# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Natural cherry shrimp pico-tank?



## imported_chrismisc (Jul 25, 2004)

I have one filterless natural 1.25 gallon tank with potting soil, java fern and sparkling gouramis that’s brought me nothing but pleasure, but now that I have the bug, I want to try something smaller and lower tech (due to an extreme shortage of outlets and flat surfaces!). I'm considering setting up a natural planted tank in a 1.5 quart jar made for storing flour, and wanted some thoughts on the feasibility--or suggestions to improve the feasibility!

For plants I was considering microsword, anubias nana on a twig of driftwood, m. micranthemoides (unless I can locate some H. callitrichoides), and maybe a couple strands of Christmas moss. For consumers/producers of animal fertilizer, I thought possibly cherry shrimp would be small enough, but only in the event I could get my pH down. Otherwise I’m resigned to MTS snails only (or move in the one ramshorn I have), plus whatever bonus crawlies work their way in. There would be no filtration aside from the plants & bacteria, and it would be lit by sunlight only, unless I can scoot it up close to my other El Natural tank and grab some of the light from the 15 watt mini fluorescent, mostly in order to avoid overheating such a small volume of water. My tap water ranges 7.8 – 8.4, the GH from 120-300 ppm, while the KH is 150-300—basically off the scales on my tests. The pH & hardness fluctuate as the source of city water changes seasonally (from groundwater to surface water to a mix, without warning, depending what’s cheapest that week). I already buy RO water for my discus tank, so I could end up using that. My substrate could be a variety of things: fluorite or laterite, potting soil, aquatic soil, sphagnum or peat, or some combination thereof. I’ve got all the materials & plants lying around except some HC. So, given the potential ingredients, my question is multi-fold:

1.	Are my chosen plants species appropriate in size & requirements? I don’t actually know of anything smaller than HC. Any experience or suggestions?
2.	Would cherry shrimp do well in such a set-up, or is it cruel & unusual punishment to stick anything in a “tank” that size? I suppose part of the key may be how well oxygenated the tank is, especially at night.
3.	How might I keep the pH down in such a set-up but still avoid sharp fluctuations? Ideally I’d like it around neutral, and certainly not 8.0, though the sparkling gouramis in my other tiny, filterless tank with potting soil don’t seem to care and even bred repeatedly. Also, I’ve read conflicting information on cherries’ tolerance for high pH. What conclusions might you have come to?
4.	Would peat or sphagnum precipitate iron or aluminum out of fluorite or laterite in a harmful fashion?

Thanks for any thoughts or criticisms. I want to try out this pico-tank notion, but I’m ready to resign myself to just a jar o’ plants on the windowsill, too.


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

Dear Chris,

The plants you've chosen look good to me as far as size goes. As to whether they will like your particular tank, only time will tell. I grow _Lilaeopsis brasilensis_ (I assume this is what microsword is) in one of my natural tanks. It is doing amazingly well with topsoil, 2.8wpg and sunlight.

I don't know anything about Cherry Shrimps. If other water conditions are good, couldn't they adjust to the higher pH? As far as keeping them in such a small container goes, that is up to you. I hate watching my seven inch Weather Loach bumping into the sides of my 36 inch tank, and can't wait to move him into his new, bigger home, but that's just me.

Do you actually need to keep the pH down, if the cherry shrimps can adjust?

I think that using peat or sphagnum moss with laterite is not a good idea, as you suspected.

I have a little jar "pico-tank" that holds about a gallon. I made the mistake of using fine sand over the topsoil, and some of the plants are not doing as well as I had hoped. I am getting very good growth on some, however. I am keeping snails and blackworms in it, and they are doing well.

From Alex.


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## imported_chrismisc (Jul 25, 2004)

Thanks, Alex, for your response. I've never kept cherry shrimp, & read conflicting reports on their tolerance for nitrate & high pH, but once a got a couple I was overcome with the desire to breed them, which isn't supposed to be too hard given good conditions-- which as you said, would be the most important factor in a pico-tank.

That project may go on hold awhile though. My husband walked past the kitchen counter (intended home for the jar, shown in the photo), and said, "You're not planning on putting fish in there, are you? Two tanks right next to each other?" So I may wait until my 10 gal holding tank (which is admittedly unattractive with all the extension cords snaking around) is cleaned out (I was medicating all the fish in my main 38 gal, and didn't want to expose various shrimp to the meds). Then I can say, "What? It's less than a gallon of water & doesn't require electricity!" Hee.


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## Buje (Jun 26, 2005)

> Originally posted by Miss Fishy:
> I am keeping snails and blackworms in it, and they are doing well.


what is the latin name for the blackworms?


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

The Latin name is _Lumbriculus variegatus_. Here is a website with some information on them.

From Alex.


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## Jane of Upton (Jul 28, 2005)

I keep cherry shrimp in my low tech tank. As long as changes are made gradually, they seem fine. They do not take well to abrupt changes. I don't have experience with high pH and cherries, but they're pretty hardy in my experience.

Have you considered the "Hawaiian" red shrimp? They are smaller, and seem to have a huge tolerance for varying water conditions. They're the ones in those awful sealed glass globe "biospheres". They are much smaller than the cherry reds, too.

Here's a link:
http://www.petshrimp.com/hawaiianredshrimp.html

I have come across them available retail as I was looking at other shrimp varieties.

Personally, I think a cherry shrimp might be fie in a pico tank. They do wander around, but they're not like a fast swimming fish which will feel cramped. I've seen them stay in the same 4 square inches nearly all day, if they have something interesting to pick at (algae, a piece of cucumber, etc.). They are sensitive to nitrates though, so I'd make sure the plants are established before adding any shrimp.

Hope this helps!
-Jane


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