Louie

Or you could use vinegar. I love Windex and still use it, but I understand white vinegar is a good alternative and safer.

You can even use hydrogen peroxide .

Not knowing anything about these fish . Why are females so hard to find ?

I would think they are found/caught in same areas as males .

The block next to food dish .

Perhaps it isn't wood I'm just going by looks .

Maybe the USPS thinks with low fuel combined with the rate increase they can pull themselves out of the huge hole they dug due to stupidity and incompetence.

There was a time when the Post office had a Post Master General and you could call him or write him.  There was no internet than but they had an 800 number and someone would actually pick up and no recording  , lol .

Then the government realized that zero accountability where no one was actually in charge was the best way to go with the postal service , lol.

 

The post man here in my town, and Fedex or UPS Stuffs, they are all very nice, and helping custom in needs. 

 

My local post office is fantastic but the sorting facility is deplorable .

Before my wife retired she worked at a store which got lots packages from different delivery systems . Packages  '' lost''  or delivered to wrong address ,etc  . USPS becomes a massive run around with no accountability and no end in sight as far as compensation or anyone being responsible .

They are labyrinth .

UPS and Fed-ex aren't angels because it can take weeks but there is an end in sight and they do make amends .

I tried to snap a picture of mine but I hate to see my reflection on the glass. So, it's best I could without me.

 

I have some hornwort in there, willow moss, unknown to me moss, some moss that I bought as Christmas but I don't think it is, round pelia on a cholla wood, mini pelia on a small lava rock and on a ledge, a bucephalandra that doesn't do well, and some floaters that don't do well either (too much of current). The coolest thing I have in this little tank is a Turkish hazelnut.

 

In the tank live about 40 mischling/red panda babies, 5 tibees and 2 nerite snails.

Nice tank.

I notice you have a wooden ''block'' in there which I have seen in a couple of pics here .  What is it for ?

http://imgur.com/Y7N1z6U

I dunno,  I couldn't really capture it on camera when I tried, but in person they are definitely a few shades darker than my normal CRS.

Oh that is nice .

I can't bring myself to cull a healthy shrimp just for being ugly, so I throw anything I don't want breeding with my normal shrimp in the weird shrimp tank.

lol I too have a cull tank .  I'm not a breeder but the ugly shrimps I put in a heavy planted 29 gallon tank with male guppies .

Better safe than sorry and as you know you don't have to spray the window . Spray a paper towel, etc than wipe window with that this way nothing gets in your tank.

Ok so here are my results from the API Freswater Master Test Kit. I am posting pictures of them so you can see for yourself so I am not missing anything.

No Flash:

With Flash:

 

That is pretty much stable and what the test has always red. Ive noticed the No3 looks like its getting a little darker toward the orange but still yellow. The only thing I can think of is the PH is still pretty high. Can I just add peat moss, like I do my 29 gallon to lower the PH levels. Just not going to look good in the tank, but I would rather the tank to look bad and function, then good and shrimp die. Here is a video of the tank as well. http://s226.photobucket.com/user/slowmofo357/media/12%20Gallon%20Aquarium/20160105_084448_zpsnfrvphn3.mp4.html

 

@Pescador: Thanks for the advice, I did not know I needed any sort of mat for the tank... I am glad that you have said something and my next order will be a mat. Do you have any suggestions? The only one that I have saw is this one which looks to be the one for the model tank I have. http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Aqua-Aquarium-Placement-Bookshelf/dp/B00BNRWJ4O

 

@Loui: I have been running CO2 in my 29 gallon aquarium for about 8 months now with no big issues. I am also not using the DIY method like you said. I ended up buying the Fluval co2 kit that comes with the regulator and bought the adapter for a paintball tank. I got a 20oz paintball tank, 29 gallon (Aquatek mini co2 electric regulator) and 5.5 (Fluval Regulator). I have an adapter that converts the CO2 tank to fit my regulator. I have not been dosing co2 in my shrimp tank because I thought that was the cause of the recent deaths, but that doesnt seem to be the case. 

 

 

Here is my 29 gallon that I am waiting for the carpet to start. I ended up having to upgrade my lighting for the Dwarf baby tears to start as they were dying. ( I am running a Finnex Planted Plus 24/7, and a Finnex Ray 2 which is super bright.) The fish in the tank are Galaxy Rasboras (5), Harlequin Rasbora (5), Neon Tetras (25), Albino Cory Cat (2), Julii Cory Cat (2), Otocinclus Catfish (2), Ghost Shrimp (1) lol lost the others, Nerite Snails (4).

I love neons which I have never actually kept but they look amazing in planted tanks .

What temp are you keeping them at ?

I ask because have read lots diff temps for them.

Can you post a good RODI unit that I can hook straight to a faucet? I was looking at the BRS ones, and it looks they just come with an adapter. Also, Does anyone know where I can get a top for this aquarium? I have been looking because I am trying to keep the water in there as long as possible. 

I do not like glass nor acrylic because when you clean it its prone to scratches or worse .

I use thin polycarbonate which I have found scratch proof and as clear as any acrylic plus strong as far as putting lights on .

http://freckleface.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/polycarbonatesheet.html

Hey everyone, new to the forum and the world of shrimp keeping. I am going to be starting a nano 5.5 gallon crystal red shrimp planted tank. Check out my video. I am going to document the whole process.

 

My Setup

 

I currently have a 20 gallon planted tank with a few fish. Unfortunately shrimp would not be compatible with one of the tank mates so i'm starting a whole new tank!! Cant wait for the plant order to come in!!

 

Hope to hear from you

 

 

- Matt

 

Side note: Does anyone on here breed CRS and sell them?

I looked at the video and I also use CFL bulbs which I find great for plants BUT the bright white CFL bulbs are much better than the day light bulbs and the soft white are the worse .   They work but nothing as well as the bright white bulbs

The bright white bulbs make for lousy pics as the cell phone pics up green light which is invisible to the eye while the day light and soft white do not but that green light seems to get those plants to grow much better .

I got one for my first tank when I was 9, it died in 24 hours, so did the replacement. a few years later I tried again figuring I was more experienced, nope dead by dawn. My last attempt was a Striped Raphael Catfish, I may as well have dumped into into a deep fryer. Something about out well water killed bony fished dead. It was fantastic for malawian cichlids though (7-8PH and insanely hard. I know there was also copper from the blue crystals that formed on the tank).

Could it be something in the well water such as the copper ?

Some types of plecos are bred here in Fish farms and the PH here is high

Before starting off this thread, I want to give a huge shout out to the support team at shrimpspot for fixing my username!

 

Well first things first, My name is Justin, and I am very new to the shrimp world. I have a 5.5 gallon tank right now, that is in need of a upgrade. So, after countless hour of research on which tank to buy, I have decided on the 12 gallon long by Mr Aqua. I decided to hop on craigslist (shot in the dark) but I actually found a guy in North Jersey (about 2 hours and 45 minutes away) that has one. So January 31, 2016 I set off to New Jersey to pick up the tank. When I arrived in NJ the first sight of the tank, you would not believe how big of a smile I had on my face. The guy was really nice the only thing that needed to be done is a little clean up! Later that night after getting back, I decided to start the whole cleaning of the tank process. So, I filled it up with hot water, and decided to eat dinner and watch my Hockey team while letting the tank soak (you probably already know where this is going.) After about 1.5 hours I heard a really loud bang, yes, a large crack right down the front of the aquarium.Here is a picture of the tragedy. 

 

Because I could never find a new one, I decided to try and repair this one. I started searching for glass and I could not believe it but I found a company that still sells the Mr Aqua 12 gallon long low iron for only 115... (There goes the 60 I threw on the old one). Well I ordered the new one and the tank looks amazing! I really want to go with the Iwagumi style, but after much thought I have decided to go with a driftwood setup, using Manzanita wood (Ohko Stone/Dragon stone is very expensive). Anyways I found a company Bloom & Branches who had just what I needed at a really decent price (pre sandblasted). When the wood arrived I couldn't have asked for a better set. 

Here is the one I will be using in my tank (I bought these prior to seeing how big the actual tank is so I will have to cut them a little. 

 

Here is the wood sitting in the tank:

 

I really like the look of it hanging out but I think if I cut the top section off it would be the perfect height and look amazing sitting in the tank. Anyways, I was looking up good substrate and decided to go with Fluval Plant and Shrimp Stratum, I only bought a 17.6 pound bag so I think I will need another bag to get the 2.5 inch to 3 Inch I am looking for. Now, after more research I also chose to use BorneoWild (BW) products and purchased the following. 

 

I did not buy the Bebi and shrimp food from there (that card on the bottom), but no one I couldnt find had the Bebi. Also, I guess I accidentally added two of the Enlives, but Im not worried about it. Im sure I can use it eventually.  I also, picked up a Aqueon Pro 100 submersible heater that I will be using in the tank as well. 

 

So right now this is where I am stuck. I have a couple air stones that I will be running in this tank, as well as using dual sponge filters. 

 

Anyways, here is my 5.5 gallon tank that I mentioned earlier. I have Cherry Shrimp and Bloody Mary Shrimp, as well as a Super red cherry in there (he was my original). I keep losing shrimp though which is why I am setting up a new tank. Here is my old/current setup lol.

Before: 

 

After: Current Setup. 

 

As you can see I have horned nerite snails as well. (They lay white eggs all over the place, which I hate). 

 

Now the pictures of the shrimp. Here is my original shrimp that I have had for 6 months. When I bought them (local fish store, had to order) he told me he was a super red cherry. Bought 5, only one left...

 

My next order: about 20 shrimp

This was my pregnant girl... For some reason I have a death every other day it seems. She was one of them. She was shipped pregnant to me. 

 

Bloody Mary Shrimp: 12. I just ordered these but they are still fairly small, and dont have good pictures yet.

 

Plants in the tank:

Dwarf Baby Tears (carpet)

Anubias Nana (floating as I have no idea what to do with, thought you could plant them)

Java moss (got with shrimp grows like crazy!) Going to attach this to my drift wood with fishing line when setting up. 

 

I dont have a RODI system (cant afford) so I will be using distilled water. 

 

I have a CO2 setup for it but still haven't used it since filled because I thought that was killing the shrimp which doesnt seem to be it. 

 

Any info/help would be great!

Nice set up . I have not had luck with DIY CO2 and shrimp thus stopped using it couple years ago.

It has fans built on the back

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Thanks

Man i wish i could grow aquatic plants outside! I feel bad every time i do a big trim and have to throw away a big bucket full of plants.

You could sell, trade, give away extra plants .

I have been able to grow a few aquatic plants on soil by accident like ludwiga, water sprite ,anubias, java fern and crypts and they might disappear when its hot and dry for weeks, months but they return when it rains for few days .

Wow those shrimps are stunning.

The white/black shrimps at 8/11 are amazing .

The whole plant showed its red hue. But after the tank filled in and especially after adding frog bit only new growth from the top half of the tank was reddish anything that grew below that was green with smaller petals.

I kept Repens and Atlantis outside and bright beautiful red but just like inside I noticed that after few inches they were not red which is why I asked you .

When I used DIY C02 in my 55 gallon the Repens certainly had way more red .

I'm a fan of ludwigas and actually have repens which I discarded because I had so much growing on lawn without water .

Just lay them on the glass is all I do.

Thanks . I asked because was under impression that you couldn't just lay led on glass, etc without some space in between or it would over heat but noticed that fixture did not have legs .

They recently had your state on Finding Bigfoot .

They didn't find him but lots of sightings , lol.

Uh oh I hope they are the former! It's hard to tell as they are so tiny [emoji52] What is the best course of action, I like to try and use as few chems as poss, would water changes do it if I did 2 a week instead of 1?

I find it fascinating all these creatures popping up, like a proper mini eco system...so cool [emoji18]

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  Even if they are planaria and not  detritus worms with fish there is no need to do anything .

Initially I thought of planaria because I suspected you of over feeding the fish , lol .

yeah.  I've been reading you definitely want home bred because of the rate of deaths from imported.

Not being an expert on either shrimp or crabs thus could be wrong . I get the feeling that crabs are way more delicate than shrimp as far as wild caught and seems that plenty of crabs sold are wild caught .

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=390885496493&alt=web

I actually use these for freshwater now. I got them initially for a salt tank and they grew coral great. Needed a light one day as my t5 burnt out.

These black boxes make my ludwigia red. Turn the deepest red I have ever seen. They make all my plants look great. I actually ordered this larger one for my 75g. There is a smaller cheaper one too for smaller tanks.

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You lay them on glass or just open tank/no cover  ?

http://m.ebay.com/itm/EVO-18-6500K-LED-Aquarium-Light-Freshwater-Plant-Tropical-Fish-Discus-10x-3W-/301198334979?nav=SEARCH

I have the 36" version. Bright enough to make my ludwigia Atlantis and p kawagoemum show off their red hues.

 The entire ludwiga Atlantis shows their red color or just near the light  ?

Ludwiga repens with CFL .

Bad news, the crabs came in bad shape and died after few days ( 1 was DOA). I would recommend express shipping on these guys.

Pet store I go to had them but not the purple type . They had a red type and the woman who owns the pet store who knows fish, inverts inside out said they ship very poorly from country they are collected in .

She holds them for a month before selling them and only got them because 2 people wanted them.

Think half died first 2 weeks .