Ghost Shrimp & Snails in 2 Gallon?

JinxXx0085

JinxXx0085

AC Members
Jun 12, 2005
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Montana
:fairy:
Hey guys, I have a 2 gallon tank that I would like to use to have for ghost shrimp and snails in it. How many can I have in there and how often will I need to change the water? Every week or 3 days? I had a great site that tells me all about the tank sizes and how often you would have to change water and etc, I lost that site :sad: :sad:
Any help would be great. :joe:
 
I dont think either are very picky about water quality. My LFS has 2 tanks packed with ghost shrimp, and the tanks look pretty dirty, and there appears to be a relatively low number of dead shrimp. That could be because i doubt they feed them (being labeled as a feeder shrimp) they immediately begin eating the deceased but ive had good luck with ones i bought.
There is also debate on the bio load of shrimp and snails but is usually considered to be fairly low. I would say only get a few of each and just do water changes to suit your taste (how clean do you want it to look.)
 
:thm: Thanks, it sounds good. I only wondered if 2 gal will need to be cycled? Or don't have to be bothered with it? I don't want to have filters, or anything else in it besides ghost shrimp and snails.
If that tank is not going to be cycled, it would mean I have to do water changes.... how often? Thats my "problem". :confused:
 
the tank will cycle, to some degree, whether you do anything or not.
also, you will have to do water changes no matter what. 'specially without a filter...
When you add the animals to the tank, thet will start adding ammonia to the tank. also feeding them will add ammonia. I don't know how often you would need to change the water in order to keep the ammonia below toxic levels. it depends on how many shrimp/snails you have and how much you feed them...
the thing is, eventually, enough bacteria will develop in the tank to turn at least some of the ammonia into nitrite. you need to remove that too. AFTER a while, bacteria will develop to turn the nitrite, (or at least some of it) into nitrate.
even after that happens, you will still need to do regular water changes, but MAYBE less frequently.
see what I mean? even with out a filter, it will cycle Somewhat. But the only way you'd know how much would be to test the water.
I really don't know how hardy different types of snails are, or ghost shrimp. But I wouldnt go by how they are kept at the pet store. they are only intended to be there for a short while.
 
oh i wasnt saying that water changes were unnecessary by any means, i guessed i missed the part about no filter.
 
:hang: Umm... Ok, I guess its something I'll have to figure out. Maybe I'll have to cycle it after all somehow. Maybe I can just add the gravel to 2 gal from my 29 gal. I suppose that it should have enough bacteria on it to support minimal number of shrimps and snails. Will those bacteria have enough oxygen? Or will a bubbler be necessary?
I guess I'll figure out how often I will need to do water changes by monitoring the water parameters. I'll do biweekly to start off with. :dog:
Thanks for your responses so far. I've never kept tank this small before besides 10g and 29g now. :shark:
~Jenn~
 
It sounds like the water quality is not terrribly important, but I wonder since it is such a small tank with such a small load, maybe you could just use some gravel from another tank to get some bacteria going
 
jinxx, you beat me ;)
 
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