[James From Cali]

I am performing an experiment with Shrimp and plants from my 10g. Right now in the "Experiment Tank" I have 2 stems of Moneywort and 2 stems of Primrose(Ludwigia Repens). I plan on adding 4 Ghost shrimp also. I was wondering if I was to go natural on this tank would I need CO2 or Ferts?

I dont want to put the plants into a complete die off. These are the only 2 stems of each and I really dont want to lose them for the cost of experimentation. If there is no way to actually keep these in the tank without CO2 or ferts then its kool.

Thanks
James

 

[boink]

why dont you just grow some more stems and then experiment....

 

[James From Cali]

I have been trying but they been growing slow. Also I want to add plants to the "tank" until I get my moss so when I get my Shrimp I will have something for them to feel secure.

They tend to grow slow under 1.5 wpg's.

 

[sandiegoryu]

You might want to start reading threads on Aquaticplantcentral.com and then head to El Natural. There is a whole section on not just low tech, but virtually "no tech." LOL. Good luck.

 

[ringram]

James, you could probably do great with just moss in the shrimp tank. Maybe a few different kinds. java ferns and anubias might do fine, but I don't know how well it would do without Co2 OR ferts. I had some moneywort in my 25g w/ ~2.2wpg and no Co2, no ferts. I *did* add a little fluorish excel on occasion though. It didn't grow great, but it stayed alive. lol. new leaves were much smaller.
I have some cherry shrimp in there right now with that same setup (55w for ~8 hrs/day) with bascially just 'narrow leaf' java fern, xmas moss, weeping moss and najas grass. It's doing ok. slow growth.

 

[weaselnoze]

i have anachris, ludwiga, rotala rotafundolia, and java fern all growing under 1.5wpg with no ferts or co2. just fish. slow but sure growers!

 

[mistergreen]

I just started a natural planted tank using a 2 gallon fish bowl..
it has generic topsoil on the botton and gravel covering it... It has plants in it and is just sitting next to a window.

 

[dogg76]

So, what's the experiment?

 

[James From Cali]

The experiment is to see how shrimp behaviors differ in different conditions. I will add a few Shrimp to my 10g with filtration, heating, and overall better equipment. The smaller "tank"(the tank in my sig) will have 4 Ghost shrimp with a few plants and it will contain no added anything.

I will be reading the El Natural forum on APC.