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yeswaitnosorry

By yeswaitnosorry
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yeswaitnosorry Shrimp Lover

yeswaitnosorry

Posted
Posted

My shrimp and fish tanks are going well. I  have easy-care shrimp (cherries), native shrimp (riffles and some others) and easy plants. No problem at the moment. But ...

I did try keeping some more delicate shrimp but when I was away from home for more than just a few days, it seemed my adult children (who live at home) were incapable of looking after things properly. I returned to find algae outbreaks, missing presumed dead shrimp, low water levels etc. This is despite CLEAR written instructions on what needed to be done. Thank goodness the cats and dog let them know that they need feeding! LOL

Okay, so they are clearly not interested in my tanks. That's okay, it's my hobby not theirs. However hubby and I are planning some more caravan trips away, for a couple of weeks at a time. Knowing the cr*p care that will be given, I feel I can not get any more ambitious with the hobby than what I am doing now. I would love to extend my range, get a bit more adventurous in both the shrimp and plant areas.  I am so jealous when I see the great photos of everyone's tanks.

What do other people do when they have to be away for any length of time?

Okay rant over. :bth_aquariumsmile1-vi:

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larrymull Shrimp Lover

larrymull

Posted
Posted

I was away for 3 weeks and had no problems. The RCS tank did perfectly find grazing on IAL, Mulberry leaves, algae on the side of the glass, and the mosses. Even after 3 weeks with no one looking after the tank and no water top ups, everything was fine and in fact they excelled. As for my other tank the CRS, they were fine too, as soon as I got home I did a water change and fed them some zucchini and they were back to being very happy. 

There are a lot of people on this forum who abide by the rule less is more. So you and your husband going away shouldn't have any harmful effects on the shrimp, especially if it is only for a few days at a time.

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kizshrimp Shrimp Breeder

kizshrimp

Posted
Posted

Exactly so. Just make sure the tanks have good close-fitting cover glass to stop evaporation, put in a mulberry or kale leaf and tell the kids not to touch anything! 

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

Posted
  • HOF Member
Posted

we often travel and can be away for several months at a time. If I am away for a month or less I put IAL and mulberry leaves plus a feed of Snow in the tanks , I hook up my lights to an automatic timer- I usually get them to come on at night for 5-6 hours to make it look like we are home. I do a water change and clean filters before I leave- a day or so before we go and no one needs to come in.

. If it's longer than a month I leave the weekly  medication containers -$2 from cheap shop- with some food for each tank - only enough for a day or 2 just to give them that bit extra- and leave the dried leaves on top of the tanks ( or frozen  leaves in an easy to access spot in the freezer )so someone can just come and drop them in the tank every few weeks. I leave water containers with ready to use water  -dechlorinated or RO with no salty shrimp added- I put a mark on the tanks with instructions to top the water up to that level and that's it. I don't have live in relatives so my son comes every 2-3 weeks and checks water levels and drop food in- he has no idea about looking after shrimp but can manage to do that for me. My shrimp thrive when I'm away and I have TB, CRS, CBS, MIschlings and Tibees plus a few Cherries.  there 12 tanks in all and all on separate systems but it only takes him about 10 minutes to top up and feed. Hope that helps

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