5 gallon Fluval Spec V

[Tacocat]

ARGHHH!!!!!!

Snail infestation!!! The ramshorn babies are coming out, and my brother just spent 30 minutes killing them with a stick. I'm afraid that pretty soon this will spiral out of control, so I am thinking of solutions. I have a viable solution that involves risking my money for fish.

Option 1- Most viable and probably most likely: buy a snail trap/make my own. This is the cheapest and might actually make a dent in the population, but they're just going to bounce back unless I do something properly.

Option 2- Will cost money but will be cool for a bit and might end up working really well: Remember from a few posts ago that my neighbour is leaving and says we can do whatever to her tank? Well... We can buy Kuhli loaches/ yoyo loaches from our LFS(probs kuhli), and transfer our fish over to the neighbours to keep the bio load somewhat similar( probably the guppies ) Meanwhile, the kuhlis are introduced and start ravaging the snail population. When the neighbours come back after a few weeks, I estimate the loaches might have finished them. Then, we'll transfer the loaches to the neighbour's tank and bring the guppies and maybe fry back. What about the adult? Well, we'll bring him over to the neighbours at the start of the purge, and then when the loaches are transferred, the babies will have started, and the loaches can feast.

Option 3- Purge the tank and restart: This is the option that I really don't want to do, and neither does my mom. We want to avoid this the most, as I don't really want to go through cycling again.

Option 4- This is kind of , but I could just leave them be: I would let them go out of control, and maybe stab a few here and there. Makes good protein for the guppies and shrimp after all.

Tell me what you think I should do. Mind you, chances are my parents won't listen to random people on the internet mini modding our fish tank, but I'll see what I can do.

 

[Tacocat]

Right now, we're just going to kill all babies in sight, and at the next water change the big ludwigia will be uprooted and washed in old tank water, and then shake out all the babies hiding in it. The babies hiding in the sand will be a problem, but we'll fix that.

 

[Tacocat]

Well, to combat this, my brother and parents did little to no research and asked the LFS what to do while I was sailing, and they said get assassin snails. I guess that's one way to do it.

 

[Tacocat]

I'm getting scared about the assassins, as they might eat the males, as they are small enough. However, I did notice a molt inside the driftwood, so he might be mating size now. However, it might be a female that grew a size.

 

[Tacocat]

I went to the LFS and bought some bloodworms, which I will be feeding to them once a week, as well as to the betta, and these plants. I may have made a mistake.

 

[Tacocat]

I have found out that the plants are bacopa caroliniana, and are extremely buoyant, and the left one floated off the substrate.

 

[Tacocat]

The large female cherry is now fanning herself. Is she ovigerous or just doing it?

 

[Tacocat]

Guppy lying down - Probably about to give birth. I am doing work right now so I might be able to film this.

 

[Tacocat]

I tried the bloodworms and... yeah it didn't work out too well. I dropped the cube into the water, and then the fish ignored it. I then took it out of the water to break it up, and then the guppies barely touched it because it was too big. They had one or 2 each, but the majority fell to the snails and shrimp, who are now munching happily. The leftovers are going to the betta next door, which is likely to be mine, due to the fact that the daughter barely looks at it.

 

[Essjay]

I never drop the whole cube in the water. The cubes contain a lot more that you'd think.

I've always cut the cubes in half for the occupants of a 48 gallon tank. Because there are some pretty small fish in there, I shave slivers off the half cube so that there are some tiny bloodworm fragments that the small fish can manage. Then I put the remains of the half cube and the slivers into a small tub with a bit of tank water till it's all thawed before putting into the tank right in the filter outflow so the bits get swirled all over the tank

 

[BluewaterBoof]

Yep. For a little 5gal with just a couple of fish I would only scrape off just a corner of a cube. Frozen bloodworms are pretty rich in nutrients and a small amount goes a long way, both in feeding the animals AND fouling up the water. You’re doing great, though. Just adjust your future feedings and you’ll be fine. Your tank is turning out lovely!

 

[BluewaterBoof]

The large female cherry is now fanning herself. Is she ovigerous or just doing it?View attachment 138813

I can’t really tell from the photo but you’d be able to see the eggs clearly if she was carrying. They look like a bunch of little balls stuck to the swimmerets.

Edit: Here is a photo of eggs being carried:

 

[Tacocat]

Alright, so because the female guppy is extremely pregnant, and so pregnant that she's sitting down, I think I should prepare a fry tank.


I'm not sure if this is adequate, as it doesn't have an ayirstone and I can't remember if I dechlorinated it. However, I did boil the rocks and wood, but the substrate is just plant rocks that my mom uses to keep houseplants in place.

EDIT: It's a kimchi jar, I think at least 1 gallon, plastic. It has a few pieces of bacopa, as well as some java moss tied to the wood and placed under the rocks. I might have to do a water change as it has been stained with tannins, but the jar has been sitting for a few weeks. It also has duckweed

 

[BluewaterBoof]

Any updates on the tank?

 

[Tacocat]

Any updates on the tank?

indeed! My brother noticed a berried shrimp finally! However, I have yet to see it, so I will post a picture when I find it.