# My 1g fishbowl journal . . . (56k warning)



## katy_bug (Aug 15, 2004)

Here is a picture of the fishbowl project in question. It is about 8 inches tall and there is a distance of 8 inches from the substrate to the bulb. This bowl also gets a lot of ambient light because it is located in my sunroom. It is mostly indirect light, but light, none the less. I apologize for the quality of the pics. It is hard to get good pictures in the middle of the day with all the sunlight coming in.



















I am not sure if you can tell in this close up picture, but I have tried to plant some HC. I got some cuttings in the mail. The cuttings didn't transport well and were basically stinky mush by the time I got them. I tried to plant them anyway, but I don't think that they will make it.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

looks cool. the pics are fine! better than some ive seen actually....

keep em coming. 

-=- fish newb -=-


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## Perfectblue (Jan 11, 2006)

A very unique shaped bowl. Looks great.


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## aquaphish (Dec 20, 2002)

Very interesting!!! Pictures are fine. Just keep posting your progress!!!


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## ChrisCummins (Jan 22, 2006)

If that was my tank, I would actually just consider keeping it plants only. That'll save on the water changes and I think you'll have serious problems with gas exchange with a surface area that small.

Looks great though! 

Thanks,
Chris


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## katy_bug (Aug 15, 2004)

Okay - I ordered plants and 3 cherry shrimp from Florida Driftwood. I wasn't intending to get shrimp so soon, but while I was paying shipping on the plants, I decided to go ahead and get the shrimp. I had intended to order Anubias nana petite and Marsilea minuta. As you can see from the picture, I accidently ordered anubias nana instead of the petite. I got them in on Friday and they were enormous. I went ahead and decided to plant the bowl for the shrimp's sake and I have two petite plants on the way. When they come in, I am going to transfer the regular anubias to my sister's fish tank.








I unpacked the shrimp and they actually sent 5 instead of 3 AND 2 of the 5 are pregnant. I am not complaining at all, but I will soon have more shrimp than I can stand. 
The Marsilea minuta was bigger that I thought. I know that Florida Driftwood grows thiers emersed and it will be smaller as it grows in submeresed but good grief . . . it is 4-5" tall.








The shrimp are doing very well. Maybe cause I have a round container, but they did nothing but swim in circles around the perimeter of the bowl for the first 6 hours. One of the two pregnant shrimp have already had her babies and now they are all over the place. I am trying to get better at taking close up pictures so I can post some of the shrimp. Any suggestions? I have a cannon sureshot A85 and I have no idea how to do the manual focus or anything.


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## cookfromscratch (Aug 10, 2005)

Cute little bowl! Can't wait to see the progress!


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## katy_bug (Aug 15, 2004)

Here is my update . . .
I got the petite nana in and attached it to the driftwood. Now that the m.minuta is sprouting new and much smaller growth, I went in and trimmed away all the large leaves. I also added a small stump piece of driftwood in the back with a little bit of moss on it. Shrimp are doing well. I am still trying to take some better pictures with no luck. The curved shape of the bowl is giving issues.
Comments are welcome!!!


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## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

How will you harvest excess shrimp when they get over crowded?


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## h20 plant (Dec 21, 2005)

looking good. Are you trying to keep the lay out so it looks good from every angle? That seams like it would be hard. What exact light are you using for that? I kind liked the bigger anudias in it but with only one. How is the maintenance on it going on it in relation on how easy it is?


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## katy_bug (Aug 15, 2004)

Thanks for the comments 
daFrimpster - as for removing the shrimp . . . I am going to use a turkey baster to get the babies out when they get a little bigger. 

h20 plant - I am trying to keep it looking good from about 3 sides. I liked the larger anubias too, but I felt like they threw off the scale of my tank and if they grew any . . . it would be too much. I am looking forward to the minuta filling in a bit. The plants seem really happy, even pearling in the afternoon. The light I am using is a simple desk lamp that I got from target for about $10 with a 13w cf screw in bulb. I have it on a timer so it comes on for about 10hours a day.

Maintenence has been a breeze. At first, I didn't even feed the shrimp because they didn't seem to care much for the crab bite I would put in about once every other day. I think they were just shy, because now they devour them. I change about 2cups of water every couple of days (when I remember) and dose about 3-4 drops of excel everyday (if I remember).


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## h20 plant (Dec 21, 2005)

That great! Yea i think i would rather have a tank like yours than a regular square tank. I like the small top look which makes it look like a ship in a bottle and it gives it a little art appeal. It also reminds me of those planted bottles people use to do around the 70s. How much was that glass, if you don't mind me asking, all the ones I have seen were around 35$ which seems pricey. I am trying to price it all out to see if I really want to get it or not. How are those clover plants doing since they sound like a good plant for my medium-low light tank.
Thanks allot


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## aquaphish (Dec 20, 2002)

There is only one thing I need to comment on. The look is just AWSOME!!! Waiting to see more pictures when the plants have more growth.

Do you use any fertilizers? and how often do you change water and how much?

As far as getting the baby shrimp out my suggestion is you get one of those kitchen basters and cut the tip to enlarge the hole a bit. Then you can suck out the little shrimp with the baster.


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## AlaskaRiver (Dec 5, 2005)

That tank looks really good, the smaller anubias look great and I like how they look on the wood. Looking foward to seeing what it looks like after it grows in some more. I am just now starting a tank that I think is exactly the same, just finished the hardscape and started a thread. Where did you get your bowl at?


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## katy_bug (Aug 15, 2004)

h20 plant said:


> That great! How much was that glass, if you don't mind me asking, all the ones I have seen were around 35$ which seems pricey. I am trying to price it all out to see if I really want to get it or not.


I looked around at alot of craft places, but I ended up getting the bowl at target for $9.99. You can't beat that!



h20 plant said:


> How are those clover plants doing since they sound like a good plant for my medium-low light tank.
> Thanks allot


All my plants are doing great. The marsilea minuta is doing well as a cover. It is surposed to be a good low light, low CO2 plant with slow - med. growth. It is super easy to get started and it is filling in nicely. I really wanted to get something that would cover, but wouldn't need to be cut back every couple of days. 

Thanks for all your comments - I will post an update this weekend.


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## supaoopa (Oct 25, 2004)

Bowl looks great. How frequently do you do water changes? I tried ghost shrimp in a 1-1.5 gal bowl and didn't have any luck keeping them.  

Anyways love the bowl, any more pics from different angles? Updates! :thumbsup:


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## katy_bug (Aug 15, 2004)

I finally have some updates after a while with some rescaping.
I am sorry that it has been so long . . . but, gee wiz . . . I have been battling a couple of problems. I went through a greenwater problem and then during the blackout, all my shrimp died. I finally got rid of the greenwater problem and added a couple of guppies and now I have algae issues. I got rid of my light fixture and I am relying totally on ambient light. Everything is doing well now . . I have added some ghost shrimp and waiting for my plants to fill in. All the plants are doing well. My minuta had a setback due to a snail infestation, but I think I have that under control too. Any suggestions on taking better pictures?
Thanks!

























I turned the light on in some of these pics just to try and get better pictures.


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## mjime714 (Mar 7, 2006)

Looks great!! I love the bowl. Looks great in that room! Nice job.


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## aquaphish (Dec 20, 2002)

Hey Kate!!! 

Stop making us jealous with the wonderful pictures of you little water world!!!

You need to let it grow and then take some pictures and enter it in the next AGA Aquascape contest!!! It will be a great contender for the small tank entries!!!


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## Goldfishcrazy11 (Nov 20, 2005)

Looks really nice for such a small work space :thumbsup:.

Where's the filter? Fish need some sort of filtration and aeration (and not just plants).


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## katy_bug (Aug 15, 2004)

Thanks everyone for all the comments. I can't wait for it to grow in a little, especially the minuta ground cover.



Goldfishcrazy11 said:


> Where's the filter? Fish need some sort of filtration and aeration (and not just plants).


I don't have any filter, light or aeration. I just change ~16oz. of water every 2-3 days. You don't need filtration on a tank this small if you keep everything in balance.


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

Indeed, all a filter really does is hold bacteria but i think the gravel can do that job as it isnt that big. I would be very sure that the plants make enough oxygen and shrimp and guppies dont mind temps such as 65F so theres no problems!

Looks good, keep it up and keep the passion


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## Anti-Pjerrot (Jan 20, 2006)

:thumbsup: That is SO nice - the moss the anubias... looking awsome. I love it.


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## deleted_user_4 (Mar 8, 2006)

The guppies and the shrimp must have a seriously distorted view of the outside world. =P I wonder if that messes with their minds?


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## Faust2001 (Jul 29, 2005)

What a great looking set up! I saw that at Target last week and wondered how it would look as a tank. Great job.


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