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Nice! Is that sakura grade?
Seriously, I did not expect this.
I have countless shrimp keeping failure in the past and recently as well (you may check the links below).
My last project (small) was to build a Iwaguni (alike) tank and became this.
In this Iwaguni tank setup, I introduced Cherry Shrimps as part of the algae cleaning crew.
On the 60th day or so, it turned out to be a breeding tank for my cherry shrimps.
I am sharing my experience here not to be boastful but rather to share my past failures and how it came out well now.
I know how it felt when you have no idea why Cherry Shrimps is known to be the easiest shrimp to breed and yet it is so
challenging for you.
You may check the old thread below and see what I have done earlier and what could have gone wrong.
You may review what I have in my current setup and what correction measure you may take.
However, I have no idea what exactly have I done right.
It is sheer coincidence that this batch of shrimps just breed.
Please don't get me wrong that this should be the ideal setup for breeding cherry shrimps.
I am just sharing my failure as well as the good news.
So here's my current setup:
Tank - 14 litre
Substrate - ADA Amazonia soil (not powdered)
Rocks - no idea what kind of rocks
Plants - Marsilea Hirsuta (plus 2 marimo balls - I added it in after seeing berried shrimps - for shrimplets to feed on)
Floating plants - used to be Salvania Natan. All melted somehow. I bought a new bag of floating plants, no idea on the
species.
Filter - Hang of Canister Filter
Light - T5 super bright 16w * 2
CO2 - ISTA disposable can
Fan - on 24*7 (thanks to Dylan's suggestion)
Temperature - around 28 degree
Test kit - yes, I am monitoring the GH, KH, NO2, NH3 and TDS. In the past I did not do any water test.
Shrimps:
A bag of 50 cherry shrimps (lowest grade - meaning you get those wild species as well)
(I am using the drip method to acclimitzed the shrimps slowly)
Daily Routine:
Feed algae wafer (about 5 cents coin) 1 time each day.
Daily - Top up water with tap water (with prime - aged for a couple of days)
Inject CO2 manually. I am using those disposable type and I have no idea how much was injected. But it is within low
level because the CO2 checker is always blue.
Lighting on for 4-5 hours (sometimes 1 tube, if I came home late, I will on 2 tubes)
Weekly Routine:
Weekly - WC 1.5L of water with distilled water
Lighting on for 7-8 hours.
[Water top-up and wc are done using the drip barrel method. Thanks to UA suggestion]
Why it turned out well?
Is it because it is the lowest grade cherries and hence hardiest?
Is it because of the substrate?
Is it because of the temparature?
I really don't know.
But I can see the benefit of keeping the tank simple, less DIY, less additional stuff.
Good filter? maybe? I am not sure on this because my previous attempts had too many complications.
Personally I felt having a large population of shrimps is also useful.
How big is the population to overload the tank? I don't know. I am monitoring the ammonia and it is still at 0.
Firstly, you do not need to count the shrimps after coming back from home because it is impossible to count now. Yes, I
used to be one of those who will count the number of shrimps every day. This puts your mind to ease somehow, that your
shrimps are not dying without counting.
Secondly, you can feed more now (although I am still restricting). Dropping the algae wafer and you will see all the
shrimps fighting for it. Not fast, but it will be cleared within 3-4 hours. At least I do not need to worry about left
over when I have 10 shrimps or less.
Thirdly, you have a good mix of both sexes. I mean really good mix. Now I begin to wonder if I used to have a single
gender in the past. Having a bag of 50 will guarentee you a few male/female at least. It comes with tiny shrimplets too.
In my bag of 50, I actualyl scooped up 64 shrimps + shrimplets.
I still see 1 dead shrimp every other few days. I am not sure why. But it did not bother me that much because I can still
so many around.
Does this make me a successful breeder?
No. I am not into breeding neither did I claim to be successful.
I am hoping my shrimps can breed one day and it just happened.
Today was my first batch of shrimplets and hence this post.
In fact it was yesterday or the day before.
I told myself few days ago that my happiness of seeing 3 berried shrimps was short-lived because one of the berried shrimps
did not hold the eggs anymore. I searched high and low and did not see any shrimplets. So I thought, ok, it must have
dropped the eggs.
Couple of days later, which is today, I saw these tiny shrimplets all over the glass wall. The other 2 berried shrimps
still have their eggs intact. So these must be the offsprings of the mummy which I thought it has lost its eggs.
Another lesson learnt is that it will take 2-3 days for the shrimplets to be seen if the mummy has given birth.
Maybe all the shrimps will died in a couple of months. *fingers crossed*
I will keep my routine going and see how long this batch will last.
Finally, as a note to those who are trying, please don't give up folks.
I failed many times, without knowing why.
I have this pleasant surprise which i don't know why either.
Just keep trying and things will work out someday, somehow.
Here's the pics of my setup:
Day 4:
Day 60 (today):
Shrimplet:
Berried Shrimp:
and here's the past threads:
The Iwaguni tank that turned into shrimp breeding tank:
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...Tank?highlight=
Latest Shrimp Tank failure:
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...tank?highlight=
Started in 2012 but it was short-lived. I gave up after 6months.
Shrimp soil with java moss, sponge filter
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...cess?highlight=
bare bottom setup
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...kind?highlight=
crazy water bridge to connect 2 tanks
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...idge?highlight=
from 14L to 8L tank.
Nice! Is that sakura grade?
I guess if you have been using and transferring the same filter bio-media and perhaps the same soil over the span of a few tanks, the media and soil could have become so "seasoned" over time that they start to achieve a nice balance in the water conditions.
There are often cases of people adding shrimps repeatedly and keep seeing the shrimps dying (even when all the test kits show okay readings)... then one day the deaths stop and the shrimps start breeding like crazy, thats probably when the tank's environment has built up sufficient "good stuff" and somehow stabilized naturally and become ideal for the shrimps.
The low-grade cherry shrimps that are sold in bulk bags are usually the hardiest ones to start with too, i find that their tolerance to variable water conditions is surprisingly high. I have populations of those in my outdoor tanks and containers, even at water temperatures of >32°C during hot afternoons and no filter, no feeding and no water changes for weeks, they still thrive and breed.
So fire red grade cherry not so easy?
Well, from my experience the higher the grade of shrimps, the less tolerant they are of variable water conditions. Higher grade shrimps usually require additional care and attention to maintain a stable environment for them to live in.Originally Posted by Dscheng
In optimal stable indoor aquarium conditions, all of the grades can thrive and breed well... but when sudden changes or wide variations happen in a tank environment (ie. higher extreme temperatures, parameter swings etc), i usually notice the higher grade ones start dying off while the lowest grade ones still remain and continue breeding.
Very encouraging 14litre.
I just started to keep shrimps and fishes for only a couple of months and learning new things everyday..
This is really a informative forum.
Some of it appeared red but I reckoned it's Sakura grade. I had these from the pack of 50 cherry shrimps.
It is still nice to see a handful of red cherries. But i guess all these will eventually become wild colour once it breed with the wild ones.
from 14L to 8L tank.
Oh ya, i forgot to mention that.
Yes, i transferred about 50+ azoo active filter media from the other tank into this. That tank was running for 2 months or so if i remembered correctly.
As for substrate, its entirely a new pack.
You could be right that the tank is reaching a stable state with those old media.
Sometimes I really wished someone can invent a device to track and indicate the stability and full cycling of a new tank.
Many times we are left clueless when the test kit showed positive results and yet live stocks are still dying.
I'm really glad that I gave these shrimps a try as the algae crew. Little i knew I would have such results.
Good thing that I have been reading all the post in this forum, catching things here and there, and I think quite a number of tips came from you.
Cheers.
from 14L to 8L tank.
Welcome to the hobby.
You are welcome and i am glad that you find it useful.
I also learnt a lot from this forum. In fact it has changed my old-school fish keeper mindset.
My post is a way of giving back to the community here. I learnt from others and i hope to share my experience back as well.
Through these years, i learnt that there is no right or wrong answers.
There are just too many variances/factors from each tank. Even if you have 2 tanks placed side by side, the water parameters will defer.
A method/solution that works for one may not work for another.
For example, i mentioned the use of fan here. This is based on the assumption that everyone knew I am setting up in the hot climate of SG. However, if someone from other parts of the world who happened to be in a cold climate, the fan will make it worst. This is just a simple "analogy".
What I am trying to say is that we have to make appropriate judgement to see what it works for others and how it can be applied for our own use by making adjustment here and there.
It is also good to ask more questions on other people's setup of their solution. It is not challenging them but rather to find out more on the environment and see how it can be accommodated to our usage.
Another example is the post above this. Sometimes we can forget certain things that could be crucial to the whole setup. I forgot to mention that I took old filter media from another tank. Fortunately UA added his comment and i was able to make the information here more complete.
It's a long journey and i am still learning today.
Enjoy this hobby and the community here, and have lots of fun along the way.
Cheers.
from 14L to 8L tank.
Your plants look really nice and healthy!
Just wondering, where did you purchase the ISTA disposable can and its cost?
That shit Cray!
Thank you.
I bought it from Seaview. It comes as a set with a simpke diffuser. I can't remember the cost, it's aroubd $20+ if i remembered correctly.
This is the one I bought:
https://youtu.be/zEstsBtCZLE
I chose this because I want a temporary Co2. Once the marsilea is able to cover most of the floor, i intend to stop the Co2 and change the lighting to a normal led.
It fit to a small tank simple requirement.
I found the Co2 did not dissolve 100% from the diffuser as in there are always 10% left each day. Eventually I will have 50% of air in the diffuser after 5th day, in very simple calculation.
For example, if i fill the diffuser with 100% on 1st day, about 10% will left undissolved.
2nd day I will fill till 100% again and it will left with 20% of gas in the diffuser.
So far it can reach till 50% after which I will open the cap to let go the gas.
from 14L to 8L tank.
It's not CO2 that is left undissolved. The remaining air that is left behind is made up of propellants from the can. The propellants keep the can pressurised.
If you want a consistent amount of CO2, then it's a good idea to expel this undissolved air, before filling up the diffuser again.
Otherwise you CO2 levels will fluctuate based on how much dis-solvable air is still in the diffuser.
Oh I see. That's good to know. Thanks for sharing.
from 14L to 8L tank.
http://www.azoo-aqua.com/product-info.asp?id=299
Are you using Azoo 4 in 1 bio media? Somehow it will increase KH, TDS then buffer high PH. i will recommend you to change to seachem Martix. It is slight more expensive, but it is worth the $$.
Yes I am.
That probably also explained why my KH and TDS are always on the rise.
Thank you for sharing.
I will look for the new media and change it in phases.
Cheers.
from 14L to 8L tank.
I Googled for seachem matrix product and chanced upon our own AQ thread.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...d.php?t=120152
My tank belongs to low flowrate with a built up of Nitrate. I will go for the di-Nitrate media.
Thanks Dscheng for bringing light on the media, and thanks to UA's knowledge sharing in that thread.
from 14L to 8L tank.
Any fungus encounter? Bottom of shrimps is yellow alittle hairy but not eggs.
Do you mean you are suspecting fungus growth on your shrimps?
Not now but quite sometime ago, i managed to cure my fungus-infested shrimps with aquarium salt.
You may check out this post.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=95448
from 14L to 8L tank.
Ya similar but my shrimp the stuff is yellow and is at the underside. I'm very sure is not eggs.
Will try salt in future. I tried general anti ceptic by aqua. The cheapo $2 medi. No use. Then use the purple medi. All shrimps died.
Sorry to hear that.
Hope it will not occur again. If it does, please update if the salt method works. A close up picture of the affected shrimp will help too.
from 14L to 8L tank.
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