Fishtank Trial and Error

As a kid I had fish in an aquarium with a SpongeBob pineapple house, plastic plant, and the typical colored rocks. I had neon tetras, an amono shrimp and I think a goldfish. After a while I stopped getting more fish and they eventually passed. Then the tank went away and it wasn't until High-school that I got interested in fishtanks again.

I found out about killi fish, specifically the Blue Gularis Killifish (Fundulopanchax sjoestedti). I thought they looked cool so I started to get back into the hobby. None of the local fish stores had killifish, and online I was only able to find the killifish eggs. Java moss is the plant I decided to go with, and I had setup a simple tank with a filter, some moss, and I let it cycle for about a month. After a month I bought the killifish eggs, and I tried to hatch them. I had plenty of eggs but only got a few hatchlings, and they ended up not making it. Then I stopped maintaining the tank and eventually drained it.

A while later I found out about freshwater shrimp and setting up shrimptanks. I like the shrimp. I got java moss again and some cherry shrimp from a local fish shop. The fish shop owner was reluctant to sell me some cuttings of his very overgrown Java moss, which I thought was odd. Told him I'd give him 10$ for a small handful which was more than reasonable at the time. But he eventually agreed and I cycled the tank with moss for about a month again. When the tank was ready I went back to get the shrimp, I acclimated them to the water, and then released them in the tank.

The shrimp lasted about three weeks in the tank, and I was very confused. I did some more research, and bought some water testing equipment. Turns out my tap water is extremely hard. So I ended up getting an RO water filter to try again.

So part two of draining the tank and letting it cycle with Java moss. Eventually I got more shrimp and this time some snails, and put then in the tank once acclimated. This is what the tank looked like before I put shrimp into it.

Things were going well for the next few weeks. One of the shrimp was carrying eggs, and it seemed I was onto the beginning of a healthy colony of shrimps. But, there was something growing on the glass that I did not put in the tank. A hydra somehow snuck in the tank, probably on the moss. Turns out hydra can kill baby shrimp, their tentacles are like those of a sea anenome, they sting then eat small organisms. Some places online said there is a chemical you can put in your aquarium to get rid of them and it wouldn't affect your fish, I think it was a type of dog dewormer, but they sell it in fish stores too. I got that chemical and in hindsight I think I added way way too much.

The stuff was a white powder and it made the tank all hazy. The hydra were gone, but over the next couple of weeks most of the shrimp died off. I did a water change at the end of the month but still had more losses. Eventually I stopped regularly maintaining the tank and I let the plants grow out. I stopped seeing any shrimp and only the snails were left. Once it was completely overgrown, I tried to clean it up to get rid of the tank. On the bottom of the moss ball was one last shrimp. He was living this whole time, just hidden. I cleaned the tank and got ready to get more since over time the tank must have become livable for them again.

The last shrimp ended up dying before I could get more, and so I drained the tank and put it away again.

Now it is a few years later and I am out of school and punching the clock. A neighbor of mine has a couple of aquariums in his window and they aren't just plain fake plants and colored rocks with a couple of goldfish. They have real natural rocks, live plants, and exotic fish. These fishtanks are put together like a work of art. Seeing how nice they look has gotten me interested again in setting up a very nice looking natural aquarium.

I have been using the same 10 gallon glass fishtank and most of the same equipment this whole time, and I think it's time I give it another try. I want to have a nice shrimptank filled with greenery and red cherry shrimp on my desk. Have nice plants and substrate to grow more than just Java moss, and all the equipment needed to make sure the water parameters are correct for red cherry shrimp. Hoping to get the time to start back up this hobby soon.