First Tank! Q&A, Stories and Moments Thread

[EasyAndy]

It looks like I have my first molt! Hopefully it's a sign of good things to come and tno that it was scared out of it's skin by the sight of dead brethren.

[Varanus]

If a dead one isn't quickly eaten then its safest to just remove it.

Tough as these shrimp are there is no way to fully remove the stress of shipping, and that may be what killed the one, but I'd wager the others will be just fine. The molting is one way they adjust to new conditions it seems.

[Mustafa]

Actually, out of thousands of shrimp shipped a year there are literally less than a handful that arrive dead like that. It's not the shipping stress really as the shrimp can be in those bags for way over a month...it's usually an already possibly weak or injured (possibly injured while catching) shrimp that was sent while still alive and kicking but then dying in transit. The only things really stressing these guys out during shipping are extreme temps...freezing or close to freezing temps and 95+ degrees for prolonged periods of time (They're still ok though stressed at 100, but start dying at 102).

Andy, as per our DOA policy I'll refund the cost of the dead shrimp. Sorry about that, you hit the "reverse lottery" unfortunately.

Oh...you can leave the dead one in there...even when dead these guys don't produce much waste. It'll get eaten eventually.

[Nellyville41]

Sucks that you got a DOA. But the molt is a good sign. Your tank is looking good btw

[EasyAndy]

Thanks for the reply guys, I can no longer see the deceased shrimp so I'm assuming he is gone and eaten. Things have really settled down in my tank, hardly much movement. The shrimp gradually comb through the sand and sit on the rocks eating away. They all appear happy. I'll keep you all posted on the progress.

[EasyAndy]

I'm not really concerned but curious enough to ask the question. For the last week I have seen almost zero snail activity. Before I got my shrimp they were out most of the time, in the day even. Now I can't seem to put eyes on them any time of day, evening, early morning or whenever. I've noticed some spots were I believe algae is starting to grow on the glass of the tank and I'd like for them to clean the glass more obviously. What could be going on? On I somewhat related note, if they continue to hide I'd like to get a round magnet placed inside the tank to use to clean the curved glass sides of the tank. Are there any specific materials I simply cannot put in the tank? I know I've read metal is no good but is that ALL metal? Many of the small round neodymium magnets have a metal casing. I can also get ceramic magnets or always make my own casing out of epoxy plastic or something similar. Again your help is appreciated.

[Varanus]

Cleaning algae off tank walls shouldn't be necessary. If the snails are there then they will eventually get it, or the shrimp will. What you can do is not feed until the visible algae is gone from the walls.

[EasyAndy]

Thanks for the reply Varanus however I want to clean it for a purely aesthetic standpoint. I have not fed the shrimp once since I've received them. What are your thoughts on where my snails are?

[Super Jess]

Your snails might be enjoying the substrate more now that your shrimp are contributing to the bioload (shrimp poop!). Mine occasionally seem to disappear for a while, then BOOM! Baby snails everywhere. So maybe there is also a population wave that happens naturally. They are really tough little creatures, so it would be unusual for them all to have died.

[EasyAndy]

Do any of you have an answer to my questions above about the cleaning magnet? I'd like to clean off the algae as the snails are too busy partying in the sand to come out and clean.

[SuperProofer]

I would say if the magnets are specifically made for aquariums they should be OK. However, I would just give it some time of not feeding and see if the shrimp take care of it themselves. That would be the safest option if you were unsure.

[SuperProofer]

Another thing you could try since the mouth of your tank is similar to mine in that it's difficult to maneuver at an angle to reach the walls is: get some of those flexible baby bottle cleaning brushes and bend them to reach the walls. Then you can scrape off that way. Sometimes I'll wrap cheesecloth around the end to give myself a larger scrubbing surface. But just make sure you get all the loose stringy fabrics fibers off the edges first. Don't want those floating in the tank afterwards. All the brushes I've seen have metal (assuming aluminum) handles so you can bend them, but they don't seem to cause my tanks any harm. Plus, I really only use mine for cleaning around the top edge/shoulder of the jars to wipe down some of the muck and salt creep they get when I have to move the jar and the water sloshes. But I would think if you did it quickly and sparingly is should be fine.

[EasyAndy]

I wanted to jump on and give a close to one year update. There have been no issues with my tank and I have been following the instructions on this site. I feed a pinhead piece of sinking fish food every month. Since my last post I have had 2 berried shrimp the first, about 5 months ago, was unsuccessful. The second berried shrimp has been swimming around for the last 45-60 days and just yesterday started releasing larvae!!! YES, my first shrimp babies!! There was noticeable difference in the way she was carrying the eggs two days ago, seemed looser and less controlled, I thought I was about to lose them. Then during my nightly ritual of gazing at the tank while brushing my teeth I counted 6 larvae. Without this community I wouldn't have been able to do it, thanks for all the help. Excuse the not so great picture, however you can see the larvae floating.

One quick question; One of the mossballs I ordered from this site started floating a couple days from when I got it and has never sank. I tried to squeeze it but still didn't help. Do some of them just float and when do they start to multiply?

[sbube]

When the mossballs float it's because of the amount of light they are getting. When I see mine float I cut back on the light exposure and it (they) soon drop. It doesn't mean there was too much light, but I just like seeing the mossballs on the substrate.

[i<3Opae]

Congats on the babies! Hope you start getting a steady stream of them. The moss ball floats sometimes, but eventually settles down. It reproduces very slowly, and mine wasn't a clean-cut case. A while back i noticed the moss ball started missing chunks, I moved it to another tank, where it didn't shrink further. Subsequently I had tiny balls all over the first tank, but I haven't noticed any significant growth. So mine sorta just sprang off.