Few questions

[underthesea1]

Few questions, I have had my tank two years but still feel like a newbie!

1 - I have tons of snails, I don't mind them but there always seems to absolutely tons of dead snails/ shells on the substrate, and I worry these may affect water parameters?

2 - can a single male guppy, and a single male molly be happy in a community tank?

3 - lastly, i'm thinking of getting a new tank, if I do, do I have to begin a whole new cycling process or can I just pop a bit of my mature filter media in the tank along with some of the water (topped up with dechlorinated water) and pop my fish straight in (perhaps after a few days just to let the filter media work through the system?)

Many thanks!

 

[Naughts]

1) possibly, cut down feeding and this should quell the population
2) they will be fine, happiness is hard to determine though!
3) move over the filter, and some substrate in a mesh bag if possible, at the same time as the fish. Don't bother with the water, its just dirty water with no benefits.

YW!

 

[sharkweek178]

Few questions, I have had my tank two years but still feel like a newbie!

1 - I have tons of snails, I don't mind them but there always seems to absolutely tons of dead snails/ shells on the substrate, and I worry these may affect water parameters?

One member here said that accumulated dead snail shells increased his water hardness. I have sand in my tank and I use a tea infuser to remove snail shells. Just scoop them up and sift the sand out.

2 - can a single male guppy, and a single male molly be happy in a community tank?

I don't think they can. I had a single platy who turned into a tank bully. I gave him to someone who put him in a platy tank and he was much happier. I'm not trying to be funny, but I think male livebearers who don't have access to females become sexually frustrated.

3 - lastly, i'm thinking of getting a new tank, if I do, do I have to begin a whole new cycling process or can I just pop a bit of my mature filter media in the tank along with some of the water (topped up with dechlorinated water) and pop my fish straight in (perhaps after a few days just to let the filter media work through the system?)

Many thanks!

The old water won't do anything, but the filter media will definitely accelerate the cycle. Probably won't be an instant cycle. Depends on how much media and the size of the new tank. I'd test it out like I was doing a cycle. When it can process 2-3 ppm of ammonia into 0 ammonia or nitrite in one day then you're good to go.

 

[Fishkeeper123]

Few questions, I have had my tank two years but still feel like a newbie!

1 - I have tons of snails, I don't mind them but there always seems to absolutely tons of dead snails/ shells on the substrate, and I worry these may affect water parameters?

2 - can a single male guppy, and a single male molly be happy in a community tank?

3 - lastly, i'm thinking of getting a new tank, if I do, do I have to begin a whole new cycling process or can I just pop a bit of my mature filter media in the tank along with some of the water (topped up with dechlorinated water) and pop my fish straight in (perhaps after a few days just to let the filter media work through the system?)

Many thanks!

Whether a livebearer can be happy by itself is a difficult one. They should of course be with others of their own kind as they aren’t solitary fish. However my friends platy(from his old colony) was the only remaining one and now has adapted to be friends with his pair of German blue rams. He’s happy but he would definitely prefer to be back with other plagues. Therefore the answer to the question if you have the option to have more when buying them . Also you can try and sex them if you don’t want females. I’m sure some of the livebearer experts will be able to help.

 

[GaryE]

Dead snails will rot in their shells. That's unavoidable if they "bloom" population wise.

Two males may not bother each other, although livebearers being livebearers, they will probably try very hard to mate, and may annoy the heck out of each other.

You can add some older media to the new filter, while replacing the part you removed. You will cycle faster that way, but it still takes a little time to get to where you need to be. I like to run the new filter on a cycled tank for about 3 weeks, which worked quite well. You can also put the plants for the new tank into the old one during that process, to simplify your life.

 

[Colin_T]

Post a picture of the snails so we can identify them. Some like the Malaysian livebearing snail can get into the new tank when you transfer filter, plants or anything else from the old tank. They hide in the substrate during the day and come out at night. If you have them, then your tank is heavily infested with them if you can see dead snail shells.