Glass tops and bright lights can provide a food source

[dagray]

I use glass tops on all my tanks as it gives a nice clean look and glass tops can with the aid of a plastic strip be customized to give your tank a very tight fitting lid to keep critters from climbing out of the tank. Combine this with a good light level and a couple airstones with enough air running through them to mist the glass top and you get a breeding ground for green algae (I get a gelatanous form) which you can scrape back into the tank and the shrimp will eat it up like giving people food to a puppy.

This algae floats, but is a little sticky so I usually scrape it into the tank and then stick it to a plant or decoration.


Dave

[Mustafa]

Don't forget that the same applies to the algae *in* the tank, too. The shrimp graze on it and every time you clean the front glass the shrimp feed on the algae you scrape off. Bright lights and algae also keep the nitrates and other nutrients down.