Vpier

I primarily use CSF and Aqua Eden as my main food source. Both foods holds up great and you can control food portions better. One of the main reason why you have to deal with worms and planaria is due to overfeeding. I've noticed that people who use powdered products like Bacter AE tends to overfeed. I was one of them when I first started out because Bacter's instructions have you use an insane amount.
 I would get rid of the worms/planaria with some dog de-wormer and decrease feedings.

I primarily use CSF and Aqua Eden as my main food source. Both foods holds up great and you can control food portions better. One of the main reason why you have to deal with worms and planaria is due to overfeeding. I've noticed that people who use powdered products like Bacter AE tends to overfeed. I was one of them when I first started out because Bacter's instructions have you use an insane amount.
 I would get rid of the worms/planaria with some dog de-wormer and decrease feedings.

I primarily use CSF and Aqua Eden as my main food source. Both foods holds up great and you can control food portions better. One of the main reason why you have to deal with worms and planaria is due to overfeeding. I've noticed that people who use powdered products like Bacter AE tends to overfeed. I was one of them when I first started out because Bacter's instructions have you use an insane amount.
 I would get rid of the worms/planaria with some dog de-wormer and decrease feedings.

The gift that keeps on giving LOL. If your doing straight up shrimp with a lesser emphasis on plants then you might want to consider SL-Aqua Soil.

most people wait 4-6 weeks for amazonia to cycle.  SL-Aqua soil has little to no ammonia! 
 

Try Alt+230 to get the letter µ.
 
 

I primarily use CSF and Aqua Eden as my main food source. Both foods holds up great and you can control food portions better. One of the main reason why you have to deal with worms and planaria is due to overfeeding. I've noticed that people who use powdered products like Bacter AE tends to overfeed. I was one of them when I first started out because Bacter's instructions have you use an insane amount.
 I would get rid of the worms/planaria with some dog de-wormer and decrease feedings.

Here comes a real dumb question, how does one type this symbol "µS" ? I cut and pasted the symbol for my dumb question.

Another fact about cleaning is Germans will run the sponges for years before cleaning them. The sponge actually preforms better when some of the pore volume is filled with a flaky brown mud that smells much like moist garden soil. That mud is what cleans your water! The mud consists of more than 50% living organisms that depend on your waste. It is a whole zoo of little critters that form a microbial community, including aerobic bacteria and archaea that oxidize ammonia and nitrite, anaerobic bacteria and archaea that can reduce nitrate.

Another fact about cleaning is Germans will run the sponges for years before cleaning them. The sponge actually preforms better when some of the pore volume is filled with a flaky brown mud that smells much like moist garden soil. That mud is what cleans your water! The mud consists of more than 50% living organisms that depend on your waste. It is a whole zoo of little critters that form a microbial community, including aerobic bacteria and archaea that oxidize ammonia and nitrite, anaerobic bacteria and archaea that can reduce nitrate.

Another fact about cleaning is Germans will run the sponges for years before cleaning them. The sponge actually preforms better when some of the pore volume is filled with a flaky brown mud that smells much like moist garden soil. That mud is what cleans your water! The mud consists of more than 50% living organisms that depend on your waste. It is a whole zoo of little critters that form a microbial community, including aerobic bacteria and archaea that oxidize ammonia and nitrite, anaerobic bacteria and archaea that can reduce nitrate.

Another fact about cleaning is Germans will run the sponges for years before cleaning them. The sponge actually preforms better when some of the pore volume is filled with a flaky brown mud that smells much like moist garden soil. That mud is what cleans your water! The mud consists of more than 50% living organisms that depend on your waste. It is a whole zoo of little critters that form a microbial community, including aerobic bacteria and archaea that oxidize ammonia and nitrite, anaerobic bacteria and archaea that can reduce nitrate.

Shrimps going behind the filter isn't as common as you think. When it does happen its not a big deal. They do really well back there.

Not sure why he does it but most likely to help distribute weight,create a stable platform and protect the bottom. I have been doing African Cichlids for 30+ years and used light diffusers to help distribute weight, protect the bottom, create a stable platform and prevent the fishes from burying under the rocks and causing the rocks to collapse .

As some might now, I do love my planted tanks also and haven't had one in over a year so decided to set one up again.
Its a 60*45*45 starfire 
I had some time this afternoon so decided to start with the scape I had in mind.
I will still tweek here and there till im happy before I start planting

Just some pictures of how everything started   [/URL]                       I will update as I go along

what part is not true? My point is about tap water. not about finding a shrimp that can "survive" in wide range of parameters. lets also not mistake survive with thrive. 
 
for example...we have a local small breeder in SoCal who over years was able to acclimate and now raise a breeding colony of CRS in his tap water.  I know the water that comes out of my tap would be terrible for soft water shrimp, even likely too hard for Sulawesi.  If I were to buy CRS from him (without asking about his parameters) I would naturally try to keep them in standard CRS parameters and they would die.
 
The point is... "tap water" is too general a term for keeping shrimp, it should really stop being used, and best to find out the parameters from the person you are buying from.
 
 
 

German fish breeders for decades and now shrimp breeders adapt whatever they are breeding to their tap water. 
 
Bostoneric is spot when it comes to everyone's tap water being different. If you look at Bangkok, the tap water is perfect for soft water fishes and they do 100% water changes on daily bases and some do it every few hours straight from the tap. Its one of the reason why Thai's are some of them best breeders in the world. Then you have cities like Flint MI and the water is poisonous to humans.

but unlike finding them in a filter where they can get hurt by the impeller finding them behind the HMF really isnt a worry. i've seen them climb back over and even get a free ride right back out the jetlifter tube

I think the biggest factor to how efficient they are is where the bubbles come out. its not just a single hole or an airstone blocking a % of the opening. its a unique design that spreads out the air across the entire opening in multiple little holes. its pretty smart concept.

When my group of banded sulawesi's arrived there was two berried females. I just found babies walking around and I have an additional six berried females. Things are looking good.

I'm assuming the AB stands for Aura blue correct? Because it looks like one.  Its still a young AB correct? I have some young AB's and they look like yours. My previous group of young AB's also looked very similar to yours and as the shrimps matured they became very blue and what you see now becomes unnoticeable. I've been doing AB's for six months so I'm not an expert but I think its just organs and food/waste your a seeing.

Yes. I bookmarked this page and will try to remember to give updates on my progress.  Got a mixture of mature and young shrimp but I did receive two berried females and hopefully the shipping didnt stress them to point of dropping the eggs.

I dont know and would love to know. These are kept at a lower temp and softer water than other Sulawesi shrimps.

When my group of banded sulawesi's arrived there was two berried females. I just found babies walking around and I have an additional six berried females. Things are looking good.

I will but its going to be at least six months to get a big enough and well established colony.