Jennifer V

I have a 5g shrimp tank and sometimes it seems like there are hundreds in there. They're everywhere! I think it was @Odd Duck who told me as long as you don't have more shrimp than water, you're fine. No need to worry. As for mixing colors, I started with a few cherry, blue dream, orange and yellow culls from a local breeder. I did end up with some brown and clear shrimp but I've also ended up with some very cool colors and mixes, so you're not guaranteed to only have brown. @Guppysnail has had a similar experience. And yes! Show us a photo of your setup.

I understand feeling discouraged. My 5g shrimp/snail tank is a mess right now. There are some days where I want to just tear the whole thing down, so you're not alone. I think everyone here has felt that way at some point. Try to focus on one thing at a time, like getting rid of the midge problem, and see if the cloudy water clears up on its own. From what I've read, it often does disappear as quickly as it appeared. Remember that discouragement comes from care and love for the hobby. They go together. Give yourself a break. You're doing just fine! You've got this! Keep us updated. We're here to help!

Guppy grass is my next purchase too!

Great point! You're absolutely right about the hornwort. I didn't think about that as I haven't tried it yet.

Have you tried floating guppy grass, hornwort or anacharis?

Looks great! They are very lucky peas. I would add a bunch of floating plants to give you more coverage while you're waiting for the other plants to fill in. It'll really help the peas feel comfortable in their new space. Maybe attach some epiphyte plants like anubias and java fern wherever you can to give you that extra bit of plant life. Peas like a lot of vegetation to help break up the line of sight so they can establish their own territories more easily. Here is a photo of my setup just for reference. You can see that it's packed full of plants. I've tried just about every type of floating plant with no luck but while they were there my peas seemed to love it. I'm also getting a larger anubias on driftwood to fill in that space to the left behind the rock. Please excuse the algae! I did add some neos who are taking care of most of that and the rest has since disappeared. Hope that helps! Totally agree! Do you have a photo of your setup?

I'm in the same camp where I can't add any additional fish so I'm going to focus on plants as well. My goals are: - Finally get a dwarf lily to grow. (Cross your fingers!) - Add a larger variety of anubias attached to some large driftwood to my 10g tank to use as a background plant. - Yank out the Christmas moss I have in my 5g. It's growing like a stringy weed and even though the shrimp love it, I do not. I want to replace it with an African Water Fern attached to a new piece of driftwood. This'll be my first time with this plant, so fingers crossed again.

I love my Buce! They are growing the best in my tank. One is even flowering! Definitely worth the price. Go for it!

Let us know what you find! This is very interesting.

This is very cool and worth a try! So the plants find the soil and break through the bags?

Looks like they might be midge flies. Have you looked them up?

I can't keep Java moss alive either but I've had luck with Christmas moss instead. You're right, it is fun to experiment with different kinds to see what works. I had no idea there are so many kinds out there.

If the leaves are new, they do grow out looking kind of translucent in the beginning but they will fully color up as they grow.

Awesome! @bradleyheathhays this might be a great option for you to try!

I have read that you can bake it but I had an odd thought. @Guppysnail @Odd Duck @OnlyGenusCaps if Reverse Respiration kills harmful organisms on plants, would it work to sterilize driftwood?

I have a ton of ramshorn in one of my tanks and I haven't noticed any getting stuck in there. My guess is, if they can find their way in, they can also find their way out, but I'd be interested to see what other people think.

It's me again. Checking in because I'm ready to give up and I don't know what to do next. I've waited patiently for my tank to right itself and it just won't get there. Added more crushed coral, reduced feedings by half, keeping up with WCs of ~30 percent a week and sand vacuuming, testing the water every couple days. It's a heavily planted 5g with neos and snails set up for nearly two years. Parameters have been off for two months now and haven't really budged in that time. Current parameters: Ph: 7.0 Ammonia: .25 Nitrite: .25 Nitrates: ~40 Kh: 2 Gh: 12 Temp: 74 I've looked into old tank syndrome, but I haven't added anything new to the tank in seven months. Absolutely nothing has changed with the exception of the shrimp and snail population booming. I have seen three shrimp deaths within the last two weeks but nothing major given that there are zillions of shrimp in there. No noticeable snail deaths. What do I do?

Very interesting! I did have an odd experience with rot. I added several kinds of anubias to my newest tank at the same time. Two ended up with rot and the rest that were right next to them are growing well and seem fine nearly two years later. It's such a strange form of plant disease.

I agree that dwarf sag can be a latent grower. I've had mine for maybe a year and it's just now deciding to start producing new leaves. I was about to pull it out before I noticed the new growth. Susswassertang is a beautiful plant but can also be temperamental at first. I had a bunch die right of the bat but another bunch is doing so well I moved some to another tank. The biggest secret to plant keeping that I've learned, other than pack your tank full of as many plants as you can and try a bunch of different kinds to see what will work for you specifically, is to be patient. Lots of plants will go through and ugly stage and then end up just fine. Send pics when you get the tank planted! 🌱

I'm having the exact same problem so I added more crushed coral. It hasn't helped yet but my tap reads very similar to yours so I'm thinking the air stone test is the key.

Running a 5 and 10 but planning my 20 long and setting up a quarantine tank. All in a 600 square foot apartment. Ha!

It's so stunning! What kind of silicon did you use? Did that prevent you from having to use something like filter floss to fill in the gaps between the rocks? What kind of substrate are you using? Sorry for all of the questions! I just want to do the same thing in my next tank so I've been doing a ton of research and your tank is Pinterest worthy.

I vote for letting it sit and adding a snail like a nerite and maybe some neo shrimp after the diatoms build up. Love love love your tank! Totally derailing the thread, but can you tell me how you created the substrate divide?

Incredible upgrade! Good for you for not giving up. You created something very beautiful and I'm sure your water pets are very happy.

What do the leaves that have detached look like? Are the stems or base of the leaves bright green and do they look like they've been cut, or do they look discolored in any way? Maybe lighter green, yellow or brown? If they are the latter, I'd be inclined to think it might be the beginnings of rot, although I don't keep mystery snails so they're still a mystery to me. Ha!