Jump to content

Aquamaxx 17.1 Gallon Caridina Tank Build


Steensj2004

Recommended Posts

12 hours ago, beanbag said:

https://store.drtimsaquatics.com/eco-balance-probiotic-bacteria.html

There is a specific freshwater version.  I have this one, but haven't used it in a while out of fear of nuking the babies.

I have to be honest, I didn’t see that on amazon. I must have missed it. Sorry.

 

What is the fundamental difference? The one I ordered specifies displacing bad bacteria as well. Is it different?al Also, what do you mean by,”Nuking the babies?” 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Update: Disease is going away. Only 1-2 even show discoloration. I’m not sure if it’s the filter nuke and adding fresh bacteria, changing feeding, water changes, or a combo of all was the fix, but they are all eating and very active. Black Beard Algae is also receding and nearly gone!
 

A HUGE thanks to everyone who helped me get through this! 

 

I  built a tiny photo tank, today, to make macro shots easier. It’s 3” x 1” x 2”  I’m dimensions. I need to work on lighting, and a better camera on my phone would help too.

30A00583-9110-4ABA-8A8F-89F2C8556C74.jpeg

Edited by Steensj2004
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's fantastic! Congrats! Really happy for ya. 

Brilliant idea with that photo tank, might have to try that one out myself some time. Never thought about that. 

Also may I ask, what do you think fixed that BBA? I'm going through some sort of 6 month long BBA battle in my 29 gallon fish tank right now, eager to hear from someone on the other side. 

Great job Steen.

-Crabby

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great news, and a great photo!

That is the biggest drawbaack with doing so many treatments and changes at the same time, you don't then know what actually solved the problems for future reference should it re--occur? Hopefully though you will be fine from here onward! 

Simon

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Crabby said:

That's fantastic! Congrats! Really happy for ya. 

Brilliant idea with that photo tank, might have to try that one out myself some time. Never thought about that. 

Also may I ask, what do you think fixed that BBA? I'm going through some sort of 6 month long BBA battle in my 29 gallon fish tank right now, eager to hear from someone on the other side. 

Great job Steen.

-Crabby

I drastically pulled back adding any god to the tank. That included Glasgarten powders like Baxter AE and Shrimp Fit. Water changes. Continued H2O2 treatments. Easy Carbo was also used as a spot treatment along side H2O2.

Additionally,  I really only had a few isolated tuffs of the BBA. I was desperately trying to get ahead of it before it really took off.

5 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

Great news, and a great photo!

That is the biggest drawbaack with doing so many treatments and changes at the same time, you don't then know what actually solved the problems for future reference should it re--occur? Hopefully though you will be fine from here onward! 

Simon

You’re very right. The major turn around came as I used the bacteria and changed feeding schedules. I feel confident that killing off the filter bacteria with a high level of H2O2, and reading proper bacterial cultures is what changed things for the better. The change was rapid. 
 

@beanbag solved the problem with the DR Tim’s, I’m confident of that. The change was rapid and obvious. The shrimp act like different creatures now. Shells are losing the Discoloration and pitting. You can still see a few pita on the old girl in the picture above. As a reference, her white areas were tan- brown and he shell looked to be 10x worse with pits everywhere. All shrimp are voracious eaters now. I suspect that the bacteria/ water quality was having a greater affect than I estimated. They are like whole new shrimp. 2x as active. 

Edited by Steensj2004
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, beanbag said:

That's super.  What Dr Tim's product did you use?

I’m not sure if you recall the previous conversation, but I ended up with a product that was not what you recommended. I had some confusion because ordering from amazon I got keyholed, where I didn’t see the exact product you suggested based on whatever I searched for...... However, One and Only  seems to have cured this after using H2O2 to nuke the bacteria in the tank and replacing with this bottle bacteria:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001LUOI92?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I’m not sure, but I feel though it’s what fixed my issue.

Edited by Steensj2004
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Two berried tigers! 3/5 of the tigers are females, so it’s very likely that they bred with a black or red crystal. I don’t actually know what this means or what the mischlings will be? Will the only carry the tiger gene while producing crystals and tigers, or will the babies show fancy tigers markings?

 

Also, what determines how many eggs a female produces? One tiger has CONSIDERABLY more eggs. The on in this picture has about half as many eggs as the other...

20B96E32-F84F-4F9E-B25F-67A360852C03.jpeg

Edited by Steensj2004
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great photo, and great to hear that this tank is still going 'OK' for now, hopefully with time it may just settle down on its own?

I don't know the answers to your questions but I am eager (as I am sure you are as well) to see what happens next and what the babies look like!  

Simon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Update:

Saw a baby shrimp yesterday, it has to be a few weeks old based on the size. I didn’t even realize that any CRS/CBS were berried, or far enough along to drop babies....  I didn’t realize how thick the repens had gotten, so if one was hiding that well I suppose kore could be, too. One new berried female CRS along with the two berried tigers. Things are looking good.

Edited by Steensj2004
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Steensj2004 said:

Things are looking good.

Indeed. Glad things are more positive for you now.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Looks as though one female tiger has dropped her babies. Obviously, I can’t see them yet. Now up to 3 red/ 2 Black crystals, and one more tiger  berried!

Something odd and worth asking:

I’ve seen male shrimp swim around like crazy when a female molts and is ready to mate. Mine have been doing this for the last 2 days..... adolescent and female shrimp aren’t. Parameters are good, no ammonia or nitrite/nitrate issues, and PH/GH/KH/ TDS is on point.....

 

Has anyone ever see this before? I’d have to assume it has to do with mating, but usually they don’t do this dance for this long....

Edited by Steensj2004
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that is normal and a part of the cycle as they presumably molt after the eggs are hatched, but before they get berried again, otherwise the eggs will get dropped with the old shell when they molt, if they molt at the wrong time. This must also be the time the females release chemicals to excite the males etc!

The  more adult females you have the more often this is likely to happen.

I hope you get to see the baby shrimp soon, exciting to find out what they look like?

Simon

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Tank doing great! Have a few Neos in the tank now from a friend who culled them. I’m counting 8-10 females berried, with several ready to drop any day based on when I first saw them berried!

9B15D7D7-715B-4AFF-A1A0-8B8C7223848F.jpeg

BFC75249-DA80-48FF-925B-91A82685FA6F.jpeg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, I did a thing and got it all setup and flushed tonight. 0-TDS water without buying it for all my tanks!

69089DC4-6794-4C15-AC62-CF971702AD83.jpeg

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

How much light do u give the tank and do u dose fertilizers?  I would like to grow this thin layer of algae like u have.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, beanbag said:

How much light do u give the tank and do u dose fertilizers?  I would like to grow this thin layer of algae like u have.

Oh man....

Lighting is a Fluval Plant 3.0 Nano. 8 hour cycle, all at 60% except for blue light and red light(ramp up and down is 1.5 hours). Reds at 15% and Blue at 5%. Best I can tell, blue light encourages bad algae in freshwater,  like red does in saltwater. 
 

Fertilizer is one pump of Aquarium Co-OP Green one time, every other week(Monday).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

More pics cause I can. 

B4361798-E80E-43D0-BB59-B1EA7831D456.jpeg

A166A5E4-3CE1-4E82-AEC4-2201E48DE082.jpeg

7043B216-ABCC-4B14-9883-34FBCEF0F76A.jpeg

F4F6D0A1-B179-4BFC-863E-4EB84E06133C.jpeg

475F2023-A75A-4E50-A536-5E1165F3D5DD.jpeg

6F3D183D-C460-488E-8AE9-EA3EF7BAAEC2.jpeg

1B1B37F2-B247-4C9E-9C25-328428CD0159.jpeg

095A5589-E55A-4942-8BDE-FC61BF3F69C2.jpeg

10AB3048-A1FB-4D5F-93C3-E67E4AF18898.jpeg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its going to be interesting to see what you get from those berried mamas considering your tank is a mix of Crystal Reds, Blacks and Tigers.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those are great photographs and it is wonderful that it is clearly going so well now, and you have plenty of new baby shrimp to look forward too going by the photos and as JayC says, you may get some surprises with patterns etc!

Simon

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, jayc said:

Its going to be interesting to see what you get from those berried mamas considering your tank is a mix of Crystal Reds, Blacks and Tigers.

So far I’ve seen only reds and blacks. No tigers or any hybrids. I was hoping to see something new, but not yet!

3 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

Those are great phtgraphs and it is wonderful that it is clearly going so well now, and you have plenty of new baby shrimp to look forward too going by the photos and as JayC says, you may get some surprises with patterns etc!

Simon

Thanks! Hoping for something exciting, but, we shall see.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Join Our Community!

    Register today, ask questions and share your shrimp and fish tank experiences with us!

  • Must Read SKF Articles

  • Posts

    • beanbag
      Update to say that after a few gravel vacs, front wall scrub, moss / floating plant trim, that the condition seems to have improved.  My current theory is that it is due to waste / debris management, where "stuff" like that brown mulm accumulates in the substrate and behind the HMF filters.  Maybe some tanks can somehow deal with it, but mine can't.  Also another experienced shrimper suggested that maybe those "shell bugs" don't just live on the shrimps but also in this debris.  Maybe this is the reason some tanks fail due to "old tank syndrome" where all they need is a good gravel vac? Also, I am guessing that plant trim helps too because now more of the nutrients and light go into growing algae instead of more plants? Well anyway for this tank I will try weekly water change and monthly gravel vac / plant trim.  For my next tank, I'm thinking of something like an under-gravel system where this mulm can fall down and I vac it out.
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Good to have an update and good to hear you are getting shrimplets, so hopefully your colony will continue and you may not get to the point where you have to cull some to stop over population. These type of shrimp only live 12 - 18 months so the adult deaths may be natural? If you have the time I would do weekly 25% water changes, adding the new water via a drip system and do some vacuuming clean of the substrate each week, even if only a different bit each week! See if that helps in a few months and if it does then stick with that regime? It should help reduce any build-ups that may be occuring!
    • beanbag
      Hello again, much belated update: The tank still has "cycles" of 1-2 month "good streaks" where everybody seems to be doing well, and then a bad streak where the short antenna problem shows up again, and a shrimp dies once every few days.  I am not sure what causes things to go bad, but usually over the course of a few days I will start to see more shrimp quietly standing on the HMF filter, and so I know something is wrong.  Since I am not "doing anything" besides the regular 1-2 week water changes, I just assume that something bad is building up.  Here's a list of things that I've tried that are supposed to be "can't hurt" but didn't prevent the problem either: Dose every other day with Shrimp Fit (very small dose, and the shrimp seem to like it) Sotching Oxydator Seachem Purigen to keep the nitrates lower Keeping the pH below 5.5 with peat Things that I don't do often, so could possibly "reset" the tank back to a good streak, are gravel vac and plant trim, so maybe time to try those again. One other problem I used to have was that sometimes a shrimp would suddenly stop eating with a full or partially full digestive tract that doesn't clear out, and then the shrimp will die within a few days.  I suspected it was one of the foods in my rotation - Shrimp Nature Infection, which contains a bunch of herbal plant things.  I've had this in my food rotation for a few years now and generally didn't seem to cause problems, but I removed it from the rotation anyway.  I don't have a lot of adult Golden Bees at this point so I can't really tell if it worked or not. Overall the tank is not too bad - during the good streaks occasionally a shrimp will get berried and hatch babies with a 33-50% survival rate.  So while there are fewer adults now, there are also a bunch of babies roaming around.  I guess this tank will stagger on, but I really do need to take the time to start up a new tank.  (or figure out the problem)
    • jayc
      If that is the offspring, then the parents are unlikely to be PRL. I tend to agree with you. There are very few PRLs in Australia. And any that claim to be needs to show proof. PRL genes have to start as PRL. CRS that breed true after x generations doesn't turn it into a PRL. Neither can a Taiwan bee shrimp turn into a PRL despite how ever many generations. I've never seen a PRL with that sort of red colour. I have on Red Wines and Red Shadows - Taiwan bee shrimps. So somewhere down the line one of your shrimp might have been mixed with Taiwan bees and is no longer PRL. It just tanks one shrimp to mess up the genes of a whole colony. 
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Sorry, missed this one somehow! The PRL look fantastic and the odd ones look part PRL and part Red wine/Red shadow in the colour. They are still very beautiful but ideally should be seperated to help keep the PRL clean if you can do that.  Nice clear photos!
×
×
  • Create New...