"Bloody Mary" tank

[fishmosy]

Finally gotten around to setting up a tank just for my red cherries (from chocolate parents, also known as Bloody Mary). I think the red colouration of these guys is much better/deeper than standard cherries. I've also added some Stenomelania cf. aspirans cone snails.

I want the tank to be mostly black and green to contrast with the red of the shrimp.

The tank is an Aqua One 1ft cube which was sold as a 'tadpole' set up, complete with lid, air pump and small sponge filter. I picked it up from my LFS for $45 at 'mates rates'.

I added a 'garbage bag' to the back of the tank for a black background. Added Pisces Iron Sand as substrate. Its a black sand from New Zealand, supposedly made from lava rock (basalt?) so should be relatively inert.

I'm using tap water for the shrimp boosted with Benibachi minerals to boost TDS to 180-200.

I added a cycled sponge filter from another set-up and added the shrimp and snails after 24hrs when the temperature had equilibrated.

I performed a cull when introducing the shrimp so I now have four females and one male in the tank, along with 6 snails. Here are some of the females the afternoon after they went into the tank, the male wouldn't pose.

I'm not really happy with the rock. I plan on exchanging it out for a large piece of black lava rock. I also plan on adding more filtration, possibly a hang-on filter, but its not a necessity yet given there is only 5 shrimp in the tank so far.

 

 

[2OFUS]

Tank looks good 

 

shrimp look awesome :) 

[NoGi]

Nice one. Good red colouration too.

[buck]

i really like the look of the sand dude! i think ill have to get some of that when i set up a cherry rack! i hope you keep us updated on this little beauty!

also the snales look really cool!

[Shrimpmaster]

Looks nice.

Can I ask, what colour do you want? I'm on the verbe of culling again and I can't decide. Should I go for the very dark red (almost brown) ones or aim for the bright red ones with thick shell? I think I will go for the last option. What do you people like when it comes to Bloody Mary?

Edited August 27, 2015 by Shrimpmaster
typo

[buck]

bright red thick shell would be my aim... and will be when i get some bloody mary down the track

[Disciple]

I agree with Buck, Nice bright red thick shell!

[fishmosy]

Looks nice.

Can I ask, what colour do you want? I'm on the verbe of culling again and I can't decide. Should I go for the very dark red (almost brown) ones or aim for the bright red ones with thick shell? I think I will go for the last option. What do you people like when it comes to Bloody Mary?

I like the dark 'blood' red colour in contrast to the lighter red of a standard cherry. For example, I much prefer the colour of my shrimp in the first photo than the shrimp in the last photo. 

[Shrimpmaster]

Thanks. But the shrimp I have are much more dark. Almost purple brown. If I had more space I would give them their own tank, but I have to make a choice. So I will go for the true red ones. They look like yours in the picture. Will share it one day.

How are the shrimp doing? You should keep the moss for sure, I see my BM like this very much. Maybe like all shrimp do, but the love to hang around in the moss for sure :D.

 

[fishmosy]

Thanks. But the shrimp I have are much more dark. Almost purple brown. If I had more space I would give them their own tank, but I have to make a choice. So I will go for the true red ones. They look like yours in the picture. Will share it one day.

How are the shrimp doing? You should keep the moss for sure, I see my BM like this very much. Maybe like all shrimp do, but the love to hang around in the moss for sure :D.

 

The shrimp are doing great so far. I wish my male was a bit better coloured. He is definitely not as thickly coloured as the females so I will look to replace him ASAP. I'll be leaving the moss in there for sure. I think most, if not all, shrimp love moss. 

[Shrimpmaster]

Don't forget, the males are always less then the females. That's why in some shrimp shows it's required to add males to the group to and not only select your best females. So don't get rid of them too soon and expect males to be less of colour quality all the time.

[fishmosy]

Finally got some pictures of the male. As you can see, he isn't the greatest quality in terms of % cover but has the right 'red' colouration and is the best sexually mature male I currently have.

 

 

[fishmosy]

 

[larrymull]

@fishmosy i struggle for good quality males too. I would love a real cracker in my tank.

[Gbang]

Still a great line @fishmosy woooo!

[fishmosy]

Just an update for this tank. of the original three females, I'm down to two. Lost one when I overfed the tank - trying to feed the snails zucchini which promptly disintegrated. A quick water change saved the rest. The two remaining females are both currently berried and are due to drop any day now. I've swapped out the original male for two other males, and added another young female, that have come from my choc colony. I'm much happier with the coverage of the colour of the two new males, which even have good colour on their legs, unlike the original male. I'm hoping that one of them fathered the eggs of the two females, but can't remember exactly when I swapped the males over. There was originally another 'male' in the tank, but as it got older I realized it was just a lower quality female (it developed a saddle). luckily I noticed and removed it quick-smart

Also added some Boss Aquaria balls to help with maintaining dissolved minerals. I found that TDS was dropping between water changes and the inert substrate doesn't help. This is probably due to grow of the snails as they have substantial new growth on the edge of their shells.

I'm happy with the substrate so far. the snails keep it well turned over and the crap tends to sit on the top and can be siphoned off. About the only issue is that I would like it to be more black rather than a grey.

The tank also has a nice coverage of algae so I'm hoping the shrimplets will do well.

[buck]

those snails look so cool! I'm keen to see how the colony progresses

[jayc]

those snails look so cool! I'm keen to see how the colony progresses

Yeah, I think so too.

It is making patterns in the substrate that reminds me of those Japanese sand gardens.

 

Hmm, that's giving me an idea for my next tank layout.

Edited October 29, 2015 by jayc

[fishmosy]

Still haven't dropped. Any day now, any day now.....

Last night the two largest (berried) ladies were guarding the food against the males and the other female. Then a snail showed up and everybody had to share

 

 

[buck]

those girls look great!

 im still captivated by the snail haha

[fishmosy]

They are nice snails hey? Stenomelania cf. aspirans

[fishmosy]

Been awhile so time for an update.

The shrimp have been breeding like crazy since they went into the tank. I've had at least four drops and at least two of the females are berried again. The first batch of juvies are reaching maturity and I've been madly culling.

Excuse the low water level, I took the shots mid water change.

 

[fishmosy]

 

 

Edited December 18, 2015 by fishmosy
fix link

[larrymull]

@fishmosy they look fantastic let me know when you have some culls, or selling some.

[Disciple]

Agreed really nice shrimp Fishmosy! Good job.