Mystery Snails For Cycling?

[Bettabuddy664]

Hey there,
I just started up my 5 gal (yay) and am planning to put a betta in there.
I need to start the cycling process and I would prefer to use a live animal to cycle rather than fishless.
I am either going to get Nerites or Mysterys, but I'm leaning more towards mystery for the bigger bioload, hence the more ammonia to cycle.
If snails work out for cycling, how many of each should I get?
Thanks,
BB664

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Why you would prefer to expose an animal to ammonia rather than just going the fishless route, which is far more humane?

 

[Bettabuddy664]

I've tried to convince my parents to let me get either aquarium ammonia or just leave some egg shells in the tank, but they aren't convinced, and are rahter disgusted.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Do your parents know how to work a computer or similar device? If so suggest to them that they Google "fishless cycling." Let them find the facts themselves ;-)

 

[Bettabuddy664]

I just realized im using seeded media from my filter and gravel from an already cycled tank. Taking this into consideration, would i still need to go out and buy some ammonia or would i be fine with what I have now?

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

If you had to do a fish in cycle, I would first add the betta. Shrimp and and snails stress easily and are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, as well as salt. I would do daily water changes every day until the tank is stable, which can be anywhere from 3-8 months. 4-6 is the average. Mine took 6. After your levels for ammonia and nitrite have been 0 for several weeks, you can add some shrimp or snails. Add 1 at a time, waiting about a week in between. Like I said invertebrates are more sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, and you dont want to stress them. Do daily changes if needed. Wait for levels of ammonia and nitrite to be at 0 for several days before adding new livestock. Continue this until tank is stocked with betta, snails, and or shrimp.
 
Would your parents let you if they knew there was a product on the market for fishless cycling, made FOR fishless cycling? HERE it is. You add one drop per gallon of water to cycle. Make sure to test.

EDIT- if using media then you will only need to wait a few weeks after your betta has been added and I would say add 2 shrimp/snails at a time.

 

[Bettabuddy664]

Thanks Ellie, I appreciate the tips!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I just realized im using seeded media from my filter and gravel from an already cycled tank. Taking this into consideration, would i still need to go out and buy some ammonia or would i be fine with what I have now?

 
 
You should be fine.  Add the betta and keep a VERY close eye on the ammonia and nitrite for a week.  Post your results here if you are concerned, and we can see you through it.   The hope would be that there would be sufficient bacteria to deal with the ammonia on its own.  And you wouldn't see any ammonia or nitrite.  Further, if you are adding a betta and some snails, like nerite or mysterys, I would suggest that you add some live plants.  Very easy plants for first timers with plants (not sure if you are or not) would be anubias, java fern, java moss, water sprite, wisteria, etc. 

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I stongly disagree with the statement that:
 

 
until the tank is stable, which can be anywhere from 3-8 months. 4-6 is the average.

 
Please provide any sort of scientific support for this statement. In fact, perhaps the first step is providing a definition of what is meant by the term stable in this case?
 
It sure doesn't mean establishing nitrifying bacteria, it doesn't mean establishing the heterotrophicic bacteria either since they reproduce at lightening speed compared to the nitrifiers. Even those fw tanks that may develop anaerobes in any numbers should not take that long. It doesn't apply to plants either because they also settle in way less time.
 
Next, the nitrifiers live in a bio-film which attaches them to solid objects and helps to protect them from a lot of things. But they are not alone in there, all sorts of other beneficial  bacteria cohabit the bio-film and there is a synergistic relation between the residents. One may even find anaerobes deep in the bio-film. So the bacteria are developing along side
each other,
 
Lastly, how exactly would any fish keeper know exactly when their tank is "established"? You can measure ammonia, nitrite etc., but what are the other factors that would indicate when a tank is "established" or is not established?
 
Bettabuddy664, I would not worry about much beyond making your tank safe in terms of cycling. Seeding greatly speeds the process, but there is a catch. We simply do not know how much bacteria is in or on anything we move over from cycled tanks. It could be more than enough or it could be too little. Normally, the way to find out is to add some ammonia and then see what happens in the following day. It the tank processes most/all of the ammonia you are good to go and if it doesn't you can take some time in which you add ammonia to complete the cycle. You can boost the effects of seeding by combining it with adding live plants.
 
Live plants will basically consume some ammonia and they also will arrive with some amount of the desired bacteria on them as well, So you can get a double boost from them. If you are able to seed from another tank and add plants, this should get you pretty close to safe pretty fast. The one thing you do not want to do is start by adding inverts, they are normally highly sensitive to ammonia, nitrite and nitrate compared to most fish. Also, do not allow the new tank to sit without any ammonia source in it for more than a few days, you want to make sure the bacteria are in tip top shape when you begin to stock. While they are not in danger of dying off, they can temporarily slow down.
 
I would strongly urge that you have an ammonia and nitrite test it for your start up phase. These kit will let you know how safe your tank is when the fish has gone in. They will also tell you when its safe to add your snails. Once you are seeing 0/0 readings for ammonia an nitrite, its time to add new inhabitants, The key in doing so is to make sure what is being added does not add much more than 1/4-1/3 of the waste that the current inhabitants already do. That will minimize any potential cycling issues from the addition.
 
However, I would still go back to what I posted above, Have your folks do a Google for "Fishless Cycling". What they find should change their minds on this issue.I do believe.

 

[daizeUK]

Some people are horrified at the idea of putting ammonia into a tank.  That's because they don't realise that ammonia is exactly what fish produce as a waste product, in the same way that we produce urea when we urinate, their waste is ammonia.  They produce it all the time.
 
The idea of adding ammonia to a tank is to simulate the presence of fishes, in order to build up an ecosystem that can process their waste products.  At the end of the process, if done correctly, there should be no toxic chemicals left in the tank, just a ready-made ecosystem suitable for happy fish!
 
Perhaps your folks might understand it this way?