Cycling with snails??? Can you?

[frannyscho]

Ok so you might laugh BUT
I want to set up a fry tank quickly because the platy has just had eight more Steves last night, and I don't want her to eat them this time. Two of the Mollies lived from last time out of nine.

As my tank is overun at the moment with probably undesirable pond snails who by the way...don't really like lettuce....and they are about the same size as fry, could a whole load of them cycle a new tank? One snail per fry?

Also the three plants I bought are taking over the tank, and although providing good fry cover...are not really making the Mollies very happy because they have no big space to swim in, and are huddling (unhappily I presume) above the heater at the top.

Any advice please?

 

[wwestar2000]

I think by the time it would cycle there would be alot of missing fry. I mean even with chemicals it would at least take 2 weeks. I think maybe a bunch of big apple snails could do it. Im not sure if snails that small could.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

the easiest and best way to quickly cycle a tank is to add filter media that has been previously seeded with beneficial bacteria. what kind of filter are you running in each tank?

 

[frannyscho]

Mine is a Rena Filstar i1 with dual filtration. One dark spongy thing in the bottom compartment and one white thing in a top compartment. Both are actually looking very mucky. I have rinsed the bottom spongy one a few times in the old tank water each time.

The white one I'm not sure what it is. It says in the instructions to change this every three weeks...do you?

I was thinking of buying the same type of filter and then dividing the bottom media into two and giving each filter half and half, or two thirds one third in the larger fishes favour, and dividing the gravel into both tanks. Would this instantly cycle it? Surely little fry don't pee much?