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.....to my Apple Snail

I don't know if I have the heart to put him in either of the betta tanks. I don't trust my boys not to nip off his antenae. They are both in filtered 2.5 and 3 gallons (UGF) and are experiencing gravel for the first time. They thought it was food and kept attacking it . Therefore, I have a feeling it will be a bad day for any snail added to their tanks.

I'm thinking of making him a member of my 20 long. But, it was dosed with coppersafe at one time. Even if I get copper levels to zero with a tester, isn't there copper left on the gravel and absorbed by other things in the tank, like the seals.

I thought these things were good at cleaning algae and didn't know any better that they do eat "some" algae. Therefore, the purpose for being in the betta tank is kind of moot. But, I'm always cleaning out decaying plant matter from the 20 long. Therefore, maybe he would be better suited there.

But what about previously dosing with copper?

Last edited by Cory_Di at 04-Mar-2005 18:57

if you can get some live worms or some MTS that you can put in your 20long to test their survival, then you would know for sure if your apple snail will make it in there. do you have any fish that will eat worms? if not, find some MTS and throw them in there. if they don't survive, then you know there is still copper in your tank. personally i don't think you have much to worry about, but better safe than sorry

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

How long would it take to know if the copper is having effects on the mts?

I don't know that I would mind them in my tank. However, I'm thinking I would do this AFTER I switch substrates. Then it shouldn't be an issue. I'm hoping to go to Eco-Complete in the spring. The only thing I'd have to be concerned with then, is it coming out of the sealant.

well, obviously if your mts don't survive, then there is still too much copper in the tank to risk it. i had 8 pennies in my 10g filter for about 2 months, took them out, and now i have quite a thriving little community of mts in there. if not mts, then try it with some black worms (if you don't mind having worms in your substrate for years to come :%)).

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

I have apple snails and MTS snails. The MTS have a higher tolerance for copper, at least in my tanks. I haven't treated with copper safe but just have a high copper content in my water plus have copper water lines.

I tried the CupriSorb copper-metal adsorbent that was recommended to me and it didn't seem to help. It may work for you. I have very hard mineral water

I have a 10 gal. that my apple snails are in currently. What seems to work best for me is placing a cup of charcol in a sack and placing it directly in the tank plus using charcol in my filter.

I couldn't figure out why I kept loosing all my apple snails at first. They would just quit moving around and close up until they died. I would say to watch them close for the first few days anyway to see how they react. If they do act sluggish or quit moving around you will need to come up with a different plan. Maybe you can change out your substrate? Sorry I can't be of more help.

jan

I was thinking of trying the copper remover. But, I have to change my substrate for the habrosus cories before putting them back in the 20 long. When I do that, I will use some kind of remover to cover the seals.

Thanks for sharing your experience .