10g setup

[Mulder]

I lost my last betta a few months ago. I was pretty busy with school, so after I removed her body, I just unplugged everything and left it. The java fern all died, but the valisneria survived just fine. I drained it and refilled it, then turned the filter back on, with a new pad. I planted a few clumps of Anacharis. After running for a few days, I started testing it. Ammonia and nitrites have been zero, nitrates have been running around 15ppm. I'm waiting on some star moss and a marimo ball.

Current inhabitants are a trio of ghost shrimp. I'd like to add a few nerite snails. AqAdvisor says they're compatible. I'm told the nerites won't breed in freshwater. I'm still trying to decide if I want any actual fish, or if I'm just going to go with an invert tank. I really haven't had much luck with fish.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Nerites should be fine. There are some neat colors / patterns available. They leave little white eggs around which stick to things like wood, rock, glass. They won't actually hatch though. Do a slower acclimation w/ snails (drip acclimation or add 1/4-1/2c water to the shipping water every few minutes to slowly adjust).

What fish have you tried aside from the betta? There are a lot of options that will stay smaller and be pretty neat in a species tank if you do decide to add fish again.

 

[Mulder]

I've tried danios, tetras, guppies, betta, and rasboras. The betta lasted the longest, from November to April. I'm not too keen on shipping when our weather is 55 one day and 88 the next. The only thing local I haven't tried are mollies and platies.

I've got the temp dialed in at 73F. GH is around 180ppm, KH is around 30, pH is about 7.2. I'm a little worried about carbonate hardness on the formation of shells, but my pH seems to be in range for nerites and shrimp.

Will the shrimp eat the nerite eggs? Or will I have to be cleaning them up before they die and decompose? I'm fine with the shrimp eating them. I'd just like to know ahead of time if leaving them is a problem and I start freaking out about water quality.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I don't think they affect water quality. But they do leave little white dots on stuff like the front glass & driftwood (if you have any) which are mildly difficult to remove. Looks like sesame seeds.