# Introducing Microcosm II



## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

I just wanted to share a photo of my prized 8 gallon El-Natural-as-it-gets aquarium at noon. Since she is lit by sunlight alone, it is always a treat when I catch her fully illuminated like this. 

The plants are finally established enough that I will be ordering a few least killifish as soon as temperatures here are consistently warm enough that I'm confident they will ship safely.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

One of the best planted bowls I've seen!


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

Michael said:


> One of the best planted bowls I've seen!


Aw thanks! It's the culmination of many years of research on how I can do this aquarium thing without constant vigilance and maintenance. I'm pretty excited that what I put together in my head is actually working out...I feared that the plants would not be able to make it in natural light. The glosso in the foreground is clearly reaching for the light but it does look otherwise healthy so I'm happy with it.

I had a disaster during setup where I accidentally stirred up a bunch of the soil which became hopelessly entangled in the plants, particularly the hornwort and java moss. But I let it grow out and trimmed off the dirty portions and now (3 months later) all is well. Slow and steady wins the race. 

Now I'm dreaming about a skylight that might allow this kind of setup on a larger scale!


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## Metzengerstein (Apr 20, 2007)

Beautiful!


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fMnjckaUjPFPtGvP6


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

kafkabeetle said:


> https://photos.app.goo.gl/fMnjckaUjPFPtGvP6


here








Love when old threads get updated. looks good


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

Haha thanks, I was doing a little test run. It's been a long time since I posted on any forum and the image hosting site I used to use is trash now, so slow and full of ads. So I had to start a new one and couldn't remember how to embed photos lol

Anyway I was never able to get ahold of least kilifish so 5 endlers lived in there for a while. The last surving one is in a tank of his own for retirement because I wanted to use this for cherry shrimp.

I got 15 of them 5 days ago and a few of the females were already berried. The rest have saddles so I'm expecting a population explosion soon &#128578; Far sooner than I would have ever expected!

This one looks like she's about the burst!


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

Dangit I can't figure out how to edit lol hopefully I can come back and look less foolish when I have access to a computer rather than just my phone lol


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Your bowl is an absolute work of art! Love the emergent plants.


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

Well you taught me! Ecology of the Planted Aquarium is my bible and I recommend it often. 🙂


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

The emergent plants were my stubborn response to a thread algae outbreak. I didn't want to move to artificial lighting (where I could control the duration more) or CO2 injection because I was committed to keeping it electricity free and as independent as possible. The emergent plants shade the water below enough to keep it at a level I can live with.

I did end up eventually giving in and getting a bubbler though. The shrimp are healthier and more active so I believe that was a sound decision. And it won't suck up baby shrimps like a filter might.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Smart choice for such a small vessel. I use slow bubbling instead of filters in small tanks (5-20 gals). The 12 gal tubs outside don't get anything. 

Sometimes, slow bubbling can be a plus. It not only oxygenates shrimp, but speeds up bacterial growth, decomposition and recycling of nutrients resulting in better plant growth. So it's a win-win for shrimp and plants. 

You seem to have found the "sweet spot" for your ecosystem.


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

Yes, it looks like! Not quite two weeks in the tank and somehow we already have visibly-sized babies &#128516;

Upon closer inspection the driftwood and some dead leaves I've been lazy about removing are just crawling with newborn-sized ones

At least one female was berried when she arrived and one other became berried not long after. I am very pleased that neither appears to have dropped her eggs

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rBRzcjTK2j119SFR9


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

Just a little update as the cherries continue rapidly growing and breeding. Not necessarily a difficult feat but I'm enjoying it nontheless! 

In the past I have kept just a few in 2-3 gallon tanks and I suspect was getting all females so I've never gotten to see the entire life cycle before.

I've also run into molting issues over time in the past so I picked up some shrimp specific food and mineral supplements from a German company CSF that they are thriving on. The Malaysian trumpet snails go for it too so I'm hoping to see less shell erosion in future generations.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Very nice. 

I'm glad that you got some shrimp specific food. I wish that I had done that for mine. Sigh....


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

What happened to yours? Molting issues? So many people say fish food will work just fine. It's true they will eat it but I don't think it's really great long term. I found out danelions and mulberry leaves are very healthy for them too so I'm planning to grab those from my yard for them soon!


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## duff77 (Jul 28, 2018)

beautiful congratulations : D: D: D


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## tiger15 (Apr 9, 2017)

How many hours direct sunlight does the bowl get? How often you do WC. Have you run into algae problem. 

How can you tell your shrimp are molting ok or not. My shrimp molt often, seem normal, but don’t multiply.


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

tiger15 said:


> How many hours direct sunlight does the bowl get? How often you do WC. Have you run into algae problem.
> 
> How can you tell your shrimp are molting ok or not. My shrimp molt often, seem normal, but don't multiply.


That's hard for me to answer because I'm not really clear on what light is direct and the light changes throughout the year. But I'm attaching a zoomed out image of the room it's in so you can see the window and it's relation to it.

Here is a time lapse video a friend helped me make when it was new, the plants are all different but it kindas you an idea of the light hitting it throughout the day: 




I have had thread algae issues in the past when endlers were living in it and I didn't have any emergent plants on top. But a combination of houseplants cuttings super filtering the water and also shading it a bit, and the addition of cherry shrimp has kept it in check. There is some on the driftwood but the newborn shrimp hang out in it so it's a-ok by me.

The molting problems I noticed were evidenced by a white band developing around the abdomen that seemed to indicate a failed molt. They did ok until one day they didn't every time (probably they used up the calcium and whatever minerals over time), even with the addition of some chunks of cuttlefish bone from the bird section. This is the supplement that seemed to alleviate the morning issues. http://www.theshrimptank.com/foods/csf-pure-mineral/

I flip flop between that and this staple food by the same company. 
http://www.theshrimptank.com/foods/csf-edgeomni-pro/
Another problem I think I had in the past was getting all females from Petco. This batch came from a locally owned store and they had a bunch on sale at the time that I assumed came from another hobbiest exchanging for credit. One of the females came already berried so that definitely set me off on the right foot.


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

Forgot to upload the images!


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

Also I forgot to answer your water change question. I change between 1-2 gallons (of 8 total in the tank) once a week. I water my houseplants with it and replace with aged room temp water. Its not strictly necessary though (consistently 0 nitrate) and when I occasionally miss a week I worry far more about the thirsty houseplants lol


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## tiger15 (Apr 9, 2017)

Thanks. I am interested in your set up because it is similar to mine, and here is my journal.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/140873-nano-npt-bowl-5.html

Mine is only one gal that receives 4 hr window sunlight, and no water change except for topping with nutrient rich water from my high tech tank, so in a way negative water change. The bio load is light, just shrimp, and grow only two types of plants: Frogbit and dwarf hair grass.


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

Looks like there is some kind of parasite bothering one of my shrimp. She keeps kicking 2 of them off and they keep crawling around the area where she is holding her eggs. I thought they *were* eggs at first but it is moving. It looks more round than planaria, almost like a copepod but about twice the size and bright white. Can anyone ID this parasite so I can treat the tank?


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## duff77 (Jul 28, 2018)

hi ... could they be ostracods?


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

duff77 said:


> hi ... could they be ostracods?


It looks an awful lot like them. Not sure why is clinging to my cherry shrimp's eggs though!


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