New Mini Microtope

[loraxchick]

looks great! i really like the scape! and the shrimp will go so nicely for a contrast with the greenery.
cheers

 

[bitteraspects]

*** 01/04 ***

back to work today, and i added a couple of the shrimp to the microtope

 

[bitteraspects]

 

[bitteraspects]

 

[bitteraspects]

*** 02/02 ***

definitely getting out of control

 

[OneOnion]

Awesome. How many water changes are you doing to keep the water healthy for the shrimp? These really tiny tanks are so awesome.

 

[bitteraspects]

i try do do it at least every other day. sometimes daily. but as this is on my work desk, there are times where its not changed for a couple of days (weekends and holidays)

 

[OneOnion]

Okay, thanks. I have another question. It looks like you don't have a lid on it. did the shrimp ever jump? And how do you pour the water out when changing water without messing up the plants and soil and rocks? Do you use a syringe?

 

[Kitty_Nin]

These are beautiful... really rather zen. I wanna make one now What kind of shrimp are those? Could I just use ghosties? And how do you feed the shrimp? (Sorry for all the questions, but these are beautiful and I have a bunch of pretty bottles that would look fantastic like this.)

 

[bitteraspects]

Okay, thanks. I have another question. It looks like you don't have a lid on it. did the shrimp ever jump? And how do you pour the water out when changing water without messing up the plants and soil and rocks? Do you use a syringe?

i put a lid on it wheni leave the office. i had one shrimp jump because i forgot to put the lid on over a holiday weekend. since then, i keep the lid on it.
for WC, i use a small section of airline tubing to siphon out the water. then using another container of clean water, i use the airline to siphon the clean water back into the tank.
sometimes i get lazy, and just carefully dump the water out and refill it from the tap.

These are beautiful... really rather zen. I wanna make one now What kind of shrimp are those? Could I just use ghosties? And how do you feed the shrimp? (Sorry for all the questions, but these are beautiful and I have a bunch of pretty bottles that would look fantastic like this.)

thanks.
the shrimp are the yellow variant of the red cherry shrimp. (Neocaridina heteropoda var "yellow"). i would imagine you could use ghost shrimp, as they are the same species.
for the most part they eat the algae and bio-film in the tank. the tank is in a window with direct sunlight, so it does grow a bit of algae. i also add small pieces of fish flake and other foods once in a while.

 

[Kitty_Nin]

Neat, thanks!

 

[lljdma06]

While I agree that the plants are lovely and very vigorous, I do not much care for livestock being placed in this tank. Barring possibly the addition of very small daphnia perhaps. I have seen daphnia tanks and they have their charm. I need glasses to see the little guys, but they are charming.

Granted, I have setup my share of smaller tanks, but 3"x3" is too small for livestock, even for me.

Your shrimp are probably fine and the plants will absorb the ammonia generated, I'm sure, but for me, the livestock detract from the overall look.

I think in our quest for tiny planted tanks, people have to be extremely careful about adding livestock. To what point in our desire for the miniature, do we make concessions that this may only be a planted tank, not a tank that includes both plants and livestock?

Just an opinion. The scape is very pretty and the plants look very good.

llj

 

[bitteraspects]

Well I guess its a good thing this is not your tank. Wouldn't want you losing sleep.
The fact of the matter is that the bio load of 2 yellow shrimp is nearly immeasurable. The food for the shrimp adds more bioload than the shrimp themselves. And being fully planted with daily WC, there is absolutely no chance of any ill effects. I'm actually more concerned that the plants are not receiving enough 'food' to thrive due to the lack of a sufficient bio-load. They seembtp be doing ok with just the sunlight and nutrients from the Amazonia AquaSoil.

Thanks for your comments and concerns, but I assure you, they are healthy and happy. (plants and shrimp alike)

Where does one even go about getting daphnia?
I've never even considered that as a possibility. But it sounds interesting.

 

[lljdma06]

Well I guess its a good thing this is not your tank. Wouldn't want you losing sleep.

I'm not losing sleep. Believe me. Besides with my vision, there's no point to having a tank that small. I couldn't see anything!

The fact of the matter is that the bio load of 2 yellow shrimp is nearly immeasurable. The food for the shrimp adds more bioload than the shrimp themselves. And being fully planted with daily WC, there is absolutely no chance of any ill effects.

No, perhaps you misunderstand. For me it's not so much of a a bioload issue but a space issue. The shrimp look too big for the enclosure. It throws off the scale of your endeavor. I make this comment quite a bit here with regard to the nano tanks.

I'm actually more concerned that the plants are not receiving enough 'food' to thrive due to the lack of a sufficient bio-load. They seembtp be doing ok with just the sunlight and nutrients from the Amazonia AquaSoil.

It's a matter of where your priorities are really. You are simply more plant-oriented. I try to strike a balance, but usually, I'll end up shifting more focus to the livestock.

Where does one even go about getting daphnia?
I've never even considered that as a possibility. But it sounds interesting.

Local ponds, there are also live cultures available online. That would be a better choice with regard to capturing scale. They are hard to see, but they are not too bad. You can also then have quite a few. Like a tiny little pond.

llj

 

[dan290888]

got a few of these to add to the tank when i get back to my shop on monday

Is that one of those tiny marina betta tanks? i have one of those sitting about doing nothing and would be interested in more info and pics on you mini setup!