As irony might have it, I'm in a semi-similar boat here. I just started a 6g cherry shrimp tank, and I have an 18w cf light above it.(pending as to whether or not I'll get to keep it... my folks called me while I was at work notifying me that they found it and that I had to tear it down... received a second call maybe a half hour later with them being a bit more rational... will update when I know for sure) It doesn't seem to get too hot, but I have noticed that the cherry shrimp I transferred over (perhaps 15 or so babies from the breeder net in my 55g) have been swimming around almost non-stop. Occasionally they'll land and walk around a bit, but for the most part it has been constant swarming, almost like aquatic bees. I hope the little buggers don't exhaust themselves to death. My assumption is that they're in an unfamiliar environment, the current is different (60ghp HOB, turned down by maybe 25-30%) etc. and they're just trying to establish equilibrium. What my concern is, is that the light is too intense for them. It is slightly brighter in appearance than the lighting above my 55g tank (130w cf light) and burns at 10000k rather than the 6700k on my main tank. Is this something which could be bothering them? And can I expect them to calm down in the next day or so? (transferred them at about 1am this morning)
Not that I intend to force an algae bloom, but as it will be a species only tank, the cherry shrimp might enjoy grazing on some nice algae lawns. As it is, I intend to grow some algae on some flat rocks and pop those in the tank every couple-few days. (assuming I can get algae to grow that fast anyway)