Algae Build Up... Other problems

[YoungMrHoward]

I have a 1.5 lb. Hawaiian Red Shrimp aquarium. There is quite a bit of algae build up that makes viewing my shrimp difficult. Also, I may be wrong but I'm afraid 3 of my shrimp have died since I can only find 2 of them. If this is the case, I take full responsibility. I neglected topping off the tank @ one point for an extended period. I feel badly about it, and I want to get my aquarium looking nice and being healthy for my shrimp.

So... Is there a safe way to clean the algae? Are snails and more shrimp the answer? Would it be safe to transfer my shrimp with their water into a new aquarium? Can I safely remove decorations? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[KenCotigirl]

Hello YMH. A few things can help with algae growth. Reduce the duration and intensity of light. Make sure you are not over feeding. Add one or two nerite snail. Nerites in my tanks keep the algae under control and glass clean. The MTS looking snails do not seam to keep the as clean.

[YoungMrHoward]

Thanks for the help.

The pet stores in my area keep nerite snails in fresh water. Would moving them to my brackish aquarium be too stressful for them, and would they create too much of a bio load for my 1.5 lb. aquarium? I don't use any artificial light, and the aquarium is not in direct sunlight. I only feed a very small pellet once a month.

[Harry]

I'm not familiar with the term 1.5 lb. aquarium. Do you mean 1.5 gallons? Or do you mean a small 24 ounce aquarium? A 24-ounce aquarium is very mall and would not allow for a lot of free swimming. And if 3 out of 5 have died, I suspect a water quality problem as well. I suggest you build a one-gallon tank (128 fluid ounces) or at least a half gallon tank. And I would not feed an occasional pellet. I would feed an occasional tiny flake of fish food.

[YoungMrHoward]

Omz. I can't believe I've been posting I have a 1.5 pound aquarium. It is a 1.5 gallon aquarium. Silly me.

[KenCotigirl]

First stop feeding. 5 shrimp in a 1.5 gallon do not need food. Second when did you notice 3 were missing, before or after topping off? Top off with RO water or distilled. Not tap water and definitely not if tap water was used without removing the chlorine/Chloramine. Third you did cycle the tank before adding shrimp. How long have you had the shrimp? Finally if you do not see dead shrimp things may be ok as these shrimp can hide if given space. Be patient.

[YoungMrHoward]

I noticed the missing shrimp after topping off with RO water. I've gone through a tough spot in my life, and I neglected little things life topping off my shrimp tank or caring properly for my African clawed frog. I think I may have let too much water evaporate, and then topped off too much. I've had these shrimp for over a year. I should have bought more in the first place. That may have helped with algae growth. I haven't found any carcasses. But in the past I could always find my 5 shrimp in about 5 minutes. Today I'm going to check the water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates. I'll keep the forum posted.

[KenCotigirl]

Thanks for the update. Wish the best.

[YoungMrHoward]

Update: I found the 3 corpses and removed them. So I do indeed only have 2 shrimp. I ran some tests. Apparently I have trace levels of ammonia which I attribute to those dead shrimp. Perhaps I will do some partial changes to take care of that. All other levels are perfect. I added a nerite snail and my algae problem is practically gone. I'm going to by a digital refractometer from eBay for less than $30. Then I will do some minute water changes and double check my salinity.

I want to add the following: another nerite snail, 2 blue leg hermit crabs, macro algae, 10 Hawaiian red shrimp with the hope they will reproduce.

Questions: if I add all these things, will I need to increase feeding? Right now I'm feeding 0 times a month because of the algae. Will I need to do regular water changes? Right now I do none, accept I may due to ammonia. And are blue leg hermit crabs acceptable for brackish water?

My aquarium is 1gallon.

[Harry]

The macro-algae will absorb nitrates, as that is the last part of the tank cycle and plants aid with that. The stuff that Mustafa sells is perfect because it is not that messy hair algae. I suspect that the three shrimp died for a reason. So I would check salinity and also pH. Shrimp like a pH of about 7.5 and higher. Also, make sure you are not leaving the jar in direct sunlight, perhaps overheating it. Temperature is another parameter to monitor. Once you know everything is where it should be, you can begin to add inhabitants.

[YoungMrHoward]

All readings are ideal, except for the trace amounts of ammonia. I believe they died this winter for 2 reasons: 1. The temp in my house dropped way too low. 49 degrees. 2. I neglected topping off the tank for too long a period. I will be testing salinity b4 adding anything. I will also make small water changes until the ammonia is gone.

Are blue leg hermit crabs the same thing as dwarf hermkit ctabs?

[Harry]

My source sells dwarf zebra crabs. They have grayish-green legs and white claws. I do not know where to get the blue-legged ones and I am not sure they are dwarfs.

[KenCotigirl]

Ammonia is an issue. What does trace mean? Mustafa has said more than once in other posts that larvae are more sensitive to ammonia than adults. I would try to find out where it is coming from before investing in more tank mates.

Sudden temperature changes could be stressful as well as sudden salinity changes. Add that to ammonia and a stressed shrimp may not survive. Also sudden temp and salinity changes could affect algae. An algae die off could cause a spike in ammonia.

I am only guessing on your troubles. Your house temp dropped to 49 but for how long? What was you tank temp? These shrimp can take cool temps. You didn't top off for a while. How much RO water did you add? 8, 16, 32 ounces? These shrimp can take salinity changes. Rhetorical questions. Stable parameters are best.

Again try to find the cause of the ammonia.

[sabbylina]

I also have tons of algae buildup. While I have my shrimp in their transferring container, I was going to clean the main tank and all of the substrate and rocks. Would the best way to keep the walls from getting too crowded again be to buy the pack of snails Mustafa sells? If they are the best, should I not even clean my tank? Or just not the rocks maybe?

Any advice would be welcome

[YoungMrHoward]

I bought one nerite snail and the algae problem is gone. Once I'm 100% sure about water quality I'm buying more shrimp. In the future I'm going to set up another aquarium with shrimp and mustafa's snails. Everything seems healthy in my aquarium presently.