Shrimp lady

Does anyone keep Pleco's or have any success breeding them? I'm new to these but are VERY fastinated by them! Please share your experiences here...

These "video tape" shaped boxes will get crushed for sure! It's just TOO cold to sent anything alive right now. I would'nt order from any seller who uses this cheap way of packaging either. A medium sized USPS lined with styrofoam cut to size can be shipped via first class or Priority (by weight) for a minimal cost. It can't say "flat rate on the box either"
I have good experience and excellent 100% feed backs as an E-bay seller for tropical plants & shipping live things + private fish sales/trades but won't ship anything til' springtime, heat pack or not.

you guys that use the small flat rate boxes,do you do it even though the package weighs like 3 ounces?
that doesn't make sense.
i've seen people sell a small amount of moss and want 6 bucks for shipping.
you buy bubble mailers or boxes and ship first class.
in most cases first class takes the same time for delivery as priority does.

An LED flashlight is what orginally got my attention for them 
Another pic which shows detail (and clarity) a bit better. Either way, I'm super excited. Later today I pick up 20 more to round out the colony!
 

Try an LED light and shine it directly to see if you can "see through them"...if so Bloody good!

I would be interested in learning more on soft coral's & kelp-type plants that can handle sub-tropical brackish water environment?
This little 5.5 G. I just set-up is for breeding Caridina Serratirostris  (Ninja shrimp) 

Anything will do including tidal grasses or kelps that thive in a tidal zone which is the theme I trying to immitate. See my thread for in Brackish (C. Serratirostris) I don't want to take over this thread

I have recently acquired a few Green jades from my LFS as well and came from 2 different sources for a total of 6, (as these are abit pricely) so purchased only a few to try out. One was partly berried (a few fry had already hatched the day I got her) The remaining eggs have hatched out in my overgrown 5.5 gallon so really have not seen them so far, but no deaths as I check it daily (no pink bodies on the bottom). These are strikingly Army green jade in color (I call it Army green). Will follow this thread too and see if his come out true and mine as well.
If anyone else has these chime in, or I can get them some too (P.N.W area in the USA) These are definately a fun Neo.  to try out. 

A bit late to the party but Lyana I recently had the same experience with my shrimp only tank. It had been doing wonderfully well for about 7 months and all of a sudden breeding stopped, I was losing 2-3 shrimp a week and they all just seemed less active ... it was weird. Meanwhile in my cull tank which includes a few neon tetras and some african dwarf frogs the shrimp were still doing well. They were breeding like crazy and very active with no deaths. Both tanks have a black sand substrate with some light planting (java ferns and java moss). I use remineralized RO water and hadn't changed any part of my routine. The only thing I could think of that I did differently in the two tanks was that I vacuum the substrate in the cull tank (which includes fish and frogs) but don't in the shrimp only tank. So I started vacuuming the substrate during my regular weekly 10% water changes. I didn't go crazy, I just hit 2-3 spots each week keeping a close eye out for any shrimplets. I noticed results almost immediately. After 3 weeks of this the shrimp seem to be back to normal. There have been no more deaths, I've got 3 berried females and everyone is much more active again.
 
Sounds like your reset is already underway; that was my plan if the vacuuming didn't help. I hope it goes well and solves your problems. Good luck!

Yes I think you covered all the bases, except for photo size and subject of the photo as you suggested (one for fish & one for shrimp)
Let the fun begin!

Test this product in a fish safe bucket first start withNeutral water (7.0 P.H.) per teaspoon and work up from there.
Read the ingredients as well, look them up on a Google search to educate yourself, what is these ingredients do?
(please post the exact name of the product your using too), which Seachem? as there are alot of products made by them.
Do the math with your water amount too once you test it in the bucket per gallon which you could do per one gallon tests. How does it react from a 7.0 p.h.starting point on up, per teaspoon? or 1/2 ts. Sounds like this product it a variable one and that's a good thing.,flexible as there are no pre-measured doses.
Only raise it in .5 to 1.0 p.h. increments per day.
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) will raise P.H. as well...
What is the substrate your using too? Any rock in there??? wood?
Why are you needing to raise it anyhow??? What type of shrimp are they & are they doing good now??
Who says you need to raise it and what is it (P.H.) right now before you mess with it??? 
Please add more info to help... just take your time, don't rush things as mother nature didn't happen overnight, right?  
Learn it as aquarium chemistry is quite fun once you get the hang of it! We're here to help fellow Aquarists

3 mil Poly bags stood in the upright position is best. Box marked for this as well. I recieved and order of 52 Crytoheros,  3" cichlids shipped this way, less sloshing and separate bag, per fish. The sharp pecktrol fins can pierce a Kordon bag too easily.

You can retrofit the common T-8 fixtures with a new to the market (8 months) T-8 L.E.D. tube bulb for around $8.00 to $12.00 bucks.
Look on E-bay.type in search box, "T-8 1.5 foot led tube" I bought mine Epack directly from China seller (read ratings first though...)
Easy to do just remove the old ballast and hook up directly to each tomestone end (hot/nuetral) as the light has its own mini transformer build in the tube already. Nice mellow light that will grow plants. I selected the day white version. Good luck!!!

What did you all get for X-mas??
I bought myself 2 L-165 Pleco's + an L-129 Colombian pleco & 7 small type (clear with hologrammic line) mystery tetras that acme in as wild by-catches with Cardinal tetra's.
Spent some time in this old river town Called Snohomish, Wa. shopping the Antique stores and of course a visit to the L.F.S.
Amazing selection as they get stock from the Wet Spot Portland, Oregon
Finished the night off watching an acoustic guitar "open mike" at the Oxford restaurant and bar in old town.
Great holiday adventures!
 

Does this guy live in Hawaii? I have a Hawaiian friend that I bought my shrimp from as well.

I've been searching E-bay for clip-on lights for the back side and found some really cool lookin' one's, They are shipped for China and have ordered fro there before with no problem, cost effective too even though I should be supporting U.S, sellers,, Hey all of these LED lights are made there anyhow!

Well I have managed to get the bottom rim off with no problems as it was just "spot tacked" in place with black silicone. Now the top rim,,, well it's pretty well siliconed to the max! I have managed to remove most of it (without breaking any sides) and will use a heat gun (looks like a hair wicked dryer!) on the low setting to soften up the rest of the rim pieces and should come off with ease. I have a nano in-tank filter on hand and had bought a 15 watt pre-set sealed heater made by Aqua-top the day I scored this (hey I felt I owed this cool shop something in return). Now all's I need is some kind of clear cover and a light that will grow plants and will look like it was made for it, any idea's???
I will post more pics when it's completely de-rimmed. Thanks for the comments/encouragements

Welcome!
Which ailment is it you have, yellow, blue, or red shrimp fever? Tell us more about yourself and what your interests are??

O.K. as requested by River garden nursery here is a few pics of my Fluval Spec III
 

Svetilda, Have you set yours up yet??? I want to see it and posted mine already.

O.K. as requested by River garden nursery here is a few pics of my Fluval Spec III
 

A black sponge piece would hide it better though I leave mine open, ...

I would try to vacuum off the top most layer, rinse it, and do a 15% water change let it clear up first and clean filter with a good rinsing. Up your temp to 74o and see if they are a bit more active then. It can't hurt to try...

Well I have managed to get the bottom rim off with no problems as it was just "spot tacked" in place with black silicone. Now the top rim,,, well it's pretty well siliconed to the max! I have managed to remove most of it (without breaking any sides) and will use a heat gun (looks like a hair wicked dryer!) on the low setting to soften up the rest of the rim pieces and should come off with ease. I have a nano in-tank filter on hand and had bought a 15 watt pre-set sealed heater made by Aqua-top the day I scored this (hey I felt I owed this cool shop something in return). Now all's I need is some kind of clear cover and a light that will grow plants and will look like it was made for it, any idea's???
I will post more pics when it's completely de-rimmed. Thanks for the comments/encouragements

I'm wondering about what I see being fed in this thread.  I have not seen anything about what nutrients or shrimp specific nutritional needs are being addressed with these foods.  Coffee grounds for instance.  So they eat them.  Obviously they don't eat coffee grounds in nature - but they may eat decaying seeds that are similar.  But what does the coffee ground provide to the shrimp that they need.  What does it provide that they don't get in other ways??  I see some fruits being fed - but most fruits are primarily carbohydrates.  Shrimp don't really need much in the way of carbs...so other than watching them gorge themselves on what amounts to candy for shrimp, is there a reason they are being fed.  
Leaves are excellent foods in general because of their nutritional profile. Morniga, Kale, and Spinach all have well documented nutritional profiles AND those nutritional profiles match what shrimp need very well.  White Mulberry leaves have spotty nutritional profiles available, and lots of anecdotal claims about their dietary benefits.  White mulberry is also native to the same local as shrimp are native, so it stands to reason that a fair number of White mulberry leaves get blown into or dropped into the water ways inhabited by dwarf shrimp.  Bamboo is also native to some of the areas shrimp are native to.  I have no data on bamboo leave nutrition but they must be nutritious and have some fairly rare characteristics because Pandas feed almost exclusively on bamboo and can't survive without bamboo.  My shrimp don't eat bamboo leaves very fast, but they do graze on them as they slooooooly decompose.  
 
The question "what will they eat" is not really important.  The question that's important is what do they need to eat.   It may be amusing to watch a group of people eat a diet of donuts and ice cream - but they end result won't be very pretty.  Likewise with shrimp - except they are scavengers and will eat most anything.  
 
That said -- I have no objections to feeding coffee grounds, apples, figs or whatever - but I question the WHY of choosing those specific foods.   If coffee grounds provide some nutrient that's beneficial I want to know about it and add it to my arsenal of foods which currently includes:  Home made powders of Kale, Spinach, Stinging nettle, Papaya leaf, spirulina, Moringa leaf, white Mulberry leaf, Pollen, astaxanthin, anise, dried green wallnut leaves, and dried green pecan leaves.  (I might have forgotten a couple)