What to feed snails? (quarantine period)

[Nav]

For my upcoming 40B (cycling), I'm planning to get the CUC early enough to quarantine them before adding to display.

I've done a lot lot reading on quarantining CUCs and its almost 50-50, but I'm deciding to do it just so I don't take that chance to introduce ick into the system.

This is what I'm planning on: 20 Florida Ceriths, 10 Nassarius, 5 Nerites, 10 Dwarf Ceriths & 3 Turbos. Its going to be a 6-8 week quarantine (so Ick can't find a host & die).

1) Is a 5gal quarantine enough?

2) What to feed them in this period?

3) Will I need any powerhead?

4) Water changes?

Thanks

 

[HiFidelity]

I used to QT snails, shrimp & stuff but it's not necessary at all, Ich can't survive without a fish host, so you won't get ich on snails, crabs etc.

I would just give them a long slow drip acclimation period, up to an hour and you're good to go.

 

[Nav]

I used to QT snails, shrimp & stuff but it's not necessary at all, Ich can't survive without a fish host, so you won't get ich on snails, crabs etc.

What if the shell's carrying the ich cyst?

 

[Vincerama2]

5g sounds OK, 10g for safety I guess. For a 6 week qt, I'd change the water every week or two, maybe just a gallon or two. Throw a piece of Nori in there for the algae eaters. Drops some flakes for the others, but be careful not to cloud up the water with nutrients.

If you are going to QT them, the water change (while siphoning crap off the bottom) will help to take out whatever you are afraid of.

Acclimate snails really slowly though, inverts are very sensitive. If the tank you are using as a qt has ever had that malachite green/blue used, then don't use that tank. Any copper based medication will harm them, so watch out for residue in the qt tank from previous usage.

V

 

[aqua-nut]

I take a rinse and hope approach. Drip acclimate then move them to a container of 100% tank water. Let them hang there for a few minutes. Then pluck them from the container trying to get rid of as much water as possible and into the DT.

Totally unscientific but I feel good to have diluted the chance of Ich hitchhikers.

 

[neuro]

Oh man, I've never dipped or quarantined CUC. Maybe I should start... maybe that's how I got red bugs in the past. Then again, I can't imagine how any of them would survive on the backs of snails for long.

 

[Nav]

Question to everyone here:

For the QT setup, do I dose Seachem Prime everyday? If so how much should I dose for a 10gal?

Of course I'm going to do 10% water changes every 2-3 days once.

 

[tygunn]

I guess it depends. Is the qt cycled? If you want got a sponge filter from an established tank you should be able to keep nutrients at safe levels. If un-cycled you would be wise to either do lots of water changes to keep things stable or to neutralize ammonia.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Nav]

I guess it depends. Is the qt cycled? If you want got a sponge filter from an established tank you should be able to keep nutrients at safe levels. If un-cycled you would be wise to either do lots of water changes to keep things stable or to neutralize ammonia.

QT is not cycled & I'm planning on frequent water changes. My question was about making the ammonia non-toxic... Can I dose Prime everyday? (meaning: how long will dosed Prime do it's job, when should I replenish it?)

 

[tygunn]

QT is not cycled & I'm planning on frequent water changes. My question was about making the ammonia non-toxic... Can I dose Prime everyday? (meaning: how long will dosed Prime do it's job, when should I replenish it?)

Okay if its not cycled, the frequent water changes and watching the ammonia levels is probably enough.

An easy way to keep an eye is one of these:

You just leave it stuck in the tank and it changes color with the presence of ammonia.

I'm not 100% familiar with how products like Prime work, but I think technically the ammonia would still register on your test kit even though it's "neutralized". I'd do some google searching on it. From what I saw in a quick search I saw references to it being effective for 24 hours only. But don't quote me on that.

I suspect if you keep up with the water changes and watch the ammonia levels, you can probably be good with just that.

 

[Nav]

Perfect, thanks @tygunn