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LOL. first time i hear of people keep marimo moss balls as a pet and the shrimps as supporting cast..
Hiya! Newbie here... I hope this is the right place to post my questions. I guess the title's kinda misleading, but well, perhaps I should begin from the start
I recently wanted to have marimos (algae balls) as pets (okay, blame the anime!) so I went to a specialty shrimp shop less than 2 weeks ago to purchase one. I also decided to purchase a few tiny friends for him. 3 cherry shrimps to clean mari-chan ^^ and 2 horned nerite snails to clean the tank... A few free floating 'plants' were also included.
Everything was fine till one shrimp decided to die out on me after one week. Today, another cherry died as well, and I suspect that it may be due to me having washed my marimo and probably some contaminants on my hands were the culprits? Either that or there is a serious lack of oxygen in my tank or my ph isn't right, or the temperature is too high. None of which I am sure, and nope, I do not have a pump or anything. It is just as it was mentioned. Shall post a pic at the end of this...
Anyway, as I was staring at my little tank, wondering if my third and last surviving shrimp would make it through the night, I noticed these little specks floating about my water. Upon closer (read:squinting) inspection, I realized that they were also clinging to my plants and some were even stuck on to the walls.
There aren't many, maybe 4-5 of these little buggers. I even fished out a dead one floating on the water surface. They are oval shaped, translucent with a brown/black-ish dot at one corner, sorta like a tiny hump. Also, it's really REALLY tiny. I'd say it's even smaller than the width of a rubber band. Hence I can't take a pic of it. Just doesn't show up.
So I was wondering if any of you know what they are?? I saw my 2 snails on top of each other a handful of days ago, so I guess they were mating? But I've only had my tank like 13 days ago, and I don't see those tiny white capsule eggs that they aparently lay... but then again, those might be a different species of nerite I was looking at.
Yeap... so would really appreciate it if anybody could tell/make a guess on what they are! Oh oh! And also... if there are any marimo owners out there... I noticed mine had two tiny white patchesAm wondering if this is some sorta 'infection' or will it go away with adequate sunlight exposure? A few tips on how to clean my marimo would be handy too please~ Don't want to keep on killing my shrimps...
Btw, the snails seem fine, although they do tend to get a bit suicidal at times, crawling up above water levels. Apparently they do this if they don't feel comfortable? I'm guessing it's the temperature cause they tend to do this when I expose the tank to some sunlight... And Singapore is a hot place... and my room is tiny. *sighs*
Believe it or not, this was taken a few short hours before the shrimp on the left keeled over with its little feet twitching and then it died.
Oh bummer... I just saw this 'bugs you might have' thread and I think they are seed shrimps or freshwater limpets!? Will they try and steal a few nibbles of my marimo? Could someone please explain to me what are they? thanks!
Last edited by Vanatincoel; 18th Oct 2009 at 21:24.
LOL. first time i hear of people keep marimo moss balls as a pet and the shrimps as supporting cast..
Hi, is this the first time you are setting up an aquarium?
You might need to take note of the following.
Did you use a dechlorinator to condition your water? If not, your water straight from the tap would contain chlorine and chloramine which would harm your shrimps and snails.
Is the tank cycled? The substrate you are using doesn't look like the inert type and might have caused an ammonia spike.
Xianghao > Haha yes! My friends found it weird too... but it's so cute!
limchongyu > Hiya thanks for the input! Yes, it's my first time owning a tankMy tank water was actually provided to me by the shop keeper as I told him I did not have any appropriate water to use. I've got about 500ml of it left, which I use to change 1/3 of the water every 3-4 days. Is that too frequent or too much??? Subsequently I was wondering if I could use those bottled drinking water instead. An yeap, the substrate is new, out of the packet. May I know what should I do if my ammonia levels are too high? Are my shrimps dying cause of this?
Also, is there anyway to kill off those tiny unwanted bugs? Granted they're kinda cute, but I think I just saw a whole HORDE of them nibbling on my shrimp's molt... that was kinda scary. population control seems to be in order.
Thanks again!
your tank is not cycled. shrimps are dying, nerite climbing out... and can see that the hornwort is not liking it too... they don't look healthy.
how big is this tank? what new soil are you using? with new soil, best to cycle for a few weeks or else the shrimps won't make it ... poor shrimps. and we normally don't use back the water from fish shops, not sure what's in there....
well... yea I kinda got that. but I've no idea what to do. any suggestions?
how do I go about cycling new soil? I guess I could drain the whole tank and use bottled drinking water instead? Starting over seems better since I'm fed up of seeing the seed shrimps... As for the type of soil, if I'm not mistaken, it's Gex soil. thanks~
p.s. > says here it's 800ml
snail climbing out = not enough oxygen.
not sure how to cycle your new tiny little tank, which i'm guessing doesn't have a filter, right? and you added GEX soil...
are your shrimps still alive? can you house them somewhere else? i think they would be happier just sitting in dechlorinated fresh water now. do a few water changes. are you going to run a filter?
have not had experience with seed shrimps before, try to siphon out as many as you can.
I gave my shrimps to my friend who has a large, proper aquarium for better care while I clean out my tank >.<
I think I will just keep my marimos... and maybe the two nerites. Just curious, will horned nerites eat those tiny shrimp pellets if I crush em to smaller pieces? I thought I saw one getting a bite off it the other day. don't want my shrimp food to go to waste ^^" if I can't, I guess I could get algae wafers
And I went to the pet shop and got this white, sandy base. it just came in a plain packet, so I've no idea wat is it. but apparently it's alright to use... Thought it'll make a lovely contrast to the snails and marimos. Do I need to cycle it? I just washed it in distilled water and added in drinking water and will be changing it periodically for the next week or so. hope it helps. how particular are snails to their environment?
thanks again~
I think you should invest in a small bottle of dechlorinator. That way you can mix tapwater and the amount of dechlorinator as per instructions and use that for your water changes.
If you are just keeping 2 nerite snails you would have to keep an eye out for mosquitoes breeding, especially since your tank water is stagnant.
am not sure what substrate you got, so unable to advise. will it change the pH? note that nerite snails can't take very acidic water or you'll see their shells rotting in the long term. nerite snails are vegetarian, they feed on algae, don't really have to feed them shrimp food. now there's no shrimps or fish, if you keep feeding the water will get polluted and you'll start seeing worms.
perhaps you could read up on the fauna or substrate you are purchasing or have already purchased, then you will know better how to care for them or use them.
This is basically what the black version of my sand looks like... LINK HERE I think it's called tahitian moon sand. I'll try and search/ask around and see if anyone knows anything more about it...
If I'm not mistaken, marimos tend to prevent the growth of other algaes, so I'm worried my nerite might starve to death
thanks!
Last edited by Vanatincoel; 19th Oct 2009 at 23:53.
HAHA.. this is definately a first..
anyway, your balls are quite safe.
Keeping marimo should be easy. Just maintain the water clean, place it under light and roll it around every month so that all angles get sufficient light. I have friends who kept marimo moss in a Jam Jar and he has many Marima Jars on display along his window area. If your tank is slightly big, snails can add lives to it. I have seen Local Fish shop put in air-stone in a snail-only tank. You might want to consider so that your snail will feel "airy" in the tank instead of crawling out to "sun-tan".
Oh, no shrimp please. I am surprised your shrimp can still stay alive for one week without the minimum equipment like fans and filter.
ooh thanks bluebubbles! I'll definately keep the snails thenlove them to bits! yap, my jar is pretty big haha. so i'll be dumping in like 4 marimos (2 of which are very small) and the 2 snails... I just hope they've been eating the shrimp food >.>
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