pics of my shrimp tank

raggamuffin · Post by **raggamuffin** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 10:59 pm

hey all,
this is my 4 Litre shrimp tank. enjoy!

the plants are java moss, hemianthus micrantemoides, a small amount of lileopsis braziliensis and som micranthemum ubrosm. two paratya australiensis live in there and have done for about 4 months.

Post by **Mustafa** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 6:00 pm

Thanks for the pics.

Interesting little shrimp tank. Key to shrimp tanks this small is that they are heavily planted. Otherwise they are not stable enough to keep shrimp alive for long.

raggamuffin · Post by **raggamuffin** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 8:40 pm

i agree. the light is a home made hood that has a 13 watt screw in CF bulb so the plants have enough light to go a bit nuts which can only be good for the shrimp

. the water in our area is pretty soft (~1º GH) i was thinking that the shrimp might appreciate a little more Ca in their water to build their shells with and so was considering adding a few grams of marble chips to the substrate. is this a good idea or should i just leave it be (it aint broke... but i would like some baby shrimp!)

Post by **Mustafa** » Sat Sep 10, 2005 9:51 pm

The shrimp will build their shells either way (after all there are shrimp species that live in soft acidic water at a PH of 5.5 and still have no problems with building their exoskeleton), but avoiding a PH crash should be your first priority with such soft water. I have never tried marble, but I would go with something more easily soluble in water such as crushed coral or soft limestone.