Moving to a new tank, need advice

[AAurion]

Hello! About three years ago I bought four shrimp in a small container from a fair, and after finally learning more about them I'm hoping to transfer them to a better tank. I'm hoping to ask for some advice.



The reef crystals say to add a 1/2 cup to a gallon of water, so following the information on this site, I mixed in a 1/4 cup. From what I understand, I need to set up the tank and leave it for a few weeks until there's algae growth. I am a little nervous about moving them to new water, but they should be ok with this, right?

My main concern is that there will be too much algae for just four shrimp to maintain; when I moved, I had them in a brighter room for a bit, until I realized that too much algae was growing and had to move them to another room. How many shrimp should be in a container of this size?

Lastly, is there anything else I should be asking about? Thank you for your help!

[Edwin]

Do you have the dimension of the tank? I think a liter of water should be good for at least 10 or 20 of them.

They are generally hardy and can sustain a range of salinity. However, if you are really that worried, get a cheap floating hydrometer to test

[hardware_failure]

lol a floating hydrometer might get close to hitting the bottom of that container, but it will probably fit.

Rather than getting the new tank to an "optimal" salinity level (which is debatable if there is even one) what you should be more concerned with is that you match the salinity of the new tank as close as possible to the current one, so I definitely agree with Edwin in getting a floating hydrometer. They are like $5-$10 depending on where you get it.

While they can handle a wide range of salinity, if the difference of the salinity of the 2 tanks is significant it could shock them.

Also: If you are concerned with algae I suggest you order some of Mustafa's snails. (not a sales pitch) They will eat extra algae and seem to establish and equilibrium with available food (algae) If you get a bloom the snails will multiply, when the algae is mostly gone their population will dwindle, until eventually you get a stable balance. Also an added benefit is you can introduce the snails with very little cycling, and they will help the initial cycling go much faster.

[AAurion]

Thanks for your responses!

The new container should be roughly a gallon, I should measure it exactly. Hm, in that case I should buy some additional shrimp after all.

Yeah, I read about how hardy they can be but I figured the suddenness of changing waters could be bad, so I will try finding a hydrometer then.

I was wondering if snails were necessary for a good tank, but if they help control algae then I think I will get a some. Would 10 be overkill for such a small container, though?

[Edwin]

Start with less. Maybe 2 or 3 snails? They help with controlling algae and that's their main purpose of being in the tank.

Floating hydrometers are cheap but do think about the depth of your container; are they deep enough for them to float?

[AAurion]

Ah, it's just that it looks like I can only get a minimum of 10 snails from Mustafa though...

Yeah you're right, I don't think my current container is big enough for a hydrometer. I'll probably have to try a refractometer instead.

[Varanus]

The snails start out very small and don't get that big. A gallon should be able to handle ten.

[Mustafa]

I honestly wouldn't even worry about a hydrometer. The salinity difference is unlikely to be huge. Just plop the shrimp in there when the new tank is ready. Also..10 snails aren't too many at all. Since they are burrowing snails initially you'll be lucky to see a few of them at all, especially during the day. But they still do their jobs. The trick about keeping these shrimp is to not overthink things and not worry too much. That's when people's brains come up with "solutions" to non-existent problems that cause actual problems in the end.