Are these snails safe?

its odd why u have them if you havent been feeding. do you have tank test results or any tank details as to what you washed the tank with etc?

dont panic, they are harmless planarians, they come from may sources, especially from plants

yep i was going to post they were planaria lol
fpr the ammonia hun you need to be adding enough to get it up to 5ppm

i cant find the cycling link but i'm sure if you do a google search it will tell you

cycling the tank can take 4-6 weeks

I've found a picture of planarians and they're nothing like those wriggly things in my tank. If they get any larger I'll try to take a photo but at the moment they're just too small.

As regards adding the ammonia Pip - am I aiming at Ammonia readings of 5 with Nitrite & Nitrate at 0? If so, then how long after adding the ammonia do I test the water? Nothing I've read about cycling is very clear on that point.

from netty and vans site -[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

THE NITROGEN CYCLE

Before explaining cycling a filter, it is a good idea to have a basic understanding of what the nitrogen cycle is, and how it is applicable to your fish tank.

This is just a very basic explanation of how a fully mature filter works.

When you have fish in your tank they will produce waste, which will break down to produce Ammonia. Uneaten foods will also produce Ammonia. The toxic Ammonia is broken down by bacteria in your filter to produce Nitrite (note the i), which is also toxic to fish. Another type of bacteria in your mature filter will then break down the nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate is only bad in high concentrations.

So, thats what happens in your filter -

Fish waste/food -> Ammonia -> Nitrite -> Nitrate.


THE FISHLESS CYCLE

Shopping list -
Pure Ammonia
Ammonia test kit
Nitrite test kit

Cycling your filter without fish is obviously the safest way to establish a mature filter, as there are no fish present that can be harmed by toxins. People used to use fish food as a means to cycle their filters, but this is a very slow process and doesn''t grow such a big colony of good bacteria. More recently pure Ammonia is used. Pure Ammonia is available from most general hardware stores and occassionally local fish shops (lfs). A fishless cycle can take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks.

Once you have your tank sited with gravel/sand in and filled with dechlorinated water, get your heater and filter turned on. Allow the temperature to settle at your desired level.

Once you start the fishless cycle, do not change any water. If you have water loss through evaporation this can be topped off with dechlorinated water.



Time to start adding the Ammonia to your tank. Add the Ammonia dropwise, until your ammonia test kit registers approx 5ppm (parts per million). I suggest that in a 10 gallon tank you start by adding 4 or 5 drops then test the water. Add further drops as necessary to reach 5ppm. Once you have done this the first time you''ll know how many drops to add next time:)



Test the water for Ammonia every day until the ammonia has reduced to 1ppm or less. When at 1ppm add ammonia again to take it back up to 5ppm. Keep doing this until the ammonia is being processed from 5ppm to zero in 12 hours. This will normally be around 2 weeks, so maybe start testing the water every 12 hours at around this time.



Once the ammonia is being processed from 5 to zero ppm, the filter has grown a good supply of the ammonia converting bacteria and you can start testing for nitrite. You will find that the nitrite will be off the scale of your test kit, but dont worry:)

Keep adding the pure ammonia every day to a level of 2ppm ammonia. You should continue to do this until your nitrite reading is zero for at least 24 hours. Once the nitrite starts to drop, it will drop rapidly. This stage can take longer than the initial stage so dont panic. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do to speed it up:(

Congratulations, your filter is cycled. You can stop adding the ammonia and start adding your fish. Using this method allows you to add a full stock of fish straight away.

N.B. If you are not going to add fish straight away, keep adding the pure ammonia at 2ppm until the day before you get your fish. This is because your filter needs the ammonia for the bacteria to live.

sound like planaria (spelling!) the worms. I used to get them in my large tank that had a massive upside down cat fish in. He used to think they were lovely! yuck! I have just noticed I have 2 or 3 tiny snails in with my baby mollies. I just throw them back in the pond (snails not the mollies) I used to love my little dwarf puffer fish he loved snails" :Love:

Also, there are lots of planiarian species, some are the familiar flatworms and others look more like white wrigglers

Thanks Pip for the clear instructions - certainly easier to understand that some I have seen.

I'm leaving the wrigglers alone for the moment as they are simply too small for me to catch & dispose of, and the snails are now in the pond.