60lt Shrimp haven

[NatefromSa]

Hello all,

 

I'm Nate all the way from Cape Town SA!

 

I really could not wait to post hear after all I have read and experienced since starting with shrimp a couple of years ago. First had some cherries 50, CBS - 40 & CRS - 50 until my niece opened up my co2 and gassed all my shrimp. Was that a nightmare [emoji22]

 

I knew I was playing with danger having co2 and shrimp but it was working for a while.

 

So about two years after that which was the beginning of August 2017 I finally started a 60lt dedicated for CRS. So here we go with some specs,

 

Size - 60lt

Substrate - ADA

Filtration - sponge filters

Readings; PH 6.6, kh 1, GH 4

Temperature - 23 degrees

 

Plants

Susswasertang

Fissidens

Bucephelandra melawi

Frogbit

 

Natural additions

Catappa leaves, bark

Alder cones

 

Some pictures of setup,

 

Please let me know if I need to change anything!

 

Thanks

Nate

 

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[jayc]

Hi @NatefromSa,

nice natural looking tank. Your shrimps look pretty happy in there. 

I wouldn't change a thing. ?

[NatefromSa]

Thanks@jayc

 

 

 

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[NatefromSa]

Just to monitor what's been going on water wise;

I filled the tank with tap water about a month ago now, two weeks later I did a 50% water change and filled with RO water. The following week I did a 90% water change and added some bacteria from one of my other tanks. Took some readings and the tank seemed cycled.

So my next question would be is do I have to do another water change this weekend or can I wait at least a month to do another cycle, my readings right now are;

No3 - 5
No2 - 0
GH - 3
KH - 1
PH - 6.5

Thanks


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[jayc]

On 02/09/2017 at 7:35 PM, NatefromSa said:

do I have to do another water change this weekend or can I wait

Depends on what you are doing with the tank.

Does it have livestock in it? Or is it empty?

If empty of livestock you need to provide an food source for the bacteria. 

If it has shrimp/fish in it, just perform regular 10% water changes weekly.

[NatefromSa]

I added 20 CRS to the tank on the 30th August, before that I did a 90% WC. Would it be too soon to do another 10% Wc?

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[jayc]

4 hours ago, NatefromSa said:

I added 20 CRS to the tank on the 30th August, before that I did a 90% WC

You won't need to do another WC so soon. You can wait until the coming weekend before doing another WC and rechecking water parameters.

Sit back and enjoy watching the shrimps.

Edited September 5, 2017 by jayc

[NatefromSa]

Thanks@jayc, I'm getting a TDS meter today to assist with getting my water checked! I read somewhere that 130ppm is a good TDS to achieve.

My PH is currently at 6.2! Is this okay?

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[jayc]

3 hours ago, NatefromSa said:

I'm getting a TDS meter today to assist with getting my water checked! I read somewhere that 130ppm is a good TDS to achieve.

Excellent. A TDS meter is a very handy tool to have. 130-140 is perfect for CRS.

pH 6.2 for CRS is also a good reading for CRS.

 

Looks like you just need to feed the shrimp a variety of foods and wait for them to breed. 

[NatefromSa]

Thanks@jayc,

I'll take measurements this afternoon, currently feeding the following;

Dennerle Mineral
Dennerle Complete
Dennerle Bio Tase active

Natural leaves;
Catappa
Stinging nettles
Oak
Guava

Would like to get some dennerle protein!

Thanks


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[jayc]

14 hours ago, NatefromSa said:

Would like to get some dennerle protein!

Try some frozen blood worms. 

[NatefromSa]

Try some frozen blood worms. 

Cool will give it a shot,



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[Quakeszn]

Nice nate. How they doing

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[NatefromSa]

Thanks Quakeszn,

They doing well, four berried females. The only thing bothering me if summer is here and the need to cool the tank down has started. I'm managing 24degrees now but not sure for the rest of summer as it will definitely become hotter. Portable aircon needs to be prepared for long nights lol.

Setup another tank for the offspring!


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[Quakeszn]

See if any one selling second hand chiller in ur area. Might be worth it in the long run

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[NatefromSa]

Little update, counting about 100 ss and moved about 30 sss grade to another tank.

The shrimp are still breeding and constantly seeing young and berried females.

I would like to remove the substrate soon but with all the shrimplets I'm doubting myself

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[edishrimp]

Wow! Those shrimp looks great Nate! How long did yours take to start becoming berried? I've had my CRS for close to 3 weeks now and I haven't seen any berried mums yet ? and I'm sure that most of them are at a mature breeding age by now

[jayc]

54 minutes ago, edishrimp said:

I've had my CRS for close to 3 weeks now and I haven't seen any berried mums yet

Have you been feeding them a source of protein? 

Like I told Nate above, get them some frozen blood worms (every other feed).

The whole mating process takes a lot of energy on the shrimps and they need more than the normal veg based diet.

[edishrimp]

4 minutes ago, jayc said:

Have you been feeding them a source of protein? 

Like I told Nate above, get them some frozen blood worms (every other feed).

The whole mating process takes a lot of energy on the shrimps and they need more than the normal veg based diet.

Oh! I think i tried feeding them the same frozen blood worms i feed to my f8 puffer some a while back but they always seem to ignore it compared to the Borneowild frenzy food that i feed twice every week. Should I prepare the worms in a certain way?

[jayc]

5 hours ago, edishrimp said:

Should I prepare the worms in a certain way?

No nothing special. Try not feeding them for 2 days before adding the bloodworms.

They might just need to get used to this new food. My shrimps fight over the worms and have tug of war matches.

If they still don't eat it after 2 days fasting, you have fussy shrimp. In that case, you can try CSF - Power Protein, or Lowkeys B18 protein.

Alvin Chan used to sell this in Aquarist Chamber - they used to be in Upper Serangoon Rd. but they might have moved. I have not been there to visit for 3 years.

 

Edited July 23, 2018 by jayc

[edishrimp]

41 minutes ago, jayc said:

No nothing special. Try not feeding them for 2 days before adding the bloodworms.

They might just need to get used to this new food. My shrimps fight over the worms and have tug of war matches.

If they still don't eat it after 2 days fasting, you have fussy shrimp. In that case, you can try CSF - Power Protein, or Lowkeys B18 protein.

Alvin Chan used to sell this in Aquarist Chamber - they used to be in Upper Serangoon Rd. but they might have moved. I have not been there to visit for 3 years.

 

HAHAHA those tug of war matches should be interesting to watch ? Alright! Oh you've been to Singapore before? I'll be sure to check AQ out if they don't swarm the bloodworms after being starved ? 

Thanks!!

[NatefromSa]

Wow! Those shrimp looks great Nate! How long did yours take to start becoming berried? I've had my CRS for close to 3 weeks now and I haven't seen any berried mums yet [emoji53] and I'm sure that most of them are at a mature breeding age by now

Hi edishrimp,

 

I had a new setup so it took a while for them to settle in. About a month or so after adding them did I see them berried, Only added dennerle foods, artemia, mineral, snow pops and occasionally some stinging nettles.

 

I just had a panda drop her eggs due to high TDS. Couldn't do a water change as I hurt my back.

 

Thank you for your comments

 

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[edishrimp]

Ohhh I see okay! I shall be patient then [emoji23] Oh shucks so sorry to hear about your back [emoji27] hope you recover quickly so you can get back to shrimping [emoji5]


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[NatefromSa]

Ohhh I see okay! I shall be patient then [emoji23] Oh shucks so sorry to hear about your back [emoji27] hope you recover quickly so you can get back to shrimping [emoji5]


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Hi edishrimp,

LOL yeah managed to do a water change yesterday and immediately saw a difference in behavior. It's amazing how they hide when parameters are not up to scratch. And imagine how I felt when I couldn't do a thing. Need to get a easier way to do water changes

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[edishrimp]

Yeah! Kinda like a canary in a mine [emoji23] Oh maybe you could try using a Low tech gravity fed auto TOP off system? Or a python if you’re using tap water


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