How I kept my shrimp keeping hobby alive and low maintenance

[sthh]

I have been keeping fishes and shrimps and snails for quite awhile, and so I decided to transform my 3ft planted tank into a shrimp eco-system that is both low maintenance and fun to watch.

My low maintenance objectives are:
1. No chillers, no fan, and using only timer-set lightings (4.5hours a day with 2 t5 tubes)
2. Low cost
3. No fertilizer, no algae maintenance problems.
4. Water change only once a month, 30% max
5. No plants trimming or replanting.

I converted my planted tank to a low maintenance tank. Took out all the stemmed plants and replaced them mainly with crypts, java ferns.
Gave away all my tetras.
Bought 10 fire red cherry shrimps in late Jan this year.

These 2 are the original parents

Bought about 20 pygmy cories.
5 months later today, these are some of the shrimps in the their new eco system.

Carpets of shrimps taken with my handphone. Didn't bother to count how many shrimps there are now. Must be in the hundreds, and still growing. The growth is exponential, and only limited by the food they can find. I think the algae is decimated.

Taken with digital camera. Somehow looks orangey.. Don't know why. Shrimps congregating near the coconut hut of an albino bristlenose pleco.

Couple of pygmy cories and a leopard cory resting with the shrimps. The pygmy cories are about the same size as the shrimps. There are shrimps on every inch of the tank. The tiny snails are hardly found. No food for them, shrimps are way too fast. Couple of the pygmies which are shy have died of hunger. The remaining cories are aggressive feeders.


A big fat leopard frog pleco. Can be the main predator in town. But she doesn't harm the shrimps, only go after the sunken cory food, and she bulldoze her way to any food supply.

Thats all folks. Thanks for reading.

[bettafantastic]

Nice set-up!
From the pictures, there are more than hundreds of shrimps!

[neverwalkalone]

Nice job! Curious how you manage to get the Hairgrass in the foreground to grow so nicely in such a low tech, no-frills tank. My limited experience on this plant is that it's really slow growing... Any tips to share?

[sthh]

Nice job! Curious how you manage to get the Hairgrass in the foreground to grow so nicely in such a low tech, no-frills tank. My limited experience on this plant is that it's really slow growing... Any tips to share?

Haha... My advise is
1. Use good substrate
2. Don't get any fish that likes to dig up plants before the hairgrass is established... eg. plecos, cories, loaches
3. plant them all over the tank, and not in large clumps.
4. If you trim the top of the hairgrasses, it encourages growth
5. You may want to use Excel. My hairgrass love it.

[newlife]

low maintenance yet well kept.....

Thumbs up....Cheers....