New tank suggestions - substrate and decor

[xbeaugaming]

Hey all,

Found this site when I was looking for an ultra low maintainence fish for my office. When I saw these shrimp that didnt need a water change, only needed fed every 2-4 weekish...I was sold. I bought a small 2 gallon top fin tank from petsmart for the task. I will use the lid and light, but I wanted to make sure that removing the pump completely was the right move? Just using ambient heat in the office 69-72F to heat the tank and putting the little light on a 8-10 hour timer (during work hours because it would be pretty). Wouldn't this work??

Substrate:
What sort of substrate do I use that will pop the color of the shrimp easily?

Decor:
Can I use texas lime rock or lace rock? I want the shrimp to have something to climb on and add an element to the tank so it's not just a box of water. Do you guys recommend any particular rock type to aid in maintaining water quality or that will help show off the shrimp better?

PH corrections:
I have a ton of crushed coral from my cichlid tanks, could I put a sprinkle of that into the tank to help keep the ph from getting acidic? Like how much for 2 gallons you suppose?

Thank you all, I will begin cycling the tank when I have some suggestions to the above. If we were talking african cichlids, I would be crushing this without worry..but I've never dealt with brakish water setups before.

Beau

[Super Jess]

Welcome to the forum! You're on the right track in all your queries.

Yes, the shrimp require no water movement or filtration. Take out the pump. Your ambient temps will be fine.

Substrate:
I use a light-colored substrate with black lava rock decoration. I'll attach a pic here so you can see how it looks. It's really down to personal preference--lots here use light sand and lots of others use black sand or a darker mix. If you're planning a light-colored rock decoration it might look good against a dark substrate, and you can have the best of both

Decor:
Not sure I know what texas lime rock is, but if it's a limestone-based rock as its name implies, it should be fine and will have the added benefit of releasing calcium carbonate to buffer as needed. Lace rock is a good decoration, too, but may not include the calcium carbonate factor.

Ph:
Sprinkle at will with the coral! It won't take much, maybe a handful at most. Or skip it and use the limestone rock. Or do both if you like the way it looks. Even things like a few seashells or eggshells will work.

Have fun setting up your tank, and post a pic when you can. We love pics

[xbeaugaming]

Thanks for the pictures and inspiration Jess. I'll get on the ball and start figuring out my plan of attack. I am a big fan of the lace rock so probably go with some of that on a lighter sand base.

[Varanus]

Personally I prefer dark-colored substrate like black sand, but so long as you have some dark colored decorations the shrimp's colors should still pop. Some aquarium animals turn paler on pale substrates, but I don't know if these shrimp are among them.

[Arnold]

I also like dark substrate for the shrimps. I use fine black volcanic gravel for my set up and the red realy show up, the shrimps tend to blend with the substrate color and if its too bright the redcolor might wash a bit

[xbeaugaming]

Got the 2 gallon tank setup today. Had a couple gallons of 1.010 gravity reef water made for me at my local pet store, got a nice piece of coral rock, some leftover sand and three pieces of lava rock I had in my canister filter from my cichlid tank. The salinity might kill off some of the bacteria in the lava rock but enough should remain to least help jump start the tank a bit. Have it setup on a light timer to be on during the work day. Hopefully will get it looking funky within the month so I can get some shrimp in there. Hopefully everything works out well and when I get the shrimp, it's going to be nice and easy. Hardest part will be telling people we have to wait like 3-4 weeks before putting stuff in the water box.

[xbeaugaming]

Brown algae is already growing! Ordered the shrimp!

[Super Jess]

Hooray! They're going to love it

[xbeaugaming]

Shrimp have arrived safe and sound. My little 5 year old had a lot of fun playing with the packing peanuts and looking at the shrimp. They were a lot smaller than I figured and the snails were really tiny compared to what we thought. Introduced them to the tank at work and they immediately went crazy on the algae. I think we will have some very happy shrimp here and all of my coworkers are already trying to make names for them. Scampi, cocktail, gumbo, etc are some examples. Thank you Mustafa for your lovely shrimp and hopefully we get some berries

[Varanus]

Hopefully they'll darken up once they settle in. They'll likely grow some too (though they don't get as big as cherry shrimp).

[Super Jess]

Congrats! Chances are your new shrimp will molt soon after being in their new tank and will begin to plump up and grow. Keep an eye out for their ghostly exoskeletons--sometimes you can catch a glimpse before they get eaten up.

[xbeaugaming]

That's great to hear! They are really tiny but everyone in the office is really enjoying watching them swim about. People still can't believe I don't feed them or use a filter.

Will keep you guys up to date.

[Mustafa]

Shrimp have arrived safe and sound. My little 5 year old had a lot of fun playing with the packing peanuts and looking at the shrimp. They were a lot smaller than I figured and the snails were really tiny compared to what we thought. Introduced them to the tank at work and they immediately went crazy on the algae. I think we will have some very happy shrimp here and all of my coworkers are already trying to make names for them. Scampi, cocktail, gumbo, etc are some examples. Thank you Mustafa for your lovely shrimp and hopefully we get some berries :D1.jpg2.jpg3.jpg

You're welcome! The shrimp should have colored up more by now but it can take several months before you see their full colors as your tank is still maturing. The snails are small but will grow rapidly and then reproduce. You may have babies already in a few months. The reason I send small snails is because it's better to start out with small snails as they present a smaller bioload. That's especially true for small tanks like half gallon or 1 gallon tanks. Later on you can have dozens of snails in there but that usually happens gradually as the snails reproduce. You don't want to add dozens of snails or hundreds of shrimp in your tank all at the same time. I may offer large snails in the future for people who want a "giant" snails, though.

So how are they doing? Any updated pics?

[xbeaugaming]

Hey Mustafa!

Little update as requested! Sorry it's been busy and just saw your request bud.

The shrimp have been growing for sure, and bulking up a fair amount. The snails are much bigger and spend their days going up the sides of the tank or attaching themselves to the top of the water and floating around. I like to blow on the top of the water while 2-3 of the snails are up there to give them a bit of an amusement ride.

The shrimp are all accounted for (10 of them) and I can't really get an exact count on the snails. They have completely stripped the biofilm on my tank here in the office. I've been supplementing by feeding them half of a shrimp/crab feeding tablet for the whole tank about once every 2 weeks or month. I've noticed that the little bit of food is helping to promote more color in the shrimp and I'm seeing more light coloration in the snails shells also after I started feeding the tank.

Seems like everything is going well. Zero dead lose at all and everyone swims around without issues.

Beau

[Mustafa]

Thanks for the update and pictures, Beau! Looks like you're doing everything right. And, yes! Those snails have grown a lot! I hope the next update will be about berried females.