Need advice on getting started

[Mustafa]

Do NOT feed your shrimp for a very long time! Your tank is so full of algae that you should wait until the shrimp are actively searching for and picking at food pretty much all the time. That can take weeks or months. The reason they are hiding is because they don't have to run around..there is so much food in there...plus, there is probably a slight in increase in ammonia and bacterial load. As I said...just wait it out until your shrimp decide to run around....the last thing these shrimp are going to die of is lack of food for a few weeks or months....

[Syscrush]

Thanks. I'm looking forward to seeing them running around again.

[Syscrush]

Tonight as a little experiment, I went into the darkened room where they're kept after all of the lights had been off for a couple of hours, and I flicked the light on, hoping to catch some activity. I saw 4-5 of them scurrying about, on and around the rock, and within the macroalgae. I don't want to stress them so I turned it off after just a few seconds and will try to control myself going forward.

[Mustafa]

They are usually less bothered if you use a flashlight to look at them in the dark.

[Syscrush]

The snails and algae continue to grow, and at least some of the shrimp are darkening in color. They were a translucent pink/brown when they arrived, and the ones I see darting around now and then are a deeper red. I hope that they're happy and healthy...

[Mustafa]

They'll be just fine. Just leave them alone, and everything will turn out great in the end.

[Syscrush]

I've found a bit of evidence of some molting, which is encouraging. I'm doing my best to do no more than look at the tank: no tapping glass, disturbing rocks, flipping lights on at night, etc. I'm feeling a mix of pride and regret at having given them so many great hiding places. I never see more than one or two at a time and I have no idea where the other 20 could be.

Still, I leave them alone and keep hoping for the best. Shrimpin' AIN'T easy!

[Syscrush]

Yesterday for a while I saw 4 of them at once, which is a record since they settled down. 3 were feeding on algae/biofilm from the lava rock. It's so porous and the film is so ubiquitous in other parts of the tank I'm pretty sure that they could live for years hidden in little shelters that I'd not see, and have plenty to eat. Here's hoping that they get bored in there eventually and start spending more time exploring their world.

[Mustafa]

Don't worry..it won't tank years for the algae to get diminished...especially with snails helping out and the macroalgae competing with the biofilm for nutritional resources. I'll give it a few months, at the most, and you'll see them running around. Just keep resisting the urge to feed.

[Syscrush]

For a few weeks now, I've been leaving the light off, since the tank gets quite a bit of natural, diffuse light where it is. I'm seeing more shrimp out and about, but they still mostly stick to the rear of the tank, clinging to the rock where they're hidden unless I make a point of sticking my head back behind there. I'll see a total of 10-15 shrimp in various hiding places on a typical evening when the sunlight has gone down quite a bit.

[Syscrush]

Well, it's been almost 3 months now since I added the shrimp to the tank, so I guess an update is overdue.

The snails, shrimp, and macro algae are all doing fine. I see the shrimp working the macro algae a bit, but mostly the film on the rock and glass. The algae ball is kind of overtaking the tank, but I'm hesitant to prune it and discard for fear of hurting or casting out any shrimp. Since there is plenty of food growing in the tank, I see no need to feed. I've never added food to this tank.

They are still pretty reclusive, but if I watch carefully during the day with the light on I'll usually see 8-12 shrimp out and about. There's some evidence of molting now and then, and the bigger shrimp in there are bigger than the biggest ones I put in. I haven't scraped any algae from the glass since adding the shrimp, in part because I don't want to disturb them, but also because they're keeping it under control.

I feel good about how they're doing and I am hopeful that they have what they need to breed. Time will tell.

[Mustafa]

Thanks for the update! Looks like you're doing everything right. Just continue exactly the same way. Don't feed until all the shrimp run around and pick at things out in the open pretty much all day (and all night..since they don't sleep). If you are really careful, you can prune the macroalgae a few strands at a time making sure no shrimp are still holding on to the strands.

[Syscrush]

Another quick update.

I did prune the algae ball - the shrimp all went into hiding as soon as I lifted the lid, so I don't think I needed to worry about picking up a hitch-hiker. Even so, I teased the ball apart as I removed it slowly from the tank, looking for any shrimp that may have been caught up. I removed about 2/3 of it, leaving a ball about the same size as what first went into my tank.

The other change I made was just to turn the tank around - the lava rock leans against what was the back face and is now the front. Since that provides some shade/cover, they spend most of their time on the rock's underside. They still spend most of their time there, but now I can see them better. The tank looks better the other way, but I like to be able to see the activity.

I still see 8-12 shrimp pretty consistently - I have no idea if that means that there are ~12 healthy shrimp, or if the number is higher and 8-10 of them are in hiding at any given time.

Because of the amount of ambient light that the tank gets, I haven't been using the light much. But they no longer scatter when I turn it on, so I think it's time to put it on a 12 hour timer.

I have not fed them yet, as there is plenty of algae, both in the ball and some film on the glass & rock. I can't see the film on the rock, but I see them working it a lot, and it should be a great substrate. Is there any value in feeding them? Would they get something from food that they're not getting from the in-tank algae? If so, what would be the best food to supplement what they already get?

[Mustafa]

Thanks for the update (and sorry for the late reply). If you have enough algae in your tank, that's pretty much all they need..they're not missing out on anything. At some point, though, your algae growth will diminish and possibly disappear due to lack of nutrients. Although the food feeds the shrimp directly, obviously they are mostly eating algae and other "growth" for most of the two weeks between feedings. Any good fish food will do actually...

[Syscrush]

There's still visible film on the glass, and the algae ball is thriving, but there are shrimp out feeding almost all the time so I'm going to start giving them a few flakes of fish food now and then.

The light is on a timer now, and they're acting like they're used to it. I do hope that they start breeding this spring, that will add interest to the tank but more importantly it'll give me assurance that they're healthy.