Doc4PC2

(Phys.org) —Researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute have developed a method to carry out large-scale manufacturing of everyday objects—from cell phones to food containers and toys—using a fully degradable bioplastic isolated from shrimp shells. The objects exhibit many of the same properties as those created with synthetic plastics, but without the environmental threat. It also trumps most bioplastics on the market today in posing absolutely no threat to trees or competition with the food supply. The advance was reported online last week in Macromolecular Materials & Engineering.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-03-fully-compostable-bioplastic-shrimp-shells.html#jCp

I have been obsessed with Asian Arowana's from the first time I saw one in a fish book when I was a kid, so much so I kept a 9 inch silver Arowana till it grew to over 3 1/2ft from age 16 till 23 year's old. I always wanted a pair of Cross back Arowana's but everything I have read say's there illegal in the US. I have also read that you can import them as long as they are micro chipped born on a captive Arowana farm with a birth certificate and that it's a pita to get al the paper work right. I must have a pair of these fish one day, even if I have to move to Malaysia.

New tank Will usually result in some sort of algae. Not really a big deal unless it takes over the tank. I just pull the algae out if I get some.

They're funny when they mate! I had mine stuck together for like 30 min one time. I wish you luck!

Blue terms are so confusing. Are they both Neos for sure? I think they are, but I always get confused with the velvets, jellies, and pearls, some of which being different species, and some meaning different things depending on your continent.
Soothing may be more up on this, but even two blue Neo strains, when bred together, may eventually get you more wild type than blues, since it may be different genes that are controlling the color. All the selection that went into one blue strain may be lost if you mix it with the other one.
Shrimp genes are so complicated, no one can probably tell you for sure. You might get more blue, or a variety pack including several colors and more wild types. You could always experiment and let us know!

Ive had the TDS EZ Pen for 3 years and haven't had to calibrate it yet either.  Still works.  RO (school drinking water dispenser) reads like 2-15.  My tap reads 50.  The numbers are pretty accurate ballpark.  

I found this little guy today in my tank where I house low grade crs and bd's together. I'm leaning toward crs. But..... I'm not 100% sure. What do you shrimpers think?

Really glad you found a suitable staple for yourself. Again, it's more important to find a food you like, affordable, and something your shrimp will eat. Everyone has different experiences and opinion. [emoji1]
Picture of what I feed.

I like to keep small portions in cute glass jars for easy access. Rest is stored away inside original packaging inside fridge.

I have been cutting off some leafs of stinging needles and boiling them for 5 to 7 minutes, and letting
them cool, and putting them in the tank. They are gone by morning. The shrimp love the stinging
needle leafs that I grew over the summer. Leafs are still small, but they love them.

Han's would probably be best. I actually use clear ones. But they love them anyway. They like to travel inside them,
and hang out inside them even though they are clear. Anything that builds biofilm is a good thing, I would think. But
Han's has some great one, and he even has some that he puts the moss on them too, that I am sure the shrimp will love.

I will admit to being a Tangayikan fan and occasionally spot these from importers. Never tried them, but are certainly on the list should I have a decent enough sized tank. I have never come across the limnocaradina genus previously, but the macros I have seen. The crabs are intrigueing to me as they are completely freshwater and must be able to breed in the lake and possibly home aquarium. If they were not so large and aggressive they would be a fun oddball. From references they primarily eat the snails and also contribute heavily to the shellbeds the lamprologine cichlids have evolved to utilize. I know there are a wide range of snails that are illegal in the US, along with jellyfish and things more suitable to a marine tank then fresh. I'll definitely try these some day

Limnocaridina tanganyicae

macrobrachium moorei

Platythelphusa tuberculata female

 
Platythelphusa tuberculata male

Platythelphusa tuberculata female with offspring

Doc- i feel for you man, but shrimp LOVE algae and biofilm. My best tanks have good algae growth, its a guaranteed buffet for all shrimp, especially newborns. If it bothers you that much do a blackout for a week or 2. DO NOT EVER USE ANY CHEMICAL IN YOUR TANK THAT IS NOT SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR SHRIMP TANKS. Shrimp tanks have algae and biofilm and little critters.. That is the ecosystem they thrive in, not a pristine tank.

There will always be new lessons to be learned haha. Best bet is find a schedule, foods and products that work for you and the shrimp do good and do not change it! I do the same water changes, feed the same foods and use the same products every week.
I think one of the most important things is to watch your shrimp, I do not test anything other than tds. Watch for molts, splits in shells, and every day behavior. You will get used to how your shrimp act and they will tell you without the hassle of testing. For instance if i notice a split appearing on a royal i know my gh is creeping up, much faster and more reliable than the hard to read test kits.
Just my 2 cents on keeping shrmp lol.

More power to ya, Doc.

Glad you are back, it is good to see your post and your new tank that I hope will flourish!

Okay, great, thanks for all of the info everyone. I think I will go with the dry bamboo uncoated, and scrub it down good,
and let it soak in RO until it sinks and put it in the tank.

Figured we could find this useful on this website. I was searching for "shrimp aquariums in Taiwan" to see how they build there breeding tanks and personal tanks. Needless to say there was no photos.bs,
Anyways lol here it is

I put five CBS that were berried in a small one gallon tank while I was working on the new Mr. Aqua 12 gallon tank, and they all had their fry, so I have cbs fry like crazy. It looks like there is a 100 fry easy in the tank. It just has a leaf bottom on bare glass with a sponge and mini canister and a air stone, but the tank is full of fry. The bottom has Indian almond leaf, mulberry leaf, oak leaf, alder cones and small plant and that's it, but they are munching on the leafs like crazy, plus I put in some baby powder. They are growing fast, and only a week old, but there is a ton of them. It is so cool!
See my new post in the journals on the Mr. Aqua 12 gallon setup. I love the clarity of the Mr. Aqua tank. It is crystal clear!

I just went through a huge algae explosion with one of my 10 ten gallons, and I had to clean it up. Cleaned all the décor with a toothbrush,
vacuumed the substrate, cleaned the glass inside and out, changed about 65% of the water, rinsed the sponges and filters in the aquarium
water and put them back in, and now the tank is back to it's normal, "looks great tank look".    Pain in the butt, but once I was done, I was
happy.
 
Right now, I am starting from scratch with a Mr. Aqua 12 gallon, low iron, tank for my shrimp. It is a really nice tank. I am going with a easy to
clean and maintain setup up. Substrate in holders, dish for leaves, Penn Plax Cascade 500 canister filter, Tom's nano filters, sponges, and
a side HMF. I just finished making a sliding glass top for it, and a hanging light. I am making this tank, so that it will be easy to clean and deal
with. Everything in this tank is setup, so I can get to anything easily, simply, quickly, clean it and put it back. With the substrate in the containers,
and plants in little glass containers, bare bottom floor, with large dishes for food and leaves, the HMF, and sponges so there is still plenty of
biofilm and bacteria. I am hoping, this will put an end to things like worms, planaria, hydra, and the constant cleaning and dealing with the
tank. Obviously, I will have to do some, but I am trying to set this up, so everything is easier, quicker, with the ability to deal with bad things
much better and easier, but still have a great environment for the shrimp.  
 
That's the plan, and hopefully, it will go the way I want. I'll let you know. But like you too, sometimes, you just get a little bummed out with
the tanks. I have five of them, and I am slowly setting each one up to be much easier to deal with.

Read more in the Mr. Aqua Gallery.
 
This shows how I set this up to be easy to take care of. That is what I am trying to do anyway. Inert Substrate in containers, moss sheet, even plants in glass container, container for food and leaves, Malaysia drift wood, Penn Plax Cascade 500 Canister filter, three Tom's mini canister filters, three dual sponges, four air stones, one bubble wand, Danner air pump with four air slots, large HFM Filter with mini canister and sponge behind it, Colbolt Neo - Therm Heater, bare bottom, cup of alder cones, sliding glass top, and the ability to take anything out of the tank with ease and clean it in aquarium water at any time. Even if I vacuum the bare bottom floor, it goes into a big 5 gallon bucket, so if any shrimp or fry get caught, they just go right back into the tank. The water is crystal clear with setup and tank. Read more in the journal images.

This will house TB's, I have a bunch that are berried, and my CBS just has a ton of fry in a smaller tank right now. It is full of CBS fry. This tank is cycling right now. I use Colony, and have had good luck with it, the tank cycles in about 10 to 12 days and then the shrimp can go in. With the Colony, the fish are fine and are helping cycle the tank. It is RO water with Bee Shrimp Minerals GH+, Bee balls, and with the HMF, plants, filters, sponges, wood, etc. There will be plenty of biofilm for them. The only thing I will be adding is some drift wood branches and twigs for them to run around on.

Water parameters will be: PH - 6.4, TDS - 135 - 150, Temp 72, KH - 0, GH - 6, - I may add a low keys absorption board.

Anyway, I would love to get some opinions on the tank setup and what you think

U could use the divider and get some ss fry proof mesh sheet from Han to put over the divider.

I put five CBS that were berried in a small one gallon tank while I was working on the new Mr. Aqua 12 gallon tank, and they all had their fry, so I have cbs fry like crazy. It looks like there is a 100 fry easy in the tank. It just has a leaf bottom on bare glass with a sponge and mini canister and a air stone, but the tank is full of fry. The bottom has Indian almond leaf, mulberry leaf, oak leaf, alder cones and small plant and that's it, but they are munching on the leafs like crazy, plus I put in some baby powder. They are growing fast, and only a week old, but there is a ton of them. It is so cool!
See my new post in the journals on the Mr. Aqua 12 gallon setup. I love the clarity of the Mr. Aqua tank. It is crystal clear!

Zooplanktons, their eggs, babies...are food for your shrimp and shrimplets, they also help break down the organic matters and involve in the filtration process.
 

Valid questions. In a healthy ecosystem you have many different crustaceans, many of which are very tiny. If you don't suspect that they have a negative impact on your shrimps, which they aparently don't have, I would not bother. They might even have a positive effect.
You could also put some fish into the tank that prey on these tiny crustaceans that have very small mouths. I have celestial perl danios (Danio margaritatus) or green rasbora (Microrasbora kubotai) in some of my shrimp tanks and the shrimps are reproducing. I am not 100% sure that they don't eat a juvenile shrimp once in a while, but they don't seem to have a negative impact on the shrimp population.

But it sure does feel satisfying in the short run to see that BBA turn hot pink and die.
 
Doc, if you do try the bandaid methods, do be careful on the amount of H2O2 you add at once, since it can kill your beneficial bacteria and such as well as the algae. A mL or two at a time in one spot is usually pretty safe. And sometimes turning the filter off *temporarily* for a minute or two before and after can help, since the moving water won't wash it all away from your trouble spot.