sad sad fishtank

[randmcnally]

hi,

I've had a rough 10 years as a 40 gallon tank owner, mainly due to my own negligence and ignorance. buying the wrong fish, buying fish with ich, buying plants with snails, letting said snails infest my tank and take over, letting algae grow, inconsistent water changes, filter changes, buying the wrong size canopy and just 'making it work', the list goes on...

but I am moving at the end of the month and want to start over with my remaining fish to give them the best environment I can and really clean up my tank. I have an ID Shark about 5-6inches long and a Cory Cat left.

Here's my problems:

1. ID Shark and Cory Cat, these are the two fish I have left and they are both pretty old, the ID Shark being about 10 and the Cory Cat being about 6-7. I want to create an environment they both enjoy, which may mean getting more of the same breed. I don't know? the tank may be too small for multiple ID Sharks. I'm looking for any advice pertaining to layout and plant life and addition of other breeds or similar breeds.

2. Snails - THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. I've tried everything but have yet to try SnailPur Water Treatment. it says on the back of the bottle I bought that members of the Catfish family can have trouble breathing in the SnailPur treated water. of course I have two fish from that family so I am waiting till I move to use it. I am not convinced one dose of anything will get rid of them. Has anyone had any luck with this product? Have any advice to prevent future outbreaks?

3. I'll take any advice people have for moving a fish tank also, I am a little worried about it and have taken a day of work specifically to move it before anything else over to the new house. how much water to take, how long these fish can live in a bucket etc etc. keeping in mind my plan is to treat the water with the Snail remover.

I'm new here looking for some solid advice to fix my past mistakes and save my tank. I hope someone can help me out. I want to stop the nightmares my guilty concious has cursed me after years of fish abuse, but above all I want to take responsibility for my pets and give them as enjoyable a time as I can with the tank I have.

thanks for any help! I'm in need of advice.
-rand

 

[chrispar0323]

hmmm maybe getting some fish that eat snails would be helpful rather than using chemicals which i would avoid at all cost.

 

[KyleBradley]

What I did when I got a snail infestation was to empty my gravel into a colander.. If you have more than a colander full-do it one colander at a time..

Boil water in your tea kettle and pour it over the gravel... It worked like a charm for me... Then scrape all the remaining snails off the tank manually... They can't survive boiling water.

 

[homebunnyj]

Boiling your substrate like that would likely kill off beneficial bacteria too. I don't recommend it.

You can put a piece of blanched zucchini or a lettuce leaf in your tank overnight and in the morning you should have a bunch of snails around it. If you had the greens on a saucer you can just lift it out and get rid of the snails. Repeat nightly until they're in check.

Usually snail infestations are caused by overfeeding.

Leave your filter media wet when you move, break the tank down last at the old place and set it up first when you arrive. Transport your fish in a bucket of tank water. ID sharks can be skittish, so you might want to get more advice about moving it.

Once you get set up you could get more cories, they enjoy living in groups. I think I would just let the lone ID live out its life, as your tank isn't big enough for several.

Do you have test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Having them is a big contributing factor to ensuring good health for your fish. You need them.

 

[randmcnally]

thanks so much that's a good start.

@KyleBradley

I've actually tried that, boiling water and all in a colander. I thought I'd got them all, but then these mutant super snails (no word of a lie) came back from the dead meaner than ever and now instead of being black they were this browny colour, and they are the ones that live in the tank to this day.

@homebunnyj

I've tried the vegetable route as well unfortunately it wasn't working, they'd hang on the vegetables, eat and then go and lay more eggs. and it would cost me thousands in vegetables to get rid of all of them at the rate I was going.

I'm sure over feeding was the cause. the ID shark is a little slow, and as you said skittish, I really have to almost hand feed him and make sure he eats. the pellets break up so quickly that I have to drop them right in front of his face for him to eat and this led to wasted pellets more often than not.

I think getting more cory's would be a good idea, and I agree about the ID Shark having to live his life out on his lonesome.

Are there any other fish I could get that he may school with??? Right now he just stares at his reflection all day and it's kind of sad to be honest with you, he's very lonely. He hangs out with the Cory who's terrified of him.

I know nothing about testing the tank, what kind of a kit should I get? What should I avoid?

Is using the chemical a really bad idea??? It's Sera Snailpur.

Thanks again, keep the advice coming...

 

[randmcnally]

I've read more about them ID Sharks:

FishProfiles.com - Pangasius hypophthalmus

and

FishProfiles.com - Corydoras trilineatus

55inches, wow. I think my guy is stunted as he's been about 7 inches for 5 years. is this possible?

It says: Peaceful; These fish are very peaceful, but are also quite shy and can easily be scared. The iridescent shark is a shoaling catfish which should be kept in groups to relieve stress.

would another shoaling breed help it's temperament, one that the ID Shark could 'hang out with'?

I feel horrible for treating these two fish this way for so long.

 

[randmcnally]

thanks to wikipedia I've answered one of my own question:

In most home aquariums, the amount of space an iridescent shark has severely stunts its growth. It's for this reason that most iridescent sharks kept in home aquaria grow to only 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) in length and die prematurely from organ failure.

I can't believe that pet store guy let me buy him, this is heart breaking.

 

[OrangeCones]

I know nothing about testing the tank, what kind of a kit should I get? What should I avoid?

I use API Masterkit for Freshwater. Get a test kit that uses drops and test tubes instead of strips of paper. They seem to be more accurate.

 

[RexyTexel]

I really wouldn't use the snail chemical. They usually cause long term affects with your tank. Usually the chemicals to rid tanks of snails have copper in them which can soak into the silicone of your fishtank. I would try everything else first before the chemical solution. But that's just me.

 

[OrangeCones]

would another shoaling breed help it's temperament, one that the ID Shark could 'hang out with'?

I feel horrible for treating these two fish this way for so long.

Unfortunately, he would likely only shoal with his own kind, and you'd not want to put another fish through this. To me, the best thing to do for him is to offer him plenty of hiding places that he can retreat to if he gets spooked. Ironically, the more hiding places you provide, the more he will be out and about. If he knows he has a place to hide in close-by, it will give him more confidence to be swimming about.

As far as your snail population, the easiest way to get rid of them is to not overfeed. You can fed your fish lightly every other day for awhile. When there is not excess food, the snails cannot reproduce. If the adult snails cannot find food, they will die off and you can vacuum up the empty shells when you do water changes. As they start to die off, those left alive will find their recently deceased buddies as a food source, so it will take awhile.

I helped a friend of mine get a lot of snails out of her tank by doing this:

Take a small empty baby food jar (washing it very very well).

Punch a few holes in the lid, making sure the sharp edges are on the INSIDE of the jar when you put the lid back on.

Drop in a few algae wafers or sinking pellets or a blanched piece of squash or lettuce, put the lid on, and drop it into the aquarium when you turn the lights out. Your fish cannot get to the food, and once the snails find their way in, it is harder for them to get out.

Wait about 2 hours and check the trap. Remove any snails you find and put the jar in the refrigerator until the next night.

By removing what you find in 2 hours, you are not allowing those that came to feed to return to the tank to breed the next generation. If you are up later, you can reset the trap again the same night, just make sure to check around 2 hours later.

It took a few weeks, but she hasn't seen a snail in over a year.

Good luck with your fish!

 

[DclownD]

i dont know what fish it was i had that was eating all my snails but i think it was my Chinese Algea Eater but not sure lol

 

[randmcnally]

thanks so much to everyone for your help. great stuff...

when moving my tank at the end of the month, how much water should I take from the old tank (keeping in mind it is snail infested)?

I am replacing the rocks and all ornaments etc. If I go out and find larger rocks to sit in the gravel while I'm out and about, how do I treat them before putting them into the tank?


I think as far as the fish go, I am going to get some more Cory's to keep my current one company, they are very nice to look at also. Does anyone have any suggestions as to some top/mid feeding fish I can get for my 40 gallon that will just look nice and not be too much maintenance for a beginner (a beginner who's had his tank for 9 years)?

@ OrangeCones

what types of hiding places could I use for him, how should I set that up? he may end up following any other fish I get around, he hangs out with the remaining cory right now all the time. maybe it's just wishful thinking.

thanks again to all who've replied!

 

[chrispar0323]

clown loaches eat snails, so do puffers

 

[blue_ram]

Bettas eat snails as do rams. Snails come from over feeding, stop feed the fish every other day and put a cucumber slice on a dish every night to catch the snails. The lighter colored shells are either a different species of snail or the water is getting depleted of calcium.

Watch the PH in the tank because snails infestations use a lot of calcium whcih can cause a PH crash which can nuke your filter.

 

[MissFishy]

Rand, you really should read up on cycling a tank. There's a link in my signature with some basic information if you're interested.

As far as the snails, I would suggest starting completely over with your tank if they bother you so much. It sounds like you were probably massively overfeeding your tank, which let them take over. You would have to completely re-cycle your tank and if you don't know what you're doing, that will be really rough on your remaining fish. If you just move the filter media wet, there are probably snail eggs or baby snails attached. Your decision. I've found that my trumpet snails that live in my gravel have eradicated any pond snails from my tanks by the way, depending on what kind of snail is in your tank.