Is this possible for cyclying?

[Videl]

I know it might sound stupid but can anyone tell me if you could cycle a tank with an apple mystery snail. Meaning, can you substitute a fish with a snail to start the production of beneficial bacteria.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Snails don't produce alot of waste in general in comparison to fish thus not much ammonia to start a cycle, so you would need alot of snails- much better to do a fishless cycle as they take much shorter time to do, don't put your fish's health at risk since you don't use any fish and you can stock the tank alot faster once done- you can read more on how to do a fishless cycle in the pinned artciles at the top of the beginners section .

 

[sinistral]

I've read that apple snails do in fact produce a lot of waste. I found an article here and here, each of which suggest that apple snails produce a good amount of waste.

I do agree that fishless cycling is probably a better way to go. You might also consider checking out this apple snail website. HTH~

 

[yvez9]

i guess it depend how big the tank is

apple snails produce lots of waste compared to its size. I guess you'd have to feed it alot as they do poop alot.
If it's a 5 or 10 gallon tank I guess you might be able to get away with it, but anything bigger will probably be a waste of time