Dinky Dorm 2.5 Betta Tank + Shrimp Bowl

[GMYukonon24s]

Nice

[vashnic]

Added some elodea to the bowl to help keep water clean. Plants seem to be pretty happy, and I was able to buy some trumpet snails to help keep algae off them/mess up substrate! Also have a few little egg packets that I suspect are the pond snails enjoying themselves.





Unfortunately, shrimpies seem to be having trouble with moulting, at least I think. There were 6 total in the bowl (2 big ones and 4 smaller ones)--3 original that have been with me a month and 3 new ones I got a few days ago from the store.

Saw a molt yesterday evening after a small water change, woke up this morning to (near as I can count) 5 shrimp, then saw another molt tonight and the molter next to it moving very slowly and somewhat hazy in the body compared to the very clear non-molted ones.

Went to fix some dinner, came back see to other shrimp eating thorax of molted one! I'm not sure if they are dying after molt, then getting 'cleaned up' by their fellows, or if they are just especially vulnerable at that time and unable to escape the bigger shrimps. Even not molting, they tend to be pretty aggressive towards each other. OTOH, Seattle water is apparently some of the softest in the country, and I wonder if there isn't enough calcium/whatever minerals they need in the water. May go get a cuttlebone and crumble it in the substrate to see if it helps. Thoughts?

[andrewss]

nice looking bowl

[jarvitron]

What are you using for your 2x weekly water changes? RO, distilled? Tap? If anything is having problems in a tank that is getting that much water turnover, I'd have to assume it's something about the water going in and not something "in tank"; chloramine or too hard out of the tap maybe? I see you're up in WA, I think you guys have pretty soft tap (like us in Portland) but chloramined for sure.

[GMYukonon24s]

That light seems really close to the water.

[vashnic]

Originally Posted by jarvitron

What are you using for your 2x weekly water changes? RO, distilled? Tap? If anything is having problems in a tank that is getting that much water turnover, I'd have to assume it's something about the water going in and not something "in tank"; chloramine or too hard out of the tap maybe? I see you're up in WA, I think you guys have pretty soft tap (like us in Portland) but chloramined for sure.

Hiya!

Using tap water for my water changes with the appropriate amount of Stress Coat--it says it removes both chlorine and chloramines, which I'm pretty sure we have both of in Seattle. 50% changes for fish tank, but ~25% or so for the bowl. Mostly just sucking up gunk from the bottom caused by snails and shedding plant stuff.

I've been looking up stuff about the local water and apparently it is extremely soft, so I'm wondering if they might not have enough minerals to make a hard enough exoskeleton shell right after molting.

Here is our water report:
http://www.seattle.gov/util/groups/p.../01_017803.pdf

If I converted the hardness correctly, it gives a dH of 1.

And the light is about an inch off the water. XD IDK why it looks so close in the photos.

[vashnic]

Ok, so Winter Break meant that I had to leave my apartment for almost 4 weeks! No top-offs, no feedings, etc. (though I did keep the light and filter on). I gave the betta back to Petco before leaving as I was reasonably sure keeping him would not be a responsible pet owner thing to do. Sadly, he was gone by the time I got back (), so I got a purple one!



Meet Mr. Luthor, who does not seem to get caught in the filter intake. Huzzah!

The tank sides were a bit slimy with algae, but nothing a water change and some scrubbing couldn't fix. Ms. Nerite and a cherry shrimp also seem to have survived fine.



The shrimp bowl (all 3 ghost shrimpies survived wow) had evaporated to maybe half and the dwarf sag seems to be starting to take over. No light on this one, but I put it in the window and it mostly seems fine. Crypts seem to have melted into nothingness woes. Probably the (lack of) Seattle sun. Lots of baby snails have kept the algae down to nothingness.

[vashnic]

Now have 3 White Cloud Minnows in shrimp bowl! They are adorable. Can't really tell what gender they are, though--one is bigger and slender, the other two are smaller and a littler...dumpier? IDK! They have been chasing down tiny thingies, probably copepods. Shrimpies and fish have mutual ignore policy, yay.

[vashnic]

Update after a couple months! Shrimp/minnow bowl is doing very well, stuff is overgrowing:



Fish are happy:


Was hoping maybe for little fishy fry, but so far nothing. They may be all males, can't really tell.

Betta tank sadly battling off blue-green algae, but still puttering on.

[cjyhc4]

Love your shrimp/minnow bowl :-) The minnows look so happy!

[vashnic]

Thank you I try They chased each other like crazy the first few days, but now have settled down quite well. Next project will be making some window powered plant bowls like yours!

[GMYukonon24s]

Good looking fish!

[CPDzeke]

A bit late I guess, but in the first post you asked if twice a week was too much. You can never have too many water changes!

PS: 300th post! I am now planted tank obsessed!

[assasin6547]

This thread is funny

[raulfd4]

Sorry to hear you weren't able to get your old betta back. It seemed like he had some character. The new one is pretty handsome, though.

I really like the look of your shrimp/minnow bowl. It has a nice shape. Did you get it at Michael's or something?

It's fun reading your journal, btw - you have a good "voice."