First Tank! Q&A, Stories and Moments Thread

[EasyAndy]

Was able to count 18 new little shrimp yesterday. One berried mamma over doubled the population! Is it pretty typical that all larvae survive to adulthood? How many shrimp do you all think a 3/4 gallon tank will support?

[i<3Opae]

Sometimes first time moms will drop some or all of the eggs, it’s nothing to worry about, they’re learning. The number of shrimp will reach an equilibrium given the tank size and food availability. 3/4 gallon (just a pure guesstimate) can probably house close to 100?

[Mustafa]

Thanks for the update, and congrats! The mossball may float when there is a lot of light, but squeezing should at least temporarily solve the problem. Otherwise you can squeeze it (gently) between two rocks or something. As for reproduction of the mossball...it may have happened and you may not even know it. The "buds" can be tiny, almost microscopic. One day you just start noticing lots of them covering the bottom of the tank. And then you wait....they grow *very* slowly.

[EasyAndy]

Supershrimp Community,

I am moving next Saturday and I am concerned about my tank. The substrate is sand and my new baby shrimp are still very-very small. Any suggestions to move the tank would be very much appreciated. The tank again is only about 3/4 gallon and is pretty portable overall.

Thanks,

Andrew

[Super Jess]

How far are you moving? If it's nearby, I'd be inclined just to make sure no decorations can fall on the shrimp, cover the top with shrink wrap, and have a passenger hold it (up) to cushion any bumps.

If it's going to be a big move, I was successful moving mine across the country in a wide-mouth mason jar with filled with their tank water. As long as the tank substrate stays wet you should be able to set them up in your new home with minimal fuss. Mine were happy to live in their mason jar for several weeks.

[EasyAndy]

The move is only about 5 miles away.

[Super Jess]

Plastic wrap and a rubber band all the way! Easy peasy, especially if you have someone else drive while you hold the shrimp tank I suppose it would also make things a bit easier if you dipped out some of the water first, to reduce sloshing, but then add it back in when you arrive at new place. I've done it that way, too.

[EasyAndy]

Tank moved successfully, thank for the help

[EasyAndy]

Been almost 2 years since my last update so figured I'd share how things are going and ask a couple questions. The tank not had much activity since moving and is in a spot that doesn't get quite as much light as it used to at my old place. The microalgae I bought from here has significantly receded in it's new location, probably from the change in lighting. I believe most of my baby shrimp have are now fully grown and I had minimal loss of life if any, however it is hard to keep a good count. I'm curious why breeding has completely stopped since moving, I have not seen one berried shrimp for the entire time in my new house. The tank is .75 gallons and has about 50 +/- shrimp living in it, is the population maxed out for it's size? I have yet to see algae growing on any surface since starting the tank, except deep in the substrate, and I still only feed a pencil head amount of food once a month, do you think the population size needs to be fed more often? Again I appreciate all the help.

[EasyAndy]

Bump to hopefully get some feedback on comment above.

[Dch48]

The population could have stabilized itself due to numbers and available food. Feeding more could encourage breeding but that's probably not a good idea at this time.

[EasyAndy]

Thanks for the reply dch48. I figured that may have happened just wasn't quite sure because so many other variables happened at the same time. When, if ever, should I increase feeding? Does the 5x increase in population warrant more food or was I feeding too much when I only had 10 shrimp?