journal Fish and Shrimp Rack Build - First Attempt

[NoGi]

I wouldn't mind some clear shots of your blue bolts for the chart, just name them with the grade so I know what's what.

[newbreed]

What an amazing setup!! Such a great write up @jayc!!

Looking forward to a few more update pics soon!! ?

 

 

[jc12]

It has been two months since my last update. I have not been motivated to try complete the rack as it is currently running fine, even though it is not the 'aesthetically pleasing' look I promised my wife when I first convinced her to allow me real estate space in the lounge room. She hasn't been complaining... so I got lazy.

@Disciple asked for some photos and that got me started working on this again. Haha.

 

So first up... night lights. Night lights are highly recommended for breeding discus so that the parents can see their fry easily, especially the crucial first few days of free swimming when the fry need to 'attach' to feed on mucus off the body of the parents.

I pretty much did the same LED build in my earlier post here except it is a much shorter version and I used a different type of switch so I can vary the intensity of the lights if required.

 

The photo only shows two but I made three of these, one for each tier.

 

I mounted them in the middle of each tier so a night light is shared by two tanks.

 

Next I tidied up the messy wires dangling across the rack using electrical trunking from Bunnings. The dangling wires were a pain as they get in the way whenever I wield a net to try catch/sort fish/shrimps.

 

Before.

 

After.

 

Before.

 

After.

 

Full rack shot. You would notice that the light on the bottom tier is dimmer because I only ran a single LED strip. I have always plan to use the bottom tier as fry grow out/hospital/quarantine so I avoided bright lights. The light for the sump is usually switched off. I only turn it on when I am cleaning or doing water changes via the sump. Also, the LED strip lights on the middle tier is currently not in use. I am running an Up Aqua Pro Z light from @newbreed. You can get these awesome lights from Newbreed Aquatics.

 

Full rack shot with night lights.

 

Ok... now let's talk shrimps. Isn't this a shrimp forum after all?

Full tank shot of the shrimp tank as it is now.

 

From left to right... Section 1 houses my YCS, some from @buck, and my recently acquired CRS from @Gbang. I have always love CRS and wanted to restart a quality pure CRS colony. I think many of you would know the quality of Glenn's CRS... some of them even have sexy red legs!!!  I also got some PRL 'culls' from him but they are housed in an entirely separate planted display tank (see further down this post). The YCS are showing great colours but they are still not breeding for me. I hope they would be able to adapt to TB water parameters. Fingers crossed.

 

Section 2 is home to my BB and GB female mischlings. I have my best BB stud male with 3 x BB females and 10 x GB female mischlings. Talking about a harem... haha. Unfortunately, the Bloody Marys I introduced as guinea pigs when I first set up this tank did not survive. It was probably too tough on them to adapt to very different water parameters compared to the tank they were moved from.

 

Section 3 has my KK, Panda, RR, WR together with my CBS/CRS female mischlings. No surprises here and breeding activities have resumed since their move.

 

Section 4 is where all my TB culls and CBS/CRS/GB mischling juvies live. This is also where I look out for female mischlings to be moved into Sections 2 or 3. Sadly, similar to the Bloody Marys, the black cherry culls I used as guinea pigs didn't survive.

 

As mentioned earlier, the PRL 'culls' I got from Glenn are going to this tank. Hopefully I will be able to selectively breed and cull to achieve nice beautiful quality PRLs.

 

Next step is to complete the paint job for the MDF panels and wrap up the rack like how it is here.

Thank you for following my first rack build this far. I know progress has been excruciatingly slow but hey, it is about enjoying the journey as much as arriving at the destination.

Edited January 18, 2018 by jc12

[Disciple]

Awesome setup. Thanks for the update @jc12. Everything looks really good. Sounds like you have some very nice shrimp too.

[Foxpuppet]

Wow the rack is coming along nicely JC!

That big tank looks great but seems to be lacking a real wow factor plant.... Might I suggest a Crinum hahaha

[jc12]

19 minutes ago, Foxpuppet said:

Wow the rack is coming along nicely JC!

That big tank looks great but seems to be lacking a real wow factor plant.... Might I suggest a Crinum hahaha

 

Haha. Unfortunately breeding activities for my shrimp colonies have only just resumed. I don't have numbers for the shrimps you would like to trade. But mischlings, many many I have.

Edited February 1, 2016 by jc12

[newbreed]

This is looking awesome JC! Nothing wrong with taking your time to get it right, mine took months, and still needs tweaks!! (Must be a JC thing!!)

Looking forward to pictures of lots of Shrimplets now that the harems are in place!

 

[shrimpaholich]

sweet rack jc! thanks for sharing :) you have some nice shrimps there.

[Williamh]

Any update on this great rack ?

[jc12]

On 4/26/2016 at 3:05 PM, Williamh said:

Any update on this great rack

I sold almost all my mischlings and recently added some pure TBs, and a WR has given me some babies. The PRL, CRS, TB (with pinto genes), black cherries and RCS are all breeding. Sadly, my YCS.have been disappointing with no breeding activity. :(

Discus have been breeding and I am busy growing out 100+ fry ranging from 2 weeks to 2 months old.

A neon blue ram and a blue ram (2nd generation that I bred) are currently herding fry in my community 4x2x2 tank. Chances are the fry would be food for the other fish. I might breed them again if I can find time.

A new baby has taken priority so between changing nappies, breeding discus, hatching BBS, feeding fry and water changes, I have not spent much time playing with my shrimps.

Plan is to set up a 4ft 3 tier rack for growing out discus in the garage close to a drain to make water changes easier and quicker. Perhaps I might set up a dedicated breeding tank for the rams if I find some spare time.

I'll try to add some photos when I get a chance.

[Disciple]

Yes you seem to have your hands full. Full of Success!

[NoGi]

I wish I could do this in my garage but it gets way to hot in summer. I have a shed but worried about creepy crawlies getting in.

I need a shrimp room inside the house. Wonder which one of my kids is willing to give up their room lol

[jc12]

On 4/30/2016 at 1:34 PM, NoGi said:

I wish I could do this in my garage but it gets way to hot in summer. I have a shed but worried about creepy crawlies getting in.

I need a shrimp room inside the house. Wonder which one of my kids is willing to give up their room lol

My garage gets pretty hot too so I set up a 2ft tank last month as a trial. Since I plan to use the rack for growing out discus, I would be aiming for a temperature between 28-30 degrees. So far, the 2ft tank holds the temperature at 28 degress pretty well even during hot sunny arvos.

Move yourself out to the shed with the tanks? ?

[jc12]

I was looking through my mobile for photos to post and realise I have a lot of baby photos. Haha. New daddy syndrome? In my defence, I have many photos of my discus babies too. Apologies... these photos don't do them justice as they are just mobile phone snaps.

Some PRL culls from @Gbang.

 

CRS from the G dude... always my all time favourite.

 

Some of my discus babies... working on this heckel cross pair. Over the last 20+ years keeping fish, nothing beats the sight of a pair of discus with fry attached.

Edited January 18, 2018 by jc12

[jc12]

I finally got around to fix all the photos in this thread. They should all be visible now. ?

A special shout out to @s1l3nt for your help with the photos.

This rack has been running for over two years and it is still running very well. I have since built another rack for breeding fish and this rack has been a shrimp only rack since July 2016.

I might try to upload some photos if/when I get a chance.

[Cesar]

Question: On the rack build out, am I seeing that the vertical supports are notched out to fit in the horizontal supports?

Awesome thread, let me know if you need me to take some of those Discus fry off your hands... ;)

 

[jayc]

So cute!

[jc12]

6 hours ago, cesar said:

Question: On the rack build out, am I seeing that the vertical supports are notched out to fit in the horizontal supports?

Awesome thread, let me know if you need me to take some of those Discus fry off your hands... ;)

 

Yes, the horizontal beams fitted in the notches ensure that the load is supported by the vertical supports. Some smaller rack builds simply fix the horizontal beams to the vertical supports by screws. This means only the screws are bearing the load and it can be risky if one uses the wrong type of screws or inadequate number of them. Hope this makes sense.

I have sold all my discus not long after my own babies came along. Now I breed 'less demanding' fish i.e. a few different types of corydoras, peppermint bristlenose and LG6 whiptail catfish. I also have some celestial pearl danios breeding in an outdoor tub.

1 hour ago, jayc said:

So cute!

Who? Me? Ahhh... thank you. ?

[jayc]

3 hours ago, jc12 said:

Who? Me? Ahhh... thank you.

Whatever floats yer boat jc ! ?

When was the last time someone called you cute?

[jc12]

27 minutes ago, jayc said:

When was the last time someone called you cute?

 

5 hours ago, jayc said:

So cute!

8.47am this morning. ?

[jayc]

4 hours ago, jc12 said:

8.47am this morning

LOL!!

[s1l3nt]

Hate to barge in on you two... ;) 

Your welcome JC, anytime bro :) That rack sure has come along but i got one thing to say:

BOOOOOOOO! no up to date photos.... Hahaha :D

[Sweefu]

Amazing build! Is this rack still going? 

[jc12]

56 minutes ago, Sweefu said:

Amazing build! Is this rack still going? 

Thank you. Yes it is still going but is due to be moved to the garage and have a total reset. The minister for home affairs has granted me a lot more space in the garage so I have just built a new fish rack and about to start building a second shrimp rack.

Are you the same person from AL forum? Been reading your outdoor tub adventures and similarly I had a few CPDs survived through winter in the outdoor tub but winter in Brisbane is less cold than what you get down south.

[Sweefu]

Great to hear mate, would love to see some updated pictures when you are all set up again. 

 

Yep that's me, outdoor tubs are great fun. I am ready to ramp up for Spring time but it still hit -3 at my place last night so I have to wait!