Mini aquarium - an Alternative for the Sill

Mini aquariums are very popular particularly since the discovery of the dwarf shrimp. Usually nanocubes from reputable manufacturers are recognized. These tanks have 10-30 up to 60 liters water contents. They are often equipped with a small internal filter, heater and a small light. They are working very well if the stocking is limited to a couple of shrimps, snails and a few small fish. Because of their fancy design, they are often used as a desk or shelf basin.

But also such a nanocube with 30 liters including technical equipment costs about 100 €.

Therefore I want to present an alternative that has been proven to be extremely simple and easy to maintain. Moreover, the costs are very low and the basin is very attractive due to the light green plants in contrast to the red shrimps.

As container I am using a large glass vase with about 20 liters, currently available for low costs in many furniture stores. I wanted to dispense technic equipement completely thus fish are not suitable for such a small tank.

The stocking should consist of Red Fire Shrimp (Neocaridina heteropoda var red) and a few bladder snails (Physidae).

Shrimps and snails are particularly well suited for such a small aquarium, because they feed on algae and the small volume of water will thus not be polluted with fish food. Because of the low degree of water pollution and due to the fact that the animals can be kept at room temperature, heating and filters can be dispensed.

I have furnished the tank with a soil of dried beech leaves and a very easy to be cultivated and beautiful water plant, the Common Water Nymph (Najas guadalupensis). The leaves provide the food source for the shrimp, in addition to developing algae. The plants can easily be put into the pool and need not be planted. An additional fertilization was not necessary until now. Even a low light intensity leads to an oxygen saturation of the water, so that no pumps or sparkling stones are used for enrichment.

So far, only the regular replenishment of evaporated water, an occasional water change weekly and a reduction in the quantity of plants were required for maintanance. The chalky deposit caused by water evaporation can be cleaned easily using a vinegar soaked cloth.

Although the basin is placed at a south window, I couldn't see any algae development until now. The shrimp, snails, and certainly the well-growing plants keep the basin completely clean.

The numerous incidence of young shrimp indicates that such a mini aquarium is working very well without technical equipment.

Such a mini tank is also a good alternative for non aquarium hobbyists that are interested in nature and spare the expense of an of-the-shelf aquarium.