Theplatymaster's NEW journal: A treacherous 20.

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/6/2023 at 6:28 AM, Lennie said:

You can play around the bioload rules as long as you are willing to track your nitrate readings and make more water changes. It is up to you.

If your snail is a female and has reached sexual maturity, it is likely that it may lay eggs from many different partners she has mated before/in the store. So you may get eggs anyway.

The problem with sexing is, if you see the penis sheath, it is a male. If you cant see it, it is not certain that it is a female.

Maybe you may want to read this one:

https://www.fwgna.org/dillonr/MSCGP/mscgp.pdf

 

yeah my WC schedule isnt changing, %25 of the water once a week, though  i have lots of plants and filtration.

So mystery snails practice Internal fertilization? i did not know that.

i dont want that situation to happen, i want to be able to see the color traits of both parents, so i can see what the genetics turn out to be

ill check out the link, thanks.

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/5/2023 at 2:23 PM, Theplatymaster said:

so far nobody is touching the zouchini, but if the snail will eat it, then it will be a good food as the platies are not interested.

The pet stores usually don’t give veggies to the snails so it may take the snail time to realize that is food. Is your pH ok now?

Cute little snail.

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/6/2023 at 6:49 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Is your pH ok now?

before i left yesterday i tested the water, PH was a little over 7.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/6/2023 at 6:35 AM, Theplatymaster said:

So mystery snails practice Internal fertilization?

Kinda. They are not asexual, there must be a male and a female to produce offspring. They will mate in the store and hold onto the sperm - for months. And over time lay the fertilized eggs. When I hatched the baby snails I only owned one adult snail.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/6/2023 at 6:49 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

The pet stores usually don’t give veggies to the snails

true, ive watched my LFS feed the animals, the snails get HIkari mini algae wafers there. (as well as most of the fish)

On 3/6/2023 at 6:50 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Kinda. They will mate in the store and hold onto the sperm - for months. And over time lay the fertilized eggs. When I hatched the baby snails I only owned one adult snail.

i doubt ill be that lucky. though as ive explained, id want to breed them to observe the genetics, if i dont know what colors the father is it is difficult for me to observe that.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/6/2023 at 6:11 AM, Theplatymaster said:

considering the 1snail per 5gallons rule that @Chick-In-Of-TheSeaadvised, i might need to take out some platies first. (or am i misunderstanding the rule?)

Just keep an eye on parameters, do an extra water change if you need to. If you have a filter designed for a bigger tank, less maintenance for you.

You’ll love watching all of the crazy antics your snail will do!

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/6/2023 at 6:53 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

If you have a filter designed for a bigger tank, less maintenance for you.

i run a medium ACO sponge filter as well as a tidal 35, so my filtration that way is pretty good, ive also got tons of plants.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/6/2023 at 6:50 AM, Theplatymaster said:

i doubt ill be that lucky

You’d be surprised! Snails can hold the sperm for 8 or 9 months!

On 3/6/2023 at 6:54 AM, Theplatymaster said:

i run a medium ACO sponge filter as well as a tidal 35, so my filtration that way is pretty good, ive also got tons of plants.

Oh yeah, you should be fine 🙂

[Lennie]

And make sure to leave some space on top, don't fill your tank fully. They love to climb to top and breathe there, and even sometimes take a nap :)!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I drop my water line so the snail can go up and lay the eggs. Otherwise they will go under the lid and do it.

On 3/6/2023 at 6:56 AM, Lennie said:

And make sure to leave some space on top, don't fill your tank fully. They love to climb to top and breathe there, and even sometimes take a nap :)!

Jinx!

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/6/2023 at 6:55 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

You’d be surprised! Snails can hold the sperm for 8 or 9 months!

wow, another thing to add to my list:

yes i dont fill my tank up all the way, (i leave an inch or two)(though when i started i ran a 15gallon. i ran it like 4 inches from the top, losing valuable water.

[Theplatymaster]

ive got home, the water is STILL cloudy, but its just some particles, the animals are ok.

im noticing that using poly pads like the ones ACO sells are working much better then the standard DIY filter floss, though i may be out of the poly pad 😞, i probably do will need to another ACO order soon, im running out of lots of stuff.

If you are wondering "cloudiness isnt that bad, why are you concerned?"

ill say that

A.the tank looks bad and

B.I cant see the back of the tank very well, i may need to up my fine filtration, though im not quite sure how. (possibly replace the bio rings with just more filter floss)(also i might look into getting some fine sponge, i clean my filter weekly so clogging isnt something im concerned about, and it will help prevent clogging of the filter floss, even though IT DOESNT DO ITS JOB.

im still trying to figure out my mystery PH, i may just reorder my ACO test strips, or reach out to see if my friend has the API one and compare the results.

yeah, im just sitting here, if anyone wants to chat fish, im availble.

 

[Theplatymaster]

ive removed a few bio rings from the bag to make room for some more filter floss, again im missing having the Poly Pads,

it takes up like 1/2 the space as the filter floss, and does the job better.

but it makes sense, something designed to do a job will do the job better then something designed for other purposes.

 

I think im going to get some seltzer or something to test my test strips against, because due to the species im keeping, i dont trust the strips.

its even more confusing that my hardness reading isnt even on the strip.

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[Theplatymaster]

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea@Lennie

i name this picture:

"Mystery snail meets zuchini peice"

and i think it likes it (its snailing all of over it), i still do want to try to sex mine though.

 

the snail has left now and it looks like it ate a small piece of the zucchini.

i have emailed CS about my test strip issues and i am no longer worried, i will just get my PH tested at my LFS and maybe get a different test kit. (they are useful to have).

I think i will drop my temp from 78-76 for my cories and mystery snail, even though it will trigger a cory spawn tommorow (i have cory fry growing out, i dont want more eggs).

 

Also this snail is male, i have spotted a sheath on the right side of its body (as appose to a siphon).

Edited March 6, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[Theplatymaster]

Something is demolishing the zucchini,

but is it a ravenous mystery snail?

or

curious platies? (the are picking at it too now) :

im not sure where Batmobile is now, so i guess thats part of the mystery.

I am relived to find out that my water is fine, its just my testing that is off so Batmobile should be fine in my water, next time i can go to my LFS ill have them tet the water so i can figure out my PH, but its probably between 7 and 8.

Oh Batmobile (thats the snail's new name) is a male, i was looking and saw a sheath on his right side.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[Theplatymaster]

Snail Gynastics; Go! Batmobile. Go!

John the betta

Garra Guy at the food source.

cant forget about these little/big guys.

Ive seen no fry yet from this tank.

water is STILL cloudy! despite the 2layers of filter floss im running in my filter. (i probably will need to gravel vac next time i do a WC, im just afraid ill uproot plants).

random platy picture.

 

[Chris]

Are you sure the tank cloudiness is just particulates and not a small bacterial bloom? Usually mechanical filtration will pull most particulates out within a day or less. 

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/7/2023 at 7:43 AM, Chris said:

Are you sure the tank cloudiness is just particulates and not a small bacterial bloom? Usually mechanical filtration will pull most particulates out within a day or less. 

im pretty sure, because i can see particles in the water. I think i need to gravel vac very well next WC to try and get particles out of the substrate.

also Batmobile found some yummies:

(xtreme bottom wafers, it has pea has the first ingredient so it should be good for the snail)

Crytocoryne tropicas are growing slowly, but still growing. (they do better when i forget about them):

Edited March 7, 2023 by Theplatymaster

[Theplatymaster]

thanks to @Lennieand @Guppysnail,

Batmobile has been sexed, He is a male. I used this diagram provided by @Guppysnail and what i see appears to match the chart.

now finding a female at the store will be difficult...

[Guppysnail]

Good luck. They are usually not active enough at the store to be able to tell. 

[Theplatymaster]

i just got back, my friend had found a used 2.6gallon tank and asked if i wanted it, while i dont want the tank, ill run you guys through some of the stuff i do want in here:

its a all in one kit, so the back part is a filter.

due to my tank limit i cant set up the tank itself, but here is what i like in this:

A.Small water pump (used for the filter), these are just generally useful for various DIY projects(this one has adjustable flow!):

B.The light is pretty cool and bright, it has white light, and blue light (i checked, only white and blue LEDs not a plant light), id need to build a adapter to use it, as the mounting bracket is attatched to the tank.

the rest of the stuff wasnt particularly useful, and the pump will need disinfecting before use, but as will everything in this kit except for the light.(i do like the filter compartment thing, i find that cool, but i cant set up this tank even though i need a good fry growout tank...).

[Theplatymaster]

my friend (the same one that got me the 2.6gallon kit) will be here in a few minutes, here is the trio of platies they will be taking home. (as of typing this i have hooked up air to the box, i will bag the fish once the friend arrives).

my friend didnt have any requests on platy colors, so i just picked out a trio (he wanted a trio) where all the fish had different colors. These fish will join his betta in a 20hex. (The only other tankmates are mini-ramshorn snails)(yes this friend was my source for my mini-ramshorn snails, i am good friends with this person fishkeeping-wise).

 

[Theplatymaster]

Update: The platies i just set aside have been collected, hopefully they have good lives with the person's betta, and if its mean, its a good thing they are small platies (mature though) and its a crowntail betta, they can easily outswim it

[Lennie]

On 3/7/2023 at 9:42 PM, Theplatymaster said:

i just got back, my friend had found a used 2.6gallon tank and asked if i wanted it, while i dont want the tank, ill run you guys through some of the stuff i do want in here:

its a all in one kit, so the back part is a filter.

due to my tank limit i cant set up the tank itself, but here is what i like in this:

A.Small water pump (used for the filter), these are just generally useful for various DIY projects(this one has adjustable flow!):

B.The light is pretty cool and bright, it has white light, and blue light (i checked, only white and blue LEDs not a plant light), id need to build a adapter to use it, as the mounting bracket is attatched to the tank.

the rest of the stuff wasnt particularly useful, and the pump will need disinfecting before use, but as will everything in this kit except for the light.(i do like the filter compartment thing, i find that cool, but i cant set up this tank even though i need a good fry growout tank...).

Does the filter part seem removable?

It could be a nice shrimp tank potentially if you can remove the backside and add in a sponge filter or maybe a tiny HOB!

 

But holy cow that filter takes the half space. Very inefficient design imo

[Theplatymaster]

On 3/7/2023 at 2:49 PM, Lennie said:

Does the filter part seem removable?

i could use a razor to scrape off the silicone.

i cant set it up even if i wanted, my mom wouldnt let 😞

and id use a box filter because thats the extra filter i have lying around.

I will probably use the pump, the light, and keep the heaters as a just in case, but i dont need the rest.

also Batmobile  says hi.

i dont know why but part of me feels like im now in the "Cool people club" now that i have a mystery snail, i guess its just the awesome Mystery Snail community.

On 3/7/2023 at 11:20 AM, Guppysnail said:

Good luck. They are usually not active enough at the store to be able to tell. 

i chose this one because it was being pretty active, there was another i wanted but it wasnt moving so it did not pass my inspection.