[SHRIMP TANK] Black Faced CBS and Painted Fire Reds

Snow Whites

I apologise for the layout. This is the best I could come up with and still experimenting with the new design of the editor. Snow whites are growing well, and to count I have close to fifty in total (I think). They are a lot hardier than people seem to think they are. Some come out very solid but some lack some consistency in their shell. The babies are just gorgeous.
I have seen golden shrimp before and I must say, the difference in snow white and golden shrimp are just marginal. However I do find golden shrimp have a yellow tinge and translucent shell. From what I hear Snow Whites are from Black Crystals and Goldens are from Reds.

Black Faced Crystal Black

Below this paragraph you will see a Black Crystal Shrimp with a black face. It looked so nice I decided to take pics.
There are not may in my colony with black faces. I have separated the few out to selectively breed them. It is coincidental that they also have black legs as well.
The pictures below are of the female. She is currently holding eggs so it will be interesting to see what the next generation looks like.

Painted Fire Reds

Here are some pictures of the painted fire reds as promised. I do not have any males so I have added some ordinary red cherry males to the population. Hopefully the juveniles will retain the strong colour.

I find the red shrimp look a lot better than the yellow ones. I might put them together one day and see what the F1 produces.

[EHEIM OPAL] Quick Update

Oh no they changed the blogger editor to a different format so forgive me if the blog format changes.

TDS Woes
My main tank is not in the best condition at the moment (due to neglect) and I will be doing further water changes and a trim this weekend. The TDS has risen to above 300 from constant dosing without water changes.I am embarrassed to post a full tank shot up at the moment but will do so at a later stage.
I did a quick 50% water change last week as I almost had a heart attack when i checked the TDS.
 Also my lights are over a year old and may need changing some time soon. I may have to pop down to the LFS to change the bulbs. Plants however still seem to be growing quite well.


In more positive news:

I am to say I won 5 fire red shrimp in a forum competition. I will post pictures of these shrimp at a later date!
Lastly, I have purchased a 2217 for the main tank as the EHEIM Professional (although a great filter) does not seem to create enough flow in the tank. Will be selling this filter soon.

[SHRIMP TANK] Feeding frenzy

Last week, I put in a very tasty wafer into my tank for a photo shoot. Within 30 minutes, the shrimp were all over the wafer. All pictures were taken using an iphone without any enhancement of any sort.
Here are some of the pictures. In on shot you can see the pregnant underbelly of a S grade female.

Enjoy the pictures!

[SHRIMP TANK] - SS grade red and black

I think it is time for an update of my crystal tank. Up till now I have been heavily selecting my shrimp for color and solidness of the shell and the results are beginning to show.

I have posted up another two pictures of my favourite chocolate crystals. This shrimp looks amazing in person. People tend to discriminate against this colour but It can look very nice when in solid form. Sometimes I do prefer chocolate crystals to black or red ones. They just look so sweet.

Also here are some pictures of my other shrimp. A Red solid SS grade and some shrimp from my black SS grade tank.
Above left is my SS red tank with Peacock moss planted like a tree on driftwood and above right is a pregnant snowball shrimp.

TIP: When acclimatising shrimp, it helps a great deal to do it slowly using a drip line. The best way to do this is to use air tubing to drip water from the main tank into the container holding your shrimp.

[MARINE TANK] Yello Hammer Coral and Anenome

Quick update this week. Got a yellow hammer and a small anenome. Also found some interesting hitchhikers in my liverock. One is some kind of trochus with long tentacles (approximately 6 of them). The second is some kind of slug with a small vestigial shell on its back. The anenome is having trouble acclimatising and unfortunately I discovered it is best to have them in a well aged tank after i had purchased it. So this week's tip is:

TIP: Anemones prefer the following
1. Well aged tank (12 months old)
2. To be left alone the first day 3 days of purchase
3. No feeding for the first week of purchase
4. No hosting fish larger than the size of the anenome
5. They may move around the tank till they find their sweet spot

[MARINE TANK] Plate Corals

above: plate coral with mouth open when feeding time and with mouth closed

I purchased a yellow and green Plate coral this week as well as an Acans. All three are very fluorescent under the actinic lights. It is crazy to see these guys feed. It looks like something you would see out of a Sci-fi movie. Also noticed my Xenia began pulsing today.

I feed my plate corals brine shrimp and dry pellets and it seems to accept them okay. The Acans I hear prefers finer foods like Phytoplankton so I will be getting some the next time i visit my LFS.
Here are some pictures of them.

Next in my to buy list would be a yellow, red and maybe a pink hammer. I find the red hammers are very hard to get hold of so it may take a while to find one.
I find it fascinating how the corals open up when the lights are on and shrink to less than half its usual size when the lights go off. I understand they are animals and need to rest but it is interesting nevertheless.

TIP: When mixing up my salt water for water changes I do it in a 20L drum with a screw lid. I add R/O water first and then pour in the salt with a funnel. Shake shake shake and presto!

[MARINE TANK] New Blenny

Last week I purchased what I believe to be a Midas blenny from Aquarium Boutique. Athough it cost me a hot $100, I am quite happy with it. It has a yellow tail and white antennae and white markings on its cheeks. Spent a good 48 hours excavating a cave under the liverock in my tank.

The live rock from this aquarium is also quite impressive. It's surface area must be massive.

If someone can help me out with an id on blenny please send me an email.

TIP: Ended up being a Bicolor Blenny after some researching. Midas blennies are all yellow while Bicolors have a blue head. I am not fussed.

[SHRIMP TANK] - Quick Update

Sorry there have been no updates on the shrimp tank. I have been very busy on my marine tank and hence neglecting the shrimp. All I can say is that the quality of the shrimp are improving week by week. Here are some culls that went to a lucky collector last week.

Currently the majority of shrimp are higher grade blacks and snowball shrimp.
I am trying to select for increased shell thickness and colour.

I will post a better update when I get the chance.