# DIY 1 Gallon Cherry Red Shrimp Tank "Micro"



## rengb6 (Nov 11, 2009)

I dont think your female shrimp just gave birth. Cherry shrimp hold eggs then release them and then they have to hatch so see if there are any eggs in the bag, the little one might have been a straggler. For nano tanks you use the amount of light that your plants will require. Micro sword I believe is a high light plant. I would use 15watts but you can try 10 and see how it works out. You'll want to add CO2 because of the higher lighting and as long as you keep the PH stable it wont kill the shrimp. If you do DIY CO2 don't hook up the bottle after activating the yeast. Wait a day so that the first blast of CO2 dosen't get into your tank and drop the PH. I dose seachem flourish whenever I remember and my plants seem to be doing fine. You could also dose using the EI system of dosing which is basically tossing in more ferts than you need and doing a water change at the end of the week. You tank looks awesome! I hope do to this same thing over the summer. Good luck!


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## Chafire (Jan 6, 2010)

Could I dose with Excel? or is that usually a no with shrimp?


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

Chafire said:


> Could I dose with Excel? or is that usually a no with shrimp?


It's safe with RCS.

Nice job with making the tank. Ferts should not affect the shrimp. I personally follow the EI method and dry dose.


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## rengb6 (Nov 11, 2009)

Anything that you want to dose should have a low level of copper. Thats what will kill them. And I have heard that overdosing with excel will kill your shrimp.


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

wow that is amazing, id love to try to do that. Where did u get the glass? You think a place like lowes or homedepot would have glass panels like that? 

what kind of silicone did you use?


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## Chafire (Jan 6, 2010)

So I released the CRS into the tank and took some pictures of them in their new home.



























Hope you all like, now I have to order some excel to dose with. Don't want my Micro Sword to die.


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## Guy (Sep 30, 2009)

rengb6 said:


> I dont think your female shrimp just gave birth. Cherry shrimp hold eggs then release them and then they have to hatch so see if there are any eggs in the bag, the little one might have been a straggler.


A couple days ago I watched a RCS release. It looked to me like they were hatching as she released them because there was a cloud of baby shrimp floating away and not eggs.

Just an observation.


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## rengb6 (Nov 11, 2009)

Guy said:


> A couple days ago I watched a RCS release. It looked to me like they were hatching as she released them because there was a cloud of baby shrimp floating away and not eggs.
> 
> Just an observation.


I could be mistaken then!


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## Fish4Fun (Jan 4, 2010)

i like this idea!!! i might have to try it, thanks for sharing it!!!!!


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## dacrax07 (Jan 10, 2009)

I've always wanted to make a nano shrimp tank. I'll definitely be watching this tank as it develops.


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## Chafire (Jan 6, 2010)

AlexXx said:


> wow that is amazing, id love to try to do that. Where did u get the glass? You think a place like lowes or homedepot would have glass panels like that?
> 
> what kind of silicone did you use?


 
Hey Alexxx thanks, The Glass I just picked up at my local Aubuchon Hardware they had scrap 6X6 pieces for $0.99 each.

The silicone was similar to this and I bought it at lowes:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_70512-68-00...=/pl__0__s?Ntk=i_products$No=105$Ntt=caulking

just make sure its 100% silicone thats "household safe" or "aquarium safe" and don't buy the silicone I or silicone II.

I would also recommend getting one of these:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_185393-1168...rentURL=/pl__0__s?newSearch=true$Ntt=caulking

I did not use this but fabricated one myself but it would make shaping the silicone bead much easier.


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## Moody636 (Oct 24, 2009)

I'm also in the process of setting up a micro shrimp tank, so I'm keeping an eye on this thread. I've got 10w of light over a 2g hex, and am actually hoping it's not too much light for low-tech. Good luck!


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## lingtm (Dec 23, 2009)

I have a 1.5 gallon with a 13 watt cfl, dwarf baby tears and dwarf hair grass. There's algae all over. But everything is growing. So 10 should be more than enough. You can adjust the lighting by raising it if it's too much light.


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## Strick (Apr 6, 2009)

Cool little tank. I love planted nanos with Cherries in them.

Here's a quick rundown on the RCS breeding cycle. Female RCS are larger and usually more colorful than the males. Females can also be identified by their "saddle" - a roughly triangle-shaped green or yellow area right in the middle of their backs. The saddle is full of unfertilized eggs.

The right-most shrimp in this pic has a prominent yellow saddle...









When a female molts, she gives off a pheromone that lets any nearby males that she's ready to mate. This usually sends the males into a frenzy, and they'll "swim" around the tank looking for the source of the pheromones. When they find her (and they will) there will be some chasing and eventual mating.

After mating, the female releases the eggs into her swimmerets (the little leg-like appendages under her tail), which are coated with the male's sperm. The sperm fertilizes the eggs, and the female holds them there for about a month. During this period, the female is said to be "berried", because the eggs look like small yellow-green berries. Any unfertilized (or dead) eggs will be dropped. She juggles the eggs - fanning them with her swimmerets - almost constantly for the entire month. When the eggs are ready to hatch, the female will usually find a secluded place (if any are available) and the eggs hatch one at a time over a 24-hour or so period. The newly hatched shrimplets are clear, tiny versions of the adults - there is no intermediate larval stage - and are self-sufficient immediately. If there's any available cover at all (java moss is great for this) you might not see any of the young for a week or so.


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## Chafire (Jan 6, 2010)

Hey Strick thanks for the Great advice! I was actually just reading an article last night about what sort of conditions I should try and shoot for to have them successfully breed. I know that two of the CRS are females because they are already carrying eggs. But with your information I can definately say that all of them are females...doh...thought I got two of each. Guess I'll make a trip back and pick up a male.

Okay so I thought I would do a morning after update....woke up this morning and got a scare I saw this lying on the bottom:









I realized quick enough that it was just a molt from one of the pregnant females. But heres my question; if you look at the molt you can see her eggs inside of it so does this mean she dumped the eggs*?* and should I remove the molt from the tank*?* I can't get a good look at her right now because shes hanging out on the backside of my filter. Also I noticed some odd behavior from one of the others. This one adventurous CRS is climbing up into the filter...not sure why...maybe food particles on the filter pad*?*...should I be worried about this behavior*?*








I took the filter floss out so I could rig the heater in it, this way it gets it out of the tank and creates more room.It almost makes a private oasis to swim in:








And here she is walking around on the filter pad:









Thanks for looking, Will upload more pictures in the future or if I have questions.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

It is fine to leave the molts in the tank. The RCS will likely eat them to gain calcium. And yes, she dumped the eggs. This usually happens when they are introduced into a new tank and/or never gave birth before. Her next batch of eggs will likely hatch like they should.


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## DreamProductions (Jan 14, 2010)

I also have Cherry Red shrimps and they shed also. I leave the Skin in there and they seem to eat it up quickly. However I have some Crystals in the tank, does anyone know if the Crystals shed off their skin also? 
Nice nano by the way.


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## jcovelli (May 9, 2009)

DreamProductions said:


> I also have Cherry Red shrimps and they shed also. I leave the Skin in there and they seem to eat it up quickly. However I have some Crystals in the tank, does anyone know if the Crystals shed off their skin also?
> Nice nano by the way.


all shrimp species molt, some more often than others. also depends if they are growing or not.. if they're growing they will molt quite often. if they're adults they won't molt as often.

also to Chafire.. sorry to say but those 4 cherrys you got are all female. males are mostly clear with red spots so if you want them to breed you'll have to make a trip back to the lfs. also i'd be careful with that type of heater in the filter. those hang on heaters are known for shattering and being very 'temperature'mental when the water is not over the specific line. good job on the tank. i've always wanted to make a small diy. for shrimp. good luck


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## J83 (Dec 22, 2009)

Well done making your own tank, looks like its going to be a nice one. I bought a similar sized setup that came with a stand, light and filter (although i've taken that out for now as its way too big for such a small tank) and heres my first try at scaping it. I've got some cuba, micro swords and hairgrass in there along with a piece of wood. Currently waiting for it to settle in and my baby cherries to get a bit bigger before I try moving some over.








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## Chafire (Jan 6, 2010)

jcovelli said:


> all shrimp species molt, some more often than others. also depends if they are growing or not.. if they're growing they will molt quite often. if they're adults they won't molt as often.
> 
> also to Chafire.. sorry to say but those 4 cherrys you got are all female. males are mostly clear with red spots so if you want them to breed you'll have to make a trip back to the lfs. also i'd be careful with that type of heater in the filter. those hang on heaters are known for shattering and being very 'temperature'mental when the water is not over the specific line. good job on the tank. i've always wanted to make a small diy. for shrimp. good luck


I actually just ordered a new visi therm heater from foster and smith because I trust them more, plus they are much easier to operate and maintain a constant temperature


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## Chafire (Jan 6, 2010)

J83 said:


> Well done making your own tank, looks like its going to be a nice one. I bought a similar sized setup that came with a stand, light and filter (although i've taken that out for now as its way too big for such a small tank) and heres my first try at scaping it. I've got some cuba, micro swords and hairgrass in there along with a piece of wood. Currently waiting for it to settle in and my baby cherries to get a bit bigger before I try moving some over.


Nice looking tank! I really like the cuba, I tried growing it once but failed, that was when I first started though so I should give it another attempt soon. Also what is your substrate? are you dosing ferts?


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## J83 (Dec 22, 2009)

Thanks!
My substrate is a home made mix of topsoil, play sand and coarse black sand. I used it on my 6 gallon tank because I didnt want to shell out for a whole bag of the proper stuff and it worked great so I did it again for this one. Topsoil was just collected from my garden, sieved to remove all the rocks, twigs etc and then stuck in a low heat oven for a couple of hours to kill any nasties. Then I just mixed it in with the sand and stuck it in the tank.
Currently dosing liquid carbo and ferts, bit of an OD on the carbo as grew the cuba in with dry start method and have heard it melts when you submerse unless its got plenty of co2 in the water. This does mean its got to be livestock free for now though as overdosing can be toxic but once its settled in i'll do a big water change and see what my cherries think of the place


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

updates?


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## brandon429 (Mar 29, 2003)

*wow*

what a great job. with a simple setup there is less to fail id like to see updates too
B


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## Chafire (Jan 6, 2010)

Thought I would do a little update for this Micro. Since setting the tank up things where going well. I have to admit the smaller tanks are cool but they seem a bit harder to keep up with. Especially when raising shrimp because fertilizing is fairly new to me an so is raising shrimp. 

Had some Green spot algae begin to form. Scraped most of it off of the glass but it looks like some is growing on my micro sword as well. Some of my micro swords leaves are also getting a yellowish hint to them so not sure if I may have to up my Iron.

Also three of my four RCS died as well but there is currently four babies. Not sure what killed them? my guess was ammonia becuase the night before they had died I squished a bunch of snails an left them in the tank and accidently dropped in a little to much food. But my test didn't seem to show that. I then did a immediate 50% water change and things have been smooth since.

Here is a pic of the tank:









Tried to get a shot of one of the baby shrimp you can sort of make it out near the middle:









Also from looking at my tank you can see that my rock is forming brown spots. Should I be worried about this?

As of now I am not to sure how long I will keep this Micro running. It is enjoyable but I think I prefer tanks of more volume. Thanks to AlexXx he sent me a link asking about glass and upon looking at it I couldn't resist the price of 5 pieces of 14"x14"-3/16th tempered glass with beveled edges for only $26.00 with free shipping from site to store through staples: regards to AlexXx for the link.
http://www.staples.com/Tempered-Glass-Panels/product_SS1037421

So I bought the glass and put together a new tank of 14"x14"x14" (about 12 Gallons) and think I may move my shrimp community out of the Micro into that

12 Gallon tank. Provided an orange next to it for size:









And when you have glass pieces that are all the same size you have to put it together differently than normal aquariums:









Thanks for looking.


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

the new tank looks AMAZING, great job man! I cant wait to get me some glass!


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Is this tank still running? It looks great! I have to say that this specific tank is the one that got me into keeping shrimp, and now I have a flourishing tank of my own (check out my sig) and it was really inspiring. If it's still set up, can you post an update?


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## celine (Nov 19, 2010)

really stupid question, but with the smaller tank, how often do you change the water? i've heard shrimp have a very small biological load, which makes me think they don't need very often or large water changes. (i'm considering putting some in my 2 gal after my betta moves into my 10 gal, after the cories and neons move into the 15 gal. lol)


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## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

celine said:


> really stupid question, but with the smaller tank, how often do you change the water? i've heard shrimp have a very small biological load, which makes me think they don't need very often or large water changes. (i'm considering putting some in my 2 gal after my betta moves into my 10 gal, after the cories and neons move into the 15 gal. lol)


While shrimps do have a small bioload, the small size of nanos means that it can only take a little amount of waste or other issue before the water gets fouled. The larger the tank, the easier it is to keep constant water parameters. Typically with nanos, even if only shrimp you do larger water changes more often, not the other way around.


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## celine (Nov 19, 2010)

Jorge_Burrito said:


> While shrimps do have a small bioload, the small size of nanos means that it can only take a little amount of waste or other issue before the water gets fouled. The larger the tank, the easier it is to keep constant water parameters. Typically with nanos, even if only shrimp you do larger water changes more often, not the other way around.


well, that makes sense.....tho it's so not what i want to hear


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## Duckweed hunter (Feb 2, 2011)

Guy said:


> A couple days ago I watched a RCS release. It looked to me like they were hatching as she released them because there was a cloud of baby shrimp floating away and not eggs.
> 
> Just an observation.


They do not lay eggs...they holed them till thy hatch releasing lil clones of them selves fully developed shrimp


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## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

celine said:


> well, that makes sense.....tho it's so not what i want to hear


It will take you a couple minutes max to do a 75% water change on a 2 gallon. The smaller sizes mean water changes are a snap. With Cherries only, no fish, once a week is probably enough.


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## Jimmyblues (Dec 16, 2010)

*Re: Setting Up Shrimp Tank*

B]QUESTIONS[/B]
Being as how I have never done a shrimp tank before should I add Co2 or fertilizers? I've read that these can be harmful to the shrimp but I want my Micro Sword to survive.
I don't fully understand the lighting required over small tanks because from what I've read the WPG rule doesn't really apply to small tanks so is 10W enough?
[/QUOTE]


A 10 watt CFL light is way too much lighting for a 1 gallon aquarium. You are going to have a massive algae outbreak from all that lighting. Microsword does very well under about
3 - 4 watts of light per gallon. Provided that you use the right type of substrate. Microsword will carpet very nicely in either sand substrate or plant or shrimp stratum, provided that you use it with injected CO2 - either DIY or pressurized.

Neither Microsword nor dwarf hairgrass will carpet in heavier substrates like Eco Complete or
Fluorite. The runners from the plants simply can't move through these heavier substrates, which retards plant growth significantly.

Dwarf shrimp are very sensitive to PH changes in the water column, and any type of injected CO2 system is going to be risky. dwarf shrimp, including red cherry and crystal shrimp do
very well in a non CO2 tank. A one gallon tank is way too small for anything but carpeting plants so I would forego the microsword and just let the algae grow in your tank as a source of food for your RCS. 

I used 3 watts of LED 7000K light in my Mr. Aqua 1.5 gallon aquarium and it was more than enough to grow algae like crazy. When I had the tank set up I was removing algae every week. 

Moreover, when you are using such a small aquarium you need everything miniaturized.

I use a Toms mini filtration system which works well. It is tiny and fits nicely in the corner of the Mr. Aqua 1.5 gallon tank. I also use a Cobalt Aquatics Neo Therm Mini 10 watt heater which is good for the cooler months of the year.

I also use a Finnex 12" LED lighting system (5 watts) which makes about 3 watts per gallon in this aquarium.

Personally, in my experience, if you want to go with RCS, either put them in a larger aquarium with low light plants like Anubias, or skip the plants altogether. This way you can avoid the CO2 issue.

Even if you can get RCS to survive in a CO2 injected tank, you are going to have a higher attrition rate than you would if you kept them in a non CO2 injected tank.


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