Should I churn up my substrate or leave it be?

[shrimpy4]

I've had my 1-gallon bowl for about 2 years now, and for the past year the shrimp have been breeding pretty frequently. There's almost always been a berried shrimp in there since, and lots of little larvae to juveniles.

I also have the snails I got from Mustafa, and a mini-hermit crab. The Chaeto never fared too well, there are only a few strands left, the rest died off. Same for the snails, they tend to boom and bust but eventually even out. There are also a lot of microscopic white critters that run about in zig-zaggy motions, I think they've been described elsewhere on the forum and helped with the decomposition of the dead Chaeto.

Guess the question is there's obviously some sort of solid ecosystem balance in there, but the 2 inches of gravel substrate are taking an a really solid brown (shrimp poop) and below that, almost neon green tone with what I assume is thick algae. Should I stir that up or just leave it be? I just had to move my bowl a few blocks to a new office, so that already got a light cloud of stuff stirred up into the water, but I'm wondering if I should aerate the bottom more.

[shrimpy4]

Another question on the Chaeto; I find it interesting that so many people have problems with the various algae growing out of control. Of two original golf-ball sized bunches I got of the Chaetomoropha from Mustafa and finer "angel hair" algae from another outfit, only a few strands of the Chaeto still remains.

Is it safe to assume that if the environment could support more, it would grow, and there's no point in just placing more in there lest it also die off?

[Mustafa]

Leave the substrate be. It won't harm the shrimp at all. I have some similar looking tanks. As for the Chaetomorpha...it seems to grow for most people, but some people do report that it does not grow for them. I have no idea why that is...it happened in my tanks over time. Most of my tanks grew the Chaeto, but some simply didn't. It may be small fluctuations in pH and/or nutrients. Fact is that most of my tanks that can't grow the stuff do grow it at some point. Over time it always grows for me. In your case I would just leave the few strands in there and see if they multiply. If they die, I'd try more Chaetomorpha every half a year or so if you're really bent on growing that stuff.

By the way, I hope you do know that the "angel hair" stuff is just hair algae sold as "moss" to the unassuming public, right?

[shrimpy4]

Thanks for the response Mustafa, right on, I'll leave them be. The shrimp still enjoy picking up what strands are in there and swimming around with them. If the environment is conducive to the Chaeto growing, I hope it will. Another shrimp berried last night, so they definitely seem to be enjoying themselves!

And indeed, I just wanted to see if another type of algae would be more successful but the Chaeto definitely seems hardier.

[Mustafa]

As for another type of algae...the round algae balls that appeared in my tank managed to grow in *any* tank I threw them in. The only caveat is that they grow *really* slowly, although they do bud eventually and cover the whole bottom with little balls. I'll make them available soon...but they won't be cheap due to the slow growth rate and limited quantities. i'll also post some pictures soon in their own thread.

[shrimpy4]

Right on, can't wait for the new algae balls to be on the site, looking forward to giving those a shot.

So last week I was reading up on my dwarf hermit crab (soon to be 2) and I noticed it said they enjoy not just company, but sandy substrate to dig into and hide.

My substrate has always been rocky, so I picked up some aquarium gravel, thoroughly rinsed it with tap then distilled water, and yesterday added a patch to the bottom of the bowl where the hermits can hang out if they choose.

This morning I noticed that the sandy part has built up a ton of bubbles that are sticking to it. Is this waste gas from the biomass underneath getting caught in this finer layer and building up, or is it just the result of surface tension/oxygen that had been caught up in the sand?

Either way, should I worry about it or just let it disolve on its own?

[dapug]

shrimpy4, what species of hermit crab do you have? And is your bowl stagnant filtered or aerated?

[shrimpy4]

The outfit I ordered them from calls them "Hawaiian Dwarf Hairy Leg Hermit Crabs", not sure if that's the same as Hawaiian Zebra Leg hermit crabs, these guys don't have the large claws.

I have a 1-gallon stagnant bowl, no filtration, no aeration.

[Carolina]

Oh.... I am having such a hair algae nightmare that I can't really understand how people can sell that stuff... It's a plague. It's like selling fleas to a dog, imho. Ugh.
As for the hermit, I have the same one... I do have a sponge filter, but it's not necessary. My substrate is aragonite sand, but it doesn't enjoy it, it's always up on the rocks, or hiding behind them, but always on rocks.
I originally bought 2, but one died shortly after arriving, as it molted during the trip and didn't survive the stress of it.
If I buy another one, I will get a blue legged from my local reef store.

[Mustafa]

Either way, should I worry about it or just let it disolve on its own?

Don't worry about it. It's go away over time. It's probably just trapped air.