Yup, still end up elsewhere nearby but still good enough for mine as there's not many space for them to move around the food

Well at least with good filtration you don't have to worry much about those poop.

Yeah...seen before how some inexperienced ppl pack it...really give you heart attack & wonder if what you bought can survive the trip home.

Well...am glad to inform that all is fine in my tank *thank goodness* however...witness something earlier I would like to seek confirmation - a female shrimp swam up and 'fell down'...i was like "don't tell me it's a goner..." but luckily it was just molting. When it was half way molting...a male went on top of it. Once it was done molting the female just swam away quickly. So what I'd like to know is...was what I witnessed the quick mating or another shrimp being aggressive to another when it's molting?

Edit: OK here's a pic of one of the OEBTs:



This post has been edited by GTBlackIce: Oct 21 2013, 10:09 PM

I really hope so too!!!

Ahh OK. Glad to know it was the mating session as it freaked me out seeing how 'aggresive' it was that time. Thought mating would occur after molting and not during it.

Well, let's see if I can remember which female was it that molted yesterday and have new batch of eggs on it. Thanks for the clarification bro!

Well, wasn't bored but still watch through the whole 2mins...
Was that you or another person standing and admiring the tank?

Been using RO water all these while so can't comment. Still do my weekly ~20% wc with at least 1 day aged primed RO. Using the UP Aqua bucket... freaking convenient. Just turn the tap slightly and let the water trickle slowly...move on to do other things...about couple of hours later tank's filled up again

Getting water out is quick...getting water back in....

Horned nerites would be nice as they don't grow that big.
http://www.planetinverts.com/horned_nerite_snail.html

Got 6 of them in my tank and could hardly see it.....likely coz I've got quite some hiding space in the tank.

There's a few types of nerites.

Check out the info on the other 2 from the link on the left. There are few other types too (not on that site). Horned nerites seem to be the smallest amongst the variety.

The biggest horn nerite in my tank seems to have turned to a lazy bum...noticed it has piggyback a smaller one past few days. Pity the small fella...the additional weight it has to carry...

Is it? Didn't know about that.

Only know for breeding it'll require brackish water... wasn't aware PH plays a part on their growth/shell. Thanks for the info... so far those in my tank are still doing good so hopefully they've adapted well in it... *fingers crossed* Hope there won't be any issue as they're good helpers in cleaning up the rocks/tank.

Hi folks.... how are y'all doing? Good to see the thread is still active...


5-6 hours.... my goodness THAT is a long duration. Have you got air pump in the bucket/container when you do that? Malayans are very hardy... probably wasn't because of short acclimation but something else? What's the TDS difference between the lfs/seller compared to yours?

My max period of acclimation thus far is only 2hrs... this apply to malayans, fire red, crs & oebt. Even the solo oto I have had been acclimated for about 2hrs. One thing to note is I don't put any air pumps during acclimation... just drip method on the bucket. Sure you've got no ammonia/nitrite reading in your tank and nitrate is still low?

Apart from 1 casualty of each batch bought previously... I've got no 'major' casualties. CRS being the most sensitive of the lot I have... only 1 casualty and none on 2nd batch. Guess it also depends on how the shrimp is before we bought it... it may have already been weak then. Still believe luck plays a part sometimes.

Wow that is a mini tank indeed! Quite similar to what I had previously... But wasn't rearing any shrimps back then.

Yes, your filter is too strong but then again if it comes with the tank...well, sometimes it could be overrated. What's the water volume in the tank? Just monitor the flow in the tank... see if it's affecting your flora/fauna.

Shrimp food and spinach. Hook up with Arrow bro if you want some shrimp food in small quantities.

Ferts wise... try to get those 'shrimp safe' or no/very less (0.000x) copper if possible. I'm dosing Seachem Flourish, BW Lush and Essence K in my tank... no issues. Since you're only having RCS it should be fine but do monitor the water parameters.

In planted/shrimp tanks... it's more about taking care of the water parameters than the flora/fauna itself.

Ouch... sorry to hear that bro. Any idea on what's the root cause?

Yikes that's bad! Something is definitely wrong... have you checked your water parameters yet? Added anything new in your tank recently?

I'm also using Amazonia AS... soil volume much more than yours. Front approx 2.5" and back 5.5". It's a good soil but will leech ammonia for some time. Do have the 5 elements on the base like you.

Difference between yours and mine:

- I did put in 1 vial BioDigest to speed up the cycle
- My wc wasn't as often as yours (which was a mistake), but volume changed 50-70%. 1st wc was all the way to the soil level
- Can't remember when I put in the initial few malayans in it... but it's like 3 weeks (flooded tank, excluding DSM for 5 weeks)

Your temp looks OK. But possible to get another different thermometer to verify the reading? Why I'm saying this is coz I have a digital thermometer that was giving me readings of 27-29dC (with UP fan)... once I got the chiller, chiller temp was giving reading of +/-1.5dC higher.

So if I'm to trust the reading of the chiller... the digital thermometer's reading was wrong all these while. Reading from my TDS pen is about the same as chiller's. So what's the actual temp? Go figure...

Being new to all these (plants/shrimps) ... I dare not buy a lot of shrimps @ 1 go:

- 1st purchase: 3 Malayans (3 weeks after flood)
- 2nd purchase: 5/6 Malayans (a week later)
- 3rd purchase: 10 fire reds (a week later)
- 4th purchase: 3 CRS (3 weeks later)
- 5th purchase: 10 fire reds (a week+ later?)
- 6th purchase: 14 CRS & 2 OEBT (few weeks later?)

So far so good so apart from some 1 casualty from each initial batch. Using API freshwater test kit and Sera GH to test my water parameters.

Using RO in my case. Usually fill it up on the UP Aqua 6L bucket and necessary amount of Prime for 6L... stir, cover it with saran wrap and wait for the next wc. The bucket is really useful IMO... it's quick to drain the water out, but takes me 2hrs+ to refill it back as I only turn the tap slightly.

Nice... what shrimp is that?

How you doing Sis? Still active here I see...

Well here's a quickie on my shrimps feasting. Lost a handsome fire red male & a female recently but the rest are still doing good *thankfully* Pardon the condensation on the tank and shaky vid


EDIT: Link fixed

The remaining handsome prince & the one that went to 'heaven' (rubbish bin):



This post has been edited by GTBlackIce: Nov 12 2013, 06:13 PM

Opps... haha... thanks much bro am a noob in youtube stuff. Thanks for fixing it!

Let's see if this one works... EDIT: OK it seems to work now...lol



Thanks... still very much a noob in this and I'm sure you can!

Yeaps... that one there. Very convenient thing to have. Can move away and do other stuff while letting it re-fill itself. Get the 6L version... 1L is too freaking small.

WC = Water Change

This post has been edited by GTBlackIce: Nov 12 2013, 06:13 PM

Do try to invest on test kit if you can.
IF you want TDS pen too... look at ebay. I got mine from there...cheap!

Think you can get a wider view of the stones you have in there? If it's still in the tank that is...
What shrimps you have/intend to have in it?

Wow talk about bright lights! Haha... sorry too bright can't see clearly but seems to be somewhat similar to the ones I have?

If they're molting well it should be fine. Yes, you'd be surprised to know sometimes our tank's water parameters are better than lfs'.

Well since budget is limiting, then you can use this 5 shrimps as your commandos. If they survive then you can hold off from buying till your budget is ok. API freshwater test kit would be the complete set without GH tester. The kit will cost RM1xx though...

IF there's any sudden deaths (hopefully not), get the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kits first.

Got mine about US$7.xx for each (PH & TDS pen)... free postage. It was from different sellers though. Both cost me <RM50. BUT... yes here comes the 'but'.... be patient in receiving it. It took me a month before I was able to receive it, since it was free postage it was sent by snail mail. And yes again, both are from China. Exact version (who knows maybe pirated version) like the one I saw @ LFS. Even the staff at LFS could not believe the price I got it for as it was a real steal... their prics is unfortunately

Sis... not Subang leh.... Aman Suria...

Where got nice? Yours nicer... not a 'breeder' like you...

Yeah likewise been busy especially last week...

So far population still OK albeit a couple of casualties... but birth rate is higher than death rate so that's a good thing!

This post has been edited by GTBlackIce: Nov 13 2013, 04:12 PM

Congratulations bro!!!
Hope you'll get to eradicate those pest soon... somehow...

'Doom Guy' ... lol I like that!

Yes he's the doom guy alright...

As arrow mentioned above... and basically you'll see this pop up very often - 'cycle'. Tank cycling is the most important of all. I used Prodibio Digest to quick-start my cycle. Alternative you can also get the Prodibio Start Up Nano.

Some test kits too if you've got the budget?

Good luck!

Well you always start cheap and before you know it it starts getting more and more expensive...

william... you can use qz4eva's list as a guidance for a simple setup.

Or perhaps if you can state your approximate budget the it would be easier to make recommendation. Also, it depends on what shrimps you'll like to have eventually. Cost can/would increase as time goes on..... well at least for me it did...

Good filtration is of course, important. The key is more on taking care of the water parameters than your fauna itself...

Probably not coral sand. Sorry don't know what holland sand is. Black sand should be ok. But like what sniper mentioned, as long as it doesn't affect the water quality. Or, if you really wanna be 'safe' there are a few options of 'shrimp-friendly' soil out in the market e.g Benibachi, RAC, etc.

EDIT: On the shrimps to keep, sniper's recommendation is good for beginners. And never forget Malayan shrimps too! Bear in mind even if your ambient room temp is +/-27dC, your tank's water might be more... as you have to take into account the heat that's being generated by your lighting. Install a fan (cheaper option) if you wanna bring down the temp, but be prepared to top up every now and then (everyday for me back then) due to evaporation.

Wow nice.... must be real hardy shrimps! Cherries? Well I guess as long as the shrimps are breeding like rabbits that's a good sign. Why fix if it ain't broken?


As long as it works out good for the shrimps right?

This post has been edited by GTBlackIce: Nov 22 2013, 12:20 PM

Likely not much of a difference unless if it's a big tank. That's coz fans are drawing air in from our ambient and blowing it on the water surface. So the cooler your ambient the lower your water temp would be, and vice versa if ambient temp is high.

Evaporation rate is higher too with 2 fans. What's your tank size?

Oh ok... no wonder its so tough then...

Yes, you're right on the species of Rili --> (Rili Shrimp) You can look on the other species as well on that site.

Then again, those would be the general/preferable conditions of each type of shrimps. Doesn't mean it can't live in your tank if your water parameter isn't exactly as what are stated. For example.... CRS is meant to be a very sensitive shrimp, likes 'soft water'. They are those that successfully kept and bred CRS in 'hard water' too. My water has KH >1, GH >6 ... I still managed to keep it alive to date. But perhaps breeding is a different case but only time will tell for me. But of course... look at the TDS of your water too.

Are those BW products what you have currently? That seems to be a heck load of stuff to add in for cycling the tank. And I guess each bottle won't be cheap too. If it's not something you have now and if it's expensive, and due to your tight budget... like I mentioned earlier get 1 vial of Prodibio Digest then. It's priced at RM9 each. Got it from Mid Valley. I only used 1 vial back then and that's it for my cycling.

Prodibio Startup is about RM3x for 4 vials, 2 vials each of Digest & Stop Ammo. --> Prodibio Start Up

Just have patience during cycling stage... BB will eventually build up. Don't rush into putting in any fauna till it's fully cycled.

Wow... haven't been able to log in here long time.... just came in and see you'll have a new setup.

Can't wait to see it up and running. Project Sulawesi... so that'll only be Sulawesi shrimps then?

Those would be the infamous Opae Ulae (don't know how to spell it) - Hawaiian super shrimp. Not cruel, they can survive in harsh conditions. Arrow would be able to shed more info on this. Mind telling where you got to know the local seller? Interested in it too.

It could, so advisable to get some 'fresh stock' to mix the genes. I got one as shrimplet when I got a group last time, stil surviving. No heart to kill it.just hope it doesn't breed.

I'm about to get a new batch myself. I lost count of how many generation of inbreed I have in my tank so it's about time to add new ones.


How y'all doing? Hope everyone is good. Been busy with work & personal I haven't got a chance to log in.

This post has been edited by GTBlackIce: Jul 4 2014, 07:46 PM