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Aquamaxx 17.1 Gallon Caridina Tank Build


Steensj2004

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54 minutes ago, jayc said:

Give it a few days and see if you spot any babies on the glass.

Man, I’m nervous. I sure hope they make it....

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3 hours ago, Steensj2004 said:

Man, I’m nervous. I sure hope they make it....

Sign of a caring shrimp keeper. 

Just keep doing what you are doing now. Give them a clean home with the right parameters, feed them good variety of foods, and they will have babies.

Edited by jayc
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Fingers crossed, as JayC says watch the glass covered with biofilm and you will likely see them there but they will be tiny and it may take a few days for them to colour up. They were probably born somewhere sheltered and they don't move far from there for weeks so it could be a bit of a wait before you get to see them?

There are many things that can go wrong so don't dwell on those yet just settle back and HOPE to get to see some shrimplets and the more time you spend looking (do you have a magnifying glass) at the tank the more likely it is you may spot something, so enjoy the search! I doubt she would have carried the eggs this long if they weren't viable!

Hope to hear you have spotted something very soon.

Simon

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No visual on baby shrimps yet. I can see that the mama is still fanning her swimmerets, but there looks to be no eggs? Confusing. I ordered some Glasgarten Baby shrimp food. I figured it’s worth a crap as I was already ordering a top kit for the tank off Amazon?‍♂️

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Did you see this video posted yesterday about Cory

https://skfaquatics.com/forum/forums/topic/14747-i-surfaced-again-?‍♂️/?tab=comments#comment-138502

How many CRS do you have in the tank now, and I assume you aren't losing any at this point?

Give it a bit longer to see the babies, until you see the first one it can be difficult to know how small they are and you may miss them even though they are there, but of course, there may not even have been any - if the eggs were yellow I would assume they weren't fertilised but if they were grey they would have been babies, but I don't think you know so it has to be a waiting game unfortunately.

IT WILL HAPPEN that they have babies and probably then there will be no stopping them.......... just let nature do its thing, perhaps the tank isn't quite ready enough, perhaps they wont breed for a while as it is near winter and they naturally slow/stop then? If they are surviving and all the parameters are right it will happen, with patience, in the meantime use it as an excuse to keep watching the tank intently!

You will want the baby food anyway at some time so thats not a waste, don't overfeed though and baby shrimp stay where they are born so you will need to try and get it spread out in the tank and hope it gets near to the baby shrimp!

Simon 

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4 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

Did you see this video posted yesterday about Cory

https://skfaquatics.com/forum/forums/topic/14747-i-surfaced-again-?‍♂️/?tab=comments#comment-138502

How many CRS do you have in the tank now, and I assume you aren't losing any at this point?

Give it a bit longer to see the babies, until you see the first one it can be difficult to know how small they are and you may miss them even though they are there, but of course, there may not even have been any - if the eggs were yellow I would assume they weren't fertilised but if they were grey they would have been babies, but I don't think you know so it has to be a waiting game unfortunately.

IT WILL HAPPEN that they have babies and probably then there will be no stopping them.......... just let nature do its thing, perhaps the tank isn't quite ready enough, perhaps they wont breed for a while as it is near winter and they naturally slow/stop then? If they are surviving and all the parameters are right it will happen, with patience, in the meantime use it as an excuse to keep watching the tank intently!

You will want the baby food anyway at some time so thats not a waste, don't overfeed though and baby shrimp stay where they are born so you will need to try and get it spread out in the tank and hope it gets near to the baby shrimp!

Simon 

Great! The eggs were not yellow, they were brown-ish. I’m not losing any shrimp, they seem to all be doing fantastic. I’m just nervous as I want to bolster the population as to have more in the tank. You’re right, I should be patient. Thanks for the video, watching it now.

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So.... this happened a little while ago...

 

Beyond excited. I’ve seen  4-5 so far.

 

 

Edited by Steensj2004
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You're well on your way now then, it s exciting when you  get your first shrimplets! 

Hope it all continues well and the numbers build up?

Simon 

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9 hours ago, Steensj2004 said:

I saw 4-5 so far.

Woo hoo!! so happy for ya.

There will be more hiding.

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I assume these little guys hide very well. Because I’ve only seen a few. I’m concerned that I’m not seeing more, and am afraid the corys might be feasting ???

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8 hours ago, Steensj2004 said:

am afraid the corys might be feasting

That's the risk you take with any fish in a shrimp tank.

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They will hide a lot naturally, plus they molt a lot when young as they grow quickly which they also hide for so I wouldn't worry too much at this point. The sight of the fish may naturally scare them into hiding a bit more as well as most other creatures eat shrimps they have a right to be timid!

Crystal shrimp have less babies than neocaridina so I guess if you get 10 per batch you are doing ok and as you have seen 5 and I guesstimate that there are normally as many hiding as you can see you sound about right, be patient, everything is working fine and only a week ago you were panicking the mother had lost her eggs and you hadn't seen any babies! Lots of people keep corys and I suspect they may occasionally get a shrimplet but lots of people keep both together! 

Simon

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Thanks!

 

The corys are small, and I hardly ever see them as the hide most of the time. I am able to move them to the other tank, maybe I’ll do that. I would still love a few fish, is it possible that something like Galaxy/Emerald Rasboras would be safer? They stay very small, so I’m wondering if they would be less likely to snag one?

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I don't think it would make much of a difference as ANY fish has a risk to baby shrimp. Ottocinclus are 'concidered' the safest.

I keep my cherry shrimps with ember tetras and neon tetras and have for 5 years. They co-exist well but the fish may pick off the odd shrimplet but the tank is overgrown with moss and plants anyway?

It depends how fussy you are with regards the baby shrimps. The only safe fish is NO fish but lots of people accept that losing the odd baby is no big deal and worth it to have more in a tank to watch! If you don't see the cory then maybe it is worth putting them in another tank and just sticking with the shrimp for a while until your population grows to a good size and then think about getting some fish if you still want some. Some Cory can get quite sizeable as well over time?

There are quite a few nano fish, if you can get them, I personally like (and had once) chilli and dwarf spotted rasbora?

If it is making you nervous as you are only now starting to get baby shrimp at this stage, I would transfer the Cory to the other tank and just concentrate on the shrimps and in 3-6 months you should have quite a colony - all going well?  Then you could revisit the fish idea??

Simon

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4 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

I don't think it would make much of a difference as ANY fish has a risk to baby shrimp. Ottocinclus are 'concidered' the safest.

I keep my cherry shrimps with ember tetras and neon tetras and have for 5 years. They co-exist well but the fish may pick off the odd shrimplet but the tank is overgrown with moss and plants anyway?

It depends how fussy you are with regards the baby shrimps. The only safe fish is NO fish but lots of people accept that losing the odd baby is no big deal and worth it to have more in a tank to watch! If you don't see the cory then maybe it is worth putting them in another tank and just sticking with the shrimp for a while until your population grows to a good size and then think about getting some fish if you still want some. Some Cory can get quite sizeable as well over time?

There are quite a few nano fish, if you can get them, I personally like (and had once) chilli and dwarf spotted rasbora?

If it is making you nervous as you are only now starting to get baby shrimp at this stage, I would transfer the Cory to the other tank and just concentrate on the shrimps and in 3-6 months you should have quite a colony - all going well?  Then you could revisit the fish idea??

Simon

Sounds like solid advice. I think I’ll move the Cory’s. They are dwarf types,  but they will likely enjoy the company from the other tank and the Cory’s already in that other tanks.

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That sounds like a good plan as it will give you peace of mind until you get more shrimps ad you can always move them back again then! If they are dwarf Cory then the shrimps would have to be new born to fit in their mouths I would think!

Hope the shrimplets are still doing well and you are enjoying watching/spotting them?

Simon

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I am not seeing any babies at this time. Hope they are still around. I did a water changed and dosed Shrimp Baby and ShrimpFit.  Been clipping leaves with algae , noticed that the fine hair algae was growing on one side of the sponge filter. My light is off center as the plants are mostly on the left side, which tells me I have a lighting problem as the algae is growing only on the left side of the sponge. Reduced lighting.

 

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edit: I just now see two babies hunting around the foreground?

Edited by Steensj2004
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I use a turkey baster to place baby shrimp food into possible hiding spots. Just to make sure they are getting the food before any adults get to it. It might be a good idea to do the same, and get the food to where the babies are hiding.

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That all sounds good and i am pleased you have seen a few babies still?

Be sparing with the trimming leaves as I believe (could be wrong) that doing that can cause nitrates to increase if it is overdone. I wouldn't worry too much about the hair algae as mine has completely vanished now the tank is more settled and I didn't do anything!

I like JayC tip, I have a turkey baster so will try that myself!

Simon

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Update.

 

Manual removal has stopped, seems to be under control. Light has been lowered on day cycle to try to combat over lighting.

Baby shrimp are showing up more frequently now as I gander around the tank . I’ve received the lid kit and will be assembling that and doing a water change tonight.
 

In other news, I’ve ordered some Black and red crystals to bolster population of reds, and add some blacks. The fish are for a friend’s tank( we like to combine orders to save a few dollars). He offered me half of the emeralds, but I think I’ll steer clear anyway, I’m sure they would eat baby shrimps, even as small as they are. Maybe I’ll take him up on the offer once my colony is booming, as he’s putting them in a designated breeding tank.
81E7BB23-5AA9-40F1-8919-1B4E9AF1A4A1.thumb.jpeg.744e45f888f879b18a490a98517033ec.jpeg

 

Edited by Steensj2004
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That all sounds terrific and we love to hear a success story! It is always exciting when you start getting baby shrimps, something I am hoping for but may have a long wait as it is wintery here???

Remember to drip acclimate the new crystals when you get them. It will look more interesting having the two colours together.

Simon

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I’m very excited. The smaller shrimp seem to be hanging around the larger ones now, as they are considerably larger and look to be less shy.

 

16 Red Crystals, 12 Black Crystals, on their way. I added more reds, lol.

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4 hours ago, Steensj2004 said:

The smaller shrimp seem to be hanging around the larger ones now, as they are considerably larger and look to be less shy.

You mean your babies are now roaming around?

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On 11/12/2019 at 5:28 PM, jayc said:

You mean your babies are now roaming around?

Not as much as the adults, but, I tend to see them when the adults are in the feeding area. If the adults are out, they seem to be in the same area. I counted 5 last night

Edited by Steensj2004
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