New fish bowl project for shrimp (maybe betta)

Do you think the water you add to the bowl is about the same temp as the bowl water? Keep an eye on the snails because you know what can happen when you have a few of them. Do you feed your shrimp?

 

Do you think the water you add to the bowl is about the same temp as the bowl water? Keep an eye on the snails because you know what can happen when you have a few of them. Do you feed your shrimp?

It's tough for me to get the exact temp of the water exactly right but I try my best and pour very slowly or add hot/cold water if I feel the temp difference is way off before I pour. And if the snails get out of hand I'll remove them (I've done this with my sister's tanks and while annoyingly tedious, I do eventually get them all). They shouldn't multiply like mad unless there's too much food in there.

And no, I don't feed the shrimp. I was initially with a couple fish flakes since the tank was brand new, but as the white fluff is appearing I'm letting them do their thing and don't plan on feeding them since they should get all they need from cleaning for the moment.

I attempted some fish flakes for the rasboras but they're still spooked by me (except one of them) and while I've seen one or two find the fallen flakes I'm going to try frozen brine shrimp and see if they like that better. Just have to limit how much so I'm not overfeeding and causing more troubles (snails multiplying or levels spiking).

 

Lost a blue shrimp today, but he was found in a spot right where I add the water, so that was my fault. Tested with liquid test today and got the following. 0.25 ammonia (mind you, my tap has 0.25 ammonia and I've got false readings on my other tanks), 1 nitrite, and 10 nitrate. I did a water change and scooped out any biofilm on the surface, left over flakes, and two shrimp moltings I spotted. Everyone else is fine though. Fish are all active, other shrimp are okay. Added Prime and Stability and am now debating on whether the smallest filter I can find might be worth investing in until the bowl can handle itself. I'm holding off until the rotala gets here though, hoping the mature stem plants can help remove excess nitrite. I did add a smidge of Leaf Zone for that one floating plant with the yellow leaf as well. Will probably feed every other day too, with less flakes until I get the brine shrimp.

Strip test after water change shows nitrite dropped below 0.5 at least. Amazing how drastic the levels change in a bowl this size with just a water change. And how crazy they can rise again overnight.

 

FYI MD’s bowl in that video seemed more like a 10 gal bowl imo. I would keep a close eye on the params until you can confirm that it is cycled. You probably should not have added fish in the bowl if you don’t have a filter, because even the small ones will build up waste in a tank that size with no filter. Anyways, good luck, ill be keeping an eye on this page to see your updates

 

FYI MD’s bowl in that video seemed more like a 10 gal bowl imo. I would keep a close eye on the params until you can confirm that it is cycled. You probably should not have added fish in the bowl if you don’t have a filter, because even the small ones will build up waste in a tank that size with no filter. Anyways, good luck, ill be keeping an eye on this page to see your updates

He's done smaller bowls (no fish with shrimp and at least one with rice fish) but I think I added a bit too much substrate in this one so there's less water space than I expected. I need to do better matching the water temps for sure though.

But just having Nitrate with little to no ammonia is a good sign to me for a tank that is brand new (wish my 10 gallon had been this quick to show cycling signs) so it's just making sure I get the waste on the bottom with a turkey baster and keep doing daily changes until it's figured itself out.

 

He's done smaller bowls (no fish with shrimp and at least one with rice fish)

Oh i missed those ill have to check them out.

But just having Nitrate with little to no ammonia is a good sign to me for a tank that is brand new

Yeah that is a good sign. It may not be worth it now, but when i setup a new tank, I take some filter media from an established tank and swish it around to seed that BB. I don’t necessarily recommend that in a filter less build, but if you have bioballs or something that comes after a foam insert in a filter I would recommend seeding with that.

Anyways I think the bowl looks beautiful and I am excited to see how it turns out. Keep us updated.

 

These fish are gonna be the death of me. I wake up every morning expecting them to all just be dead with the nitrite spikes. Then, I go and do a water change and see like... 2 of the 7 left. Turn on a flashlight and peek as best I can around the bowl for dead ones and see nothing. Then finish filling up the bowl and poof! They're all out. There is somehow enough nooks and crannies in this bowl to hide them all or something. Scare me every time.

 

That’s the sad thing about having small fish, I guess.

 

So! Tank is doing surprisingly well. I was worried I might have to get a nano internal filter because or the biofilm on top and the daily water tests showing nitrite between 1-2 overnight. It's figured itself out now though, I think. Biofilm is less and less everyday and the test today showed only 0.25 nitrite! Ammonia is 0 still and nitrate dropped to just below 5, but I'd not added any liquid fert for the plants in a while. I added some with today's water change to bounce that back up but with the nitrite level having been the lowest it's been in a long time, I'm pleased it's working without a filter!

I've seen plant growth too! The rotala I added recently is growing new leaves and the dwarf hairgrass is staying bright and green without any melt or browning, though I should probably trim it to encourage it to grow runners and not just keep shooting straight upward.

Fish are doing good too! I've still got 7 (though I'd only ever seen 6 for the longest time, but they're shy and hide from movement/people) and the boys are still bickering with each other and flirting with the females. I got frozen brine shrimp I'll be feeding them with instead of the flakes as they weren't super eager to find those and eat them. And I've only lost a few shrimp since then (one was my fault as he got too close to the turkey baster when I was spot cleaning and I didn't see him until it was too late) and still only have 2 snails.

 

That sounds great. Its so nice to see new leaves on your new plants, knowing that they're not dying. I think the plants would be okay if you wouldn't add any liquid ferts.

 

That sounds great. Its so nice to see new leaves on your new plants, knowing that they're not dying. I think the plants would be okay if you wouldn't add any liquid ferts.

I thought that too, but i don't wanna take chances. I'd like at least 5 nitrate and I don't plan on dosing a lot or very often. this is the first time I've dosed it in at least a week or more. I just figure with the floating plants I added and the fast-growing rotala taking up all the nutrients I might as well add a smidge today and see how things go.

And I love new leaves. As someone who's struggled with my planted tanks actually growing, new leaves get me excited, lol. I've pointed them out to my sister before who looks at me like I'm crazy but can't help it. I got a stem plant package recently to help combat some algae in my other tank (which isn't planted enough) and they're growing already too! makes me super excited when things are just going well.

 

I thought that too, but i don't wanna take chances. I'd like at least 5 nitrate and I don't plan on dosing a lot or very often. this is the first time I've dosed it in at least a week or more. I just figure with the floating plants I added and the fast-growing rotala taking up all the nutrients I might as well add a smidge today and see how things go.

And I love new leaves. As someone who's struggled with my planted tanks actually growing, new leaves get me excited, lol. I've pointed them out to my sister before who looks at me like I'm crazy but can't help it. I got a stem plant package recently to help combat some algae in my other tank (which isn't planted enough) and they're growing already too! makes me super excited when things are just going well.

New leaves are the best!

 

I thought that too, but i don't wanna take chances. I'd like at least 5 nitrate and I don't plan on dosing a lot or very often. this is the first time I've dosed it in at least a week or more. I just figure with the floating plants I added and the fast-growing rotala taking up all the nutrients I might as well add a smidge today and see how things go.

And I love new leaves. As someone who's struggled with my planted tanks actually growing, new leaves get me excited, lol. I've pointed them out to my sister before who looks at me like I'm crazy but can't help it. I got a stem plant package recently to help combat some algae in my other tank (which isn't planted enough) and they're growing already too! makes me super excited when things are just going well.

Yep. The moment you realize you don't suck at keeping plants. Its the best

 

Yep. The moment you realize you don't suck at keeping plants. Its the best

Oh yeah. Now, if only I had the funds to make all my tanks this heavily planted, lol. It would make things a lot easier but man. Those plants really punch a hole in your wallet. I spent probably about $75-100 on this bowl alone, just on plants.

 

It’s pretty sad how this hobby is so expensive. I think that’s why a lot of people end up as fish abusers
Putting bettas in tiny bowls, expecting the Fish to live a long life

 

So! Tank is doing surprisingly well. I was worried I might have to get a nano internal filter because or the biofilm on top and the daily water tests showing nitrite between 1-2 overnight. It's figured itself out now though, I think. Biofilm is less and less everyday and the test today showed only 0.25 nitrite! Ammonia is 0 still and nitrate dropped to just below 5, but I'd not added any liquid fert for the plants in a while. I added some with today's water change to bounce that back up but with the nitrite level having been the lowest it's been in a long time, I'm pleased it's working without a filter!

I've seen plant growth too! The rotala I added recently is growing new leaves and the dwarf hairgrass is staying bright and green without any melt or browning, though I should probably trim it to encourage it to grow runners and not just keep shooting straight upward.

Fish are doing good too! I've still got 7 (though I'd only ever seen 6 for the longest time, but they're shy and hide from movement/people) and the boys are still bickering with each other and flirting with the females. I got frozen brine shrimp I'll be feeding them with instead of the flakes as they weren't super eager to find those and eat them. And I've only lost a few shrimp since then (one was my fault as he got too close to the turkey baster when I was spot cleaning and I didn't see him until it was too late) and still only have 2 snails.

NICE! Really happy to hear that.
In fact, you’ve inspired me to try my own ecosystem build!
What bowl did you end up using?

 

NICE! Really happy to hear that.
In fact, you’ve inspired me to try my own ecosystem build!
What bowl did you end up using?

It's a bowl I found through Hobby Lobby. It's a 12" Bubble Ball according to their website. Just know you're gonna need a lot of plants if you want it running itself! Check out MD FishTanks on YouTube as he inspired me to do it with his ecosystem bowl. I just adjusted the types of plants based on what I could get locally, but it's the same general type of plants. (Example: he used pearlweed, I used dwarf hairgrass. He used Staurogyne repens and I used Alternanthera reineckii. His plants were all green and I went for some color.) I used his substrate layering system too with gravel on the bottom, then aquasoil, then capped with sand.

 

Welp, starting the see the first signs of trouble in the fish bowl. The reineckii is dying on both sides though I will admit, it wasn’t exactly a great quality plant when I got it. It just melts away to mush though. The floating plants are surviving but I’ve had to remove some smaller bunches of browning leaves.

The Java ferns are sprouting little ones on their tips and the rotala has gotten new leaves (though they’re green and not orange but I don’t mind. Growth is growth). The dwarf hair grass could be doing better but I’m seeing bright green on that too mixed in with brown. Moss was half dead when I got it and it’s a mix of half dead half alive now. The buce and anubias are doing okay but no growth with them.

Other problem is I’m still getting readings during my water tests. I did a test today and got 0.25 ammonia (tap has 0.25 so I’m not overly concerned by that), 0.25 nitrite, and <5 nitrate. I’m again wondering if there’s enough plants in here to help it and might get more fast growing stem plants and maybe pearl weed to replace the dying reineckii.

Fish are doing fine though. Still have the 7 little guys who are “the humming birds” of the fish world according to my sister. They flutter around and any signs of movement has them hiding in a second. I’m feeding frozen mysis shrimp every other day, though the 6-7 shrimp in the tank get to it first. Keeping up with the daily water changes though, and using a turkey baster to get all those tiny little shrimp poos picked up. The messy boys. Was looking at sponge filters though and wondering if it’s be worth it to get something in the bowl to deal with the nitrite… thoughts? Should I add more plants first and see how it goes? Maybe change what I’m dosing for the plants (I’ve done leaf zone before with no signs of helping and thrive c)?

 

I don't know if there's enough space in the bowl for a sponge filter but if there is, I would go for it. Buying new plants just to see how they die back is a waste of money. I would buy the sponge filter and maybe remove it after a while. Does your sister call them hummingbirds because they move so quickly? Imagine fish having something like a toilet. It would make maintenance sessions so much easier

 

I don't know if there's enough space in the bowl for a sponge filter but if there is, I would go for it. Buying new plants just to see how they die back is a waste of money. I would buy the sponge filter and maybe remove it after a while. Does your sister call them hummingbirds because they move so quickly? Imagine fish having something like a toilet. It would make maintenance sessions so much easier

She calls them hummingbirds because they don't stay still for long and do quick movements with their fins a lot. And the smallest sponge filter I can find online is about an inch and a half. Lost the last blue shrimp today too, but his casing was light and he didn't look like he'd been dead long. I'm assuming he got stuck in his shed or something. The rotala is looking iffy as well. One got plucked up and the bottom half is dark green like it's dying but the top half is fine. I put it back in but my goodness. This bowl is proving difficult.

 

Would the filter be too big? I know what it feels like to make something that looks awesome, but ends up being a lot of work

 

Would the filter be too big? I know what it feels like to make something that looks awesome, but ends up being a lot of work

I should be able to put it in the back, though I also saw one that was a little stick-on one? The only poor reviews it got was that the bubbles it blew out were rather large.
sponge filter
stick on sponge filter

 

I feel like putting the stick-on one would be hard to actually stick on

 

I feel like putting the stick-on one would be hard to actually stick on

Yeah, that's what I figured. I went ahead and got the sponge filter and a little USB air pump for it. Hopefully, this is will help.

 

I don’t know why it wouldn’t help

 

I don’t know why it wouldn’t help

True. I tried the air pump on its own with the air stone it came with and man! It’s pretty strong for a usb pump. I might have to fiddle with the sponge filter when it shows up so the water movement isn’t too crazy. Still got 6 shrimp though and all 7 fish. Daily water changes have gotten mildly annoying but if I feel this bowl isn’t working well I’ll transfer the fish and shrimp to my 10 gallon (shrimp back to their 15 gallon) and just use the bowl as plant storage until I can get it fixed parameter wise. The rasboras are a bit bigger now so I don’t feel as worried about them getting eaten by the swordtail. More worried about the guppies in that 10 gallon harassing them.

I’m going on a trip in June and will be gone for a month so I want it set up before then because my sister will be taking over everything while I’m gone. So if it’s not good by then, then I will transfer the fish and shrimp to save her from daily water changes and potentially killing fish.

 

I don't think you will have to do daily water changes in a few months

 

Sponge filter arrived today and is in the tank. Had to remove all reinickii as it was dead and all rotala as it was dying from the base up. Moved the rotala to my 10 gallon but I'm definitely suspecting a lack of nutrients in the water. Maybe from all the water changes? Nitrates have been bare minimum and despite adding liquid fert on top of the stratum under the sand, I cant seem to keep the plants alive. The java ferns, buce, and the anubias are the only things really okay. Dwarf hairgrass is a mix of green and melting. Even the moss is kinda bleh.

So, I'm wondering if root-feeders would be better? Nothing huge like swords but... something? Either that or I get a bunch more java fern to just float around in there.

 

Do you have any floating plants in there? Because I would remove those since they might remove too much nutrients that the other plants need. How often do you add any liquid ferts?

 

Do you have any floating plants in there? Because I would remove those since they might remove too much nutrients that the other plants need. How often do you add any liquid ferts?

I added floating plants but they're not doing great either. will probably move them to another tank too. I add ferts daily because of my daily water changes. I've done API leaf zone and thrive C just to see if there's any difference for this tank using one or the other.
Just got crypt lutea to try out in the background. Broke my tweezers today anyway (they were cheap and already falling apart but finally broke) and place I ordered them from had a minimum so got the crypt. I can move it too, if it doesn't work, but it should once the roots grow into the stratum.

 

I'm pretty sure it’ll do well

 

Random question; is this a 12" bubble bowl from Hobby Lobby? I had one awhile back for a betta. It was nice but I urge you not to use this for fish. In my experience, bowls are fine but they provide less space than typical tanks. My minimum for 1 betta is a 15G (12×24×12) but I'm upgrading to a 20 Long (12×30×12). Plus, not sure how true this is but apparently curved tanks confuse fish and somehow harm their vision...maybe?

It's awesome to see MD getting love. I found his channel 3 yrs ago when he only had 1000 subs or so. I was one of the first subs and supporters - it's funny how fast his channel grew.

Your bowl is looking good, great updates. I think it's a nice scape with a good selection of plants although I like a larger variety in heavily-planted tanks. How's it going btw?

 

Random question; is this a 12" bubble bowl from Hobby Lobby? I had one awhile back for a betta. It was nice but I urge you not to use this for fish. In my experience, bowls are fine but they provide less space than typical tanks. My minimum for 1 betta is a 15G (12×24×12) but I'm upgrading to a 20 Long (12×30×12). Plus, not sure how true this is but apparently curved tanks confuse fish and somehow harm their vision...maybe?

It's awesome to see MD getting love. I found his channel 3 yrs ago when he only had 1000 subs or so. I was one of the first subs and supporters - it's funny how fast his channel grew.

Your bowl is looking good, great updates. I think it's a nice scape with a good selection of plants although I like a larger variety in heavily-planted tanks. How's it going btw?

It is the very same 12" from Hobby Lobby. I was originally going to do it with just a handful of cherry shrimp and a lazy betta but used too much base substrate and chose nano fish instead.

The fish I have in it are as small as I can get. It's some young emerald dwarf rasboras (get 3/4th of an inch big max and I think only 1 is that big now. rest are about 1/2). I've got 7 in there (had 8 but one died after the first day or two) all seem fine other than shyness. I'm not seeing any vision issues. If anything their eyesight is super good. They know exactly what side of the bowl someone is on and swim to the opposite side, though I've considered blocking out part of the tank for them to have more space to hide (they like the center piece and hide under the rocks and wood). Might paint half of it black later. The males like to bicker with each other but that's typical of them.

6 shrimp are left from the original 8-10 (didn't count before I put them in as I have an abundance of cherry shrimp) and the ones that died were seemingly because of them being at the wrong place wrong time (ie. in front of my turkey baster while cleaning a crevice and/or under the new water and/or molting issues).

The plants... could be doing better. I don't think there are enough nutrients in the water. My java ferns, anubias, and buce are doing perfectly fine (seeing some baby java ferns on the tips of leaves and possibly new lighter green buce). The moss I got was already 1/2 dead and hasn't bounced back so it might need removing. The reinickii melted off and was removed today. The orange rotala was rotting from the base on up so I moved it to my 10 gallon today where the water has more nutrients to try and save them. The dwarf hairgrass is half green half melted. Floating plants were also moved to try and keep some nutrients in.

Not sure what exactly is going on with the plants. I have a good inch of sand, 0.5-1 inch of stratum, then gravel on the bottom 1-1.5 inch like MD does (though could've gone with less gravel but it was too late by the time I noticed. All three layers are separated by plastic mesh (used for yarn stuff usually) with gaps big enough for any roots. So, my guess is the water. Given water changes are daily, I'm wondering if I'm not adding enough liquid fert when I do them or if there's not enough plants or what.

Oh, and I added a mini sponge filter today. Ammonia has been a steady 0-0.25 (tap has 0.25 so that's not a worry to me), but nitrite bounces between 0.25 and 1 and I figured some filtration is better than nothing until it's properly cycled. Nitrate went from about 5 to possibly 0.25 or 0, which is why I'm concerned there's not enough plant nutrients.

Worse comes to worse, I'll put the shrimp back in their old 15 gallon (with the 50 other cherry shrimp in there, my goodness) and now that the rasboras are bigger, I can put them in my 10 gallon if needed and use the bowl for plant storage until it's figured out. I'll keep trying to get it going until it's close to my trip in June, when my sister will take over for a month. She's a non-fish keeper and I don't want her overwhelmed with daily water changes.

Fish aren't stressed out though (I would've moved them by now if I felt they weren't comfortable) and have brightened their colors since I got them. Love their little red cheeks and blue/white stripes. Just wish the tank was a little easier than it has been. Sister keeps joking that this was supposed to be the "easy" tank.

 

It's awesome to see MD getting love. I found his channel 3 yrs ago when he only had 1000 subs or so. I was one of the first subs and supporters - it's funny how fast his channel grew.

Thats so sick. I think we all appreciate MD. I even got a discus hoodie from his perch store for Christmas

 

Thats so sick. I think we all appreciate MD. I even got a discus hoodie from his perch store for Christmas

I just got a Thicc Cory tank top too! I just found him recently. He popped up in my recommended YouTube selections after a bit of fish video searching. Haven’t stopped watching him since then!

 

Thats how I felt when I first found him.

 

So, I tested today with the water change and ammonia was still about 0.25 but nitrite spiked up to about 1ppm again. Mildly frustrating. However, all fish are fine, all shrimp are fine. I'm going to cut back feeding to once every 3 days and see if that helps. The shrimp tend to eat most of the food half the time anyway so I have been overfeeding a tad just to make sure fish get something.

They've gotten used to the sponge filter, which is nice. It is a USB filter so I have had it turned off at night because I turn off my computer at night... might need to see about keeping it running at night if the nitrite is going to continue to spike like this.

However! I've seen growth! I've been using Thrive + this time to see if it helps better than the others I've tried (Leaf Zone and Thrive C) and I'm seeing new growth on the buce, larger baby ferns on the tip of the Java Fern, a bit more green on the dwarf hair grass and possibly a new leaf on the larger anubias. Moss is dead though. I plan on removing it once I get my new tweezer in. It's just collecting shrimp poo anyway. Love watching the little dances the fish do though when the boys are flaring off at each other. It's a speedy little spinning thing while showing off their colors and stripes to the other. The two biggest are the ones doing it mainly so I know it's just a boy thing and not something more stressful.

Might look into adding more plants though, once I get the crypt in. Something to replace the moss and reinickii and I have an abundance of dwarf sag in another tank that might work better than the half-dead, half-living dwarf hairgrass. Should I go with more java ferns? Maybe some Hydrocotyle tripartite from another tank? Fresh moss might be best too, so I'll have to see about getting some of that instead of this dead stuff I've had that was in a baggy. Something less cheap and more taken care of, anyway. Thoughts?

 

Yeah, that moss looks pretty bad. Its great that the new liquid ferts work. New growth is the best . If you add more moss, then I would go with tropica moss. Their plants are always healthy. I wouldn't add any more ferns. I think that the moss looks better in these spots

 

Yeah, that moss looks pretty bad. Its great that the new liquid ferts work. New growth is the best . If you add more moss, then I would go with tropica moss. Their plants are always healthy. I wouldn't add any more ferns. I think that the moss looks better in these spots

Trying to get tropica is surprisingly tough for me. It's more European and Canada based it looks like so trying to find a supplier here in the US is tougher. I got some phoenix moss from someone on etsy and it looks great in my betta tank. Might get some of that and see how it goes. I'm not surprised half the plants aren't doing great. Got them from a Petco where they weren't in the best shape to begin with.

The java ferns I got were a lucky catch. I was going to get the usual tubes of them but saw they had a lovely set of two grown-out ones on a coco mat in a fishtank for cheaper than what it'd cost for two tubes. Grown underwater already and much fuller than the tubes. The reinickii, moss, and dwarf hairgrass weren't in the best shape (as good as they can get in the little cups of gel, except the moss which was in a baggy) so them dying off isn't a surprise. Even the anubais I got was put in a betta cup with water and doing well.

So, I'm going to order the phoenix moss, maybe pick up some other java ferns and see what else I can look at that'll work in this tank. It could be all java ferns and I wouldn't mind at this point, lol

 

Its your decision. You're the one who looks at it every day