My (mostly) Invert Tank

[n3ont3tra]

A while ago I started a topic here about stocking for a shrimp tank and I think the final list was something like this:
4 ADFs
4 Cherry Shrimp
4 Ghost Shrimp
4 Amano Shrimp
4 Otos

... I think that's what it was...

and so I started getting all the shrimp and otos first because of the algae, then I got 2 ADFS. They died, one wouldn't eat and the other just died for no apparent reason...
I had a total of 4 otos, 2 died within a week of getting them, and one died about 2 weeks ago. I think it got lodged in the rocks and it couldn't get out. Then there was one. He's doing great, he's chubby and always eating algae.
I also got some hatchetfish, 6 to be exact. 3 died withing the first 2 weeks, the other three have been fine for about a month. They're pretty cool to watch, sometimes they just sit there, sometimes they zip around everywhere.

Soooo...
my stocking now is:
4 Cherry shrimp
4 amano shrimp
4 ghost shrimp
1 oto
3 marbled hatchetfish
34958304835 pest snails - I see tiny little snail droppings everywhere
I'm planning on getting three more otos so he won't be lonely.
I'm also going to get more hatchetfish, probably about 5, so then I'll have 8.
And finally 3 apple snails. I'm hoping they'll outcompete the pest snails for food. I solved the problem I had with the PH of 6.4 as well. I used baking soda to raise it to 7.1 and it's been stable.
So... what you've all been waiting for - pics!
A few have obviously been edited to make it clearer what the subject was... you couldn't really tell before I edited that the shrimp were there. And the landscape looks better this way

Full Tank Shot

Close up of lobelia cardinalis

close up of dwarf hairgrass

lonely li'l oto

shrimpy shrimpy shrimpy - with eggs!

hatchetfishy

more LC

landscapppppe

older pic of pearling LC

ottttttttto

hatchetfish

ah-noying snail

shrimpppppy

that's all for now. Hope you liked it!

 

[fish_master]

that looks realy good your tanks but u need some large background plants to hide all your hardware

 

[Mution]

id be happy to take your pest snails off your hands

 

[n3ont3tra]

The equiptment doesn't look that bad in the tank, because your distracted by the plants and shrimp.
Mution - I wish my mom would let me send you the snails.

 

[vancouver]

The pest snail looks pretty cool actually. Not like the pest snails I have.

Like the tank though, hopefully you'll get some ghost shrimp babies with all those plants for larvae to hide in.

 

[n3ont3tra]

I've been told they need brackish to survive... is that true? Also, two of them have eggs.

 

[GoldLenny]

If it's a nerite snail, http/badmanstropicalfish.com/gallery/misc/nerite.html , then I have read they will not breed in fresh water but can live in fresh water. For that reason, they are not considered pest snails. They also have colorful shells where pest snails normally have plain ugly shells. LOL

 

[three-fingers]

I little mixed up?

There are many different species referred to as ghost shrimp, some of them can breed in freshwater, some of them breed in brackish and some of them breed in marine.

As far as I'm aware, there's none that need brackish or marine water for the larvae.
Amano shrimp and some other species do though.
If your ghost shrimp has been living in the tank for a while and producing eggs, you can be fairly certain the babies will survive in freshwater .

As for nerite snails, only some species can live in freshwater long-term, and they will breed in freshwater too. But the eggs need to hatch in brackish water for the babies to survive...I don't even know if they will hatch in freshwater.

But thats not a nerite snail, that is a pest snail, a nice looking one though .

 

[n3ont3tra]

I was mainly talking about the chost shrimp in my last post. I've had them for about a month now, one of them had eggs when I bought them.

I think I have 3 different kinds of pest snails: ones with curly shells, I like them, ones like the pic, and ones that have an almost clear shell, they get a little bigger and I don't like them. There's the most of the last one.

 

[Heather.]

The hatchet fish looks cool ..Havnt seen any of them around..

 

[n3ont3tra]

I got them from liveaquaria.com, I can't find them in my fish stores here either.

They are Marbled Hatchetfish, by the way.

 

[GoldLenny]

I think I have 3 different kinds of pest snails: ones with curly shells, I like them, ones like the pic, and ones that have an almost clear shell, they get a little bigger and I don't like them. There's the most of the last one.

Check to see if the "curly shells" are Ramshorn or Trumpet Snails, depending on the way the shell curls. Both of them can be OK or they can be pests if the tank is not kept clean. They multiply based on available food. The ones with the "clear shell" are most likely the common pond snail and are almost always pests. Check the pictures at the links we gave you above and try to identify them based on their shell design.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Yup they're ramshorns for sure. I like them, they hardly ever go on the glass and stay small.

Do you think getting a few apple snails (3) might help solve the snail problems because they'll eat whatever food the pest snails are eating?

 

[GoldLenny]

Apple snails grow large and are a burden to your bioload so you should be careful. I noticed you have kuhli loaches in your other tank. I know they are not prolific snail eaters like some of their cousins but they have been known to eat snails. Why don't you try feeding the pest snails to them.... break the shells first on a few to give them a taste to get them started.

 

[n3ont3tra]

I've have to cary those little tiny shells all through my house lol. I guess I'll try, they'd probably love them.