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10g Shrimp-Cory-Anubias Low-Tech Tank

24K views 35 replies 16 participants last post by  gerbillo 
#1 · (Edited)
January 28, 2014 Full Tank Shot


I'm a former saltwater aquarist adapting to a freshwater life. I actually started a 5.5g a year ago, added a small heater, tiny filter, a single Anubias, and fed it nothing but indirect sunlight and neglect, and the Anubias doubled in size.

I took down my old reef talk and decided to give freshwater some proper attention. Fortunately, I was able to recycle some of my reef equipment for this tank:

Current Flora
Anubias barteri var. barteri
Anubias barteri var. nana
Anubias barteri var. petite
Anubias, unknown, looks between barteri and nana
Hydrocotyle leucocephala, Brazillian Pennywort
Bacopa monnieri, Moneywort
Cryptocoryne parva
Marsilea minuta
Vesicularia montagne, Christmass Moss

Current Fauna
Corydoras habrosus
Neocaridina heteropoda var. red, aka Red Cherry Shrimp (RCS)
Bladder snails (physids)

Equipment
Tank: 10g Aqueon
Lighting: Finnex FugeRay 20" with window screens, 10 hrs/day
Heater: 75W Cobalt Neo-Therm, set to 76ºF
Temperature Controller: Ranco ETC-111000, set to 77°F
Filter: Eheim Classic 2213, Installation Set 2 spraybar
Substrate: ADA Amazonia, 2" deep
Other: Penn Plax B11 emergency air pump, Honeywell RWD41 leak alarm, surge protector, GFCI, grounding probe, calibrated thermometer
 
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#2 ·
The post office messed up so they're figuring out what happened to my Finnex FugeRay; it apparently arrived but they can't find it. I'll have to wait a few more days for them to sort it out.

In the mean time, I went to Albany Aquarium today and purchased an Anubas nana and six Corydoras habrosus. Don't worry, I've been running a 5.5g quarantine tank, so it'll be their home until my 10g is cycled and ready. I saw the corys last week, and decided to get them now since they don't carry C. habrosus very often. I'm actually not a fish guy; I was bored sick of a clownfish when I had reef tank. I very much prefer invertebrates and I studied them in college, but I've fallen for the habrosus corys since discovering them on the forums here.
 
#3 · (Edited)
December 18, 2013


The Finnex FugeRay I ordered was lost by USPS, so a replacement is already in the mail and should arrive by Monday. The temporary CFL will run longer, but I admit the light looks better than I expected.

Cycle is coming along and diatoms are making their appearance. One thing I'm learning is the differences between cycling a freshwater planted tank and a reef tank. I underestimated how much ADA Amazonia leaches ammonia, and I had to do large water changes for several days because it was well above 2 ppm. It seems to have stabilized around 1-2 ppm, but no nitrites nor nitrates yet.

I really enjoy how the wood pieces turned out. There's a cool hole through the large piece that's visible from the side, forming a small cave:
 
#4 · (Edited)


Corydoras habrosus! All six are doing fine in the QT, feeding happily on Spectrum Water Stable Wafers. The first day I tried feeding them Spectrum's small fish pellets, but they sucked on them but couldn't swallow. I made another run to the LFS to get the wafers, which was what they had been feeding them at the store. I love watching them scurry across the bottom as they eat.

They're all just under an 1" right now, so it was really tough getting pictures of them. I'll try better next time.
 
#5 · (Edited)


The Ranco temperature controller arrived today. I've never really done electrical work before but wiring the power cords was easy and only took a few minutes, thanks to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrBbqm79cco

Since I'm only mildly paranoid, I was concerned for a slim chance of copper in my tap water that could affect shrimp. The API copper test kit arrived today too, and and it tested zero. Whoohoo! I'm ready for shrimp, as soon as the tank finishes cycling.
 
#7 · (Edited)
No work, no volunteering, and no holiday party today, I can finally give the habrosus corys some photographic justice. I'm used to macro shots in broad daylight, so I'm still getting the hang of flash for close-up work. The results aren't perfect, but they're much better than my previous cory photo.

One thing is that these photos were taken during the day time, while the previous cory photo was taken well after sunset, so my room had been dark for hours. Notice their lateral stripe, it is dark and thick during the day, but faded at night. I've read about night-time color changes in other fish, just never about corys before.




I need to clean their QT again after they finish eating.


All six corys are sort of visible.


The only shot not taken with flash, so it's noisier and depth-of-field is narrower since I had to widen the aperture.
 
#9 ·

With the Finnex FugeRay and Pennywort.

The FugeRay finally arrived! It's slimmer and brighter than I expected. At the suggestion from other FugeRay users (such as this one), I placed two fiberglass window screens to dampen the light for low light / low tech plants. I gotten so used to the 5000K color temperature of the CFL bulb that the 6500K FugeRay looks a little too white for me, but I think I'll get used to it. The fixture legs are rather awkward, but otherwise it's a nice light for my tank.

I also bought another plant today, a set of pennyworts. Since they'll grow tall I have them in the back behind the main piece of wood and so they won't look more dominant than the anubias. More plants are on the way in the next few days.


Pennywort and the other side of the "cave" in the branch.
 
#11 · (Edited)
10g Shrimp & Cory Low-Tech Tank



Yes, that's a towel behind the tank but it's just a temporary background to block out daylight. More importantly, I got some new plants: Java and Christmas moss, Marsilea minuta, Anacharis, and a petite Anubias. I'm still looking for a Crypt parva, which I think I've found.

This is my first time gluing moss, so of course I used too much glue, but they'll grow over it. I should also use gloves the next time too.


Marsilea minuta


The petite Anubias is even smaller than I thought.


I like the Christmas moss much more than the Java Moss.


Anacharis, which I'm hoping will grow taller.


A bladder snail, the only animal currently in the tank.



Once the moss grows over the glue, then it'll definitely be better.

Ammonia/ammonium is dropping, but still no signs of nitrite nor nitrate, so I think the plants are the main driver behind the decrease. I started adding fish food to continue the cycle and encourage the bacteria to grow.

The habrosus cory cats are still doing fine in their QT, scurrying on the bottom in their funny way. I reduced their feeding to a quarter of a Spectrum mini wafer per day to, minimize waste while still providing them with plenty. It makes cleaning easier; I do about a 10% water change everyday and I remove any excess food I find. I'm looking into other food options to occasionally mix things up a bit.

I started reading Diana Walstad's Ecology of the Planted Aquarium, and I can’t put it down. It's absolutely fascinating, I don't think I found a book like this back when I had my reef tank. A lot of her book I already knew, but her knowledge is so much more refined and nuanced, and it's making me rethink my approach to my tank.
 
#17 ·
I finally got some Cryptocoryne parva, from the Substrate Source. They were grown emersed, and I've read that some plants have a rough transition to submerged, so some leaves deteriorated but most of the plant seem fine now.

I also added some moneywort, Bacopa monnieri.

The more I read about cycling, the more I realize that it's so much more complicated in the planted tank world than cycling for a reef tank. I didn't anticipate the amount of ammonia leaching from Aquasoil, didn't plant heavily from the beginning, and other options. I dumped some fast growers (water wisteria and hornwort), started large water changes several times a week, and increased the tank temperature to 83-84ºF, which is more comfortable and efficient for the bacteria. All this is temporary to bring me closer to a silent cycle. The warmer temperature might speed up the ammonia leaching as well (ammonia/ammonium now at about 0.5 ppm).



To me, it's not so much that they are beautiful, but I enjoy their behavior and I love them scientifically. Otherwise, I'm not a fish person and so I was surprised that I ended up getting them.

Hastatus corys, red supremes, and blue velvets all obtained locally.
Hastatus corys were on my shortlist at one point.

Looks great so far. Can't wait to see the moss grow out and the fish tossed in. :D
Thanks. The moss grows slower than I thought; I can't tell if they've grow at all but it is hard to tell.
 
#19 ·
I don't think that'll help much now. Granted, the higher temperature reduces oxygen capacity in water, but I adjusted the spraybar to create a lot of surface agitation, and there are more plants now producing O2.

The cycle appears to be in the homestretch. I got my first nitrate detection, and ammonia is down to 0.25 ppm and zero nitrite. My three Anubias are very happy, sprouting several leaves in the past couple weeks (aren't they supposed be slow going?). I also noticed the first signs of growth in the mosses.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Finally, finally! Tank finished cycling over two weeks ago, but I delayed an updated because I was making some major changes: I adjusted and replaced some equipment, major replantings, removed some plants, added others, and my tank unexpectedly ended up being anubias dominated. I dig the anubias, but I didn't originally set out to get so many different varieties. I added the corys and bought some red cherry shrimp several days ago:


Full tank shot, notice the new spraybar. I forgot to clean the glass.


An island of petite anubias, actually three different petites planted together


The large leaves and long petioles of Anubias barteri var. barteri towers over all my plants and get close to the surface.


The Anubias barteri var barteri also helps hide the already stealthy Cobalt Neo-Therm.


I like how the pennywort is growing.


A small bundle of moneywort stashed in the corner, near the pennywort.


Corydoras habrosus feeding on a piece of Spectrum Water Stable Wafer.


A RCS, male I think, hanging out on a hornwort. The hornwort is temporary to help with the cycle, so I'll be removing it soon.


A female RCS facing an Anubias barteri var. nana.


The winter has been unseasonably warm here, but during the week or two of actual Bay Area chills in my poorly insulated apartment, I wrapped the Eheim Classic so the heater wouldn't have to work as hard.

The plant list:
Anubias barteri var. barteri
Anubias barteri var. nana
Anubias barteri var. petite
Unknown Anubias, but looks in-between the barteri and the nana.
Pennywort, Hydrocotyle leucocephala
Moneywort, Bacopa monnieri
Cryptocoryne parva
Marsilea minuta
Christmas moss, Vesicularia montagne
Hornwort (temporary)

And the animals:
Bladder snails
Possibly some ramshorn snails
5 Corydoras habrosus
4 Neocaridina heteropoda var. red

I started with 5 RCS but one died the next day, so I’m a little disappointed since this is my first time keeping shrimp. I’ll continue to monitor them for the next few weeks but if they are fine and there are no other deaths, I’ll add another batch. I may add more habrosus corys, too.

I changed out the obnoxious green Eheim spraybar with a transparent grey Eheim spraybar (Installation Set 2). Expensive and bulkier than I expected, but doesn’t it stand out like the original one that came with the canister. I also like my new Cobalt Neo-Therm heater since it hides a lot better than the Jäger.
 
#24 ·
Thanks everyone, I'm really liking the way it's turning out. It already looks better than my reef tank ever did. Even though I didn't originally intend on having so many anubias, I did intend for anubias to be the only plant to have large pinnately-veined leaves. Hence the non-anubias plants all have much smaller leaves, such as the pennywort and the moss:


My last update neglected to include a close-up of the Cryptocoryne parva:


I'm going to follow Tom Barr's low-tech methodology:
http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/433-Non-CO2-methods

This means no water changes to stabilize CO2 levels with a careful dosing of fertilizers and trace nutrients to balance out the ones coming from the fish and shrimp.
 
#25 ·
That tank is turning out really nice. Do you have mesh over your light to reduce the intensity for your low-light plants? It's looking good, especially that A. barteri var. nana "petite". I like that plant, I once skipped the chance to buy some and have always regretted it. I do have some A. "nana" that I've had for about 7 years, it started with a 2 inch rhizome and is now around 24 inches. It is indeed a slow, but steady grower. Once established, hopefully you plants will send up flowers, they are really attractive, though it may take some time. Be sure to let us know if they do flower, it would be interesting to see what it looks like in the petite form.

Also, how are you enjoying your C. habrosus? I tried keeping them a little while back, but I couldn't keep them alive, not sure why. They were eating a couple different foods, but slowly withered away one by one. Some Endler's in the tank were fine, but maybe the ph was too high for the little cats. What are your readings and/or any secrets to success with them?
 
#26 · (Edited)
That tank is turning out really nice. Do you have mesh over your light to reduce the intensity for your low-light plants? It's looking good, especially that A. barteri var. nana "petite". I like that plant, I once skipped the chance to buy some and have always regretted it. I do have some A. "nana" that I've had for about 7 years, it started with a 2 inch rhizome and is now around 24 inches. It is indeed a slow, but steady grower. Once established, hopefully you plants will send up flowers, they are really attractive, though it may take some time. Be sure to let us know if they do flower, it would be interesting to see what it looks like in the petite form.
Yup, the mesh is to reduce the light, otherwise it's more of a medium light, based on what others have said here. I'm not interested in being an algae farmer right now.

Are petites rare where you are? They seem common here which is how I got several pieces. I'm very impressed by a 24" long nana and I would love to see that. I'm considering a small emersed setup just to grow anubias petite to a much larger size faster, probably not to 24", then resubmerge it back into my tank. My reading is that anubias are triggered to flower by a several weeks of elevated phosphate, but I'm not going to try that until they're bigger.

Also, how are you enjoying your C. habrosus? I tried keeping them a little while back, but I couldn't keep them alive, not sure why. They were eating a couple different foods, but slowly withered away one by one. Some Endler's in the tank were fine, but maybe the ph was too high for the little cats. What are your readings and/or any secrets to success with them?
I'm very much enjoying the C. habrosus and their bottom-feeding behaviors, which is a minor miracle because I'm not a fish person at all; I very much prefer invertebrates and I gave away a fish a few years ago when I kept a reef. I wouldn't call it a success yet since the corys have been in their new home for only a few days. I'm feeding them New Life Spectrum Water Stable Wafers (same food as when they were at the LFS), but I'm looking into other options, including cultivating my own worms. As for my parameters (API test kit) as of two days ago:

Ammonium/Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm
pH: 6.4 (daytime)
GH: 5 degrees
Temperature: 75.4-75.9 degrees F

My understanding is that they come from slightly acidic waters, but they're generally adaptable. I'm not aware of a specific sensitivity. What was your pH? Were they eating regularly? Mine have been voracious eaters.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Good news and bad news. The good news is that I found one of my red cherry shrimp berried, fanning her yellow eggs. The bad news, I found a second dead RCS. I have three left, and hoping whatever they succumbed to was isolated, especially since I can't find anything in my water parameters that might be wrong. I started with five in case something like this might happen, so I'm hoping that the remaining ones will make it.

Time for some macro shots, starting with the berried shrimp, you can actually see the eggs on the swimmerets:


And now the non-berried shrimp:






Snuck in for some food:


Now the corys:


You can really see the defensive spines in this pic:
 
#31 ·
If you take out those clear plastic screws out and remove the inner portion of the legs that light will sit better on the rim and not cause issues with your glass top. The inner flat portion comes off if you slide it horizontally. The light will then sit on the legs and not the screws...





Just a thought. Your tank looks great. I love tanks that are heavy on anubias and other non-stem plants...
 
#33 ·


I added five more corys last week, 10 C. habrosus total in the tank. There's only eight in the picture above but they're always splitting into groups so I rarely see all ten together at once. It's fun seeing them scurry for food while I'm eating my dinner (the tank is on my dining table). I'm also doing my taxes on the table since I can just look up and see them swimming around.



I diversified their feeding. It's still mostly Spectrum wafers, but they're also getting microworms (picture above), frozen bloodworms, and decapsulated brine shrimp eggs.

The lone remaining red cherry shrimp is still alive after three weeks! I'm more certain about how I accidentally killed the other shrimp, but I'm waiting a few more weeks before I get more RCS.

It finally dawned on me that most of my plants are slow growing, so I've reduced the fertilizing and testing to be sure. About 1/64 tsp KNO3 per week seems to balance out, but I haven't figured out the KH2PO4 dosing yet. I'm still seeing growth in all the plants, especially in the pennywort, but also the anubias and Christmas moss.

My unknown anubias might be a regular nana. It's been shedding its older leaves, leaving the younger ones behind which are smaller and darker like the anubias nana variety. The older leaves were from the year it was growing in only window light, which would explain the larger, paler leaves.
 
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