even spread. It’s like I have too many things going on …. I have shrimp and snails I have to be careful to not wipe out my entire gang. I suspected gill flukes initially since the fish seems to scratch in that area. I still see white poop so I suspect there is some parasites internally.

Ok… I rechecked my water 10minutes ago… yesterday I did a 50% water change with Prime. I don’t know what Gh and Kh levels are in my city tap water. PH 6.8-7.0 / Ammonia .50ppm in water test; Badge alert is 0 / Nitrite 0 / Nitrate 5 ppm Temp 78 Maracyn I ordered yesterday, I’m hoping I get it tomorrow. Question though…. You mentioned to add in Ich-X daily…. As in every day treating 75 gallons like I would with a normal treatment but with NO water changes???

I just caught 2 mollies trying to rub their gills area in the gravel... they each did it 3-4 times before they stopped. So there is still something going on. 😒 This is so frustrating since its affecting all my fish its not like its just 1.

Hi, I have a few things going on in my tank... Water parameters are fine... Ammonia and Nitrites are 0, Nitrates 30. I have a freshwater tanks and I believe I have been battling some internal parasites. Things I have noticed: Fish Flashing and scratching themselves on object White Stringy Poop / Pleco previous has clear to no poop but now its getting better Some times Jerky/Bolting forward movements (I'm thinking this might be flukes or something, one one might know??) Most recent.... 1 minnow has what it appear to be fungus (flat white growth/covering) on entire head, between eyes and on pectoral fins. What I have treated with ; Paracleanse 3 rounds maybe 4 (cannot remember anymore since I started seeing symptoms last year in Nov) Ich-x 3 weeks/Rounds Expel 2 rounds With all this said... I ordered Maracyn to treat for the Fungal looking issue I'm seeing... I will treat with Ich-X and Maracyn : Per an aquarium co-op video I saw on Youtube, I'm going to treat my 75 gallons and let it "marinate" for a week.. on the 7th day I need to do another Expel round... has anyone treated with Expel-P with already have Ich-X and Maracyn in the water column? I want to be able to treat Expel-p on my last day before I do my routine weekly water clean. I swear I cannot win... I have purchased 5x the cost in Meds than what my fish cost so far. I have never had something in the tank that I was not able to "beat." I hope I didnt leave any details out but if I did... ask away. For some reason... 🙂 my fish would not pose for pictures so they are a bit blurry.

I wanted to add in... I dont use carbon in my canister filter anymore. I used to since I thought this was needed but after a bit of research it does not appear to be a necessary thing. I don't notice any rapid breathing on any fish. I see fish flashing and my Bristlenose's poop is damn never non-existent. He used to decorate the tank with poo, then it turned white and clearish. Now his poop is sometimes solid, sometimes clear with a green tint and sometime has white small poo in the middle of his "strings." Still not normal poop so I know something is going on.

I am still dealing with Fish Flashing... what would be considered normal flashing and what is not? Prior to be getting the Gourami's and additional Cory's, none of my fish were flashing... 2 weeks after getting them, this is when the fish flashing started. I initially starting with Ich-X just assuming that was the issue, since all these years of having fish I only had Ich once in my tank and never anything else and I knew that flashing was a noticed behavior. So if we have parasites in the tank, I'm learning and trying to do the best thing but I'm still seeing several fish scratching themselves on decor and I have the Cory's scratching themselves on the gravel. I have tried almost everything except Kenaplex so far. I also am going to redose with PraziPro today, I did another water change yesterday.. Also... If I am doing another round of PraziPro, can I does Expel-P on Saturday I actually forgot to do my second round of Expel-P this Saturday. I dose it on Saturday since Sunday's are my water change day.

I’m so surprised that it’s more common than I thought. The whole concept is odd to me since I have had fish for over 25 years and always worked with 5 gallon buckets. Problem is I’m getting older and I swear the buckets get heavier every year 🤦🏼‍♀️

That is my thought as well but I have seen several people do it this way…. It just makes me wonder if I’m doing it the hard way. I usually am working with 5-6 lowes buckets of clean water and then 5-6 of dirty. I clean my tank weekly and it takes a chuck of time every single Sunday I do this.

I have a 75 gallon and the carrying buckets is killing me. I just really was under the assumption…. My fish will be affected by the water if it’s not treated before adding it in the tank.