# Mystery snail going into 1 gal. cube-buddies?



## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

When I bought my 10 gal., I was told to wait a couple of days before putting my betta into it by the LFS. Well, now that I've done my research (which I *should *have done before getting the fish), I know that I should have fishless cycled it first. Long story short, I bought a 1 gallon cube to keep my betta in for the 2 days I thought I needed before he went into his 10 gallon. I had trouble with keeping the temp in the 1 gallon warm enough, and it really stressed me out, so I went ahead and put him in the 10 gallon, and a few days later, added 2 albino corys, a ghost shrimp and 2 mystery snails. I know--I did it all wrong, but I'm working hard to make it work.

I've had the tank over 2 weeks now, and I'm finally to the point to where the ammonia is dropping and the nitrites are rising. So have been doing daily PWCs because nitrites have been an average of 2.0 every morning. 

I've been told by you guys that the mystery snails have a high bio-load, so I've decided to remove one from the tank. I'm too attached to take it back to the LFS (lol) so decided to ask if I can keep it in the 1 gallon cube (with a mini heater). I'd love to get a couple of male fancy guppies to put in there too, but is that too much? How about one guppy? Don't want shrimp in there, as I'm getting a couple of cherry shrimp for the 10 gallon.

The cube is 9" wide, 5" deep and 6" high. Most heaters are too long to fit in there, from what I've read. So, in addition to the fish question, what heater can I use that won't accidentally overheat and kill my snail and fish? I read that the Hagen 6" mini thermal is really good, but the tank is only 6" deep! Any other SAFE suggestions on heaters?


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

For just a snail, I wouldn't worry too much about a heater. They're a bit on the expensive side, and possibly fragile (I don't know, haven't tried them), but microrasporas might be an option. That, and planting that thing up till you can't see the substrate! or the fish! ...what? I have a thing for jungle tanks. 

1 gallon is a can be a BIG challenge trying to get things to work properly. I'm still battling problems on my 1.5 gallon. They can also look pretty plain unless you plant them or have really good hardscaping, like rocks. A really easy and probably good looking setup might be black sand with a couple of Marimo moss balls, along with the snail. 

If you're wanting to go a bit more advanced, I have some baby crypts I'll be selling ones the weather improves that would be great for a small tank.


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## omidod (Feb 25, 2012)

i agree. i have a black mystery snail in with my goldfish and he does fine (68 degrees) i know nothing about the fancy guppies though...:fish5:


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## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

I already put a layer of river rock in the bottom of it. They are about an inch long and an inch wide. I wonder if that's a good idea--won't food tend to get in between the rocks where the snail can't get to it? And I do plan to plant it. I may take you up on buying a couple crypts! What about the guppies? I really would like a couple of male fancy guppies. Is this feasible in a tank this small?


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## FireRed (Jan 21, 2012)

Your mystery snail is actually totally fine without a heater, but I'm going to recommend you add in calcium rich sand, and check that the oh of ur water is high enough for the little guy. Rocks are totally fine too, they can get food out of anywhere! But make sure you have a filter that does a good job of aerating the water or atleast a 2 inch gap before your lid to the snail can breath!


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

the rocks might be a lil bit for the plants, they'd have to fight them for growing room, and wouldn't be able to room well. Sand would be a good option to go below the rocks, and then maybe make piles of rocks instead of having them scattered everywhere. That way you'd have the plants and the rocks. 

I wouldn't worry about food getting stuck in the rocks too much. Snails are tough lil buggers (I have some that I haven't fed in about 3 months that are doing great), and doing regular water changes like you should anyways will keep things clean. 

As for the guppies...they really do like having room to swim. I've had some in my lil 1.5, and as much as my tank could handle the load, they really needed something bigger. White Cloud Minnows might be an option, they tend to be a bit calmer. I think you could have 3-4 in a moderately planted tank, assuming there's a filter on it. White clouds wouldn't need a heater, so they could be a very good option. 

Also think about some other plants, small java ferns, dwarf sag, dwarf hairgrass, dwarf just about anything could work. Moss too, would be a good option. Slow growing plants are great for smaller tanks, since they don't overgrow the tank too fast.


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

A Mystery Snail produces too much waste for a 1G Cube. I would leave him in the 10G tank and not add any more fish until your Nitrites (4 weeks) start to drop. A Mystery Snail can easily cycle a 10G tank. Add live plants to his tank so he will have some Algae to feed on and comsume a little of the Nitrites and Ammonia generated during cycling.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I would NOT add any fish to the 1g cube. Those really arent big enough to be a suitable home for any creature who likes to swim.


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## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

Thanks, everyone. I just hate the idea of a tank that small too. So I've decided to keep it as a hospital tank if needed. Its an important thing to have, so I guess it wasn't a total waste. I am going to get a 5 gal. tank (something as cheap as possible) and wait until my 10 gal. cycles, then I'll use old water from a water change in the new 5 gal. to jump start things. The 10 gal. is getting close to being cycled-this morning Ammmonia was .25 and the same for nitrites. Nitrates were betwwen 0 and 5.0. I'm just short of 3 weeks into the cycling. I will either keep a few male guppies, or another betta in the 5 gal. Haven't decided yet. Would a female betta work with guppies?


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## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

Oh, Firered, forgot to mention that my water PH is 8, so I'm assuming the Mystery snails won't need a calcium supplement?


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

you're prob good on the calcium. also, just so you know, bacteria doesnt live in the water column so adding tank water wont jump start anything. start seeding an extra filter media to put into the 5 gal when you get it, that will help.


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