# Vintage Nano Shrimparium (Sulawesi Biotope)



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

I decided to try a Sulawesi biotope with my 2.5 gal. 1930's tank. The Sulawesi lakes have a high pH so I decided to try Eco Complete African Cichlid Sand as the substrate and some Seiryu stones as they also tend to raise the pH. I added a Sulawesi mini cherry plant which had been in my 60 gal. tank but was almost devoured by my Siamese Algae Eaters. I didn't know that you're not supposed to keep these plants with fish. So I took what was left of it and planted it in the nano along with a little bit of mini pellia and some Fissidens fontanus, both wedged into cracks in the stones. I'm using an Eheim 2211 with the output partially closed to reduce the flow and I'm using a Catalina 50W titanium heater that I've hidden behind the rocks. I'm keeping the temperature at 82 as this is also the norm in their habitat. I added some Sulawesi Tylomelania snails: orange poso, orange spot, and yellow antenna. Today I added some Sulawesi Cardinal and White Orchid (Starry Night) shrimp. They seem to be doing O.K. so far and are busy foraging for food. I added a few food pellets and the White Orchids actually fought over them. One of the Cardinals ate some of it as well as the snails. I've added a sponge over the intake since I took these photos to make sure the shrimp don't get hurt and to prevent any future babies from being sucked in.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

I gotta give you props for trying this out...

I know sulawesi shrimp hate change in parameters, so this small of a tank is gonna be interesting to watch!

PS. That tank is pretty awesome looking... Does it have tar sealant with a slate bottom? or was it upgraded with a glass bottom and silicone


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

It's all original right down to the rubber feet. It has its original tar sealant but came with a glass bottom, also original. I love the bulb edge glass. I hope they make it, I don't know if anyone else has attempted a nano with Sulawesi shrimp before. I'm out a lot of money if they don't.:icon_frow


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## forrestp38829 (Nov 17, 2010)

Man, I love that tank!
What kind/size filter pipes do you have?
Thanks


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## Navigarden (Jun 25, 2010)

Best of luck! I'd be too scared to start a 2.5 with these sensitive shrimp. I too am starting a Sulawesi type tank, with cardinals as the centerpiece. Ever since I first started keeping shrimp I fell in love with cardinals. Now I'm so close to getting them and I'm super excited.

That tank is crazy awesome. Perfect little display tank. Keep us posted!


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## Navigarden (Jun 25, 2010)

P.S. are those indian almond leaves in the background or some other variety of leaf litter?


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## boringname (Nov 11, 2010)

Thats just a great tank.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

forrestp38829 said:


> Man, I love that tank!
> What kind/size filter pipes do you have?
> Thanks


I had sieu004 make them for me. The intake is 1/2" acrylic and the output is 3/8" acrylic. Thanks


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

Navigarden said:


> P.S. are those indian almond leaves in the background or some other variety of leaf litter?


Nope just some oak, maple, and elm leaves I collected next to my house. Guppies, who sold me these shrimp, keeps them in his tank so I thought I'd do the same. I think these may provide microorganisms that may be beneficial to the shrimp's diet.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

Leaves will also lower pH....


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Update*

Unfortunately I lost two Cardinals the first night and another the next day but so far I've not lost anymore unless they're where I can't see their bodies. They definitely hide more than when I first got them. The Cardinals more so than the White Orchids. The Tylos in with them seem to be doing very well.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

I love that vintage tank . . . and it looks great with the shrimp. Very Capt Nemo.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

Betta Maniac said:


> I love that vintage tank . . . and it looks great with the shrimp. Very Capt Nemo.


Thanks!


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## AoxomoxoA (Apr 22, 2010)

Odds are against you in that small body of water with Sulawesis. I wish you luck:fish: I'm sure you probably know already that larger water volume = more stability which is very important for the more sensitive shrimp.


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## wpgtank (Mar 12, 2010)

great tank!


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

dirtyhermit said:


> Odds are against you in that small body of water with Sulawesis. I wish you luck:fish: I'm sure you probably know already that larger water volume = more stability which is very important for the more sensitive shrimp.


Yes, I agree this is an experiment but so far out of the 6 Cardinals I started with I have 3 left and they seem to be happy and healthy and out of the 6 White Orchids I started with I have at least 4 but most likely all 6 as I've not seen any dead shrimp since the first 24 hours after I introduced them into their new home. It's much harder to see them as their coloration blends very well with my substrate and rocks, probably why they have this color. It may have had more to do with the trip across country than my tank but only time will tell.
My pH is 8 and my GH and KH were both 10 when I measured the parameters before I introduced the shrimp. I will check again as the added leaves may have affected this. I top off the tank every day with R/O water that's been heated in the microwave to about their temperature so as not to shock them with cold water. Since I only add a cup at a time this is easier than heating my entire R/O holding container.
I have a 250W 6500K (equivalent to 750W incandescent) compact fluorescent light above this nano but it's off to the side, the light is primarily for my carnivorous plants that are in a c1910 wood and glass terrarium that sits next to them. So I have about 300 watts per gallon?! Probably the closest thing these shrimp have had to full sun since they left Sulawesi. I've gotten some hair algae but the water has remained crystal clear, no pea soup. I'm going to add some red root floaters to cut down of some of these rays.
I feed them sinking pellets every day as I've read that Sulawesi's may prefer a meatier diet than other freshwater shrimp. I tried an earthworm stick but they didn't seem to like it as well. The Tylos sure did and I saw a baby today but couldn't tell if it was a Tylo or a pond snail that had somehow hitched a ride into the tank.


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## v369 (Nov 14, 2010)

this tank is amazing the leaves,moss, stone combo look great. best of luck!


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## Blue_Ram (Sep 6, 2010)

davrx said:


> Nope just some oak, maple, and elm leaves I collected next to my house. Guppies, who sold me these shrimp, keeps them in his tank so I thought I'd do the same. I think these may provide microorganisms that may be beneficial to the shrimp's diet.


If this is to be a true Sulswesi Biotope the leaves need to be removed since they are not normally found in the area you are attempting to reproduce.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

Blue_Ram said:


> If this is to be a true Sulswesi Biotope the leaves need to be removed since they are not normally found in the area you are attempting to reproduce.


True but then the rocks and substrate aren't from any of the lakes in Sulawesi either. I guess it's not a true biotope by definition but the visible fauna are correct. There probably aren't any tank owners in this forum that have rocks, substrate, wood, or leaves that actually came from the lakes of Sulawesi.


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## AoxomoxoA (Apr 22, 2010)

davrx said:


> True but then the rocks and substrate aren't from any of the lakes in Sulawesi either. I guess it's not a true biotope by definition but the visible fauna are correct. There probably aren't any tank owners in this forum that have rocks, substrate, wood, or leaves that actually came from the lakes of Sulawesi.


:hihi:

Do you have RCS? You could put a couple culls (only male or female) in the tank & they will help "train" your Sulawesis to eat what you give. 

I should have mentioned before that I also think your tank looks great & am interested to see how your cherry plant does.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

dirtyhermit said:


> :hihi:
> 
> Do you have RCS? You could put a couple culls (only male or female) in the tank & they will help "train" your Sulawesis to eat what you give.
> 
> I should have mentioned before that I also think your tank looks great & am interested to see how your cherry plant does.


No, I don't have any RCS but even if I did I'm not sure they would survive this hard alkaline water. The White Orchids eat the pellets I put in there so the Cardinals should be able to learn from them.
The Cherry plant was in bad shape from fish attacks in my 60 gal. tank and algae eventually engulfed it in this nano so it looked like a lost cause and I ended up pitching it. Expensive lesson. If this tank does well then I would definitely like to add another if I ever get the chance to purchase one.


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## AoxomoxoA (Apr 22, 2010)

davrx said:


> No, I don't have any RCS but even if I did I'm not sure they would survive this hard alkaline water. The White Orchids eat the pellets I put in there so the Cardinals should be able to learn from them.
> The Cherry plant was in bad shape from fish attacks in my 60 gal. tank and algae eventually engulfed it in this nano so it looked like a lost cause and I ended up pitching it. Expensive lesson. If this tank does well then I would definitely like to add another if I ever get the chance to purchase one.


My RCS are in 8.2 & thriving, breeding like rabbits. I'm sure they'd be fine as they're very hardy & resilient. Guppies (I'll credit him with the concept at the risk of being wrong lol) & others have also done what I mentioned with success.
Drag about the Cherry plant, I really would like to try one myself in the near future.


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## HCftw (Feb 2, 2010)

I love your shrimp!!!!! good luck!


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

dirtyhermit said:


> My RCS are in 8.2 & thriving, breeding like rabbits. I'm sure they'd be fine as they're very hardy & resilient. Guppies (I'll credit him with the concept at the risk of being wrong lol) & others have also done what I mentioned with success.
> Drag about the Cherry plant, I really would like to try one myself in the near future.


Thanks for the information. I'll have to try that.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Update*

I just took these photos of the tank and its inhabitants. So far this seems to be working. Hopefully I'll start seeing some berried females in the near future. roud:


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## 9am53 (Jan 23, 2008)

That is a nice tank, how is the moss doing in there? I thought about doing it too, but thought that the high pH would be hard on plants


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## peter_l (Aug 3, 2008)

Love that tank!

I have been looking for a vintage 1.5 gal battery jar for a pico planted tank.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

At first glance i thought your tank was full of bga :icon_eek:


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

peter_l said:


> Love that tank!
> 
> I have been looking for a vintage 1.5 gal battery jar for a pico planted tank.


I have one of these. Mine holds 2.5G. I mostly use it as a hospital tank, but I may convert it to a shrimp tank for my living room.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

9am53 said:


> That is a nice tank, how is the moss doing in there? I thought about doing it too, but thought that the high pH would be hard on plants


Thanks, the plants are all doing fine. I have way too much light on this tank which is why I got the red root floaters to shade it.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

!shadow! said:


> At first glance i thought your tank was full of bga :icon_eek:


I should have cleaned the glass better before I took the photo. Since I have the red root floaters the algae growth has started to decrease. There's no blue green algae in the tank just various green types.


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## JonahHart (Dec 8, 2010)

Incredible experiment, good luck with it. Too bad my metaframe wouldn't stop leaking... better lock your doors. Lol


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

JonahHart said:


> Incredible experiment, good luck with it. Too bad my metaframe wouldn't stop leaking... better lock your doors. Lol


Thanks and I always keep my doors locked :biggrin:
Have you tried the hot water method of resealing your metaframe? It worked for me like a charm. Just add really hot water to the tank and let it sit for awhile. The heat softens the original tar sealant and the water pressure forces it into the area that's leaking. It can't hurt but I would caution against water as hot as boiling as it would most likely crack the glass. 
I used to have a 2.5 gal. metaframe which is what relaunched this hobby after I left it 20 years ago. It's what started me on this forum. I decided to move to a larger tank because my Endler's quickly overpopulated their little home. When I was cleaning the tank out for storage I lightly smacked the glass to get some eco complete off it and I ended up breaking the whole side panel out so that was the end of that tank.
I like my current vintage tank because of the exposed bulb edge glass.
I'd love to find a 5 or 10 gal. Jewel art deco tank. They use the same bulb edge glass but with a fancier frame.


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## boringname (Nov 11, 2010)

davrx said:


> Thanks and I always keep my doors locked :biggrin:
> Have you tried the hot water method of resealing your metaframe? It worked for me like a charm. Just add really hot water to the tank and let it sit for awhile. The heat softens the original tar sealant and the water pressure forces it into the area that's leaking. It can't hurt but I would caution against water as hot as boiling as it would most likely crack the glass.
> I used to have a 2.5 gal. metaframe which is what relaunched this hobby after I left it 20 years ago. It's what started me on this forum. I decided to move to a larger tank because my Endler's quickly overpopulated their little home. When I was cleaning the tank out for storage I lightly smacked the glass to get some eco complete off it and I ended up breaking the whole side panel out so that was the end of that tank.
> I like my current vintage tank because of the exposed bulb edge glass.
> I'd love to find a 5 or 10 gal. Jewel art deco tank. They use the same bulb edge glass but with a fancier frame.


I used boiling water on my 10g metaframe and the glass was fine. I'm not completely convinced it was leaking before hand but its definitely not leaking now.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

Sadly, we've had power outages during some of these unusually strong Spring storms and due to the temperature dropping it wiped out all the shrimp and all but two snails. I've started over with a new nano in a very unusual one of a kind shape which I will be posting photos of soon. I may use this little vintage tank for some Endlers.


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## Hobbes1911 (Mar 2, 2009)

That sucks. I am very very sorry to hear that. I had the same thing happen to me with my sulawesi tank a year or so ago. The entire stock crashed. I lost roughly 8 cardinals (1 berried) and 9 gold flakes. I hope the loss wasn't too hard for you. For me it turned me off of Sulawesis, not only because of the financial issue, but also the fact that something as common as a power outage killed all of them and I felt very bad about it. 

Good luck with the tank.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

Hobbes1911 said:


> That sucks. I am very very sorry to hear that. I had the same thing happen to me with my sulawesi tank a year or so ago. The entire stock crashed. I lost roughly 8 cardinals (1 berried) and 9 gold flakes. I hope the loss wasn't too hard for you. For me it turned me off of Sulawesis, not only because of the financial issue, but also the fact that something as common as a power outage killed all of them and I felt very bad about it.
> 
> Good luck with the tank.


Thank you, I lost all my Cardinals, White Orchids, and all my Tylomelanias except 2. Interestingly all the plants survived. I'm going to try one more time with just Cardinals and Tylos this time in a new larger tank with about twice the volume of water. Hopefully unless the outage is for an extended time period they'll survive.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

That is totally sucktastic! I'm so sorry.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

Betta Maniac said:


> That is totally sucktastic! I'm so sorry.


Thanks, I guess it's the risk we take with sensitive animals. I just wish the wild weather would calm down. Most rain I've ever seen here in Ohio in the Spring. We just missed two tornados that hit about 15 miles from us night before last. We've had so many power outages this Spring that it fried my landline. Good thing for cellphones.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

NOOOOOO!
Sorry about the animals, this was one radical tank.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

Newman said:


> NOOOOOO!
> Sorry about the animals, this was one radical tank.


Thanks, I hope the next will be as worthy of your praise.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

Yes I saw the thread on that funky tank, Looks like a great start on that =)
But try not to overcrowd it with equipment (or just hide it) or it will take away from the awesome shape. You want that sucker to look as clean as possible. It will be great, i know itroud:


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

Oh man, that so sucks. I was enjoying reading through and watching things unfold then I get to the I lost power post and I knew right away it was about to hit the fan. I do have a suggestion that you may not have though of.. to prevent this kind of catastrophe in my tank where I have a sensitive environment I have a UPS for my critical equipment. Granted you have to do your homework and buy something that will be capable of keeping your equipment online for an extended period if need be but from experience my UPS has been tested running my canister filter and light for a few hours. Depending on what you consider critical you may get away with a smaller sized unit to run your gear. Just a thought. 

Now get your tank up so we can see what you have in store for us next!


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

demonr6 said:


> Oh man, that so sucks. I was enjoying reading through and watching things unfold then I get to the I lost power post and I knew right away it was about to hit the fan. I do have a suggestion that you may not have though of.. to prevent this kind of catastrophe in my tank where I have a sensitive environment I have a UPS for my critical equipment. Granted you have to do your homework and buy something that will be capable of keeping your equipment online for an extended period if need be but from experience my UPS has been tested running my canister filter and light for a few hours. Depending on what you consider critical you may get away with a smaller sized unit to run your gear. Just a thought.
> 
> Now get your tank up so we can see what you have in store for us next!


Hey, that's a great idea. All I would really have needed I think was the heater to function but this takes the most power of all the equipment. Power outages during the warmer months aren't a problem it's when it's cold outside that causes losses.


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