[SHRIMP TANK] - Chocolate Crystals

Was looking through my tank yesterday and i found a "Chocolate Caridina". This crystal shrimp is not the lower quality blacks you see for sale. It had a solid coloration but in a very nice deep chocolate colour. The photos do not do it justice. It is the first time i have seen a shrimp of this colour and i have gone through several generations already. Anyway an interesting find.

It would be interesting to see what kind of shrimplets it will produce in future.

TIP: Crystal Shrimp take approximately 3 weeks to hatch from the egg, but it may vary according to water temperature.

[EHEIM OPAL] Full tank shot

Nothing much has changed in the past week. I have given the Syngonathus a quick trim and removed the rocks on the left side of the tank to allow more space for plants. The Tiger Lotuses have been sold and a Tri-Color Lotus has somehow come back from the dead after completely melting away. You can just see it on the left side of the tank.

It seems the HC is filling out nicely as a carpet and the freshly trimmed and replanted Staurogyne tropica on the left side of the tank is filling out nicely. I am still not satisfied with the back of the tank as it still looks a little messy but just have not had the time to replant everything.

Ignore the foggy water towards the back right side of the tank. It is caused by the CO2 bubbles diffusing through the lily pipe outlet.

Those lionheads are still there. Although i hate them for eating all my cherry shrimp, i cannot remove them from the tank as their personalities are so addictive. They are certainly very intelligent fish.

TIP: To bring out more red in your plants:
1. Increase light output (LEDs can help)
2. Reduce nitrates
3. Up your iron

[SHRIMP TANK] Snow White Picture Album

I thought I would now post a set of pictures showing the gradual growth of my snow whites from birth to adulthood.

Enjoy.

Below are new shrimplets born this week and other pregnant shrimp in my tank.

[SHRIMP TANK] SS Grade Shrimplets

I thought this week I would share some more pictures of the berried snow white mother as well as several pictures of SS black and red shrimplets. I am fairly confident the snow white female mated with a snow white male this time round. Therefore it will be an exciting month of waiting this time round.
Although the tank seems to be going well, the cooler weather has prolonged pregnancies in all my shrimp. I find the mothers hold the eggs for an average period of 4 weeks before they hatch.

Blog visitor statistics
I am happy with how this blog is progressing, and I will continue with further frequent updates whenever I can. When i started this blog, it was mainly a personal record of my progress into the world of fish and plant keeping.
I never thought it would attract so many people from all around the world. It is a great thing that there are people out there who are interested in my hobby. Just last month this blog had an average of 628 viewers. I know there are people out there who are frequently returning to see my updates. Thank you Lachie for subscribing to my blog! Feel free to ask me questions or leave me advice if you are a shrimp enthusiast; and i will be happy to give you any tips. Also please do not hesitate to leave a comment!

Here is a quick breakdown on the visitors from last month for those interested:

Australia 350

United States 102

Russia 43

India 23

United Kingdom 17

Germany 16

Malaysia 10

Hungary 9

Vietnam 7

Turkey 6

[SHRIMP TANK] Pregnant Black Shrimp

I noticed something quite strange today.
Four pregnant black shrimp had gathered underneath the sponge filter while all other other shrimp seemed to be grazing on the substrate minding their own business. I decided it was a photo opportunity and decided to take a pic.

I am hoping these SS CBS will produce some nice mosura SSS CBS shrimplets. If they do, I will definately let you know.

[EHEIM OPAL] No Vortex with Lilly Pipes?

I have had no luck with creating a vortex with my Lilly Pipe so I upgraded my filter from an Eheim 2213 to an EHEIM Professional 2224. Although it has double the flow I still have no luck creating a vortex. I am trying to seek a solution to this problem and will do a further update when I find a solution.



Fact: Plants do not die when their leaves all drop off
I noticed a few days ago the Tricolor Lotus that I thought I had lost has reincarnated itself from underneath the soil. Although all the leaves had melted away, this plant is perfectly capable of coming back from the dead if the root system is still present. I had always thought when the leaves all fall off the plant dies, but i am proved wrong.

Theory: Erios can be propagated when divided into 2 pieces
Also to the right of this picture you will see I have divided my Erio shiga into 2 pieces. Time will tell if they survive. I should have taken photos of when I was splitting it but the time I had thought about it, it was too late. Basically all I did was split it down the middle with a sharp razor blade.
I will take more pictures its progress in future.

[SHRIMP TANK] - Snow White Berried

Above: My snow whites, a black faced CBS and pregnant SS black crystal shrimp.

It is time for an update on my Crystal Shrimp Tank.

A few things have happened in the past month. Firstly my Snow whites are adults now. I have counted 2 males and 3 females (I think). One female has berried and one has already produced shrimplets (all SS). The challenge now is trying individually breed them to produce more snow whites.

I just want to give credit to Dad who spends a lot of time caring for my shrimp. He is certainly doing a better job than I am. Thank you Dad
More updates will follow in future.

I am currently preparing another 3 foot tank to selectively breed these shrimp.

[EHEIM OPAL] Full tank list April 2012

top left: FTS top right: Inline Bazooka

So finally here is an update of my EHEIM OPAL as promised with a full tank plant and fish list.
I got my Lily Pipes today thanks to Adam @ Aquascape design. Looks great in the tank and has replaced the green bland looking EHEIM spray bar.
Also thanks to Doron @ ALife for giving me advice on increasing my CO2 output. I have now attached the CO2 cylinder to an inline bazooka diffuser. (see above pic).
The results are astonishing. The bubbles are now so fine it looks very hazy. If you look carefully in the above picture, there is a fine mist of CO2 coming out of the lily pipe to the right. It is not a cloudy tank but in fact a tank with microbubbles full of CO2.
If you look to the left of the tank you will see the Vortech fan in action. It has leaves attached to the foam around it hence it looks camouflaged.

From left to right
- Staurogyne tropica (left carpet plant)
- Ludwigia sp Cuba (far left back of tank)
- Proserpinaca Palustris (furthest back centre with long leaves)
- Tonina fluviatilis (back centre)
- Rotala macrandra (back left red orange plant)
- Syngonathus 'manaus' (bushy plant centre with spiky upward facing leaves)
- Syngonathus 'belem' (bushy plant centre with downward facing spiky leaves)
- Eriocaulon sp. shiga (left, centre small bush like spiky plant next to rock behind tiger lotus)
- Tiger lotus pups (centre front and left front of tank)
- Hygrophila pinnatifida (right of driftwood centre and growing right back of tank)
- Peacock moss (on driftwood - almost dead as has been nuked)
- Ludwigia senegalensis (far right corner - trimmed)
- Windelov Java Fern (on driftwood)
- Bolbitis (on driftwood)
- Needle leaf Java Fern (on driftwood - back piece)
- Mini Pellia (top right of tank on propagating SS mesh)
- Amazon frogbit (floating top of tank)
- Crinum Calamistratum (Centre of tank)

Fish list
- Lionheads (i want them gone)
- Clown killi remaining survivor (short lifespan i hear) x 1
- Corydoras sterbai x 1
- Albino Plecs (Ugly has boy friends now x 3)
- Cardinals x 3
- Corydoras x 2
- Yoyo Loaches x 2
- SAE (yes they are still with me and cheeky as ever x 3)
- Longtail Plecs x2

[SHRIMP TANK] Mosses Added

An update on my shrimp tank. Yellow cherries are doing well. The berried one just dropped all its eggs but it is to be expected as she is a new mother and the tank is not completely cycled.
I have added 3 types of mosses to the tank. Taiwan moss, US Fissidens and Nano Moss (seen in the middle picture).
The Full Tank Shot of the EHEIM Opal + Full Plant list should be in my next update. The lily pipes have not arrived as they have been lost in transit last week. This has caused me to delay my update on the tank. Once they arrive I will post the update as promised.

Have a great Anzac Holiday

[EHEIM OPAL] - Vortech MP10 ES

I just purchased a new toy and upgraded my pipes in my aquarium.

1. Vortech MP10 Ecosmart fan
2. Lily Pipes from Aquascape Design

I will post some before and after pictures in the next update showing what my tank looks like before the new equipment and after installation.. I am sure with the Lilly pipes and new pump the tank will look a lot cleaner and less cluttered. The plants are going great guns. Above are some pictures of the Crinum showing new leaves. I have given up doing a complete new rescape for the time being.

The thing I love about the Vortech MP10 is not only its efficiency and clean look but also how quiet it is. At the moment it is running in Eco-smart nutrient transport mode (see below) until I figure out what mode is best for a freshwater planted aquarium.

I am also planning to setup a nano salt water tank soon. When that is done I will make another blog.

Next update: I will do another update on the complete plant list in my Eheim Opal.