Fish Lovers 3.0 [new poll]

[Checkinder]

This is going to be the dumbest post in fishkeeping history but
I cannot for the life of me seem to keep snails alive in tanks. Nothing is killing them from what I can tell, the parameters are always good, they have food... Yet they always seem to die? I've only ever kept mystery snails but I just somehow keep failing at keeping them alive.
I've tried multiple pet stores as my source as well. Any advice from snailkeepers?

[Gone-]

This is going to be the dumbest post in fishkeeping history but
I cannot for the life of me seem to keep snails alive in tanks. Nothing is killing them from what I can tell, the parameters are always good, they have food... Yet they always seem to die? I've only ever kept mystery snails but I just somehow keep failing at keeping them alive.
I've tried multiple pet stores as my source as well. Any advice from snailkeepers?

Is your water too soft? I've heard of snail shells becoming really soft and not protecting the snail inside. Maybe put a cuttlebone or another source of calcium in your tank if that's the case. It could also be the place you get them from. Petco/smart often have low-quality snails that can be in bad shape. If you have other fish with them, it could be the other fish. I mainly only know about nerites, so here's a link to a post about mystery snails.
https://pethelpful.com/fish-aquariums/Mystery_Snails

[deadroses.]

Username: [url=account link]account link[/url]deadroses.
How many fish tanks do you have:1
Types of fish that you have: betta
Your fishs' names: isla
How long have you had fish: 1 year but ive had 3 other bettas. ( I’m also thinking abt getting one or two zebra netrite snails.)

Also if you have pictures of you fish we would love to see them! If you have a tank with a lot of fish you are welcome to just put a picture of your tank. If the images are large or you have a lot please post links.

[Snowseph]

Hello hello!

Username: Snowseph
How many fish tanks do you have: 3 tanks total: 5 gallon, 6.6 gallon, and a 20 gallon
Types of fish that you have: Bettas and tetras currently
Your fishs' names: The first betta is Frost (6.6 gallon), the second betta (my mom's betta technically) is Pat (5 gallon), and the tetras (20 gallon) don't have names since it's hard to tell them apart.
How long have you had fish: I've grown up fish keeping! The 20 gallon has been running for a good 10-11 years now (granted, the original fish are no longer with us) and the fish I have currently in there I've had for a few years. Frost and Pat have been with us for going on two years.

Hi everyone! So I own a forty gallon tank and am soon going to be filling it with zebrafish! Since the zebrafish are more likely than not going to be temporary I don't know much about them. Does anyone by chance know how many zebrafish I can put in a forty gallon tank, what would be a good food for them and, how often should they be fed? Since i'm going to have them for a month or possibly longer I want to ensure they will be comfortable. I don't want them to be over crowded or fed too often/too little. Thanks to anyone that helps! <3

Seconding that you can probably put 30 or so zebra danios in a 40 gallon tank!

I would recommend feeding them pellets and some frozen foods. Omega One and Hikari have some of the better quality pellets imo! As for frozen foods, I'd recommend frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis shrimp, and frozen brine shrimp. You can find frozen foods in a small freezer at your pet store usually! You can also culture live versions of these, but if you're not into that then frozen can suffice. Stay away from freeze-dried food, as they are known to cause bloating. And a pro-tip: if you ever have a picky eater, soak your food in garlic! Fish are attracted to the natural scent.

This is going to be the dumbest post in fishkeeping history but
I cannot for the life of me seem to keep snails alive in tanks. Nothing is killing them from what I can tell, the parameters are always good, they have food... Yet they always seem to die? I've only ever kept mystery snails but I just somehow keep failing at keeping them alive.
I've tried multiple pet stores as my source as well. Any advice from snailkeepers?

I have a few questions! Do you use any fertilizers or medication in your tank? What kind of water conditioner are you using? What kind of food are you feeding them?

All invertebrates -- so yes, snails -- are sensitive to copper. Copper is often present in many fertilizers, medications, and even tap water. The stress of copper could be killing your snails if you are using anything containing copper or not taking preemptive measures to rid copper from your tank. There are water conditioners out there that neutralize heavy metals. Seachem Prime is one that comes to mind.

As for foods, your snails need more than just algae or decaying aquatic plants in your tank in order to be healthy. I recommending feeding snails a diet of a variety of vegetables. Usually cucumber, zucchini, romaine lettuce, and spinach go over well with my snails (nerite snails, mystery snails, ramshorn snails, and bladder snails). Cucumber is a particular favorite! There are also some awesome recipes out there for making your own gel food for snails (often called snello), in which you can pack in a variety of foods and nutrients all in one. I've been wanting to develop my own snello myself for a while now, actually!

Of course, what kind of snails, where you got them from, and what condition they came in can also play a factor into their demise. Nerite snails only live for about a year and mystery snails usually live for a year or two. Like Roseycat said, Petco and Petsmart do not get their animals from the best of places so their animals are often not the most healthy.

[BlazingMoon]

Hello! This is my first time posting here ^^'
I've had a couple of tanks over the past few years and kept guppies/betas/Cory catfish/ADFs. I've always gone the typical route of putting plastic plants in my tanks, but recently I've set aside an old 20-gallon long with the hopes of trying out aquatic plants. I have the light and substrate figured out, but I was wondering where it would best to get aquatic plants? My town has a Petco and a PetSmart, but I've only seen them sell plants pre-packaged in plastic for ~$12 (are these worth it?) I would appreciate any suggestions ^^

[Enacra]

Hello! This is my first time posting here ^^'
I've had a couple of tanks over the past few years and kept guppies/betas/Cory catfish/ADFs. I've always gone the typical route of putting plastic plants in my tanks, but recently I've set aside an old 20-gallon long with the hopes of trying out aquatic plants. I have the light and substrate figured out, but I was wondering where it would best to get aquatic plants? My town has a Petco and a PetSmart, but I've only seen them sell plants pre-packaged in plastic for ~$12 (are these worth it?) I would appreciate any suggestions ^^

I strongly suggest that you stay away from any Petco and Petsmart shop. They are terrible in quality and often abuse and mistreat their pets. If you dont have any other pet shop or aquatics shop nearby, you could buy plants online on a website you trust. I dont know of any websites, maybe someone else can suggest some?

[BlazingMoon]

Hello! This is my first time posting here ^^'
I've had a couple of tanks over the past few years and kept guppies/betas/Cory catfish/ADFs. I've always gone the typical route of putting plastic plants in my tanks, but recently I've set aside an old 20-gallon long with the hopes of trying out aquatic plants. I have the light and substrate figured out, but I was wondering where it would best to get aquatic plants? My town has a Petco and a PetSmart, but I've only seen them sell plants pre-packaged in plastic for ~$12 (are these worth it?) I would appreciate any suggestions ^^

I strongly suggest that you stay away from any Petco and Petsmart shop. They are terrible in quality and often abuse and mistreat their pets. If you dont have any other pet shop or aquatics shop nearby, you could buy plants online on a website you trust. I dont know of any websites, maybe someone else can suggest some?

I'm not really familiar with any sites either, unfortunately :(

[fluffycat6]

Hello! This is my first time posting here ^^'
I've had a couple of tanks over the past few years and kept guppies/betas/Cory catfish/ADFs. I've always gone the typical route of putting plastic plants in my tanks, but recently I've set aside an old 20-gallon long with the hopes of trying out aquatic plants. I have the light and substrate figured out, but I was wondering where it would best to get aquatic plants? My town has a Petco and a PetSmart, but I've only seen them sell plants pre-packaged in plastic for ~$12 (are these worth it?) I would appreciate any suggestions ^^

I strongly suggest that you stay away from any Petco and Petsmart shop. They are terrible in quality and often abuse and mistreat their pets. If you dont have any other pet shop or aquatics shop nearby, you could buy plants online on a website you trust. I dont know of any websites, maybe someone else can suggest some?

I'm not really familiar with any sites either, unfortunately

I’m not sure what country you’re in but if you google aquarium plants for sale and then your country you should find some sites.

I get a lot of my plants from a local hobbyist. They grow in local water and are often way better quality than store plants One might have an add on Kijiji/Craigslist if you don’t know where to find one.

[dd10002]

Username: dd10002
How many fish tanks do you have: 6
Types of fish that you have: bettas
Your fishs' names: Gatsby, Will Hunting, Ariel, Leo, Finn, Skylar
How long have you had fish: I have had fish before but these guys for a few months

Also if you have pictures of you fish we would love to see them! If you have a tank with a lot of fish you are welcome to just put a picture of your tank. If the images are large or you have a lot please post links.

[Snowseph]

Hello! This is my first time posting here ^^'
I've had a couple of tanks over the past few years and kept guppies/betas/Cory catfish/ADFs. I've always gone the typical route of putting plastic plants in my tanks, but recently I've set aside an old 20-gallon long with the hopes of trying out aquatic plants. I have the light and substrate figured out, but I was wondering where it would best to get aquatic plants? My town has a Petco and a PetSmart, but I've only seen them sell plants pre-packaged in plastic for ~$12 (are these worth it?) I would appreciate any suggestions ^^

Some good suppliers that I've ordered from are Aquarium Co-op and Aquatic Arts! Aquarium Co-op can be a little on the expensive side, but all of the plants I've gotten from them come in great health and I like their YouTube content so to me it's worth it! Plus, Aquarium Co-op has a fabulous fertilizer that I highly recommend. My plants have been going crazy for their Easy Green fertilizer! I've never had any issues with Aquarium Co-op or Aquatic Arts.

If you are looking to go a cheaper route, you could check out Ebay or Craigslist for plants. I'm not sure if I'd recommend it since they're often hit or miss situations (especially with Craigslist).