My Nano Tank Set Up Success Story

[jcfrank922]

Thank you, Varanus, for your response.You know a lot about OU and I value your input. I'm going to keep my new tank as an enclosed system outside in full sun for a week to see if I find visual algae growth. Will keep you all posted.

[JennyPenny]

Like Varanus mentioned, I had success leaving my lid off. Until I did that, I had gone 1-2 months without any algae growth. Once I removed the lid, I had algae galore in about a week. It may have just been a coincidence though, so I look forward to reading about your results.

[Oople]

That looks really nice! I started a work tank cycling, in a tank that looks like a big wine glass, but I think I'll pick up one of those Montana jars instead. I'm feeling like the wine glass probably isn't work appropriate. p

[jcfrank922]

Hi Oople! I do love these Anchor Hocking Motana Jars.They make excellent shrimp tanks. You can find them on Amazon.

[jcfrank922]

After a full week in the sun, my new tank still has no sign of algae growth. So I brought it back inside and removed the lid for 24 hours. I also added a sea fan. Now it's back out on the balcony with the lid back on in full sun again. I'm just going to leave it out there until I see algae growth.

[jcfrank922]

Thank you guys for the suggestion of removing the lid. After moving the tank back inside, I took the lid off for 24 hours, then I put the lid back on and placed it back outside in the sun. After only 3 days, I now have algae growth! I do have a question. My berried female is still carrying her eggs. There are around 10 eggs. Do you think it would be ok to transfer her and the others to my new tank? Have you ever transferred a berried female before? Or, do you think I should wait?

[JennyPenny]

I am happy to hear the lid trick worked for you! I think it's fine to transfer your shrimp at this point, although your shrimp may drop her eggs. If this is one of her first clutches, however, that may happen regardless.

[Mustafa]

One idea I've heard (but not tried) to promote algae growth is leaving the top off so more spores in the air can get into the water. Though with a container that small and it being outside you'll have to keep track of evaporation more carefully. Doing this idea indoors would help reduce the chance of an unexpected pollutant getting into the water too.

I'm glad my idea is spreading. I should probably include it in some future articles.

[Mustafa]

Thank you guys for the suggestion of removing the lid. After moving the tank back inside, I took the lid off for 24 hours, then I put the lid back on and placed it back outside in the sun. After only 3 days, I now have algae growth! I do have a question. My berried female is still carrying her eggs. There are around 10 eggs. Do you think it would be ok to transfer her and the others to my new tank? Have you ever transferred a berried female before? Or, do you think I should wait?fullsizeoutput_460.jpegfullsizeoutput_45f.jpeg

When I originally suggested to someone in the forum to take the lid off I didn't mean to just imply that they should take it off for a few hours, but until algae start growing which could be weeks. In any case, judging by the fact that it has been weeks since you started the tank (close to a month?) it's hard to say if leaving the lid on or off made much of a difference since most tanks start growing some visible algae within that timeframe.

[jcfrank922]

As you can see, there is a decent amount of algae growth at this time. Finally! The tank only receives natural indirect sunlight. Last week, I ordered 10 more shrimp to add to the tank. BTW, Mustafa, my order arrived super (shrimp) fast! Like in 2 days! There are now around 20 shrimp in my new 1.5 gallon tank. I do not plan on feeding them any outside food for a good long time. They seem very active and healthy. Maybe I'll see some berried females by the end of summer! Thank you everyone for all your help and suggestions!

[jcfrank922]

Hi All! It has been a month since I transfered my 10 or so shrimp, plus the 10 new shrimp ordered from this site, to my new tank. They seem to be doing very well. I have not fed them any outside food at all so far. There seems to still be plenty of algae growth for them to eat. However, the day after the transfer, I noticed that one shrimp had died. It was floating at the top surface of the tank. The next day I went to remove it, but it was gone. Here is my question. Do these shrimp eat their dead? If they do, it seems like a very efficient way for them to keep their environment from becoming contaminated. Kinda gross, but very efficient.

[Mustafa]

Yes, they do eat their dead. They eat all kinds of organic material.

[jcfrank922]

Update: It's been 9 months since I introduced my 10 shrimp plus 10 new shrimp to my 1.5 gallon tank. After about 5 months, I began seeing berried females and then the birth and growth of several babies. My shrimp population is now around 50 and growing with more berried females. I just want to emphasize the simplicity of my tank. Aragonite sand for substrate, a few sea shells, a lava rock and a sea fan. That's it! No artificial light, just indirect sunlight, no heater, no filter, no micro algae balls, no snails. If you want any of those extra things, that's fine, but I just wanted to say that it's not necessary for a successful thriving tank. I also only feed them one tiny pin head sized shrimp wafer every other month, and I'm not sure that that is even necessary. I've only topped the water level off once with distilled water. They are very active, red in color and are always swimming laps around the tank. I leave the tank alone! I don't move the tank and I don't introduce or remove anything. I enjoy watching them daily, but I don't disturb them, and they seem happy and healthy!

[MrsT]

Congrats to you
I'm so happy to see another simple set up tank thriving.
I started with a small Betta tank which I thought it's beautiful to enjoy it but then I decided to just rid of the idea of beautiful tank in my mind which 'favors' to my liking so, i just went ahead with an abandoned tank which is more of their habitat and their liking.
Maintenance free is the first reason this type of shrimp were introduced in the market.

Do update us in the future

[Mustafa]

Thanks for the update! Keep 'em coming! Yes, I advocate simple setups as you know. But I do see some green cyanobacteria starting to grow under your substrate on the glass. The shrimp won't be able to get there so at some point, if it continues growing, you may still want to introduce some snails.