Little Blue Laboratory

Freshwater aquarium with white sand, two shipwreck decorations, aquatic plants, and hanging roots from floating plants

It started with these guys I was provided a 5.5 gallon tank by a friend. I wanted to fill it with these guys for a practice run.

Close-up of a glossy dark blue freshwater shrimp on a green textured surface

The beginning of the final setup It's a good thing I decided to do a practice run with no fish, because I had to start over and this is the result. I will later double the amount of plants.

Dark blue and black freshwater shrimp crawling over pinkish-white sand

Some of these guys even survived the transition! Not many of them, but I still see them at the bottom of the tank occasionally.

Bright blue bolt shrimp perched on a pinkish-purple block

Shrimp on a rock When it was only the shrimp in the tank they grew very bold.

Snail with a conical shell fading from cream to reddish-brown climbing the glass

Shrimp on another rock They seemed to like to look out over their domain.

Striped brown snail perched on the pointed tip of a branch decoration

An uninvited guest I never intentionally introduced snails. They likely were hitchhikers aboard the live plants, even though I washed them before planting.

Brown snail and blue-grey shrimp beneath the hanging roots of floating plants

Shrimp on an adventure They both explored every inch of the tank

Small dark shrimp perched on a thin wooden stick with food clumps attached below it

Snail on an adventure They both explored every inch of the tank

Dark blue and black shrimp with faint white speckles perched on driftwood

Shrimp and Snail on an adventure together! And I mean, every inch.

Aquarium scene with a large brown decoration, bubbly plant leaves, and small fish near the sandy bottom

Shrimp with eggs! One of the shrimp came bearing eggs from the store! They seemed to be pretty new because they took forever to hatch!

Translucent greyish-green shrimp with golden-yellow eyes on a white circular surface

Snail with eggs... She wasn't the only one with eggs either.

Small dark grey shrimp clinging to a transparent surface with long thin antennae

Baby Shrimp! I caught a baby photo of one of the baby shrimp shortly after hatching! They really are just fully formed mini shrimp.

Pale catfish and a dark blue shrimp on a piece of wood scattered with food pellets

Baby Snail... Despite removing snail eggs whenever I could find them, I could not stop them all.

Translucent blue and white spotted shrimp walking across white gravel near colorful rocks

Mama shrimp after ditching her eggs I saw her like this before I even realized that they had hatched and wondered what had happened to them. Pretty obvious after I spotted the tiny babies.

Freshwater aquarium with white sand, shipwreck decorations, plants, and hanging roots from floating vegetation

Baby shrimps growing fast! Baby shrimps exploring their new world.

Close-up of a glossy dark blue shrimp on a green textured surface

Baby shrimps growing really fast! Here is mama and a large baby feasting on some protein supplements

Dark blue and black shrimp on pinkish-white sand with a blurry green leaf at the edge

Shrimp and catfish hanging out on the deck! The algae was a big problem during the first tank. So this time around I introduced some catfish to help keep it under control.

Dark blue and black shrimp with long antennae on pinkish-white sand

More snail eggs The snail problem was growing out of control. I could not keep up. The first generation of juvenile snails were now beginning to lay eggs of their own. I needed a solution.

Brown snail and blue-grey shrimp under the roots of hanging aquatic plants

A deadly and fearsome predator approaches I finally added the centerpiece of this little garden. This betta fish will eat all of the baby snails and their eggs. And he will look great doing it.

Aquarium with a brown blocky decoration, long plant leaves, bubbles, and small fish near the bottom

Barry the Betta fish This terror hunted down and destroyed every other inhabitant of the tank that he could catch. Luckily those flashy fins make him very slow. So pretty much only the snails were in danger. Sometimes the shrimp if they are vulnerable during a molting.

Translucent greyish-green shrimp with yellow internal markings and golden eyes

Barry the Betta fish He will be feared throughout the realm

Freshwater aquarium with white sand, colorful gravel, shipwreck decorations, and hanging roots

Barry the Betta fish Nothing can escape his notice. Nofishy can rest. He will find them. The other inhabitants have gotten very good at hiding and holding very still. It is rare to even see them anymore.

Dark blue speckled shrimp perched on driftwood against a soft pink background

Barry the Betta fish He will find them and in the darkness, devour them.

Dark brown striped snail perched on the tip of a branch inside the aquarium

He had friends once... So he killed them. He will find them and under the light, devour them.

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All roads lead to Lead... radiologically speaking. -Leadneck