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Mini Complete Tank - Stocking + Shrimp/Snail questions.

T

The Red-Tailed Shark

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Hi everyone- I recently bought 2 of the Mini Complete Tanks (https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/mini-complete-tank.56196/) <-- nice example there.
I was wondering about stocking:
Currently I'm just thinking about a single rabbit/Tylo snail. However if there are any other things that could be interesting (shrimp?) that could fit I'd be happy to hear as i'm really open to ideas. However I definitely do not want something that would be unhappy in a small tank. This includes stuff like social factors so even if a shrimp could fit, do they prefer to be in colonies that this tank couldn't sustain?
Secondly they would need to be relatively hardy obviously. I also plan to take this tank with me to my uni accommodation to have at least a tiny bit of this hobby with me but that's a 2 hour trip and they'd stay in the tank so it shouldn't be too stressful.
Also, If I do plan on the tylo, I have very soft water here in scotland and slightly acidic, snails Ive kept previously have had their shell almost disintegrate and turn white. How could I counter this in this small tank? Would putting coral sand in the sump and feeding calcium snail pellets counter this and keep the snail happy and healthy?
Thanks
 
I'd say small snails only, I'm in Scotland too; I combat the shell degradation by feeding highly in calcium, conversely you can also harden the water artificially to suit.
 
Some Tylomelania species grow to 11 centimeters, a few species remain smaller (4 cm) but 6-8 cm is quite common for these snails. the water in nature is also soft, the pH is relatively high. But the most important thing is the temperature, these snails need heat, 27 - 30 C.

I would not call on any animal to live in such a small space.
 
That’s a fair point, the typos do get to a reasonable size. Surely just 2-3 ramshorns wouldn’t be an issue though? If they ever get huge they can got back to my main.
 
I'd scale things down, consider some of the tiny creatures we don't even think about usually might be perfect scale. The mini ramshorn 'pest snails' - mine can get 5-6mm, daphnia, maybe waterlouse (or a little big?). That volume of water it would be cheap/easy to make it a bit harder if you need.
 
tam said:
I'd scale things down, consider some of the tiny creatures we don't even think about usually might be perfect scale. The mini ramshorn 'pest snails' - mine can get 5-6mm, daphnia, maybe waterlouse (or a little big?). That volume of water it would be cheap/easy to make it a bit harder if you need.
Click to expand...

Yeah this is exactly what I’m looking for tbh.
I reckon I’m gonna keep it cold water,
So yeah ramshorns, daphnia and Waterhouse sound interesting.
Would they all feed off algae pellets and calcium pellets you reckon? That’s my only concern that they wouldn’t survive very long, and I’d rather not have them die 🙁


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The Red-Tailed Shark said:
That’s a fair point, the typos do get to a reasonable size. Surely just 2-3 ramshorns wouldn’t be an issue though? If they ever get huge they can got back to my main.
Click to expand...

The main issue is water chemistry, it is close to impossible to keep this little water stable enough to be a small ecosystem. It will get even harder wen you'll add animals that need to be fed etc... size wise small ramshorns or small water insects may fit.
 
Snails would eat tablets (although you'd need tiny pieces) and people sometimes feed daphnia with yeast... but snails will eat algae/decaying matter so probably don't need feeding at all (though you may need to thin them out) and I've feed my daphnia with decaying plant matter so I'd go for that. Include tiny shredded leaves as part of the scape - should still be able to find fallen leaves now.
 
akwarium said:
The main issue is water chemistry, it is close to impossible to keep this little water stable enough to be a small ecosystem. It will get even harder wen you'll add animals that need to be fed etc... size wise small ramshorns or small water insects may fit.
Click to expand...

Ah right I understand. FWIW though, it does have a large sumpe, almost the same size as the display filled with sponge, carbon, biomedical etc. for any biological filtration. Also the lad almost means evaporation is almost non exists d so surely these two means it stays relatively stable? Plus I would be doing a 50% every week aswell.


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tam said:
Snails would eat tablets (although you'd need tiny pieces) and people sometimes feed daphnia with yeast... but snails will eat algae/decaying matter so probably don't need feeding at all (though you may need to thin them out) and I've feed my daphnia with decaying plant matter so I'd go for that. Include tiny shredded leaves as part of the scape - should still be able to find fallen leaves now.
Click to expand...

Nice, you mean like dried leaves people use to make black water or straight rotting dying mushy leaves you find on the ground? Seems doable either way. It’s gonna be a pretty heavy planted natural setup aswell so this actually sounds really interesting.


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Yes, same as for blackwater. Start with dried leaves and they'll decay over time in the tank. You can collect them off the floor (do a little research on types as not all are critter safe) or buy them.
 
Hi, my tank is the one you linked to in your first post. Just want to say that my six shrimp are doing amazing in there. Very happy and constantly active. I also have my tank at university, super easy to move between uni and my home. I can also hide it easyily as we arnt allowed any pets at uni.

Cheers Chris
 
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