Months later I still can't keep bottom feeders alive!!??

[cynic]

I have sand in my tank too, my tank has been running for 6 or 7 years and its the same sand.

The only thing moving it is the snails, i don't touch it either. Don't want to disturb my plants.

Waterchange wise, i have a canister filter and use the outlet from that to pump out the required amount of water through a hosepipe, then connect the hosepipe to the tap, add the seachem and refil.

Yes straight from the cold tap. I do have 2 300w heaters in the tank and the powerhead runs full time during a change. As long as the fill is done slowly, (with the filter inlet/outlets closed) the temperature only drops 2 maybe 3 deg even in winter. No buckets, little mess.

Plant maintenance makes more mess than a wc.

 

[Aquatony]

So I will get a group of Cories and place them in the upstairs tank. I assume they will be just fine up there. This is definitely isolated to the downstairs tank.

Are Malaysian live bearing snails the MTS I see around? Malaysian trumpet snail? If they're good w/ soft and acidic water like mine maybe I should get those?

 

[Byron]

So I will get a group of Cories and place them in the upstairs tank. I assume they will be just fine up there. This is definitely isolated to the downstairs tank.

Are Malaysian live bearing snails the MTS I see around? Malaysian trumpet snail? If they're good w/ soft and acidic water like mine maybe I should get those?

Yes, MLS can be seen under the name Trumpet, also Cornucopia. They thrive in any water, including very soft (I have this).

 

[Aquatony]

so in reading about the MLS/MTS I see that their population can explode and go from a half dozen to dozens or more in relatively short order. Do you have that problem Byron or do you see that as a problem? I want to get them as they do seem incredibly hard to kill, but after reading some horror stories, I'm hesitant. I am a novice aquarist at best... trying to learn as much as I can. I'm even looking at switching to a canister filter!

 

[Byron]

so in reading about the MLS/MTS I see that their population can explode and go from a half dozen to dozens or more in relatively short order. Do you have that problem Byron or do you see that as a problem? I want to get them as they do seem incredibly hard to kill, but after reading some horror stories, I'm hesitant. I am a novice aquarist at best... trying to learn as much as I can. I'm even looking at switching to a canister filter!

Snails, and especially Malaysian Livebearing, are your best friend in an aquarium. The MLS crawl everywhere, including throughout the substrate, eating all organics (this means all the fish excrement) which breaks it down much faster so the bacteria can then deal with it. Aquarists cannot possibly replicate this benefit.

I have hundreds of MLS I my tanks, thee larger tanks are undoubtedly in the thousands. I know they are there because of the organics, not my overfeeding, as I am a sparse feeder. It is interesting that rarely do the snails get large, something I attribute to the lack of food to maintain them. In one tank my loaches do seem to have some effect, but MLS are not easy snails to get at because of their "trap door."

If you can find MLS (they are not often seen here, and I had to pay $2.50 for one when I did find them), you will only need one or two. They disappear at first, but a few weeks later you will begin to see more of them, especially in very early morning as they tend to come out during darkness, though I have many I see during the day.

I have never had great success with the other common harmless snails such as pond and bladder, presumably because of my very soft water. MLS thrive in very soft to very hard water. And they are indeed hardy; they have been known to survive freezing solid in a bucket of wet gravel outside all winter.