Received my very first supershrimp

[Mandapandad]

I just got my very first order of 10 shrimp. I am going for a much smaller scale than most everyone else that I've been reading about. I want it to look like an ecosphere but not work like one. I put all 10 shrimp that I received in a small glass container. But I'm worried that it may be too many shrimp in such a small container. However they seem to be very active. And most writhing just a few hours started to get their red coloring back. From adding the water id say it's about 4-5 cups worth. I also added one small snail. I've included a picture of the container I put my first 10 in. I've also included a bit larger container that I'd like to add some shrimp to in the further once I see how my marimo react to living in the brackish water. Has anyone had any luck putting this many shrimp in such a small area? Is the marimo ok in there with them? I seem to find a lot of conflicting information on all parts. Also are there any other type of shrimp that I could add to my fresh water set up that has my large marimo that could survive in such a small space? Any info and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[JennyPenny]

4-5 cups of water is around 1/2 gallon, so 10 shrimps would be fine in there.
Marimo balls do not last in brackish water and will eventually die. It takes a while but it will happen. I strongly recommend you remove them. They are attractive in a vase with plain water by themselves if you don't have a freshwater tank in which to put them. I believe you could keep a few red cherry shrimp in the vase with your marimo if you switch to freshwater.
Is the lightbulb tank open at the top? I can't tell if it is sealed or not. And I just want to make sure that you know to use marine salt (not aquarium or table salt) and distilled or RO water for your super shrimp.
What kind of snail did you put in?

[Varanus]

From your description my first concern is it sounds like you're saying you didn't cycle the tank before adding the shrimp, but just put everything in at once. Apologies if I'm wrong on that, but if I'm right you're going to need to be very careful about monitoring water quality. Supershrimp can thrive in small containers, but only if the water's good bacteria is ready to support them.

But are the second and third pics of a actual light bulb or just something made to look like one? Regardless that seems small even for supershrimp, but I am not expert.

[Mandapandad]

Yeah the container is open at the top. The water I actually purchased with the shrimp. So it's already cultured from my understanding. The container is actually twice the size of a normal light bulb it's just made to be the same shape. I'm not sure what type of snail that's in their. But I bought it from the same person that I bought the shrimp from and he said they lived well together. The larger vase is freshwater so I can defiantly add my marimo to it. Would the other vase be large enough for 2 or 3 cherries? I'm pretty sure it's a bit more than a half gallon.

[KenCotigirl]

Jenny isnt 4 cups equal to a quart. Like your tanks M. I would stick with brackish water and supershrimp for the large tank 1/2 gallon. The supershrimp have the longevity and proven history of living in small tanks. I believe someone here is having breeding success in a half gallon tank. Cherry shrimp may survive but their lifespan is about two years. Not sure i have read of anyone having longterm success with cherry shrimp in near zero input low light conditions.

Ken

[JennyPenny]

Ken you are right, it's not 1/2 gallon, but 1/4. I shouldn't post so late at night; I think I was just too tired. So the lightbulb container is really too small for them.
Mandapandad, I read that you were trying to acclimate marimo to brackish, so I thought the vase was brackish. Are those mini marimos in with your shrimp? I'm curious at to what salinity/specific gravity your brackish water is. I wonder if it's low enough for marimo to live then it might not have enough salt for the shrimp to thrive. If you didn't mix it I understand that you might not know.

[Mandapandad]

Honestly I bought the marimo tanks first and then really wanted to add the shrimp because I always wanted an ecosphere but read how much they suck for the animals. So I honestly know nothing about any of this. lol. I have no idea how to test my water and I'm sure I don't have what I would need to test it either. I kept the other tank freshwater because i Was unsure how the marimo would survive in the brackish water. Some sites say they do better in brackish water while others don't say anything about it at all. However I'm not sure if I was possibly jipped or if the marimo do indeed do poorly in the brackish water. I've included a recent picture and it looks like the shrimp are eating the marimo and from what I read previously everyone said that the shrimp would not actually eat them. So I either have a fake marimo or maybe it's falling apart because of The brackish water. I'm not really sure. So since my tank is so small should I remove half of the shrimp and put them into a new tank? I honestly don't want anything too much bigger as I don't have much space.

[Varanus]

I've included a recent picture and it looks like the shrimp are eating the marimo and from what I read previously everyone said that the shrimp would not actually eat them.

What you're probably seeing is them grazing on bacteria and algae on the surface of the planet matter rather than eating the plants themselves. That kind of feeding is actually good for the plants, albeit it will not help them if they aren't adapted to brackish water (which is probably why they are falling apart).

[Mandapandad]

Thanks anus but I actually looked at my other vase thing and noticed that the other 3 that are actually in the fresh water are also shedding. Not as bad as the ones in the brackish water but enough to make me wonder! Thanks for letting me know that this is how they eat though. I was really wondering BC I see them do it with the sand also and I was pretty sure sand wasn't part of their diet. Lol

[Mustafa]

Thanks anus...

I knew I should not have allowed *that* to be used as username...now it's coming back to haunt me! I'm just kidding of course in case it hasn't become obvious...

[Mustafa]

Also...I wouldn't keep the shrimp in complete freshwater at this point. And if your algae balls are falling apart...then something is definitely wrong with them and/or their environment. And now that you mention it...it is entirely conceivable that some "clever" individuals shape hair algae into balls somehow and sell those balls as "marimo." One can never be careful enough.