Check out my new Speedos

[kenny]

Tonight we got two snails for the aquarium.
I named them Speedo and Speeda.
They are about 3/4" long.

I got them to clean the tank since I can't get algae eaters since I have no heater.
I keep fantail goldfish.

 

[kenny]

Any of you have aquarium snails?
This guy has some weird tube thingie he sticks out.

I'll try to get a good pic of it when it is more extended.
It's kind of disgusting.

It is on the right side of his eye in this pic.
He can stick it out over an inch.
I wonder if it is his hoo hoo.

 

[HopeDream]

Be careful!

I had two to clean by betta bowl. They threw off the nitrogen balance and ate my betta.

Then I gave them to my ichthyology prof and they layed 1000 eggs and took over his tropical tank.

good luck!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 11/7/2009 1:48:15 AM
Author: HopeDream
Be careful!

Snails can be monsters! Producing more waste than what they''re suppose to clean up.

 

[Lorelei]

Goodness - that title got my attention...!

 

[tyty333]

Kenny - you had me really scared to click on this tread...I was so glad to see the cute little snails!

 

[Selkie]

Date: 11/7/2009 12:26:41 AM
Author: kenny
Any of you have aquarium snails?

This guy has some weird tube thingie he sticks out.
I''ll try to get a good pic of it when it is more extended.

It''s kind of disgusting.
It is on the right side of his eye in this pic.

He can stick it out over an inch.

I wonder if it is his hoo hoo.

LOL! Not his hoo hoo, just a siphon for helping bring in extra oxygen (extracts it from the water). Love the names.

 

[Vancity]

hahahahahaha....this thread is making me laugh!

Is that your hoo-hoo, or are you just happy to see me?

It comes out of his eye, and he can stick it out over an inch? That''s quite the party trick!

 

[kenny]

Uh Oh.
Now I'm worried about the water quality going downhill.

Let me describe our aquarium.

It is a 30-gallon tank with a filter that's made for a 60-gallon tank.
Currently there is also an additional smaller filter I'm temporarily using because I just moved up from a 10-gal to a 30 gal tank.
The smaller older filter was from that 10-gal tank and its filter media is full the good bacteria that breaks down the yuckie stuff.

I kept all 10-gallons of the mature water from the old tank too but none of the gravel.
In two months I'll remove the old filter since the big new filter will have the good bacteria in it.
So I'm kind of cheating using the seasoning of the old tank for the new tank.

Besides Speedo and Speeda there are four young goldfish, two of which were also added last night.
Each is about 1.5 inch long including the tail.

There are live plants and the light is on for them about 12 hours a day.

So given all this do you still think the two snails will do more harm than good?

 

[chrono]

Kenny,
I know nothing about keeping an aquarium and snails, but I have to say, that''s a nice looking tank. Of course, Speedo and Speeda are cute too!

 

[Luckyeshe]

Cool snails!!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I''m not entirely familiar with goldfish (my tanks are all tropical), but do know they also produce a lot of waste. A 30-gallon with regular water changes should keep your fish healthy (vaccuum up the gravel to keep the waste to a minimum). Keep in mind goldfish can grow quite big. . .like most fish, they''re tiny in the store so size can be misleading. I just bought a 1/3" long fish (super small little gal) and she''ll grow to be 2" long! Four times her original size.

RE: snails. Some are can multiply quickly. I found three snails in my tank after bringing home some aquarium plants and quickly removed them to prevent an outbreak of 100s (like I''ve heard about some people experiencing).

It''s good your using mature media. That''s not "cheating," it''s being smart about upgrading.

 

[kenny]

Date: 11/7/2009 1:06:48 PM
Author: MC
my tanks are all tropical

TankS?
How many do you have?
I know a doctor who built a small climate-controlled building in his backyard for his 20 or so tanks. $$$$$ (Tanks a lot, Buddy!)
His hobby was breeding angel fish.

Yes, I have one of those vaccume tube hose thingies to clean the poo out of the gravel when I remove water for the water changes.
It sucks up about a half cup of gravel and swirls it around.
The poo-water gets sucked up the tube the clean gravel settles back down.
I use the poo-water to fertilize my lawn.
Clever invention.

I change about 1/4 of the water every week.
We have a reverse ossmossis water filter but I still add Tetra AquaSafe to condition the new water.

Hey, I want a good aquarium forum; I've looked and there are zillions.
Pricescope is the best diamond forum.
What is the best aquarium forum?

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Cool!
I had a tiny little snail aquarium several years ago...I started out with 2 snails and ended up with hundreds!
Good luck with them!

 

[Cehrabehra]

when I was a very little girl I had a fishtank and one day I saw a tiny little spot and then it was gone and I saw it again somewhere else. I announced to my mom that I thought we had a snail in the tank and she said I was wrong... well eventually it got to be about the size of an eraser head and she didn''t doubt me anymore. By the time we moved and I had to give it away it was at least an inch. We never got hundreds thankfully - just the one. The family we gave it to ended up being my husband''s but he doesn''t remember that snail. I imagine it didn''t live long as they just put it in the bowl with their goldfish and we had some sort of tank setup. Who knows. I always wanted to get another one, but was afraid to do it intentionally as I''d heard of the multiplying snails and I hate to kill anything, even flies lol

 

[Cehrabehra]

also - I thought plecos could handle the cold? I worked in a pet shop about 17 years ago and knew all kinds of stuff, but it''s really gotten rusty. We had several tanks set up at one point... 90 gallon salt, 56 hex with gourami, a mixed 29... hated the hex - what a horrible awkward shape it was. Seemed like it woulda been cool but fish don''t like to swim up and down so much lol

 

[kenny]

Thanks Sara.
Yeah I think the best tanks for the fish are ones that have the most surface area per gallon, wide and long but very shallow.
Unfortunately they make most of them for the pleasure of humans which want maximum viewing area per gallon, which means tall tanks.

I grabbed this 30-gal tank off Craigslist for just $10.
It is taller than I'd prefer, but the price was right.

I heard once that you should determine the number of fish not per gallon, but per the surface area of the tank because oxygen exchange only takes place at the surface.
This would mean a shallow 3 gallon tank with 3 square foot of surface area should have the same number of fish as a deep 30 gallon tank with the same surface area.
Naturally better filtering allows more waste load and more fish.

Thanks for mentioning about the Plecostomus.
I'll look into them even though they are so ugly.
They remind me of dinosaurs, and the grow so huge.

 

[ckrickett]

thi title was very confusing.. but it''s contents is entertaining

 

[oddoneout]

Oh thank goodness they''re snails (rather cute ones too). Speedos (no matter how great of shape the guy is in) are creepy. My mind is still scarred after seeing a man in his late 60s model a bright green one.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Secargot !!