Ghost shrimp

[LillianDouglas]

I'll try and find some those .When I go to my pet store.,

[Baby_Girl]

unfortunately, 'free snails' are a reality of buying plants. Not just from stores, but also from online retailers and hobbyists. So I am now in the habit of dipping all my new plants in a potassium permanganate solution for 10-15 minutes. It not only kills snails, but also algae, germs, and most pathogens.

I bought 1 pound of potassium permanganate on eBay. I only need to use a TINY bit (literally, I dip the tip of a knife in) to color half a sinkful of water dark pink. So that stuff will last me eons. Just be sure to wear gloves when handling the stuff, otherwise it will dye your skin too. But it's still much more gentle than doing a bleach dip, which easily kills plants if you leave them in for longer than 1 minute.

[badflash]

I use 1/8 tsp to 2 gallons of water. 30 minutes seems about right, but it can discolor the plants even then.
Amquel+ or Seachem Prime neutralizes it, but not the color.

[LillianDouglas]

I'll have to try that .Because once those pest get started they are hard to get raid of.My very first tank someone gave one and .At the time I thought they 'Cute' .But boy did I change mind after awhile of you know what I mean.,

[Baby_Girl]

the easiest way to control snail populations is simply not to overfeed. For example, I hear people complain about Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS) overtaking their tank to the point that their substrate literally looks like it's moving. *shudder*

I got about 5 adult MTS as hitchhikers in a bag of Flourite substrate. After a year, they had hardly reproduced at all. After all that time, I only got a handful of new babies. I actually found it necessary to buy more MTS from a friend (in order to increase aeration of my substrate for my live plants). So even snails which are known as notorious over-breeders don't HAVE to be, given proper care. Of course, maintaining a good vacuuming/tank cleaning schedule will be important in keeping their numbers down by limiting the amount of detritus they can feed upon.

I actually find the benefits of snails to far outweigh their costs. I seed every one of my tanks with snails (ramshorn, pond, and MTS).

[Neonshrimp]

I actually find the benefits of snails to far outweigh their costs. I seed every one of my tanks with snails (ramshorn, pond, and MTS).

Me too !

[LillianDouglas]

My boyfriend mdae a deal with me.He would buy me a 5gallon tank for the cherrys .if I get the pirates of the carb.ghost ship that they have at pet smart . Is that for 'Kids'.What do you think. About how it would look.,Lilly What a big kid .ha.,

[southerndesert]

A 10 gallon might be better and easier to maintain water quality....

Bill

[badflash]

It is also cheaper than a 5. Go figure.

[Baby_Girl]

heehee, Pirates of the Caribbean Sounds like something childish I'd do. It's up to you, since it's a matter of personal taste, eh? The good news is that pirate ship will provide lots of nooks and crannies for shrimp to hide in and eat algae off of.

Anyway, I have a few 5-gallons myself due to space limitation (I live in student apartments). As mentioned, they ARE a bit more difficult to keep stable simply due to smaller water volume. But if it's 'just' for ghost shrimp, it might do. I kept ~25 ghosties in a 5G when I was trying to breed them. Unfortunately, they were so low quality (ghost shrimp are often treated as expendable cheap feeders) that only a few survived longer than a couple months. So I gave up on that breeding project.

If you simply can't accomodate a 10 gallon, make sure the 5 gallon is completely cycled before adding shrimp. While ghost shrimp are one of the hardier shrimp, they will die in ammonia/nitrite concentrations that only begin to irritate fish. A great way to get an 'instant cycle' is to use filter media from an established tank in the new filter. I just cut half of one of my filter foams from my most densely stocked tank, place it into the new tank's filter, and almost never see a speck of ammonia or nitrite.

[Neonshrimp]

I just cut half of one of my filter foams from my most densely stocked tank, place it into the new tank's filter, and almost never see a speck of ammonia or nitrite.

Nice trick, but what do you do with the remaining half sponge?

[Baby_Girl]

heh, good question. I leave it in, and usually cut another half-sponge from a brand new one to put in the empty space. So my community tank is basically my source of cycled filter media, and it's in a more-or-less perpetual state of sponge rotation

I never remove more than ~30% of the old filter media, otherwise it might send the community tank into a mini-cycle of its own.

[LillianDouglas]

That would be neat .A Ghost ship for Ghost shrimp .Get it .Oh does 'Johnny.Depp comes with it. And The Aquarium store where I go to has some new sand for fresh water .And mixed with gravel .And a few small rocks . Would look neat .What do you think.,Thanks Lilly

[Baby_Girl]

.A Ghost ship for Ghost shrimp ... 'Johnny.Depp comes with it.

ooh ooh! Where can I get me one o' those?

[Neonshrimp]

.A Ghost ship for Ghost shrimp ... 'Johnny.Depp comes with it.

ooh ooh! Where can I get me one o' those?

Behave now By the way, I just happen to have a aquarium decoration in the form of Capt. Jack Sparrow I will never use that came with a nano take I bought