So MTS has struck again in nano tank form, thankfully. It's taken hold as a 12L tank with very shoddy silicone work (thanks to me 
). I'm aware that a tank with that volume of water wouldn't be acceptable for 99.9% of fish species, especially in a footprint of 30x20x20cm. Except for our 10-legged detritivore friends. I've had Neocardina "cull" shrimp for around 7-8 months now in my 60L. There are all manner of sizes and colours in an expanding colony. So I decided to use this tank as my first ever shrimp-only tank. I set up the tank using aged tank water, along with plants, substrate and some mature media from my other two tanks. I also used some Fluval Stratum to help kick-start the cycling. Within the first two days, the tank was very cloudy, which was to be expected. I did use some Accu Clear as the aged tank water I had used did contain debris from a sponge filter clean. That cleared up pretty quickly, and I did a 50% WC to remove the clumps of debris. I then left it a few more days, along with smaller WCs until yesterday, when I added the shrimp. I originally caught 7 shrimp (natural colouration), but later realised they were all probably males. I don't intend to use this tank as a breeding tank, but I did want some females to see whether or not they could breed in such a small volume of water. So I added two definite females. This amount of shrimp is barely a dent in the colony of the 60L.
I did a 20-minute drip acclimation just to be sure. Then released into the tank, where they went crazy with the biofilm. I also added in a couple of shrimp hides and some wood, which they have been grazing on all day. The other thing I have noticed is that the glass is full of microfauna, which is really great to see.
For those interested in the plants: Water Lettuce, Ludwigia repens, Süsswassertang and L.sessiliflora
). I'm aware that a tank with that volume of water wouldn't be acceptable for 99.9% of fish species, especially in a footprint of 30x20x20cm. Except for our 10-legged detritivore friends. I've had Neocardina "cull" shrimp for around 7-8 months now in my 60L. There are all manner of sizes and colours in an expanding colony. So I decided to use this tank as my first ever shrimp-only tank. I set up the tank using aged tank water, along with plants, substrate and some mature media from my other two tanks. I also used some Fluval Stratum to help kick-start the cycling. Within the first two days, the tank was very cloudy, which was to be expected. I did use some Accu Clear as the aged tank water I had used did contain debris from a sponge filter clean. That cleared up pretty quickly, and I did a 50% WC to remove the clumps of debris. I then left it a few more days, along with smaller WCs until yesterday, when I added the shrimp. I originally caught 7 shrimp (natural colouration), but later realised they were all probably males. I don't intend to use this tank as a breeding tank, but I did want some females to see whether or not they could breed in such a small volume of water. So I added two definite females. This amount of shrimp is barely a dent in the colony of the 60L.I did a 20-minute drip acclimation just to be sure. Then released into the tank, where they went crazy with the biofilm. I also added in a couple of shrimp hides and some wood, which they have been grazing on all day. The other thing I have noticed is that the glass is full of microfauna, which is really great to see.
For those interested in the plants: Water Lettuce, Ludwigia repens, Süsswassertang and L.sessiliflora
