Help

[secretlad]

i have a 30 litre tank with two mollies in, but i seem to have a acquired some new unwanted guests in the form of some snails. i looked up how to get rid of these guests and quite liked idea idea of adding a new fish to my tank aswell so i was thinking about getting a clown loach to keep the population down but it turns out they are way to big for my tank and will out grow it. just wondering if there was any other smaller fish i could put in to help me out with the snails?

thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm afraid not. All the snail eating fish either grow too big or need to be in groups, which you don't have the room for.

Your best bet is to put some cucumber or courgette (or lettuce) in the tank last thing at night and take it out, with the snails on it, in the morning, before you put the lights on. You should be able to catch most of them that way. If you don't overfeed the tank, the snails won't breed too much.

I feel I ought to say that really mollies aren't suitable for your tank either; they can grow to four inches long, which is a bit big for a 30l tank.

Edit; doh, I forgot to say; to the forum!

 

[secretlad]

hmm.. what fish would you recommend i put in? im a total novice really... my first attempt at keeping some tropical fish

 

[Fishy friend2]

Is the tank cycled? And how did you cycle it?
Fish that I would get for a 30 liter if I were you would be
1 Betta
6 mosquito rasboras

 

[secretlad]

cycled? changing the water?

 

[fluttermoth]

Cycling means growing a colony of good bacteria in the filter that eat the ammonia produced by the fish, which stops it poisoning them.

A cycled filter has those good bacteria. New tanks don't have them, so the fish are at risk.

If your tank is new, you should change half the water every day making sure the new water is warmed and treated with a dechloinator, and buy a test kit that will tell you if ther's any ammonia in the water.

Make sure you never wash the filter in tap water, only old water that you've taken out of the tank.

How long has your tank been set up and how long has it had fish in?

Edit; if you click on the link in my sig, you'll find loads of useful articles of newcomers to the hobby

 

[Fishy friend2]

:face palm:
Take a look in the beginners section in my sig, there should be loads of info on cycling

 

[secretlad]

well i put everything in my tank and had my filter run for a week with nothing in except the contents of two sachets i got given. one of bacteria and another of chlorine. then after a week of letting the filer run with all that stuff in. i bought the two mollies and they've been in for 2 weeks now and i havnt done anything else since then aside feed them

 

[Fishy friend2]

Then your tank is not cycled and there is definitely large, harmful amounts of ammonia, so I would do a 70-90 percent water change if I were you

 

[secretlad]

ill get on it tomorrow morning before work.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Okay.
Good luck with your fishies! I hope they do well