Merth

I have often wondered about the whole breeding slowing down in the winter months and wondered how it would affect my shrimp. So I got some time last night to observe my tanks pretty well and noticed I have huge mommas in reds, blues and my sole surviving female chocolates. Hopefully the survival rates will not be affected since obviously the breeding hasnt been. On a sad note it looks like my yellows are dwindling again. I have alot of snails in that tank so I rarely see any dead bodies. i'm hoping tho not too hopeful that they are just hiding well. This will have been the 4th batch of yellows, man they sure are finicky.

I feed green beans in all my tanks. Shrimp, africans, plecos...it doesnt last long in any of them.

Welcome

are you topping off with plain RO water or remineralized? If you are topping off with the remineralized it will raise your gh as the salts are still present after evaporation.

Just a quick tidbit when looking for "stockings" to be used as media bags...check out the dollar store. they always have them and extremely cheap!

+1

I found a portable 100gpd unit at purewaterclub for $69. Got it in yesterday so havent had the chance to hook it up and test it out yet...cant wait for a day off to try it out

Welcome...good to see someone pushing the boundaries

wow congrats!

Your tank is quite beautiful. A couple comments I would make, heavy fertilizing obviously could be detrimental to the shrimp however many have had decent results using root tabs and fert sticks. I wouldn't worry too much about the plants/shrimp so long as you are careful and meticulous in your trimming. Be sure to remove dying leaves if the lighting/ferts turn out to not be enough as they can lead to spikes with too much waste. Alot of folks have the misconception that shrimp tanks only do well with mosses. This is obviously a myth proven wrong time and again. The aesthetics of a fully planted tank can have its pros and cons. Lots of plants means lots of hiding places and you may become dissatisfied never being able to spot your babies. Also heavy plant loads requires good pruning skills and good husbandry practices. Many folks like using mosses because they provide lots of grazing areas while still allowing good viewing of the shrimp. And of course they require less lighting and nutrients to maintain good appearance and health. On the flip side with a tank planted like yours obviously there is tons of grazing areas and is beautiful to look at. It will require a bit more maintenance however I would venture a guess the water quality if you can find that balance will be much more conducive to the shrimps survival rate and breeding. One word of caution, many folks that switch their fully planted tanks over to non-co2 get a little discouraged in the plant growth rate and appearance and the temptation to use a product like Excel to help the plants comes into play. I have done it with little ill effects but used at maybe 1/10th the recommended rate. I can tell you it stressed me to no end worrying about the shrimp so wouldn't advise this. Try to find a good balance while waiting on better shipping weather and you will be more pleased in the end.

In my limited experience I would agree cherries are like cockroaches hard to kill and hard to stop reproducing. My blue velvets are just getting established but seem to be equally as hardy. After 3 months and a couple different sources I have my first berried yellow. I have lost at least half if not more of the yellows during this time (mind you all params are the same in these tanks). My chocolates are in crs params and although I lost most in the big crash some have survived. They seem to be very hardy tho its definitely true the conditions ideal for crs were not condusive for the neos to thrive. They are getting their own tank and time will tell.

Welcome Puddles! Good to see you!

Wow you both are very talented!

I probably wont be on much for the next couple days so I wanted to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas! Especially Jaime I know its gonna be a tougher time this year but keep your head up it will get better

Just my two cents, I use the doubles air driven on the tanks I have hobs. Hobs are prefiltered with the edge prefilter sponge. It is a total pain. The edge prefilter sponge clogs up way to fast and flow rate slows to a trickle within one day. My latest attempt is taking the double sponge removing the clear tube center, using the extension piece to connect direct to hob. Thus making a sponge filter/hob in one.

Thanks for the replies all!

Fantastic!!!

I know its been touched a million times but I'm feeling too pooped to look thru old threads. I'm getting tired of buying RO water in a nutshell. In order to keep my tank at 70 or lower my fan causes a ton of evaporation. Sometimes to the tune of 1/2 gal a day. I really need to invest in an RO unit. I dont need a huge one by any means but I do want something reliable and reasonably priced. Currently I am only using about 5-10 gal a week depending on if I am doing a wc or not. Let me hear those thoughts and ideas

LOL Well Bryce as you know once you start with one you just cant stop I started with cherries,now have yellows, blues, chocolates (maybe ) and trying to keep Bees so orange will fit right in

Congrats and welcome to the world of shrimpies When you are ready to start getting rid of some let me know and we can do a swap

Maybe one of Soothings's Sapphires would be a nice model???

Squeeze the sponges real hard making sure all the trapped air bubbles are out.

Make the wood piece more horizontal and lower. Perch ths shrimp atop with just front legs gripping wood, rear swimmerettes tucked maybe

Those are amazing Bryce we gonna have to hook up again after the holidays I see

Alphapro has the wizards at about $20 per