I think u want eating shrimp.....here we are not discussing eating shrimps....

This post has been edited by lily64my: Oct 6 2013, 04:46 PM

Just set up tank no.2
Now for the looong wait cycling

I also plan to setup new 1ft tank with only sank, so i wondering i follow ur step using sand, can immediately put in the cherry shrimp? or have to wait for the tank cycle?

Ehhhh copycat!

I guess any life form you put in tank the tank need to cycle 1st. Unless u put plants...

You need to cycle first. But there is way to shorten the cycle time by
- use old filter with media, and or borrow filter floss and media.
- use tank water from an established tank.
(The above two method will transfer any disease/pest between tank if any)
-dose bacteria powder/liquid.

In my case. Im rescaping and reuse the old filter and since it is sand only substrate without soil that release ammonia. I can put in same on shrimp day.
As a precautions. I do check for ammonia and nitrite after 3 days. Before that dose 5x seachem prime amount for my tank size . Just in case to bind any ammonia or nitrite that exist.
Cos there is still risk of old beneficial bacteria can't establish back soon enough in new parameters and environment.

This post has been edited by arrow: Oct 6 2013, 10:51 PM

Eventually gonna retire the office tank and bring it home.

Thanks for the tips as always. U overdose prime before adding shrimps right?

Oh yea less hassle..maybe keep existing tank with few guppies?

Seachem Prime more expensive for a reason, it can act as an emergency solution to counter ammonia and nitrite in uncycle tank with shrimp be put in that have no other mean to be transfer out. Instead of waiting for the shrimp to died one by one , we can dose 5x amount of Prime from normal dose
to bind ammonia and nitrite to non-toxic form, the best part is it won't remove them which are good cos the tank cycle can still continue.
It will be effective for one week before re-dose.
I have tried with one tank with a nitrite reading of at least 5ppm, with overdose prime, none of the shrimp died or behave unnormal.
Of course if possible don't resort to this method as risk is still there.

My new tank is everything new.. filter media is has pre-packed bacteria and i plan to dose seachem stability. You reckon a week is ok?

Substrate is shrimp specific non fertilized ones.

Also should I add activated carbon? Was in a rush, didn't have time to fully soak the driftwood more than an hour. I suspect its gonna be leeching tannins.

This post has been edited by sniper on the roof: Oct 6 2013, 11:29 PM

Done setup 1x2ft tank with remaining black ADA soil black colour. Now doing cycle with used media but new filter.
2nd tank of 1ft tank needs soil/sand.
3rd tank of 3ft with cycled water is ready for malaya.

Since blue velvet is sensitive, should i move fire red and yellow from this sharing tank to new tanks? Sharing tank is with the ADA amazonia red colour soil. Is it good colour match with blue velvet?

And will black soil be good match colour for fire red?

So yellow golden back should be with what colour soil? Or maybe trying sand.
Arrow pls advise..

A week is too early. Maybe 2-3 week if everything new, as bacteria is slow to build up. Of course it help with frequent dosing of stability.
add in air pump to provide more o2 and temperature of 27-30c will be ideal to accelerate their grow. Light should on at least 8 hrs.
I notice any soil based substrate will still leech ammonia no matter what brand. Although at low ph those ammonia are in less toxic form.
That why normally with soil . It is more easy to kick start the cycle since ammonia is already present. With sand or stone substrate. You need to add in fish food or pure ammonia liquid to compensate.

To remove tannins effectively. Use seachem purigen. Put it inside fikter compartment. Active carbon you may want to give it a skip when tank is still cycling.

Sis. Every shrimp look great on dark background. The only exception maybe black colored shrimp as they may look invisible.
Better don't move them to this new tank even you have used old media in the new filter. Cos beneficial bacteria also quite sensitive to new environment. Like if move from ph 7.6 to ph 6.2 environment they may died off or become less efficient. Some more your new tank is with ADA amazonia soil that have tons of ammonia. It need a very strong BB colony to handle.
And to help reduce excess ammonia from new ADA soil. You need to do few huge water change. This will swing the water parameter so mych that your shrimp may not able to handle.
Also use a small stick. Poke the new ADA soil to release all those vtrapped air bubble. if not in the future those trapped air may pose as ammonia bomb.

This post has been edited by arrow: Oct 7 2013, 01:05 AM

Hi dave...welcome to this thread.

Glad to have you here. Am only seeing your nick @ my-mac. Guess you should be the same person

Lol of course I would love to...so let's hope my reds go into a breeding frenzy soon...then in no time I'd have such tank too All I need is patience....since my tank is small. 4 berried females at the moment so let's see what the shrimplets survival rate is...

Woot! Congrats on tank no.2!!! Yup just be patient in cycling it. Better be safe than sorry. It was more than a month before I had any shrimps in.

Seachem stability or prodibio digest. I used digest for mine. Used the normal one as I couldn't find the nano/start up version back then.

I have not used activated carbon at all since day 1. Replaced it purigen instead (like what arrow recommended). Besides, activated carbon could only last up to a month...so I didn't want to go thru the hassle. But since I'm having planted tank too activated carbon is not necessary. Purigen really helps to make the water clean & clear.

Gratz on the new tank! Like what arrow said anything looks good on dark background apart from those dark colored shrimps. I'm using ADA soil too...and with those green plants...fire red pops out good contrast

@arrow: crap I think I have some air pockets still im the soil. Mind telling how it'll post to be a timebomb? If it escapes it disturbs the soil hence ammonia is released with it?

Travelling again this whole week so have fun folks! Will drop in when I'm free

Pure ammonia is a bit hard to find. What do you think if I just put a copious amount of fish food in a panty hose and chuck it inside?

No need , just goto your local fish shop , buy some ADA soil loose pack 250g, 500g or 1 kg , get a filter mesh bag , fill up with the ADA soil , hang it inside your tank 'woop' you got your ammonia source, clean and easy. when tank cycled, just remove it and put it in your house plant pot.

Yes. kind of like that especially when you your soil is quite thick.

ADA soil not that easy to find around my area but fish food got a lot of spare.

any aquarium soil will do, even shrimp soil also leech ammonia. Gex soil should be available in taiwan.
Fish food will pollute your tank if you can't control your hand.

Thanks again.. happened to have some spare GEX soil.