u/chronicallybri

I have a small but what was a thriving colony in a 0.5 gallon tank that still appears normal with pairs often mating, I have 4 pregnant females. They’re super active and show no signs of stress. I found one dead shrimp (juvenile) yesterday morning, and a a mature adult this morning. I now have a pregnant female at the bottom of the tank still kicking a bit, but doubtful she’s going to make it.

The only thing I can think of is accidentally over-feeding live phytoplankton two days ago.

Any advice on what could be happening or what to do would be greatly appreciated!! I’m new to the hobby but do a lot of research and I don’t know what is suddenly going wrong!

Tank info:
0.5 gallons
Salinity (tested with refractometer): 25ppt (I know this is low, I’ve been gradually increasing with instant ocean over weeks after I got a refractometer and realized this tank was extremely low even though they were doing fine then too!)
Water temperature: 75F (10W heater with thermostat)
Air stone runs intermittently for 8 every 6 hours plus an additional interval at night (even with multiple control valves and an air escape tube I can’t get a low enough stream to leave it on continuously)
Feed: live phytoplankton in small amounts every ~1-3 days

The only thing that has changed is extremely gradual salinity increase with daily increments. Please help!!

I’m starting my first bioactive terrarium that will eventually house a Carolina mantis. I have several plants I’ll be using and when I was treating my house plants with a mixture of water, natural neem oil, and dish soap and absentmindedly sprayed the calathea I was going to include in this enclosure. It is rooted in water right now and not soil, if that matters. I know neem isn’t safe to use since it is an insecticide (I do not have houseplants that I treat with neem anywhere near the terrarium).

Can I wash this plant enough to be able to use it in the terrarium safely, or is it a goner for that project? It’s not the end of the world as I’m happy to just plant it amount my houseplants but was excited about the size I found for my bioactive and would love to use it, but not if it poses any risks.

Again, the leaves were sprayed with this solution but it is rooted in water so it was not watered with the solution. If I wash it thoroughly a few times, could I use it? (Also posting in bioactive sub).

Thanks in advance!

I’m working on my first bioactive terrarium for a Carolina mantis that will be housed in a few months. I’m an avid plant and critter hobbiest but this will be my first mantis and first bioactive terrarium! I have extra birch logs from raising luna moths that I wanted to use for a tall vertical branch, but I’ve read it can get moldy easier than other branches. Is this true even if I bake it? I have springtails and live plants and a well draining substrate mix of coco coir, orchid bark, and sphagnum moss (could add perlite?) on top of a screen over clay pebbles.

I’m working on my first bioactive terrarium for a Carolina mantis that will be housed in a few months. I’m an avid plant and critter hobbiest but this is my first bioactive terrarium! I have extra birch logs from raising luna moths but I’ve read it can get moldy easier than other branches. Is this true even if I bake it? I have springtails and live plants and a well draining substrate mix of coco coir, orchid bark, and sphagnum moss (could add perlite?) on top of a screen over clay pebbles.

I have been keeping brine shrimp for about a month and now have 2 tanks- the original aqua dragons tank and a 0.5 gallon. I’m concerned about poor aeration in the original tank and have added an air stone based on my research, but despite buying the smallest stones and installing two control valves with one air escape tube and I still either get too heavy a stream or it just stops completely.

Does anyone have solutions to this or product suggestions? I know I can manually aerate the water with a pipette, but I prefer something more consistent and more frequent based on my research. My first colony matured and are still going and reproducing but they matured without reaching full size, and I think this may be due to poor aeration/oxygenation as I’m very cautious to not over feed. They will be being moved to an upgraded 0.5 gallon tank (I’ve adjusted for salinity and matched it to the original tank with a refractometer!)

TL;DR : struggling to install an air stone without blasting them with too strong a bubble stream and looking for suggestions

I’m a beginner keeping brine shrimp and am loving this new hobby! I’ve seen some of your amazing setups that have incredible thick and bushy algae growth on the bottom that looks beautiful. Do any of you buy anything to start with and build up algae before hatching eggs in the tank?

Or other tips for more (safe) algae growth for a fuller bottom of the tank? I have some but really love the aesthetic - I know water parameters are more important than aesthetic and too much algae can throw off the water, but I’ve seen some amazing tanks!

Any and all tips and photos are welcome!

I’ve recently joined the brine shrimp hobby and I’m truly obsessed with my little Shrimp Town that’s been going about a week and a half strong. I feel like they’re growing very slowly but maybe I’m just impatient. I’m cautious about not over feeding but could I be under-feeding? I’m trying to get more information on growing the proper amount of algae, and other ways to minimally decorate the tanks safely (I’m going to start another and then a third because I’m so enthralled!

I’ve found a lot of very mixed and contradictory information on the internet about the best care for them, so I would love to hear from successful keepers. I appreciate any beginner tips, advice, or ideas and love seeing your setups! Tell your shrimpers I love ‘em and happy shrimping! 🦐