I've got bowl fever!!

[Indian fern]

You should put soil first. Dry will be ideal. Top it with sand or gravel. Slowly fill with water until top. Do this gently so you wont disturb the substrate. About overnight the soil is thoroughly wet. Its PLANTING TIME! :3

[Disher]

Indian Fern, I'm way ahead of you on that one lol I did that months ago.

My two cherries passed away, one of which gave birth to many surviving offspring which later died. It looked like both had bad molts. Is that a TDS issue? I haven't tested my water at all, I just know my plants are loving it. I would like to try cherries again.

Maybe my bowl hasn't matured enough. Any thoughts?

[Newman]

how old is it?

[Disher]

Around 6 months

[Disher]

The tap water, right out of the faucet is between 500-700 TDS on any given day. This has got to be the reason for the shrimp deaths. I will not get an RO/DI unit because I can't justify the cost of one just for a shrimp bowl. Maybe I'll stick with plants and snails!! Lol

[Newman]

it probably would damage CRS but cherries should be fine. I raised my cherries in that TDS fine, and my current yellow shrimp are also living in that TDS.
its high, but not lethal. you could buy a gallon of DI water from a store and mix it in the WC water to dilute the TDS to lower levels.

Back when my bowl ran crystal shrimp I used gallons of distilled water for water changes. one gallon lasts maybe 3 weeks at most provided you water change maybe 20-30% water volume.

[Disher]

Well that's good to know, thanks. I'll try diluting the tank water with store bought RODI over a months time and give it another shot.

[Disher]

Updated picture on the first page! I finally ordered a GH/KH test kit. If my numbers are good I'm going to try cherries again. I also added an air stone for some water circulation.

I've got these wicked white bugs swimming around everywhere! Definitely not daphnia. They are too small for my phone to zoom in on otherwise I'd post a pic. I'm hoping they aren't dangerous for shrimp.

[Newman]

those are water mites. no they are not dangerous to shrimp.

[Disher]

Here's a pic through the lens of a dissecting microscope.

[Newman]

look at them under a standard scope. use a depression slide if possible. you should be able to see tiny thin legs moving around on the anterior portion of the bubble-like body.

this pics you posted look like ostracods. but that's only because i can't see any legs. if the legs are there, its a water mite. ostracods also do not move around really fast and erratically like water mites do.

[LyzzaRyzz]

Great bowl! I think I'm gonna start one soon!!

[Disher]

Newman- I'll take a closer look at them on Monday under a microscope. They swim around a lot so based on their motility it leads me to believe they are mites. Thanks for the ID.

Planted bowls are so easy. I'd suggest capped organic potting soil for your substrate. It works great!

[Disher]

They are definitely seed shrimp. Now that I know they are safe for shrimp I enjoy them more than ever. Really interesting creatures and are a great part of my clean up crew. They immediately devour any decaying plant leaves.

Here's an update of my shrimp colony, I had two PFRs and mixed them with cherries from a member on here (can't remember his name right now, but thanks). Please chime in!

[Newman]

yes i see the PFR. nice red shrimp. looks like the majority of those small white specs that people see in their tanks/bowls are ostracods (seed shrimp).
if you watch the video in my bowl thread you can see that there is a constant flow of ostracods in my bowl lmao!