New tank here as well. Suggestions are welcomed :)

[Edwin]

4 days after the marimo is in. Water is totally and delightfully clear right now. Got a feeling my cleaner snails did a great job the past few days.

However I was quite shocked to see so much debris or brown matters on the substrate and marimo. Anyone has the slightest idea what these might be as seen in the photo? Could they be the poo of the snails? Should I take out the marimo to dust these matters off? And should I try to suck these things out with an air tube?

[KenCotigirl]

That's poo. There was a lot food available and the snails did their job. One of the negatives of using black gravel. I did try once to remove the poo but it made the tank a mess. Now after years of no cleaning it's impossible. A lot to be said for a bare tank.

KenP

[Edwin]

I see. Do they poop less when tank matures? I'm hoping for that or I may take out the zebra nerite when the tanj matures and; I believe that is the main contributor of the mess.

[Varanus]

To a degree, less food equals less poop. So it will depend on how much you feed the tank, how much algae grows, etc. Taking out the nerite may help as they famously have big appetites and thus produce a relatively large amount of waste.

My tank has black sand and you barely notice the poop, as what the shrimp and Mustafa's snails produce is tiny and the snails tend to turn the sand over over time as they dig and break things down.

[Edwin]

@ Varanus, I'll observe the poop condition tank for another week or so as I hope the poo helps to speed up the growth of beneficial bacteria in the tank. If the poo condition gets really bad, I'll take the poor zebra nerite out though I'm not sure where it will have to go in this case.

[Edwin]

Just curious, will there be a situation where the nerites are eating up algae faster than they can grow on the surface that I would never see algae even if the ammonia hits zero?

I heard from my friend who passed me all the marimo in this tank that the marimo sucks up nitrate and nitrite so fast that algae growth will also be minimal. Is that the case?

Cos I'm just worried that algae will not grow and I'll be kinda waiting in vain. I'm more than willing to feed my opae if needed, even without the algae and biofilm growth in the tank. Can't wait to start my tank actually but I still want to make sure the tank is ready to receive the opaes

[Varanus]

Visible algae growth is not the only kind of biofilm, there is a lot that is invisible to the naked eye that the shrimp feed on. My tank for instance never developed much visible algae beyond the surface film turning green (and the shrimp and snails eventually ate away all of that that was visible) but the shrimp clearly are still eating from most every surface in the tank.

Course without the visible clue of algae it can be harder to tell if your tank is ready. But generally a few weeks is all that is needed.

As for the effects of the marimos, can't answer as I've never owned any.

[KenCotigirl]

Having one nerite and such a pretty one I would leave it. Once most of the visible food is gone they will eat less and poop less. The nerite is second to none in our little tanks for keeping the glass clean. I have no longer needed to clean the glass since I had a nerite.

Ultimately the less you feed the less problems there are.

KenP

[Edwin]

Thanks Varanus and Ken for the inputs. Really appreciate it, especially to find some whom I can discuss this with. Opae ulas are so rare and people who keep them are even rarer when compared to CRS and all.

I have two of them: 1 zebra nerite and 1 horned nerite. The poo condition seems to be more stable now, or maybe my eyes are used to seeing them in the tank

Day 11 into the cycling, ammonia reading is around 0.4, pretty much similar as compared to around 0.5 or 0.6 on Day 5. Here's hoping it continue to fall. At this rate, it'll take another 4 weeks if it falls by 0.1 each week; I'll do a weekly test and update on this forum. I have been adding 2 types of beneficial bacteria from Microbe Lift weekly as well; hence I have added twice by now hoping to increase growth of beneficial bacteria.

I don't have a nitrite and nitrate test kit; so I'm hoping for visible algae as an indicator of tank maturity, particularly if the ammonia turns up 0 at some point in time.

On a side note, how big or old should the opae ulas be before they begin to breed? It's been nearly a month plus for my smaller tank of about 2 liters but no berried female yet. I'm hoping it's due to the fact that the 8 of them are still young though 2 or 3 of them looks 1.5X bigger than the smallest 2 of them.

[Mustafa]

On a side note, how big or old should the opae ulas be before they begin to breed? It's been nearly a month plus for my smaller tank of about 2 liters but no berried female yet. I'm hoping it's due to the fact that the 8 of them are still young though 2 or 3 of them looks 1.5X bigger than the smallest 2 of them.

There is really no standard rule for this. Even relatively small shrimp can breed, they just carry fewer eggs. I'm pretty sure that these shrimp start breeding within their first year after hatching.

[Arquisto]

Hey Edwin,

Do you find the shrimp often hide in the dragon stone's natural crevices and holes? I was thinking that it would make some good hiding spots for the young shrimps but wondered if you often have to look for the adult ones if they're also always hiding.

Thanks!

[Varanus]

I don't have dragon stone but I do have a holey rock with a fair number of crevices so I figured I'd give my input. Provided you have a decent population and not an excess of food the shrimp will forage throughout the day and night so you'll always see a fair proportion. They aren't the sort that hide a lot of the time unless they are carrying eggs or there is so much food that they don't have to move about to get enough. That said I think they do appreciate and will use hiding places if they are available, and if nothing else cavities create extra surface area for biofilm to grow on.

[Arquisto]

Thanks Varanus, that's what i figured. With enough of them even if some of them hide it'll still be win win. I can see them, enjoy the cool crevices, and have a great home for the shrimp and biofilm to grow on.

[Edwin]

Hi. My tank still in the midst of cycling so I can't say for sure. Thinking to get about 20 shrimps in the tank for a start as I'm really worried I won't see anything at all too. Hahaha. I'll update if they can be found in the tank. I not only have crevices but also Caves at the bottom of my big rocks as these ones are supported by smaller ones at the bottom. Ultimately, as long as they are happy and breeding, I'm sure I'll see them eventually

[Arquisto]

How long are you going to cycle for? Are you testing the water to track when the cycle is happening?
I figured I'd go the Mustafa route and just wait for biofilm to show up.