Dallasp

Hi everybody, I couldn’t find any solid answers online and I’m worried about harming my Shoutedini puffers teeth! Are they able to eat pond and bladder snails okay???

Thank you! And correct, they are Ramshorns. 🙂

My snail tank is only 5 gallons and there is probably like 20 adults and 80 babies at the moment. Last night I went with the HOB and added a course prefilter mesh on the end of the intake. Then I cut a piece out of a water bottle and attached it to the water output somehow to redirect the water flow since it was very powerful flow and would slam the snails down Everytime they went under it. So now the flow is redirected towards the back of the tank. So far seems to be working good. Saw a few snails go on the intake mesh (adults &babies) and they all seemed to be able to get off safely if needed.

Hi, I am just looking for suggestions on what the best filter would be for a snail breeding tank. I previously used a HOB filter but the babies would go in the intake slots, and the adults would literally get their bodies sucked out of their shells and die from the suction. I put mesh over the intake slots but babies still seemed to get stuck in it from the suction, and it also didn’t seem to clean well at that point. Next I tried the sponge filter, which I’m currently using, but the problem now is it does not filter the tank at all no matter how much or little air I feed. I am at a loss on what to do. My snail tank gets dirty very fast and I now have detritus everywhere. *Sigh* Any suggestions are appreciated 🙂

I wish that was an option. But unfortunately I have a puffer.

Screen shotting your message!! I think I’ve been having massive ammonia problems and the temp too high. If I can do everything you said, I should be golden! Thank you so much Torrey! 🙏

Hi I have been trying to successfully breed Ramshorn Snails for 4 years now. Sounds crazy, I know. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong. The tank is ONLY for snails. I will buy a big batch of 50 put them in the tank, overfeed on fish flakes, but they continue to breed unsuccessfully. I will get MAYBE 10 babies every now and then if they survive. The tank continues to get loaded with detritus every time and this last go around, seed shrimp as well. (Brought in from an EBay seller, oops) I do water changes and gravel vacs. I have a sponge filter and heater at 74 degrees and gravel on the bottom with a tiny bit of coral sand for ph. Can someone please help me!! What am I doing wrong???? I am completely starting over for I don’t want worms and bugs in my tank in fear of the seed shrimp getting transferred to my main tank. I saw on YouTube people will use breeder boxes??? What is the point of this? I am getting ready to head to the fish store so any insight would be much appreciated on what I’m doing wrong and what I should get. 🙏

Today I noticed hundreds of tiny swimming bugs in my snail breeding tank. I wish I 100% knew what they were but there so small you’d need a microscope to really be able to tell… they are a darker color almost brown looking, not white or clear. Round, Very very small, kind of fast, swimming all through the water, then attach to the glass…I am thinking they are baby seed shrimp and I am worried I will not be able to get rid of them for this is my snail breeding tank and I already see 10 less egg sacks then I did 2 days ago. I concerned that the bugs are eating the snail eggs and an in full panic mode for this is my puffers main food source and purchasing snails constantly gets very expensive. Should I be worried? How do I get rid of them? Was thinking of adding a guppy in hopes it’d eat the bugs, but the fish also eat snails eggs… Any tips, comments, or suggestions is greatly appreciated for im kind of at a loss on what to do or how to save my snail breeding tank. Thanks! 🙏😊

I think I’m finally beating this! Kanaplex did nothing after 3 days of treatment so I quit that. Must have been Ich. Puffer only has 3 or 4 spots left on him. Hopefully I’m getting it under control now. Will be continuing the Ich treatment.

Thanks guys! Administered and done! Fingers crossed… Time will tell!

Question again! I am trying to put the kanaplex in thawed frozen bloodworms. It says to mix it with 1 tablespoon of food. That’s A LOT of bloodworms… Do I have to feed that entire tablespoon of bloodworms in 1 sitting or just a little of that?

Just found an answer - Use Focus! I am feeling like there’s still hope. Thanks so much everyone for all the help I greatly appreciate it.

Okay good to know. I may run to the pet store and get the kanaplex now… my only worry in doing that is 1. The fish that seem healthy and fine will be eating the kanaplex. And 2. When the bloodworms thaw in the tank water, will the kanaplex come off of them and absorb in the water with the Ich X?

So I could get a clump of the frozen bloodworms thawed, do the kanaplex recipe, then refreeze them and feed them to all of the fish in the tank? And continue to treat Ich X in the water?

I am not sure how I’d put kanaplex in his food for I only feed him ramshorn snails and frozen bloodworms.

Okay awesome sounds good! Without you I would have been overthinking and freaking out all day lol I will keep the tank as is and continue treatment and gravel vacs. One last thing I’d like to ask is should I be worried about constant gravel vacs disrupting the tanks cycle?

It’s also very strange that all the other fish in the tank are fine and have nothing on them…Only the puffer. Gosh this is beyond stressful… never adding new fish ever again lol wish I had a quarantine tank. *Sigh*.

Okay thankyou so much for the clarity I just felt I was doing something wrong since it seems to be getting worse and not better. My tank normally sits around 81-82 degrees. Do you think I should slowly lower it back down? And should I be gravel vacuuming every day at this point? I did a full vac yesterday before treatment.

No no, sorry. New fish got added 2* weeks ago. Then a day later I started Ich treatment using MetroPlex used it for a week- didn’t work, so put carbon in, did a water change, took carbon out, then switched to Ich x and been using that for the last week. Now puffer looks like that. Are we still thinking it’s Ich? Should I raise temperature higher than 85?

I should mention I put 2 new fish in the tank last week right before this happened. A cherry barb and panda garra. The cherry barb had 2 white dots on it shortly after coming in. It had clamped fins and was slightly flashing as well. Which is what made me think it was Ich. That’s when I started treatment immediately. The white dots left the cherry barb after around 3 days of treatment and has only been after the puffer ever since.

Here are some pictures I just took. Was very hard, he is camera shy. As you can see in the pics most of the dots are on his body and a couple on his face. None on the fins except a couple on his tail.

Hi I’ve been treating for Ich for the last 2 weeks now. Have had no improvement in getting rid of it. All my water parameters are good. No ammonia or nitrates. Tank was at 82 degrees. Started treatment using MetroPlex, did not work so switched to Ich X, have been using that for about a week. Daily water changes before dosing and gravel vacs and still no improvement. I have a tetraodon shoutedini I am very worried about. He is the only fish in my tank infected at this point. I am at a loss at what to do being that treatment isn’t seeming to work no matter what… so I have now raised my temperature slowly up to 85. In doing that last night, I woke up today with my puffer covered with even more white spots….. I’m so worried!!! Should I raise the temperature more past 85???? How much heat can my fish handle???? Also should I be gravel vacuuming every day???I have neon tetras, a panda garra, cherry barbs and the tetraodon shoutedini. Please help I am worried and really need help fighting this Ich.

I have one of these guys and he is the absolute best! I keep reading online they should be kept alone because of how aggressive they are??? I disagree! Mine has been living in my tank with a panda garra, 3 cherry barbs, and 4 neon tetras just fine with 0 aggression for about 4 years now. Just bumble bees around all day exploring and looking for food. I feed him frozen blood worms, and ramshorn snails that I breed myself. Will be adding more to his diet soon as I am seeing he may be a little skinny compared to others I’m seeing online (Oops). My water has somehow crept up to 82 degrees without me noticing… he’s still doing fine. As to them being prone to getting sick…I have not had a problem with anything besides Ich when new tank mates come in, which I am currently treating for again. Hoping he will pull through I will probably cry if he dies. Very cool fish!!! 🙂

Oh yes! I do have a hang on back filter…So adding a new carbon filter is very easy. And okay, leave it in for 2 hours and do a partial water change before adding the Ich X! Thank you so much for the advice I really appreciate it.

What is an HOB? Yes I have a carbon filter I can put in. How long do I need to leave it in though before being safe to use the Ich X?