Help me get babies please

[Mustafa]

The tank sits on a small bedside cabinet. The water does move when I walk around the room or if I get something form the cabinet but then it just gently sloshes inside the tank; the salt creep is outside the tank. Would that maybe be from capillary action of the water touching the lid?

I think we may have just identified the actual problem. If the shrimp get disturbed too much and so vehemently that the water is sloshing and forming a salt creep outside the tank, then they are feeling stressed frequently. Stressed shrimp won't breed. The lid wouldn't by itself cause the salt creek if the sloshing water wasn't getting on the lid frequently. I'd move the tank to a location where the shrimp won't be disturbed anymore. The light should be enough, but LEDs are always more efficient.

[sabbylina]

Could the salt creep be because I fill the tank too high rather than the water moving? About half the time it touches parts of the lid after I've filled it. Even though I try to fill it below the lid line, I keep failing. I wonder if the capillary action of salt water stronger than fresh, because it always climbs higher than I expect it to. I feel like an idiot for not having thought of this sooner D:

I feel like vehemently is the wrong word for the water movement though The water is pretty darn close to the top but it's never been disturbed enough to spill. It just jiggles slightly. Or is that way too much for the shrimps? Also the shrimp stay red, so wouldn't that mean they don't care too much? Or is that not an accurate judge? But I will try a different location if you think it sounds like too much. They probably don't like when the drawers open and close.


Also sorry for all the extra questions! I studied Marine Biology but this is my first experience with a fish tank, so I'm still learning and want all the details. Thanks for being so helpful!

[Mustafa]

Also sorry for all the extra questions! I studied Marine Biology but this is my first experience with a fish tank, so I'm still learning and want all the details. Thanks for being so helpful!

No problem at all! That's what this forum is for! Not sure if the lid touching the water causes the salt creep. In my experience, there has to be some type of water movement for salt creep to happen. You have quite a bit of salt creep there! But in any case, just lower the water level and see what happens. The shrimp staying red or not isn't the only indicator of their well-being. If your shrimp suddenly start swimming around actively because you bumped against whatever their tank stands on, then they aren't feeling all that great about it either. I would still move them somewhere where there is less action.

[sabbylina]

I would still move them somewhere where there is less action.

As soon as I can figure out what place that would be, I will

In the meantime, I was still thinking of adding more shrimpies. I have at least 12 shrimps with an (unlikely) max of 20. How many would you recommend purchasing for my 1 gallon tank- another ten? Also, does the algae ball ever have to be discarded and replaced? It looks like a sadder yellow than it used to. It's still growing but is no longer a vibrant green.

[Mustafa]

It doesn't sound like you need to add more shrimp, but if you want it to look a bit more "active", I'd say 10 more should be enough. I assume by "algae ball" you mean the supershrimp macroalgae in your tank as I don't see any mossballs in your picture. No need to discard and "renew". If you want to trimp it, that's fine. If you do have a mossball in there somewhere, also no...these things live for decades it seems (I have some about a decade old). Don't ever discard them. They'll be fine once your tank conditions get better.

[sabbylina]

Nearly 2 years later, I HAVE A BERRIED SHRIMP! I'm super excited!

I did end up moving the tank to a more stable location and that has helped with the salt creep for sure. I've long had a sneaking suspicion that I actually only had one gender of shrimp in there before I ordered more, but we'll never know for sure. Either way, I'm looking forward to my 6 new shrimpies and hope its a sign of more breeding to come!