mosspearl

My daughter saw this video on Tumblr. What do you think... they had to have used aquarium shrimp, right?
 

 
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Okay, that may not be true. Perhaps the fish died and then fell into the algae. Either way, the stupid hair algae claimed one of my boraras brigittae.  I hand pulled out all that I could. I've been applying liquid CO2 but had gotten a bit lax when the family fell sick. Gah! I like my tiny fishes.

Okay, that may not be true. Perhaps the fish died and then fell into the algae. Either way, the stupid hair algae claimed one of my boraras brigittae.  I hand pulled out all that I could. I've been applying liquid CO2 but had gotten a bit lax when the family fell sick. Gah! I like my tiny fishes.

If you think about it, they've got a lifespan similar to the smaller rodents (hamsters, rats). And because they reproduce readily but have a low bioload, you can *responsibly* keep a whole colony. While you can techinally do that with vertebrates, well, you hit the "oh no I can't take care of ALL of these guys" wall a LOT sooner.

Yesterday I received about a doz beautiful cabon rili shrimp from Soothing. Their blue color is stunning. I opted for the splotched rili since I like different pattens in shrimp. I'll try to get som decent pics of them and post them in the "shrimp pics". Thanks again Bryce!

This is kind of in response to Crazyfishlady's post about funny things you say about shrimp to non-shrimp people... it wasn't really related, but I figured, it's still fun, so why not?  Feel free to add your own.
 
Good selling points for shrimp: 
Shrimp don't poop on the floor. 
They don't eat your shoes. 
They don't climb the screen door.
They don't break your prized vase (though they may like to hide in it if you put it in the tank).
They don't steal the food off your plate.
They don't knock over the garbage.
They don't shed on your clothes.
They don't bite. (do they?)
 
Well, that's a start.

Okay, that may not be true. Perhaps the fish died and then fell into the algae. Either way, the stupid hair algae claimed one of my boraras brigittae.  I hand pulled out all that I could. I've been applying liquid CO2 but had gotten a bit lax when the family fell sick. Gah! I like my tiny fishes.

I completely agree about the fact that I can leave them alone for a few days at a time and they will be just fine. Also, my husband doesn't have to do anything for them, which he likes.

You can have 100+ in a single tank and still provide them with a great environment - try that with a cat or dog or even most fish... or any other animal...

My boss rolls his eyes when new volunteers or employees ask how often I get bit. "Daily!"
I swear I'm not actually that bad, but he doesn't believe me when I explain that I whacked my hand on the cabinet door.

Mine is more practical.  I used to breed mammals and reptiles.
 
Wood substrate gets ALL OVER
 
If you miss a substrate change the room stinks
 
If an invert gets out, they won't go far (for long) or cause destruction.
 
It's a lot more convenient to change water than wood substrate.
 
I've gotten bitten from rats, mice, snakes, lizards, but never aquatic inverts.

They don't scream
They don't cry
They don't complain
 
That's what I have kids for

they don't need to be fed for days on end
they are just as funny to watch as comedy tv

They don't demand to go in and out all day.
They don't require a bath.
They can't be sprayed by a skunk. Unless it's in your house but that's a unrelated problem.

One thing I really like about Shrimp (as opposed to fish), is that they always look natural to me. 
 
I always like observing animals in their natural environment and I know being in an aquarium isn't actually a natural environment, but it's cool that they go about their business as usual and don't instantly come up to the front of the tank going OH MY GOD ITS THE FOOD FAIRY!!! FOOD FOOD FOOD FOOD!!! (although it is cute when my beta does it)
 
They are so much fun to watch!
 
edit: I couldn't say my response was funny, but a selling point for observers
 
edit2: They won't leave dead things in your shoes
They won't make loud noises all night
They won't pee on your couch
They won't scratch you if you rub their tummy (rubbing tummy not recommended)

This is kind of in response to Crazyfishlady's post about funny things you say about shrimp to non-shrimp people... it wasn't really related, but I figured, it's still fun, so why not?  Feel free to add your own.
 
Good selling points for shrimp: 
Shrimp don't poop on the floor. 
They don't eat your shoes. 
They don't climb the screen door.
They don't break your prized vase (though they may like to hide in it if you put it in the tank).
They don't steal the food off your plate.
They don't knock over the garbage.
They don't shed on your clothes.
They don't bite. (do they?)
 
Well, that's a start.

This is kind of in response to Crazyfishlady's post about funny things you say about shrimp to non-shrimp people... it wasn't really related, but I figured, it's still fun, so why not?  Feel free to add your own.
 
Good selling points for shrimp: 
Shrimp don't poop on the floor. 
They don't eat your shoes. 
They don't climb the screen door.
They don't break your prized vase (though they may like to hide in it if you put it in the tank).
They don't steal the food off your plate.
They don't knock over the garbage.
They don't shed on your clothes.
They don't bite. (do they?)
 
Well, that's a start.

Start doing acronyms and they'll look at you lost.
 
""I just got in some TB and was thinking about putting them with either my RCS or CRS.  I decided against the CRS because I don't want mischlings, but have yet to figure out the ph balance for cards and neos."

Said today at work (by me)
 
"I'm going to lunch, gotta get some pantyhose so I can do a water change in my snowball tank"
 
(should have taken a pic of some of the reactions)

And here, we see the elusive yet beautiful white neo shrimp. They are extremely rare, so we are very lucky this one has graced us with a public presence today. Look at those elegant white legs. 
 
Alas, the white shrimp has gone back into hiding. Who knows when it will make another appearance? It is said they only come out once every blue moon, to bask in the lunar beams. Like bird watchers, shrimp watchers must be ever diligent, as they never know when that rarest of the rare will put in an appearance. 
 
Seriously, that is a lovely shrimp. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

And here, we see the elusive yet beautiful white neo shrimp. They are extremely rare, so we are very lucky this one has graced us with a public presence today. Look at those elegant white legs. 
 
Alas, the white shrimp has gone back into hiding. Who knows when it will make another appearance? It is said they only come out once every blue moon, to bask in the lunar beams. Like bird watchers, shrimp watchers must be ever diligent, as they never know when that rarest of the rare will put in an appearance. 
 
Seriously, that is a lovely shrimp. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

I like growing mini pellia emersed because I don't have to use anything to tie it down. Once submerged it stays "rooted" to the driftwood and can be easily trimmed without any being uplifted.

I have peacock and riccia emersed, grows like weeds.
 
My emersed setup is a 40b with a light diffuser "shelf" that raises the pots ~10 inches from the top, water up to about 1inch below the soil level. Powerhead and airstone for water agitation and a current sat led+ on for 14 hours a day. I spray with tank water (EI dosed) once every 2 weeks during the period I have the glass top open for air exchange.
 
Most of the plants are buce, peacock moss is in the left topmost pot, I also have it in some of the other pots but I have to remove it after a while as it chokes out whatever plant it shares a pot with. Riccia was also choking out my pygmae buce so it is now floating there converting to submersed form.
 

where can we buy some plain soap

Yeah, it snows a little yesterday and today.  Plow didn't come through, so had to shovel about 20 feet into the street.  The black line is where our driveway ends.

 
The circled item is not a Sasquatch. heh  It's a 5' 10" person.