Cycling with Fish

[CT_]

Just now, mgudyka said:

Well that's horrifying. Thank you 

Snails are great amazing best thing since fish etc etc but I hate them.  If you don't like snails you should look into dipping your plants.  Irene did two good videos on it (the take away is alum is usually best, but not all plants can handle a dip.  Besides live snails you can often get eggs hitchhiking.

 

[mgudyka]

4 minutes ago, CT_ said:

Snails are great amazing best thing since fish etc etc but I hate them.  If you don't like snails you should look into dipping your plants.  Irene did two good videos on it (the take away is alum is usually best, but not all plants can handle a dip.  Besides live snails you can often get eggs hitchhiking.

I dont think I have ever even seen a snail in person more than twice in my life. But they don't freak me out like those tiny little shrimp do

[Hobbit]

Noooo don’t kill them! 😄 (There are a variety of opinions about snails around here.)

And don’t feel like you missed something. There’s a lot to learn!

If you don’t like snails, but you *do* want to use snails to cycle your tank, I would recommend getting snails that can’t breed in fresh water such as nerite snails. If they can breed, they will, at least until they run out of food.

Quote

But they don't freak me out like those tiny little shrimp do

I can relate. I like shrimp but their legs do look like spider legs.

Edited March 5, 2021 by Hobbit

[CT_]

I'm team kill them with fire but I love dwarf shrimp :).

That said my Nerite so far has been pulling his weight so he can stay.  I just don't want to wake up one day to find 1000.

 

[mgudyka]

21 minutes ago, CT_ said:

I'm team kill them with fire but I love dwarf shrimp :).

That said my Nerite so far has been pulling his weight so he can stay.  I just don't want to wake up one day to find 1000.

 

I suppose that's where snail eating fish come into play, right? Obviously my tank is not stocked so if you have any suggestions on who I should be getting to keep my future snail problem in check, I am open to it. I have a 29 gallon tank

[mgudyka]

25 minutes ago, Hobbit said:

Noooo don’t kill them! 😄 (There are a variety of opinions about snails around here.)

And don’t feel like you missed something. There’s a lot to learn!

If you don’t like snails, but you *do* want to use snails to cycle your tank, I would recommend getting snails that can’t breed in fresh water such as nerite snails. If they can breed, they will, at least until they run out of food.

I can relate. I like shrimp but their legs do look like spider legs.

What about assassin snails? There's something about a murderous snail that screams "buy me"

[JettsPapa]

46 minutes ago, mgudyka said:

I dont think I have ever even seen a snail in person more than twice in my life. But they don't freak me out like those tiny little shrimp do

I didn't know shrimp bothered people, but I'm not judging.  I feel the same way about axolotls.  I don't want anything in my fish tank that has hands.

[CT_]

26 minutes ago, mgudyka said:

I suppose that's where snail eating fish come into play, right? Obviously my tank is not stocked so if you have any suggestions on who I should be getting to keep my future snail problem in check, I am open to it. I have a 29 gallon tank

 There are some but not many.  The "correct" solution is to be diligent about not over feeding and your snail population will live in harmony.  But when I see those hungry faces saying "please feed me way too much" I have a hard time saying no.  Fish feeding is also so fun.  My favorite snail eater by far is the pea puffer but they don't play nice with others so they usually have to be species only.

24 minutes ago, mgudyka said:

What about assassin snails? There's something about a murderous snail that screams "buy me"

I'm with you there!  If I end up with "pest snails" I'm getting some assassins!

[mgudyka]

1 hour ago, CT_ said:

 There are some but not many.  The "correct" solution is to be diligent about not over feeding and your snail population will live in harmony.  But when I see those hungry faces saying "please feed me way too much" I have a hard time saying no.  Fish feeding is also so fun.  My favorite snail eater by far is the pea puffer but they don't play nice with others so they usually have to be species only.

I'm with you there!  If I end up with "pest snails" I'm getting some assassins!

Yes I read that about puffers. Of course if you Google "tank mates" and any fish, you will find a blog from someone who claims to know who makes a good tank mates for anything, including pea puffers. I REALLY wanted to get some but upon further reading about them and the whole wanting to kill anyone else with them (and the possibility of their beaks overgrowing and eventually keeping them from being able to eat if they don't have enough hard stuff to chew on), I decided it wasn't for me. A mere beginner.

[mgudyka]

2 hours ago, JettsPapa said:

I didn't know shrimp bothered people, but I'm not judging.  I feel the same way about axolotls.  I don't want anything in my fish tank that has hands.

Listen shrimp are ugly bugs and axolotls are beautiful elegant critically endangered creatures that are able to regenerate limbs and are salamanders that never leave the larval stage. I love them. I even got to visit the one of like two places they are endemic to in mexico (lake xochimilco) and it was very cool/sad to be among a remnant of a precolonial time that is the home of these incredible creatures.

 

Sorry to ramble haha

[mgudyka]

3 hours ago, CT_ said:

I'm team kill them with fire but I love dwarf shrimp :).

That said my Nerite so far has been pulling his weight so he can stay.  I just don't want to wake up one day to find 1000.

 

Well in that case can you get someone who will eat them??

[Hobbit]

@mgudyka if you’re into assassin snails, then you’re good. Go ahead and get some snails and then in a few months grab yourself some murder swirls.

[mgudyka]

13 minutes ago, Hobbit said:

@mgudyka if you’re into assassin snails, then you’re good. Go ahead and get some snails and then in a few months grab yourself some murder swirls.

I'm sorry is that a joke 

[Hobbit]

3 minutes ago, mgudyka said:

I'm sorry is that a joke 

Haha no? 😅 Well sure calling them murder swirls is a joke. 😄 I’ve never kept them myself, but from what I understand the assassin snails should slowly work through any population of regular snails you end up with. If they aren’t eating the regular snails fast enough, you can always get more! 😁 

[mgudyka]

Just now, Hobbit said:

Haha no? 😅 Well sure calling them murder swirls is a joke. 😄 I’ve never kept them myself, but from what I understand the assassin snails should slowly work through any population of regular snails you end up with. If they aren’t eating the regular snails fast enough, you can always get more! 😁 

Sorry, the murder swirl honestly got me. I thought "ok is that some sort of fish?"

[Hobbit]

Whoops! Sorry about that—the fish world has a lot of weird names but that isn’t one of them (yet 😁)

[mgudyka]

18 minutes ago, Hobbit said:

Whoops! Sorry about that—the fish world has a lot of weird names but that isn’t one of them (yet 😁)

~that you know of~

[CT_]

28 minutes ago, mgudyka said:

Sorry, the murder swirl honestly got me. I thought "ok is that some sort of fish?"

You can see my other post, but I thought "mystery snails" were snails of mysterious origin, not the common name for a species of snail that has a funny personality.

[lefty o]

8 hours ago, mgudyka said:

What about assassin snails? There's something about a murderous snail that screams "buy me"

my favorite snail of all.

[mgudyka]

37 minutes ago, CT_ said:

You can see my other post, but I thought "mystery snails" were snails of mysterious origin, not the common name for a species of snail that has a funny personality.

That's 100% legit though. But I am interested in the funny personality part ??

[mgudyka]

29 minutes ago, lefty o said:

my favorite snail of all.

Assassins? What makes them special?