snails & a few other newb inquiries

[ushies]

Good day folks! I've been lurking around here for awhile and have gleaned much great information. Thanks to ya'll I learned how to open my evil Eco-Sphere and release my poor prisoner into a 1gal. I got everything to set up my tank from here, including the black substrate, calcium carbonate rocks, macroalgae, and the snails along with 10 shrimps after establishing everything. At this point, many months later, I have some questions-

*Can anyone confirm if the snails bury themselves or something? They all seem to disappear and I thought I was going crazy. Not even shells left behind so I didn't know if they'd died or what. Eventually I stopped looking for them and thought I only had 1 left that I'd see occasionally, although there really isn't much places for them to hide in there. Yesterday I finally decided it was time to bring my shrimpies to work to keep me company because I didn't have a good place at home to fully enjoy watching them. When I looked in there and started taking out some of the water I found multiple snails running around! I was pretty surprised because they do stand out pretty well even with the black substrate. But now after the successful move I haven't been able to find where they ran off to again, which got me wondering if they are able to dig into the fine grains? Sorry if this has already been addressed, I tried to search the forum and didn't find anything.

*I feel like my tank is pretty dirty. I never have fed them, there's been plenty of algae since startup and I think my light is pretty strong. I'm hoping to add more shrimps, but I didn't know if there's anything else I can add in there to help? Before the move I did try and scrape the front glass a little so I can see better, and there was a pretty thick green carpet all over the rocks and parts of the substrate so I cleared off what I could. I'm afraid of removing too much though. How do I know they have enough food? I'd like to really scrape the glass better because it has algae speckles all over.

*Does it mean much if the shrimps are white? I know the move angered them but even today and also prior when they were stable at home they were never all red together and it makes me wonder if there might be something I'm not doing right to make them all happy.

*At home I'd turn their light on and off, but now that they're at work I'm not sure what to do for the weekends. They're in a space that will be completely dark unless I leave the light on the whole time, and I didn't know which would be worse for them- constant light or total darkness for two days. My gut reaction was to leave the light off considering how much algae growth I already have and didn't know if they'd care.

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to make sure I'm still on track to have happy and healthy shrimpies for a very long time!

[mike.d]

Welcome!

The snails do burrow and hide. They'll come out eventually and breed.

I'm not sure what to tell you about the algae. Can you scrape it off the glass and leave it in the tank somehow? If it's really thick you could get a nerite snail, but they can be voracious eaters. It might be too much for a 1 gal. Another option is to scrape off the algae from only one side of the tank so you can see in.

White shrimp are normal. They'll color up in a few days, or not. Don't worry about it.

I would leave the light off over the weekend.

[Vorteil]

Share some pics if your set up

[ushies]

Thanks! Glad to know I'm not completely crazy (yet). Even this morning when I glanced in I saw so many more snails than last time. I guess they liked the darkness this weekend, makes me wonder if my light really is too bright for the critters because all the shrimp were also bright red at first, then got flustered speeding around and went paler again and the snails have all burrowed. For the algae I guess I'll just scrape the front of the glass a bit, you can see how bad it still is in the pictures even after trying to clean it up before the move. The white rocks were practically invisible until I tried scrubbing them and also flipped them over lol. There's still a good coating on the front left section of the substrate but it's so thick that when I try and pull it up a lot of the substrate goes with it unless I take the time to carefully pick through it. Maybe now with 2 dark days the snails will finally come out more and do a better job! I also need to top off the water, I forgot the jug at home again. I also plan to get some kind of other decor for them, especially if the light is bothersome to them they need more coverage... Unless they don't? Ya'll are the experts, which is why I ask

[Super Jess]

The snails are burrowing snails and like to come out at night, so if the lights have been off for a while it makes sense you'd see them when you turn the light back on. Do you have a cover for your tank? A cover will help reduce evaporation and keep contaminants from fouling the water, which could be a real concern in a workplace where you're not in control of the environment all the time.

I would scrape the algae off the front so you can see, and leave the rest. Visible algae means there is plenty of food for your shrimp, so they should be just fine in that regard. For a hiding place, you might consider a sea urchin skeleton or any decoration labeled as aquarium-safe.

[skylorvivo88]

I agree with all the comments left

[ushies]

After the initial post I did gently clean up the front glass to see in better. Since moving the tank to my work desk the macroalgae has gotten nice and bright green and grown quite a bit. I must not have been keeping the tank in a desirable area at home, everyone seems much happier! I even came to work this morning and found they were getting busy over the weekend in the dark, I have my first berried female and I'm so excited. Is there anything I need to do to ensure things go smoothly? What's the typical timeline?
I also wanted to add more décor to the tank, I bought another plant thing like the one from my sphere but didn't know what I need to do to prep it so it's safe. I also have lots of shells and things that I've collected over the years and was pondering adding some of those for more places to hide (especially with the impending babies!) but also didn't know how to make sure they're safe too. Just figured I should use what I have instead of paying more for the same thing from the pet store if there's an easy way to fully sanitize them.

[Dch48]

The female will carry the eggs for about 6 weeks and then release the larvae. They will take another 4 weeks to become full fledged shrimp.

[JDillon]

It looks good. Maybe get more shrimp to help eat the algae? For decorations you could get a small castle and some lava rocks. They like to hide in the nooks and crannies.

[Kurai61]

Congrats on saving the shrimp! For the light thing over the weekend; how about getting a mechanical light timer off amazon.com? That way the shrimp would have stable lightning. There's a cheap one for ~$9 ( linked it below if you want to look at it). Additionally, if you feel like you have too much algae, you can set the timer to be on less/turn off the lights earlier until there is less algae, but it's probably fine to leave it alone.

As everyone says, yes the burrowing is normal for snails! Mine always are hidden, but then come up at night lol.


https://www.amazon.com/GE-Mechanical-In ... 3639671b2d

[ushies]

Alrighty I've got another question for ya'll. We're moving across country in a week and a half so I need to transport my shrimps back home and then safely by car for 5 days... My main concern is for the babies. I've counted 6 of the tiny little buggers, and I didn't know if they would be fine staying in the tank for a trip. I've also seen mixed comments on old posts about whether or not to remove most of the water and decor or to transfer all the shrimps into a small container with just water. Since all I have in there is the sea fan and the micro algae do I need to be so concerned? And is it better to fill as high with water as possible to reduce sloshing or remove the water?

[JennyPenny]

If you can catch them all, I think it would be safer to put them in a small container and transport like that. If you are not able not catch them all, then I would remove everything but the substrate so they don't get crushed by shifting decor. Perhaps add a bit more brackish water and then attach several layers of cling film across the top and secure with a rubber band. To further prevent water spilling in your car you can put the tank in a plastic container (like a bucket) and pad with washcloths so it doesn't rattle around.