# No Maintenance or Feedless setup? Finnex or 7g Glass Minibow?



## Amazonfish (Oct 20, 2009)

When I first started keeping shrimp, I had 5 in my 25 gallon. This was in my beginner days, and I didn't realize that I had to feed the shrimp. I really thought that they were just algae eating shrimp. I had them for a year, but then I gave them away and moved. I now feed the shrimp I have, and as soon as I drop a pellet in, they all swarm around it. It seems like they prefer the pellets to the algae and detritus they graze on during the day. 

I don't know if 7 shrimp would have enough food in there to eat though. If it were a bigger system, it might be alright, but I think the bowl is too small to try the feedless thing. 

As for Finnex vs. Minibow, I'd definitely go Finnex. I think home depot will cut plexiglass for you, and you can use a piece of plexiglass to decrease evaporation. Just leave a cut out for the filter. Alternatively, you can just leave a bottle of water hidden near the tank and use that to top off. It's not much of a hassle if the water is already within arm's reach. I've only had my finnex for a couple of weeks, but I really love it. Great little tank, and it does look good


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## fishsandwitch (Apr 20, 2008)

Dont waste 50 bucks on a tiny tank like that...

If you were to make a tank with a moss wall on 3 of the sides that would be a lot of food for shrimp and you would not have to feed.


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## sparkysko (Jun 11, 2004)

I have a 10 gallon with two screw in CFL bulbs and some woody stem plants. It's been going for 3 years with no food. It has a guppy population that is several generations old. About 10-15 guppies. Several adults, several mid-age and several fry.

Water changes are practically non existant. Usually just top off water, if that. It's usually half empty of water. Ants set up a colony in it for a while. I used just natural fine gravel from a creek. Plants are incredibly thick and untrimmed. When the water drops to half and I fill it up again, the plants tend to compact down and create a swimming space above the top. 

No filter or water movement. Just a heater set to 78F. 

Best I guess is that they eat algae and occasionally duckweed. Guppy population always seems to stay around stable, and they're always pooping.

I'm not proud of my lack of care in this tank. I never trim or scrape off algae, and am afraid of doing anything major with it for fear of disrupting the environment.


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## hyunbaw (Jan 18, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies! 

So I just went ahead and tried keeping the bowl "feedless." 
The details:

In the beginning, I fed the bowl ~once/week with a crushed single tiny pellet of Tetra Color bits. I gradually lengthened the period between feedings and now, I am not feeding anything. 

I added a few malaysian trumpet snails from my 10g planted tank, and I thought they were going to die because they seemed inactive for the first week or so. But one day, they just started to come out of their shell and act normal, and they are now always out and feeding (~4 of them)

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I added a dinky hydroponic (wick system) setup on top of the bowl. It's a clementine seed I germinated out of curiosity. I know they need more nutrients than what an aquarium setup can provide, but it's just a curious, whimsical project. 

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One of the female "Other" algae-eating shrimp successfully spawned! At a single moment, I have counted at least 4 very tiny offspring. Very cool. 

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Feedless, No maintenance fish bowl. So far so good!


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

At the risk of sounding crude, I don't really get the point of these "no maintenance" setups. What's the difference between this and a bowl full of algae sitting on a window sill? I thought the point of an aquarium was for one to get a change to shape the looks of its content and to enjoy the livestock living in it. How can you do that when all you see is a green tangled mass of moss?


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

TLE041 said:


> At the risk of sounding crude, I don't really get the point of these "no maintenance" setups. What's the difference between this and a bowl full of algae sitting on a window sill? I thought the point of an aquarium was for one to get a change to shape the looks of its content and to enjoy the livestock living in it. How can you do that when all you see is a green tangled mass of moss?


I agree. But I do think that having a no matainance setup is a very cool idea! I also like your little hydroponics setup. Very cool! 
Jake


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## hyunbaw (Jan 18, 2006)

Thanks again for the replies! 

TLE041, I hope you don't think this is my only setup, nor my first. Ive raised plenty of attention-needy fish, and also currently have a planted 10g sitting pretty. I've lovingly raised discus from 3" to 8" which were a blast to have, and many many other fish in fun setups. I had 5 aquariums running at one point, and it matched the amount of free time I had. 

But that was when I had the time. Now, I have the 10g at my parents house that I visit on the weekends, and this. And "this" is more of a project or experiment while I study full time. I'm living at my bro's apt, so it's all I can respectfully have. Just me, my STEP I books, and my shrimp bowl. 
If it helps, just look at it as an experiment. Can you create a "natural", almost hands-off setup where the sunlight, fauna and flora all balance out and create a small, self-sustaining microcosm of aquatic life? 

Perhaps I should have told you the back story on this bowl.. it's here 
http://forum.brooklynaquariumsociety.org/showthread.php?t=31

and my discus story.. (you can tell I was a noob back then.. profile substrate, amazon swords, banana plant hahah what was I thinking??)
http://www.wheresoursquirrel.com/cgi-bin/fish/YaBB.cgi?board=discus;action=display;num=1140903668

(Admin, are these ok?? If not, I'll remove the links)


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Update: My RCS female is berried!! The non-cherry algae eaters (and their babies) are doing well. There are a lot more than I thought. I took out the 2 ghost shrimp in anticipation for the new RCS's. The clementine plant is still there but growing slowly. I have a few other seedlings next to the shrimp bowl sitting in a plastic container with nutrient solution and they're much bigger.


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## Tuiflies (Jan 14, 2010)

I've done exactly that actually. I have 4 young Guppies (3F,1M), 10 RCS and a bunch of ramshorn and bladder/pond snails in a six gallon wine carboy. I tried to get some MTS but they never survived the shipping. There's about an inch and a half of Bell's All Purpose Potting Soil (didn't know to remove the twigs ect. so they're still in and I don't know what the NPK's were since they weren't listed on the bag) with almost an inch of inert gravel on top. It's planted with Sag. Subulata (that's going wild), Crypt Beckettii and Lucens, Anubias Golden, and Java Windelov. I also have some floating Ricca and Water Sprite. Everything's growing very well. I'm waiting for some Bolbitis to go back in there since the first batch I ordered melted (probably froze during shipping). The Guppies have been in since January some time and the shrimp since mid Feb. The Gupps are still pooping so they must be eating something. I suspect it's RCS hatchlings because I haven't seen any wee ones and there's been some berried fems since I put them in there. (I'm sure some of them must have hatched.) The RCS are feasting on the bits of plants that were damaged during shipping.

This pic is just after initial setup. The Sag has really taken off since, and the dead Bolbitis is still visible in the background. The Crypts aren't really visible yet either. I'll try to get a newer pic tomorrow.


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## hyunbaw (Jan 18, 2006)

*Update!!*

So it's been over 6 months, and the bowl is still doing well. I have not changed the water, nor even added any water to top off. I do not feed the tank either. I simply just leave it alone. 

There are still shrimp (not sure if they are reproducing), and the MTS have SLOWLY adapted and seem to be stable in population. The java moss is not as dark green, but still green and alive. The clementine seedling is still alive but has seemed to have halted its growth. I have 2 seedlings in soil next to the bowl and they are growing a lot better. 

I think it's pretty amazing that the entire bowl has created a mini-cycle for itself. The stability of the entire setup is very cool to witness. 

Hope this helps those who were curious!!

- Billy


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