Planning for 38-gallon community tank, looking for advice!

[Byron]

Edited to add: also... will the larger snails we're planning on getting (3 zebra nerite and 3 mystery) eat these little guys?

No. Assasin snails are (so far as I am aware) the only snail that will eat the smaller snails. But not being all that up on snails, there may be others but I have not seen them mentioned here.

But you're saying if I don't overfeed then the numbers shouldn't get too crazy? I guess I just had it in my head that large amounts of them were bad as I've seen some people complaining about them getting out of hand. If anything in my opinion they'll add even more interest to the tank on top of keeping it cleaner so I won't worry about it. Maybe if that's the only one I'll add a few more so they can breed. Or are they asexual/capable of breeding on their own?

You might be surprised at just how much organic food there is in an aquarium. I certainly do not overfeed my fish, and I have hundreds of Malaysian Livebearing Snails and some bladder/pond snails in each of my tanks. Rarely do they get very large before they die, and I suspect this may have something to do with the lack of food. But I know that they are there at the level they are solely because there is sufficient food to sustain them. And if they were not there, that natural organic food would be polluting the water. Snails and good bacteria exist in natural ecosystems for a very good reason, they help the system. If they are "bad" because of their numbers, that means you have a real problem causing this, so once again, the snails are not bad, but your maintenance might be.

According to Bob Fenner, most snails are hermaphroditic, both male and female. Cross fertilization is the rule, though many small species are known to self-fertilize.

 

[xxtarajean]

Sounds good to me! As long as the zebra nerites and mystery snails we want won't eat these guys we'll still add them in, and if he's the only pond or bladder (hopefully I'll be able to tell which once he gets a bit bigger) after another week or so I'll get a few more of those as well! I don't see any eggs but I also didn't see this guy or his egg if there was one so there could very well be more somewhere. I believe the mystery snails might breed as well but it sounds like the more snails the better to a degree and I'm fine with that!

No. Assasin snails are (so far as I am aware) the only snail that will eat the smaller snails. But not being all that up on snails, there may be others but I have not seen them mentioned here.

You might be surprised at just how much organic food there is in an aquarium. I certainly do not overfeed my fish, and I have hundreds of Malaysian Livebearing Snails and some bladder/pond snails in each of my tanks. Rarely do they get very large before they die, and I suspect this may have something to do with the lack of food. But I know that they are there at the level they are solely because there is sufficient food to sustain them. And if they were not there, that natural organic food would be polluting the water. Snails and good bacteria exist in natural ecosystems for a very good reason, they help the system. If they are "bad" because of their numbers, that means you have a real problem causing this, so once again, the snails are not bad, but your maintenance might be.

According to Bob Fenner, most snails are hermaphroditic, both male and female. Cross fertilization is the rule, though many small species are known to self-fertilize.

 

[Toney]

You know some corys bards got nipped off a few times and it must have been the gravel


If you really thought so much about fish you wouldn't put them in little glass boxes.

You telling beginners that sand is a must is really your opinion Bryan not gospel

 

[Byron]

If you really thought so much about fish you wouldn't put them in little glass boxes.

I believe this was countered in another thread, and this one is not relevant to the issue.

You telling beginners that sand is a must is really your opinion Bryan not gospel

If you can find authorities to disprove me, fine. Scientific fact is not disputable except according to the rules of science, by peer-review. Cories do not live over anything but sand or mud in nature. Providing the closest conditions to what the species expects is the way to healthy fish. I'd be interested to see any reliable authority disagreeing. There are none.

 

[Essjay]

Sounds good to me! As long as the zebra nerites and mystery snails we want won't eat these guys we'll still add them in, and if he's the only pond or bladder (hopefully I'll be able to tell which once he gets a bit bigger) after another week or so I'll get a few more of those as well! I don't see any eggs but I also didn't see this guy or his egg if there was one so there could very well be more somewhere. I believe the mystery snails might breed as well but it sounds like the more snails the better to a degree and I'm fine with that!

Those snails are fine with nerites, and they should be OK with mystery snails. I have nerites, Malaysian trumpet snails, tiny ramshorn snails, and the same snails as the one in your photo - the last two arrived with plants.
Mystery snails can breed - the eggs clusters are laid above the water line and look like tiny bunches of grapes. If you don't want lots of baby snails, just remove the eggs clusters.
Nerites may lay sesame seed like eggs but they don't hatch in fresh water.
Physid snails or possibly Limnaeid snails (the one in your photo) lay tiny eggs in a jelly like substance. Very hard to see unless the jelly is on the glass wall.

There are descriptions of all these snails, and more, here http://www.fishforums.net/threads/freshwater-snail-species-in-the-hobby.424364/

 

[Toney]

I've got corys on sand and gravel all are eating, growing, reproducing, and thriving. Damn if I can tell a difference.

 

[Byron]

I've got corys on sand and gravel all are eating, growing, reproducing, and thriving. Damn if I can tell a difference.

That's sometimes the issue...how can we tell what a fish thinks, feels, etc? The ichthyologists dig into all this, and provide us with the clues. So we follow them. And we learn from nature, their habitat is still the best guide.

All of this is programmed into the fish species' DNA. We cannot change it, so we shouldn't try.

 

[Toney]

Again... where do we draw the line, do you get off on costing people time and money on a substrate change?

Who knows what a fish is thinking?

 

[Toney]

Setting up a filter properly. ... yeah I can do that, cut the pickup tube off 5" above the substrate. It's growling like all get out. The shaft is all scared up....

 

[xxtarajean]

looks like he's a bladder snail/physidae as he has a sinistral shell from what I can tell.

Those snails are fine with nerites, and they should be OK with mystery snails. I have nerites, Malaysian trumpet snails, tiny ramshorn snails, and the same snails as the one in your photo - the last two arrived with plants.
Mystery snails can breed - the eggs clusters are laid above the water line and look like tiny bunches of grapes. If you don't want lots of baby snails, just remove the eggs clusters.
Nerites may lay sesame seed like eggs but they don't hatch in fresh water.
Physid snails or possibly Limnaeid snails (the one in your photo) lay tiny eggs in a jelly like substance. Very hard to see unless the jelly is on the glass wall.

There are descriptions of all these snails, and more, here http://www.fishforums.net/threads/freshwater-snail-species-in-the-hobby.424364/

 

[Byron]

Again... where do we draw the line, do you get off on costing people time and money on a substrate change?

This hobby is a scientific one, and to provide reasonably proper care for the fish should be the aim of every aquarist. If not, they are in the wrong hobby.

I would find a forum where the truth was not explained to be frankly useless. If a beginning aquarist asks a question, those who have the answer should provide it so the beginner can learn. I would not waste my time on a forum where this was not the norm. There are a number of irresponsible sites run by so-called "experts" that disseminate inaccurate information.

I note with interest that you have not been able to counter anything I have written in this thread with reliable data. If you are going to challenge the science, provide the evidence that does so.

 

[Toney]

I've been in the hobby 43 years, I've had a lot of tanks

I've made my own observations, everything in books isn't gospel.

Just because we don't keep our fish exactly as in nature doesn't it make us cruel or stupid. My fish are very well taken care of.

Ps, there's only a few fish in my collection that look anything like what's in nature

 

[hobby5]

I've got corys on sand and gravel all are eating, growing, reproducing, and thriving. Damn if I can tell a difference.

I am sorry Toney, if you can see no difference maybe you should pay more attention?

You sound pretty ignorant. And no it's not gospel. I totally second all what Byron said. There has been a learning curve over the years in the hobby. There is a second reason to go for sand. It is low-maintenance compared to gravel. No need to vacuum mulm anymore.

 

[Toney]

I can see why so many people quit this forum, it isn't really all that friendly, l have been insulted many times myself.

I have yet to call anyone names.......

 

[Wansui]