Walstad Jar

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

So I did a thing. I have created a Walstad  shrimp jar. 
 

I followed her instructions here.

I tried to find as many of the plants she used as I could, but I could not find the exact ones.  I used Rosette sword, bacopa, and dwarf hairgrass.

 

I added a piece of driftwood that has been in the fish tank a few months. It will provide biofilm and bacteria. I was going to add a piece of cholla wood, but there really wasn’t room once I added the hairgrass. The plants are more important.

Since I changed my mind on the jar, my light would not fit on the lip. I improvised a solution. Hopefully the Iron Sheik does not mind too much. 😉

Next I am going to plug the light into a Christmas light timer. I have not added any critters yet, but the water I used is water from the shrimp tank.

I had some extra hairgrass that I added to the shrimp tank and to Geppetto’s (betta) tank.

My neighbor has some bladder snails. Perhaps I will add one or two to this jar.

I also hope to add floating plants.

Edited August 25, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Guppysnail]

That is lovely. Once it grows in it will be stunning. 

[nabokovfan87]

That wood is pretty awesome!  I'm intrigued at how you care for it.  I failed pretty hard with the jar I had tried to setup.  I understand why, but it's just a frustration.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/22/2023 at 11:23 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

That wood is pretty awesome!  I'm intrigued at how you care for it.  I failed pretty hard with the jar I had tried to setup.  I understand why, but it's just a frustration.

Share how you think it went wrong. The wood is the chunk that I had previously stuffed with moss and put in Geppetto’s tank. The LFS sells these little chunks for like $2.50.

This is how the jar looks next day. Everything has settled and the parameters match the tank, except temp which is 73. Nitrates are present, reading at a 20. Expected since I used tank water. I guess I will need to drip acc the shrimps I move due to temp diff? How long til I can move shrimp over? It’s my understanding these are instant setups.

Edited March 23, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[TOtrees]

OMG the mug/vase thing that your light is on!!! 💥💯

Please keep us updated it looks great! I'm particularly interested in whether the surface develops a film, and if you have to do anything about it. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/23/2023 at 7:32 AM, TOtrees said:

OMG the mug/vase thing that your light is on!!! 💥💯

Please keep us updated it looks great! I'm particularly interested in whether the surface develops a film, and if you have to do anything about it. 

It’s an antique 🙂 I will post another photo later. Andre and Hulk are on the other side with Junkyard Dog

I do see a film. I plan to add floating plants. Otherwise an airstone. Depends on the availability of the plants.

Edited March 23, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I moved over some used ceramics from the 29g tank. Perhaps they will help with microfauna but they will also accumulate algae which will be a food source for the shrimps. I tucked them in the back so as not to detract from the scape.

 

I also set up the Christmas light timer last night. I have a 12 hour cycle to start including a 1 hour dark period around lunchtime (in Walstad's article her dark period was a dim period, but my light doesn't have a dim feature).  I'm not sure the reasoning behind the "siesta" but I'm just rolling with it.  

Edited March 23, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Birdsnstuff]

Her book says that plants use up available CO2 in about 4 hours (if I remember correctly). So a “siesta” lets CO2 build back up so the plants have it available again for the second photo period. I’ve noticed it does seem to help with algae. I have an older Walstad-esque 15gal tank plus a new 5gal. But @Streetwisemight explain it better. I run either 4on -4 off- 4 on cycle generally or 5-4-5. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/23/2023 at 3:36 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Share how you think it went wrong.

opening on the jar was WAY too small.  Jar was tall and not wide.  No real light on the jar either.  All of this I can remedy now, but I do need to have a proper size thing.  This is the main reason why I got that 10G, just to have for plants and whatever need be in the case I need something.

On 3/23/2023 at 5:15 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Perhaps they will help with microfauna but they will also accumulate algae which will be a food source for the shrimps

Awesome choice.  Wood / Rock does a lot of things for the sake of shrimp grazing!  It's so fun to watch them and see where they decide to graze on.  Lava rock and others would fit too.  The tumbled lava rock might look pretty awesome in a shrimp tank!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/23/2023 at 2:24 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

opening on the jar was WAY too small.  Jar was tall and not wide.

I was going to use this one on the right but I didn’t like the fluting at the bottom, and it didn’t even hold a gallon. 
 

[nabokovfan87]

Yeah... I basically end with either a nice rimless or acrylic thing. or just say to heck with it and get a 20L, 30L or 60B

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

We have some wilds in the jar now. They are going all crazy so I am turning the light off for a little bit. I wonder if they are trying to find food. Not sure if I should add anything. I moved a little moss from the tank and I placed a small piece of catappa leaf.

And @TOtrees here you go

 

[Guppysnail]

My shrimp go bonkers at every water change. Often a female close to molt will molt at water change. Then she sends out her come hither pheromones and the boys go crazy. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/23/2023 at 6:53 PM, Guppysnail said:

My shrimp go bonkers at every water change. Often a female close to molt will molt at water change. Then she sends out her come hither pheromones and the boys go crazy. 

They are calming down now. I didn’t add any food or anything, but a little bit of hair algae, and more ceramics from my hob because I noticed they have been repeatedly landing on those.

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/23/2023 at 3:36 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

We have some wilds in the jar now. They are going all crazy so I am turning the light off for a little bit. I wonder if they are trying to find food.

Yeah that's what it looks like. Like a puppy trying to find the limits of their new tank and what has algae/aufwuchs

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Added a few granules bacter ae. 

Thanks @Guppysnail for the tip (sand looked too clean).  It's new sand so, makes sense.  

Edited March 24, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

The bacter ae seems to be helping, as I see shrimps lingering longer when they land on something.  Bacter AE also will introduce some microfauna.  The only thing with bacter AE is that it tends to get shrimps "in the mood", but it seems necessary in such a new setup where algae hasn't claimed its turf yet. 

I expect to pick up the 2 bladder snails from my neighbor today on my way home, and the bladder snails will "manufacture food" for the shrimps.  While the shrimps do not directly eat the waste, they will consume the biofilm off of it (I think).  Bacter AE will also be serving as a starter food source for the bladder snails.  Also bumped up the light timer to 13 hr, keeping the 1 hr siesta, to promote algae growth.  

Water test this morning was fine.  Everything was the same as the shrimp tank, except nitrates dropped from 20 to 10.  The plants are doing their job.  The temperature dropped about a degree.  It's at about a 73.4F or so.  Temp was tested around the same time the light clicked on, so I believe it will raise slightly (.5 - 1 degree F) throughout the day.  

Edited March 24, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Miska]

Oh I am following the heck out of this.

 

I wanna do Walstad or father fish method so bad.

 

I cannot wait to show my husband your wwf glass. Andre is a fave and so is Iron Sheik. 
 

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by Miska
Added stuff

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I got the bladder snails. Asked for 2.

Neighbor: “oh, I bagged 3 on accident! Tee hee hee!”

Me: 😳

But I expected this. I already knew she had a population explosion.

Feeling terrified. Could 3 become 1,000,000? And are they already mating?! They did this twisty turny thing and they haven’t even been here 5 minutes. 

Welp, it’s an experiment. Just gonna ride it out and see where it takes me. But from this point forward, nothing gets moved from the jar to a tank. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Everybody acclimated and calm. @TOtrees was wondering what I do for the film on the top of the water. I share a tip for that in the video.

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/24/2023 at 9:55 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Feeling terrified. Could 3 become 1,000,000? And are they already mating?! They did this twisty turny thing and they haven’t even been here 5 minutes. 

I think we both know the answer to this.....

 

You could try repashy powder as well with the shrimp in lieu of (or giving off days) of the bacteria AE. Especially in a jar, perfect stuff.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/24/2023 at 1:38 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I think we both know the answer to this.....

 

You could try repashy powder as well with the shrimp in lieu of (or giving off days) of the bacteria AE. Especially in a jar, perfect stuff.

Seems everybody found some noms on the moss and anacharis I moved from the other tank. And while I couldn’t fit a whole piece of cholla, I hacksawed a piece off and put it in there. It’s been in the 29g and feels nice and slimy.

 

[Guppysnail]

Bladder snails shake their shell “twisty-turny “ as a defense and to ward off unwanted suitors. I ran a bladder snail only last year for one of the nerm contests. Even in that I did not have an explosion. Their numbers are entirely controllable with food. When I sold some I would drop half a whole wafer instead of a half 1x a week. That would wild me enough to replace the groups I sold. 
Here is one warding off an arduous suitors unwanted advances. 

 

[Lennie]

On 3/24/2023 at 8:33 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Everybody acclimated and calm. @TOtrees was wondering what I do for the film on the top of the water. I share a tip for that in the video.

 

They are cute 😄

Mine died thanks to MTS. Outcompeted. In my experience they were the most fragile "pest snail" but I don't know. I find them cute.

Looks great as a part of the jar family!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 3/24/2023 at 2:44 PM, Guppysnail said:

Bladder snails shake their shell “twisty-turny “ as a defense and to ward off unwanted suitors. I ran a bladder snail only last year for one of the nerm contests. Even in that I did not have an explosion. Their numbers are entirely controllable with food. When I sold some I would drop half a whole wafer instead of a half 1x a week. That would wild me enough to replace the groups I sold. 
Here is one warding off an arduous suitors unwanted advances. 

 

I can’t believe they can move like that. That looks painful.