Normal?

[Shonuskae7]

Hi, I'm new at this, having freed my shrimp from the ecosphere and then buying more here as companions a couple of months ago. I followed Mustafa's tank set-up and everything seems to be going well. The shrimp are fluctuating between red and white but they have all grown bigger. The tank faces the West window so the macro algae is growing rapidly. There's also this film of algae growing on the sides of the tank. I'm just a little concerned about the water. It's not dirty but it's not clear either (see pic).

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Thanks,

Katherine

[Shonuskae7]

I just tested for ammonia and the result is 0 so I guess I might be over worrying?

[shrimpy4]

My water looked exactly like that about a week or two after I transferred my shrimp from an ecosphere into my 1 gallon bowl. It cleared up after several days and the briney smell went away. Some sort of bacterial bloom I think it was said. It probably would've been good to let my 1 gallon bowl cycle for longer, but either way you're introducing a bunch of bacteria from the ecosphere into a new environment that's relatively sterile so their population probably explodes.

[Shonuskae7]

It's been three months since I transferred from ecosphere to tank so I think my tank should have stabilized by now. In fact, the tank was very clear until a few weeks ago. I think I'm going to remove this tank from the West window where it gets a lot of afternoon sun. I've noticed that the macro algae has been growing like weeds. I've scooped most of it out into a separate tank but whats left continues to grow rapidly. Perhaps with the infux of food, the shrimp have been eating more and thus the bacterial bloom.

[Mustafa]

Hi Katherine!

It's absolutely normal for a cycled Supershrimp tank to *not* look "clean." Those brown algae you're seeing are a good sign actually. That means your tank has just *begun* to establish its biological balance. Green algae are going replace the brown ones (which are probably mostly diatoms) eventually. I would stop feeding altogether right now until your water looks clear and algae growth has visibly decreased. If your chaetomorpha is growing like crazy, that *definitely* means that you have more than enough (possibly too much) nutrients in the tank. My favorite suggestion is always the same. Leave the tank alone. As long as it does not get heated up too much by the sun directly hitting the tank for too long, you can leave the tank where it is. The most difficult part about keeping these shrimp is being able to do absolutely nothing with the tank for a few months. Just let it develop.

[Shonuskae7]

Thanks, Mustafa! I'll leave them be and see what happens =)