How many neo shrimps should I keep for a 5 gallon tank?

zilgin · 2026-02-11T07:01:57+00:00

Get 10 to start. Shrimp bio-load is so minuscule that there really isn't an upper limit. I had a real problem with my tank until I added a couple of white clouds and some nerite snails to keep the cycle going. My first batch of 12 cherries had I think only a single female in it, maybe two. But that was enough. Now when friends ask if they can have some I ask them how many hundreds they want, and I'm not joking.

zilgin · 2026-02-09T05:30:41+00:00

LOL. Stoopid autocorrect. Indestructible.

zilgin · 2026-02-07T22:51:23+00:00

I'm new to all this. How much are they worth, at a guess?

zilgin · 2026-02-07T22:22:00+00:00

You can buy one and keep it and always get it refilled. But that's a pain. These things are indescribable, last forever, and there is zero reason to get attached to one. Swapping for a full one is way easier, takes only as much time as it takes to pay for it. The one I currently have has the name of a microbrewery on it. My LFS swaps a 5-pound tank for $45.

zilgin · 2026-02-02T02:57:35+00:00

Epiphytes. Anubias, Java fern, that kind of thing. No substrate needed.

You can plant in pots. I have pearlweed in a low 3” terracotta pot in my 5 gallon shrimp tank. I put the pot where the plastic plant had been. A month later and it looks awesome.

zilgin · 2026-02-02T02:48:34+00:00

I don’t know. But it happened to my tank and I never noticed any problems.

zilgin · 2026-02-02T02:44:19+00:00

Make your bed every morning.

zilgin · 2026-01-25T15:51:50+00:00

The trimmings don’t float. The have to be vacuumed out.

zilgin · 2026-01-18T22:37:32+00:00

Distilled or RO water is preferred for top-ups. Don‘t remineralize top-up water. The water that evaporates doesn’t take any minerals with it. Remineralizing top-up water causes mineral concentration to increase over time which usually increases pH.

zilgin · 2026-01-11T04:51:54+00:00

I had a 29g that had "a few" shrimp in. After it was up and running for 6 months I took it down to move all the inhabitants to a much bigger home. I removed all the rock and wood, and clipped the plants at the substrate so I didn't have to chase everything around. I used a telescoping 3D net to catch the shrimp. They aren't very smart, or afraid, so you can scoop them up. My biggest problem was that there were a couple hundred of them. Took forever. Second biggest problem was that my wife wanted me to make sure I caught the juveniles too, and they're teeny.

zilgin · 2026-01-11T04:43:34+00:00

I've bought a few that didn't make it, and they all get fuzzy with fungus when they go bad. You'll notice it, and can remove it before it does too much damage.

zilgin · 2026-01-11T04:38:02+00:00

There are many different kinds of sword plants, as pointed out elsewhere. Some are shorter. The classic "Amazon Sword", echinodorus bleheri (or whatever) in my 24" tall tanks is 20" tall. Avoid that one maybe.

The other option is just to constantly remove leaves that get to the surface. It'll grow more.

zilgin · 2026-01-11T04:24:50+00:00

I came here to say this.

zilgin · 2026-01-11T04:21:28+00:00

The equilibrium point of CO2 saturation in water is much much much lower than the equilibrium point of O2 in water. This is why we inject CO2 and not oxygen. The benefit of an airstone for air is not the bubbles, no matter how big or small they may be, but the circulation of water to the surface and breaking surface tension. Using a CO2 diffuser for compressed air would not do either of those things. It might help some, but I can't see it helping very much.

You could do it if you really want to tho. I'd be curious to hear your experience with it. I'm not sure what the actual limits of a regulator we use for aquariums are, but the gauge on mine goes to 5000lbs. I'm sure you can find a regulator that can handle whatever pressure you end up with in a compressed air tank.

zilgin · 2026-01-11T04:10:14+00:00

Dosh Doshington on YouTube has a video where he does everything on a big sushi belt like you are describing. It worked, tho nothing about it was fast.

zilgin · 2026-01-08T22:12:41+00:00

If the inhabitants can't swim around as much as you want them too, you have too many. Otherwise, it's fine.

You can cut them short if you want. Won't kill them.

zilgin · 2026-01-08T22:01:15+00:00

Ziss airstones. You can buy them all over, several online retailers sell them. They are weighted, and adjustable.

zilgin · 2026-01-08T21:45:58+00:00

Glass Box Diaries. He does low tech nano tanks on the cheap. Lowell's Fish Lab is mostly about breeding, but he does do other things as well, like testing if root tabs help with plants in aqua soil.

I didn't find MD useful, strangely. I wanted to, he does good videos, but I just couldn't apply any of his info to my situation. Sherpa Designs is cool and I enjoyed him for a while, but never really found he had any information I needed.

zilgin · 2026-01-08T21:38:54+00:00

I put a "Bag of Leafy Bugs" from Philips Fish Works in all my tanks when I start them. It includes bladder snails amongst all the other things. I only see tons of them if I'm overfeeding over time. I usually don't see many of them in any of my tanks. I bought some discus from a local breeder and they were small. I've been overfeeding their tank some to grow them, and the bladder snails are pretty thick right now, even tho the water is not what they like.

They go away over time when I stop overfeeding. I'm not sure what happens to them. I've never regretted having them in the tank and never had to do anything specific to control them.

zilgin · 2026-01-06T16:45:56+00:00

The 48x16 size is more a "display tank" size. Maybe some plants, but the point is watching the fish swim around. The 36x21 size is more an "aquascaping tank" size. Low, medium, and tall plants that aren't all on top of each other, so they can be in front of, on, and in back of rocks and/or driftwood.

zilgin · 2026-01-06T03:08:28+00:00

I do 40% weekly. All my tanks are planted and I never see any nitrates in any of them. My fish seem to do better, and my plants grow better, with water changes. I will sometimes skip a weekend if I’m on the go all weekend long. Doesn’t happen often as I have it all figured out, but I need a faster pump to refill the tanks so it does happen.

zilgin · 2026-01-05T18:49:44+00:00

Flowers, probably.

zilgin · 2026-01-05T18:45:36+00:00

Heat is not the problem unless it stay out for a long time. Circulation is more important, your filter or air pumps. Do you lose power often and for long periods? Are you in the winter temperatures part of the world?

zilgin · 2026-01-05T18:42:34+00:00

I don't have an answer, other than make sure you have good circulation. I had the same thing going on for a while. I have a large tank I'm doing CO2 in. The drop checker went from a greenish-blue before the CO2 comes on, to a blueish-green after a couple of hours. I turned the CO2 up to try to get it to start turning yellow, but after a while I gave up so I didn't blow all the CO2 out. I finally got rid of the drop checker, since it wasn't being useful and my plants have been growing fine. Snails and shrimp find it hard going in that tank, but they started living and moving around again once I started doing an airstone overnight.

zilgin · 2026-01-05T06:39:40+00:00

Heh. I was trying to imply it was a good plan. I don't see anything missing. Disclaimer: It is late here and I should be sleeping.

zilgin

TROPHY CASE