Crazyfishlady Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 Well I woke to a horrible disaster! I have a 20 high cool water tank with some minnows, a clown pleco and the bue and yellow neos I had got (before I knew anything about shrimp and inter breeding). I have had nothing but problem after problem with this tank (I have 3 other betta tanks that are perfectly fine and now the 10 gallon snowball tank that is doing great). I won't list the problems I have had, but I'm guessing it started with things that came in on plants and has been a constant battle since. So, this morning I woke up to a water grave yard So, I grabbed equipment and gloves and started to completely gut the tank. And I did, I found 3 survivors... 2 blue shrimp and one yellow. I was shocked. I quickly grabbed a 1.5 tank that I use as a hospital tank for my bettas. I dosed the water with prime, scooped out some water from a healthy betta tank, yanked some flame moss out of the snowball tank... added some ripped up IAL and some alder cones and plopped the shrimp in. UGH! This tank has no heater, no filter.. but I don't want to put them in with the snowballs in case these ones are infected with one of the many issues I was dealing with in that tank. How long do you think they will last in there? How long until I can be sure they don't have anything contagious? I really don't want to mix them with my snowballs but their heath is more important, so I will until I can get a healthy tank set up to separate them, I just don't know how long it's safe to keep them in the hospital tank or how long to wait to know they are safe to put with the others. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 3 shrimp in a 1.5g? They could live their whole lives in there. heh Smart thinking on your quick set up. Sorry about your TOD. I'd keep them under quarantine for a month if planning on moving them. If not moving them, add a seeded sponge filter and you are good to go. The biggest challenge with small tanks is to keep on top of params. Evaporation will play a huge part in prams changing. aquariumlover10 and Crazyfishlady 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyfishlady Posted December 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 Whew... ok that makes me feel a little better. Not a good morning but that tank had some SERIOUS issues and it was an everyday battle. So, not happy, but not surprised. Seems the shrimp are tough little buggers. They are rather pale, but I will keep them in there for a month, by then I should have the other 5.5 gallon I had planned on getting. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 What SS said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibikaie Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 How are they doing today? Crazyfishlady 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyfishlady Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 So far so good Thanks for asking! Can't believe they were the only survivors in the TOD but they seem happy in their little tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Pics? chibikaie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyeGuy411 Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Shrimp do continue to amaze me at how tough some of them can be. aquariumlover10, chibikaie and Crazyfishlady 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibikaie Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 I am constantly amazed at how tough our little pets are. Glad they are doing well so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyfishlady Posted December 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 So true! I could not believe out of the misery that those three little ones were still alive. Here are a few pics. It's harder to see the blues because they are still pale and it's a tiny triangular shaped tank. The tank One of the blues The sole yellow Soothing Shrimp, EbiBunBun and Shrimpie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 Oh, I knwo what that tank is, if you plant it up they could live in there for the rest of there lives, the shrimp look good for what had happend. Crazyfishlady 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 Oh and is that a lufa sponge in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyfishlady Posted December 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 Oh and is that a lufa sponge in there? So they don't need any kind of a filter? I am not sure how to find a filter small enough for that tiny thing (1.5 gallons). The sponge is actually a filter sponge from an established tank so that there was something with good bacteria and somewhere for the bacteria to grow. I keep hearing about 'new tank death syndrome' so I used some water from a betta's tank and that (plus a few drops of the bacteria growth stuff) so that I didn't kill them off after all they went through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 If you took that sponge and wrapoed it around a airstone with rubberbands iand left the airstone on 24/7 and heavily planted it(some floaters would be a awesome edition they are huge ammonia/nitrate/nitrite hogs. The new tank deathsydrome is the tank cycling, where bb(benificial bacteria) builds up, ammonia,nitrite, and nitrate build up at different stages and they are poisonous in high(ammoia and nitrite are poisonous at any level) levels. But yeah floating plants, other plants, wrap the sponge around airstone and secured with rubber bands, that basicaly it, although the holes in that sponge are pretty big, if you can get a finer sponge i would, and do a .5g water change daily it will keep the paremeters in check. Crazyfishlady 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyfishlady Posted December 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 If you took that sponge and wrapoed it around a airstone with rubberbands iand left the airstone on 24/7 and heavily planted it(some floaters would be a awesome edition they are huge ammonia/nitrate/nitrite hogs. The new tank deathsydrome is the tank cycling, where bb(benificial bacteria) builds up, ammonia,nitrite, and nitrate build up at different stages and they are poisonous in high(ammoia and nitrite are poisonous at any level) levels. But yeah floating plants, other plants, wrap the sponge around airstone and secured with rubber bands, that basicaly it, although the holes in that sponge are pretty big, if you can get a finer sponge i would, and do a .5g water change daily it will keep the paremeters in check. THANK YOU!! I have some pre-filter sponges that I can put over an air stone. I just need to get a pump that is 'weak' enough. I have been looking at floaters on line, I need some for the other tank. I feel a lot better about them being in that little tank now, thank you for all of your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyeGuy411 Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 There is a a real small sponge filter sold on amazon it's like 4-5 bucks I use one in a 1.75g and one in a 2g. They work great and are a much finer material for a huge amount of surface area. That would work much better in the long run. Crazyfishlady 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibikaie Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 If your air pump is too strong, use a gang valve or tee off using an airline kit with valves ... basically just divert some of the output to an empty line hanging around. Adjust it to what you need. ^-^ your shrimp should be happy in there. Crazyfishlady 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 Your welcome,I am keeping splotched carbons permanatly in ca 2.5g, if you get a air control kit and the smallest air pump "kit" from petco Here's a link http://t.petco.com/product/119290/Petco-Air-Pump-for-Freshwater-And-Marine-Aquariums.aspx?CoreCat=certona-_-ProductListTopRated_Fish_3-_-Petco%20Air%20Pump%20for%20Freshwater%20%26%20Marine%20Aquariums-119290 And use the control valve you could ajust till it was the right flow. I recomend salvania for the floater. Your welcome, I kinda know what you are going thru, wheni moved the movers broke one of my tanks so I had all my fish in a 10g and then I was told I couldn't have another tank, but eventully I managed another 2.g for hrimp Crazyfishlady 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 I agree with rye, but as a short term the sponge and airstone works. Here's a pic of mine, also kf your tank is heavily planted and and has enough shrimp to eat leftovers and such and maybe a few snails you could just use a airstone, basicaly a walstad method with no soil and a airstone. Crazyfishlady 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyfishlady Posted December 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 do you have a link to the small filter? I looked on amazon but even the nanos look huge for a tiny tank?? For now... I just ordered some Salvinia (thank you for the recommendation!!) I'm going to put a prefilter sponge on an airstone and rig it so it doesn't blow too hard. That will have to do until this weekend. You are all amazing and I feel SO much better about the bad situation. Shrimp going from a 20 gallon to 1.5 now I am not nearly as stressed about that. Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyeGuy411 Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 Here is the link for the mini sponge filter its small enough for a 1.5-2g tank. http://www.amazon.com/Jardin-Aquarium-Cylinder-Sponge-Filter/dp/B005LMQCW2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418825972&sr=8-2&keywords=sponge+filter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 The salvania will work awesome, it doesn't get a huge root system but it will provide some shade which will reduce stress, pics when you get the sponge thing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryboy12484 Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 You can also use an azoo palm filter.. If your a HOB kinda person aquariumlover10 and Crazyfishlady 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibikaie Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 If I am not mistaken, Han has a truly tiny sponge filter for $5. I picked up the same model locally, and it's good for the under 5 gallon tank size. I have used the Azoo mini hob, not a big fan, and I would be cautious with it under 3 gallons. Generally I do as much as possible air-driven filtration, just makes maintenance easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyfishlady Posted December 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 ok - update so far (and I am taking notes on all the advise and suggestions! Thank you) Last night I went through my supplies. It is amazing what us aquarium folks have laying around, lol. I had air tube, found a t-valve (I think that's what it's called), an air stone and a prefilter sponge. One problem, the only spare pump I had was for a 40 gallon (was meant for the 20 gallon). So.. I rigged it all up. Even with the t-valve all the way open it still put out quite a bit but the shrimp were VERY happy with the air and started to dance around and check out the sponge. I had to use suction cups to hold the air tube against the side because it kept floating up. The three little shrimp started to color up fast (I was shocked by this). Turns out I don't have 2 blues and a yellow. I have one blue and two yellows (I believe a male and a female yellow) The lighter yellow and the blue had been so pale I thought they were both blues. So - today... I grabbed a much smaller pump. While at the LFS to get said pump... I came across an amazing deal on this tank http://www.petsmart.com/fish/aquariums-stands/top-fin-glass-aquarium-zid36-20597/cat-36-catid-300013?var_id=36-20597&_t=pfm%3Dcategory and could not pass it up. For now, they will stay in the emergency tank for a few weeks until I have time to work on their new home. Whew... can't get this to post straight Here is the valve I used I am guessing this is a male and female yellow sakura the one, still pale... blue next to the now more yellow male Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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