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.

i suggest you go get a standalone nitrite NO2 test kit(cost around rm20-30++) to test your tank, i suspect it still at stage 2 cycle(lot of NO2) which are highly poisonous. If none N02 is detected then your tank is at stage 3 where Nitrate(NO3) is building up and probably cycled, just need a large 70-80% water change to bring nitrate under control. However if NO2 is present then you need to do NO2 test every 3 days till it become zero, no live stock(esp shrimp should be added).
Fish is more hardy then shrimp when dealing with tank cycle , some will survive the ordeal but with permanent injuries and their live span shorten.
Some can't stand the cycle will jump out or died.

Btw.. do those nitrate or phosphate absorbing sponge actually work?

never try that, but i remember i came across this nitrate sponge product on a shelve , but putting it back as i read the instructions like require some condition for it to work, so i don't brother.

Just bought some phosphate sponge pad. See if it works cos my floating plants are expanding like crazy until i'm running out of water surface, also have quite a protein layer and algae is starting to take hold.

My tank so far so good . just dropped 5 red cherry to test first .

Still no plant as the person told me quite troublesome , is it ?

Done 2 new tank setup. Been cycling water for 3 or 4 weeks ago! Lol. Planted moss as carpet grass. Just want to see shrimps and lesser plants.
Tomorrow will be more scary...got to move the shrimps to new tanks!
Had few casualty in cherry tank today. Not sure why. After that, moved like 20 fire red shrimplets to cherry tank which appear to be cherry!
Saw 1st batch of fire red shrimplets i.e cherry berried! Oh god need to move all of them soonest...lol. This 1st batch fire red bought at petsmarts.
1st batch of fire red frm Park turn to be be fire red. Phew...

Cant put plant after you put in cherry. The will be stress and go heaven...lol

That's why lor

Nvm , have to go buy some decor to put liao else too empty

You can try moss or non-rooted plants so you can just slowly place in the tank without making a mess and use floating plant to absorb excess nutrients.

can put but make sure your plant/moss source is pestcides/fert/planaria free..hehe. to be safe , put new plant/moss in a small bowl/bucket
put a shrimp inside to test like 30min, if no died then ok else discard those plant/moss. planaria hard to prevent as those hitchhiking is tiny and their eggs sticking on the plant/moss.

This is the result of pesticides/fert leeched plant.


This post has been edited by arrow: Nov 5 2013, 03:33 AM

Maybe should look into floating plant


normally where to find ? ask the shop clearly first ?

RIP....

Lfs cant confirm whether their plant are shrimp safe or not .
They just sell only.

Thanks for the advice , have to wait till I got more shrimp to test.

How long does it normally takes to breed ?

Good question... I suspect my LFS has been supplying me with Japanese shrimps!! They're not interested in sex.

Lol lol lol....
If your tank looks like showroom...shrimps only do catwalk...need somewhere to hide and dating or somewhere to hangon...they will breed.

This post has been edited by lily64my: Nov 5 2013, 03:49 PM

Cant tell. Really. Very subjective.
But the following criteria need to have in order for any chance for them to breed.
-must have both male and female shrimp(some shrimp like fire red only female be sold in lfs) try get a cherry male to mate.
** if you want to know why there is no male fire red for sell, answer is fire red male dont justify the price of a fire red. It look like a cherry with pale color. Majority of buyer(newbies) will complain and wont pay the fire red price for it.
-minimum or stress less environment. Try minimize threat to them like mixing them with big fish.
-have enough food but dont think smart and overfeed. Shrimp are natural scavenger. Moss will provide lot of surface area for them to scout for lodged food. Shrimplet will find comfort in them as well.
-they able to stay alive long enough(a well cycled tank with stable parameter.) Dead body only breed germ.
-easy shrimp like cherry, fire red, palmata will breed more readily with basic criteria meet.

This post has been edited by arrow: Nov 6 2013, 01:06 AM

Thanks a lot for the tips ~~

It's been a while since i got my Malaya shrimps from arrow. Their colors keep changing and amuse me alot, but particular to one of these that change into blueish color, while the rest still remain as brownish or even dark brown with golden stripe at the back.

Somehow it reminds me Blue Jelly shrimp but in gigantic size







Pls pardon the pic quality, wish to have better macro lens.