ShrimpFan's All Things Shrimps

[ANBU]

Do you use co2? Fissiden are so beautiful.

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[ANBU]

^ LOL nvm i see your diffuser now...

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

^ LOL nvm i see your diffuser now...

Hah! Yep. CO2, ferts, and a whole bunch of other shrimp taboos people are too afraid to do. I put these guys through a lot and they're always fine...heat is my worst enemy though...

Oh. So an small update on the Blue Bolt x minerals and supplement experiment. I found a few photos of my Blue Bolt brood before dosing. Can you guys spot the differences. It's obvious but can you tell what the minerals did to them in terms of colors. This part is more subtle.

Before:

Currently:

Originally, all my Blue Bolt were consider half bodied as only the heads expressed blue colors with the body barely hinting at any blue colors but not enough to be considered full bodied. Now, the full bodied that I did buy (3) ended up being in a league of their own, but these ones bred from shadow panda parents ended up not too shabby.

We're not taking lead and turning it into gold here, but what we are doing is bringing out the best potential in each shrimp. I would consider the current picture above a full bodied Blue Bolt.

[DETAquarium]

Great pictures Chef. What camera are you using? Got a new macro lens?

[Merth]

Wow what a difference very beautiful!

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Great pictures Chef. What camera are you using? Got a new macro lens?

Fuji X-T1 + Carl Zeiss Touit 50mm macro

[emoji106]

Wow what a difference very beautiful!

Just trying to make the best of what we have. Better than forking over an arm and a leg for something just to have it lose colors because it's not happy. My goal is to figure out the root cause and address it so everyone can keep the best shrimps happy.

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

After checking the around my 60P for the mosura Blue Bolt female, I had almost lost hope of ever finding her. I thought she mysteriously disappeared like my Hino Red Wine female but I spotted her behind a piece of driftwood covered in fissidens. She's preggers so she's a little bit shy. I cannot wait to see her babies all of whom I believe will be beautiful!

I didn't have any time to really take out the X-T1 and take some macro photos so I snapped a few photos on my iPhone.

Hope you guys enjoy.

^ This shadow panda has just the most awesome shade of blue. I'll try to do a macro-photo of her in the future.

^ One of my bigger Blue Bolt females. You might or might not be able to tell, but she was once a half bodied Blue Bolt. She only had a blue head with a mostly white and specks of blue scattered along the areas of the lower half of her body(not significant enough to be categorized as a full bodied Blue Bolt). She's what I would consider the highest pinnacle of what a low grade half Blue Bolt can aspire to become.

^ I was quite surprise this male BKK decided to climb inside the breeder box to hang out with all the female mischlings... He's quite the trouble maker... I had to net him out, but don't believe he's sit idly inside the 60P. I'm expecting to find this climber back inside the box in no time. [emoji20]

Regarding my plants really quickly. Since appling the tint sparingly on the light fixture as a way to mediate the light intensity problem I was having, I've experienced my fissidens along with the other moss inside the 60P undergo a transformation where they're getting their beautiful lush green colors back. Not more ugly yellow moss!! Algae has also shown signs of receding. I'm finding myself cleaning the glassware less often and there's less algae growing on the leaves of my bucephalandra. Overall, in very happy with the 60P.

It's hump day Wednesday tomorrow! Weekend is near!

Cheers!

[eozen81]

Amazing journal, really enjoyed this. If I did'nt miss can you please share your experience how you did ADA cycling before welcoming the shrimps?

 

Hope to see new shrimplets soon

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

I didn't do anything special when cycling the 60P. I did use Seachem's stability during the process but I ended up cycling the tank for about 3mos before adding shrimps.

I am now trying a new bacteria liquid to cycle my cubes. It's been about 2 weeks (1 week with an actual filter running) so I'll update how those tanks are doing on a later post.

[eozen81]

So you did 0 Water change for 3 months in the cycling period for ADA?

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

So you did 0 Water change for 3 months in the cycling period for ADA?

Sorry for being vague. So I mentioned on another post that as knowledge and experience grows, methodology will change.

For the 60P I performed daily waterchanges to clear the cloudy/muddy appearance that is created when using ADA aquasoil. Amazonia is especially worst because it causes water to be VERY cloudy and muddy.

So performing daily waterchanges was more for cosmetics and a personal preference as dirty water bothers me. After the water cleared up, I just did weekly waterchanges. It's mandatory or required after the water clears up.

I've since changed my approach for the 25gal cubes I'm currently cycling. Instead of doing daily waterchanges for the first week to ensure clearer water, I've opted to just leave it and let the dirt and grime build up. California is experiment a drought so in a way it helps. I'm also really lazy so it's a big advantage for me.

So far, the cubes are starting to clear up by itself. Now, the "dirty" look is still there (similar to a tanning effect) but the cloudiness is decreasing. I'm using the stages of cloudiness as an indicator to gauge how far along my cycling process is.

The plan is, once the tanks (cubes) are fully done cycling (I'm not going to wait 3mos like I did for the 60P because I'm actively adding liquid bacteria which should be cultivating and helping me cycle faster) I'll perform a 90-95% waterchange with RO water mineralize to the correct parameters and then introduce shrimps immediately.

[Greenteam]

It's cool how the BB's darken up when you add what they lack lol. I noticed all mine would turn darker when I used BT-9 but never thought anything about it.

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

It's cool how the BB's darken up when you add what they lack lol. I noticed all mine would turn darker when I used BT-9 but never thought anything about it.

Yep! It's pretty amazing how animals react when the ideal environment is provided. This is also why I disagree with some other shrimp keeping methods/practices where people keep shrimps in less than ideal environment and use that as a means to cull. You'll never know the true potential of a shrimp if you house it in 2dGH and use their lack of minerals to develop nice shells as a reason to cull. They were disadvantaged from the beginning. Provide them with the best environment possible and THEN cull. That's the only way to really you'll the problem is a genetics issue.

[eozen81]

Thank you. About my ADA first set up I mimicked what I saw in youtube and covered ADA with a bag to make sure mud/cloud impact would be minimum. It took only few hours to get a crystal clear tank then. I mean I had never saw a muddy/cloudy water in my tank set up. Below you can see my tank after 2-3 hours that I filled it up with water. The water is mineralized RO water to make sure beneficial bacteria grow up.

So my hesitation is now not cosmetics but biological cycling, that's why I want to plan weekly water changes but not huge amounts, maybe %15-%20 and repeat this for 3 months. Would you agree with this? Or should I also welcome a fish like guppy or plati to help the cycling?

And sorry for harassing your thread...

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Thank you. About my ADA first set up I mimicked what I saw in youtube and covered ADA with a bag to make sure mud/cloud impact would be minimum. It took only few hours to get a crystal clear tank then. I mean I had never saw a muddy/cloudy water in my tank set up. Below you can see my tank after 2-3 hours that I filled it up with water. The water is mineralized RO water to make sure beneficial bacteria grow up.

So my hesitation is now not cosmetics but biological cycling, that's why I want to plan weekly water changes but not huge amounts, maybe %15-%20 and repeat this for 3 months. Would you agree with this? Or should I also welcome a fish like guppy or plati to help the cycling?

And sorry for harassing your thread...

Firstly, beautiful tank and setup.  I really dig the rack (I have a similar rack but it's better because its matted black  ).  I had a similar thinking process as you earlier last year.  You might want to check out this blog as it will be a valuable source of knowledge.  I noticed that you're cycling with plants.  I used to cycle with plants as well, but what I came to realize is that during the ammonia/ammonium phase, my plants would start to die and decay.  This added to a long list of problems later on once the tank is cycled in the form of algae and other annoyances.  Most of what i'm going to say will be included on the blogger but basically I do a lights out, no waterchange, slap a heater and crank it up to the 80's, and dose my Revive Vita and Sinewy Cereal S as a way to feed the bacteria so they can colonize properly.  Waterclears up by itself as bacteria establish and takes control of the tank.  The cloudiness will subside (I was a skeptic until 2 days ago).    

 

Because you're using ADA Aquasoil, I don't believe adding live animals is a good idea.  It's usually very toxic and so would most likely kill anything you add into the tank.  I'm usually against adding animals into a toxic environment with the sole purpose of cycling.  Saving a few days doesn't seems worth risking the life of another animal.  

 

Actually, I started cycling my 25gal Cubes about 2 weeks ago and the tanks are cycled now.  Well Nitrate and Nitrite is completely done.  Because the tank is going to be housing softwater shrimp living in an acidic environment, the 1 ppm of Ammonium should be safe.  I'm planning on performing a 90-95% waterchange and adding the finalized water that the shrimps will be living in on friday (mixing and aging the water tomorrow) and then adding shrimps first thing Saturday.  

 

This is my fastest cycling process to date.  If you're interested in testing the Revive VIta (bacteria blend) I can send you some to try.  ShrimpyDaddy has been stress testing it on iner, active, and ADA aquasoil and he's making a lot headway proving the effectiveness of his blend.  He's even stress testing it's ability to be a food source for shrimps. 

 

Oh yah.. you're not harrassing my thread, so don't sweat it.  I make things public and open so people can ask freely .  Why... isn't that why you came to ShrimpSpot in the first place? 

[Shrimpy Daddy]

Thank you. About my ADA first set up I mimicked what I saw in youtube and covered ADA with a bag to make sure mud/cloud impact would be minimum. It took only few hours to get a crystal clear tank then. I mean I had never saw a muddy/cloudy water in my tank set up. Below you can see my tank after 2-3 hours that I filled it up with water. The water is mineralized RO water to make sure beneficial bacteria grow up.So my hesitation is now not cosmetics but biological cycling, that's why I want to plan weekly water changes but not huge amounts, maybe %15-%20 and repeat this for 3 months. Would you agree with this? Or should I also welcome a fish like guppy or plati to help the cycling?

And sorry for harassing your thread...

 

Sorry to hijack this thread too. I used to be a ADA AS fan and have rich experience with cycling it, thus I think it will be good to share my knowledge.

 

There are a couple of problems with your cycling steps:

1. ADA AS should always be cycled with alkaline water. This will force the excess ammonium and humus substances to be leeched out and accelerate the maturity of it. As such, most people will use tap water to cycle instead.
2. RO water + mineral additive does not give you bacteria to cycle the tank. If you are not seeding the tank with bacteria from another tank or using probiotics, you will need to use dechlorinated water. Although plant may carry some of the bacteria, it may be very slow for it to propagate to else where.

How long have you been cycling this tank? Have you ever see NH3/NH4, NO2 and NO3 go up?

[eozen81]

Thank you both guys for those very informative sharings.

@Ch3fb0yrdee you are right that I should avoid adding an animal into this toxic tank for cycling period, I missed that point. About plants, they are Java Fern mini and Flame and Java Moss. So I will check them if they will tend to die and will take them away if I observe something like that. Thank you for the blog, I will definetely start to read it now. I am thinking if I did something wrong to use mineralized RO water and keep the temp low but If I used tap water it would be very painful for me to change it %100 as my tank is at the bottom level of the house which is pain in the "mass" to start cannister filter working hahahha. I am out of USA thus I cannot accept your kindly offer about bacteria or chemicals but thanks a lot again for your generosity.

@hyoushoku, thank you for your reply.

1) I have been cycling this tank for only 4 days now. It's very bad news if I needed to use tap water as it's very painful to make it %100 change now I didn't mention here but in my journal that I had used Borneo Wild Minerax and Enlive at the bottom of this tank (you can also check my journal from my signature and share your comments over there). So I am not sure if this is something to be saying "ok continue with this water then" or "use tap water" (but it's really dirty around 600 microsiemens and 7.6 pH) ?

2) I have also been keeping another tank which is fully cycled (Sulawesi Tank - with Sulawesi Mineralized RO water). I have got tests for pH, TDS, gH and KH but not for NH3/NH4, No2 or NO3. As I read here for ADA it can take 3 or 4 weeks for the ammonia to leech but do you think I need to make %100 water change and move to tap water (but it's really dirty around 600 microsiemens and 7.6 pH)? Or should I try something else?

 

Regards

Emre
 

[Shrimpy Daddy]

@hyoushoku, thank you for your reply.

1) I have been cycling this tank for only 4 days now. It's very bad news if I needed to use tap water as it's very painful to make it %100 change now I didn't mention here but in my journal that I had used Borneo Wild Minerax and Enlive at the bottom of this tank (you can also check my journal from my signature and share your comments over there). So I am not sure if this is something to be saying "ok continue with this water then" or "use tap water" (but it's really dirty around 600 microsiemens and 7.6 pH) ?

2) I have also been keeping another tank which is fully cycled (Sulawesi Tank - with Sulawesi Mineralized RO water). I have got tests for pH, TDS, gH and KH but not for NH3/NH4, No2 or NO3. As I read here for ADA it can take 3 or 4 weeks for the ammonia to leech but do you think I need to make %100 water change and move to tap water (but it's really dirty around 600 microsiemens and 7.6 pH)? Or should I try something else?

 

Regards

Emre

 

 

Oh.... Only 4 days? Then it will take awhile before you get the bacteria bloom. FYI. Borneowild's products are not the best in the market, I don't want to be too direct on the comment, but you know what I mean. 

 

Strangely, if it has been 4 days, your pH should not be 7.6 and 600uS. Did you flush the tank when you first top up the water? 

 

What I will suggest you to do in order to accelerate the cycling now are:

1. If you have not do it, add a bag of activated carbon into your filter. This will help you to clean the water when all the ammonium and humus substances leech out.
2. Don't change any water until you see NH3/NH4 and NO2 go up and down back to zero.

Let's discuss in your journal and not hijacking other's thread.

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Small update on the happens and status of the Mr. Aqua 25G Cubes –

 

I added 6 Mischling into the cycled cubes on Monday.  Good news!! Everyone is still alive. The total time it took to cycle the ADA Aquasoil: Amazonia was 2 weeks. 

 

A little breakdown/insight regarding these cubes –

 

Both cubes were cycled with the help of the Revive Vita bacteria blend. It was able to fully cycle the tank in 2 weeks. Typical cycling time for ADA AS Amazonia based of my pervious experiences is usually 4weeks.  I believe I could have cycled the tank much faster if I had a filter running day 1.  For the first week, the tank was filled but left without a filter so there wasn’t much action going on.  Starting the second week, I was able to pick up 2 Fluval C3 HoB filters.  There were many mistakes and poor planning that delayed the cycling time, but overall, 2 weeks to cycle the substrate is still an amazing feat.

 

On another front –

 

I spoke to a buddy about the correlation between pH and kH while we were discussing a possible new substrate for Sulawesi, and I brought up the subject of using a mineralizer that would increase both pH and kH to the ideal range for Sulawesi and Tiger species.  I conducted a test using the Revive Bianco Mineralizers I had on hand.  As some might know, I’ve been busy testing the entire Revive product lineup (Hyoushoku’s own shrimpy line) and below includes my results.

 

A little explanation before I proceed, I want to explain what we’ve be using.

 

 Hyoushoku’s (aka ShrimpyDaddy) Revive Lineup –

 

Revive Bianco Alpha & Beta – These dual mineralizers was developed to tailor to the needs of the softer water shrimps such as CRS,CBS, Taiwan Bees and Pintos.

 

Revive Bianco Gamma – This addition to the Bianco mineralize lineup is designed to be used in combination with Alpha and Beta and mineralized RODI water to the exact conditions suitable for keeping Tigers and Sulawesi Shrimps (Neos like this as well).  Deepening on your needs and the needs of the shrimps you’re planning on keeping, dosing more or less of Gamma is required to reach desirable parameters.   

 

All tests conducted with 100% RODI water with a 0 TDS reading.

 

*Note: TDS is used as a gauge to see how pure the water is before adding the Revive Products.  I don’t want to lead people on to believing that my TDS reading is in anyway similar to what you would get using another mineralizer product. 

 

Test 1: 100% RODI @ 0TDS (No mineralization)

 

TDS: 0

GH: 0

KH: 0

PH: 6.0 (best reading from API, instantly yellow color reading)

 

 

Test 2: 100% RODI @ 0TDS (Revive Bianco Alpha & Beta)

 

TDS: 125-130

GH: 6
KH: 0
PH: 6.0 (best reading from API, instantly yellow color reading)

 

 

Test 3: 100% RODI @ 0TDS (Revive Bianco Alpha, Beta & Gamma)

 

TDS: 170-175

GH: 6
KH: 2
PH: 7.2-7.4 (best reading from API, instantly blue color reading)

 

 

 

Findings:

 

After conducting these tests, I came to realize that API tests are poor.  They are very extreme and don’t have clear color definition so measurements are hard to read clearly.  I am confident that the pH readings were off.  I don’t believe pH is that high (7.2-7.4 range) with such a small kH increase.  I believe the more accurate range of where the pH could be is more near 6.8-7.0 but I will need to buy a new PH test kit to conduct this and prove.  Hanna Instruments is a good brand; I will look for it in the near future. 

 

So far, all the tanks at my parent’s house are mineralized with the Revive Bianco mineralizers.  I still need to get my hands on Royal Tigers to start my breeding experiments.  Currently, all the PRL are happy and colors are good. 

 

Until next time,

 

Cheers! 

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Great News!!

 

For the first time the the past few weeks, I found myself with enough spare time to take out the camera and take some photos of my shrimps.  I was also lucky enough to spot a very lovely lady.  My beautiful Mosura Blue Bolt decided that she wasn't so camera shy and ventured out to eat and hang out with the boys.  She's been so elusive and shy, I thought I had lost her.  I guess my tank has a lot hiding spots because I went weeks without seeing her once.  

 

I included a Side and Top view for folks to see.  Sorry if the photo of the top view is poor quality.  When she saw my camera, she quickly ran back into the bucephalandra forest to hide  ...She so shy... 

 

 

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Yayay!

New Revive Vita arrived. Stock is now replenish and I can setup more tanks. [emoji16]

Love the new packaging. [emoji106]

[r45t4m4n]

I want 

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

I want

Sorry mate. Revive products won't be ready for market retail until a a few months. We're still testing out products out. I sent a few folks here products. Maybe they can chime their findings once they see results.

Maybe soon!! [emoji106]

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

The fruits of my labor. For the past 2 days I've spent hours meticulously tying moss on rocks and mesh.

Left: Mini Fissidens

Right: Flame Moss

Mini Fissidens on Lava rock

Mini Fissidens on 3x3 mesh

This was a labor of love. All my moss are carefully laid out and tied down. I plan where/how the moss will grow out when it fills in.

I want to thank my iPad and Netflix for making this possible. [emoji39]

[ANBU]

<3 fissiden

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