mystery snail

My Planted Aquarium (June 2025)

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June 9.

Here we are again on my quest for the most beautiful planted tank in all the lands! As you can see, I like to soak my air plants in my aquarium. This way they get chlorine free water along with some nutrients. Just don’t do this if you use anything with copper in your aquarium, as it will kill air plants.

I’m starting by trimming and removing melted leaves

I want to give the sword plant more space, so I’m removing any Vallisneria that is too close.

If I wasn’t so tired, I would try selling the plants I pull out and trim.

Now that it isn’t tangled up, the sword plant looks much better.

I tucked some of the Vallisneria behind the branch.

I stuck in some blanched cucumber, topped up the water, and added liquid fertiliser.

June 17.

With each week I’m happier and happier with how it looks! My mystery snail, Steve is about 1.5 years old now. Personally I think he’s adorable.

I’m removing some algae this week. I used to have trouble with hair algae, but this is a new one. It’s slower growing and feels very sticky. Unlike hair algae, it attaches to surfaces very well. I found the easiest way to get it off is to use my fingers and rub it into a ball.

I’m trimming this plant and propagating it. I also trimmed the Rotala to give it more light.

I removed a bit more of the Vallisneria, added 2 broken up root tabs, liquid fertilizer, and left it at that.

June 24.

I’m doing a quick parameter check with some strips. I’ve checked these against the API freshwater test kit and they do pick up the nitrate fairly well.

I checked to see if the pH was high enough for the snails.

I’m removing some pups and trimming some jungle Vallisneria leaves.

Removing more algae (mostly growing on my pre-filter sponge).

I was tired so I just finished by topping up the water and adding liquid fertilizer.

My First Planted Aquatic Vase

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In 2024 I got some cash as a Christmas gift and decided to spend it making an aquatic vase. I had been long developing an intense special interest in shrimp keeping. But, I had never had an aquarium before and read snails were more hardy, and easier to start with.

I spent hours watching videos, reading forums, and looking at setups of Walstad method tanks. I had a 1 gallon vase and decided to try it.

I started with plain potting soil and capped it with aquarium gravel. I went to the pet store and got some java moss and bought a small clip on USB light. I tried tying the moss with clear thread to a rock.

The vase is bigger then it looks because distortion.

I tested the water over the next month with test strips. They showed the tank had cycled, and my tap water parameters were great for keeping snails. After some research, I got some more plants and a Mystery Snail; a choice I later regretted. (That sounds way too ominous, no mystery snails were harmed in the making of this vase!)

“Steve The Poop Monster”, at only 2cm the little lad took over his new realm nicely. He hid for several days before exploring.

The vase stayed nice for the next few months, and I tried adding 3 shrimp. Unfortunately, within 2 weeks they had died. I also was reading a blog for aquatic snails, which I then found out they recommended a tank of at least 2-3 gallons per mystery snail. I immediately ordered a 3 gallon online to start over and fix several issues that were forming.

The Problems:

  1. The plants started rotting at the base. Steve dug them up to eat the rot. The java fern developed galls and the growth stunted.
  2. The proteins from the rotting plants and lack of water movement made scum build up on the surface.
  3. The light I was using wasn’t powerful enough.
  4. Plants kept floating away and they had a potassium deficiency.
  5. My tap water had 0.40 ppm ammonia in it. I didn’t detect it when doing tests because the bacteria had cycled it. But these spikes probably caused the shrimp deaths.
  6. Steve was growing quickly and I was worried the tank couldn’t handle his bioload, plus I think he was bored.

The Solutions:

  1. I put a layer of sand before the gravel to help anchor the plants betters. I replaced the struggling plants and replaced them with different ones.
  2. I used root tabs and liquid fertilizer to fix the potassium problem.
  3. I got a stronger light.
  4. I used a sponge filter to create surface flow and filter the scum.
  5. I got a new water conditioner to bind the ammonia into a less harmful form until the bacteria could process it.