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Woot woot ...Congratulations...... Time to be Mum..... Lots of sleepless nights and 3 hr shifts ahead for you

Just thought I would share my excitement this weekend. I put my dumbos together again and within 3 hours we had eggs. It was all very text book - everything that was supposed to happen happened. The next day I thought the eggs were lost I couldn't see any and the nest appeared broken however I didn't want to disturb anything so left it alone. Eventually I looked under the bubble wrap my boy had used to build his nest - I looked from outside I didn't touch the tank- and sure enough the boy had moved the eggs to underneath and there appeared to be a good number. This morning there are tails hanging down - again just as all the info says I just can't believe my luck. The hard bit will be when the boy comes out and I take over. I have vinegar eels ready for the first few days, brine shrimp cysts on hand to hatch and some ocean nutrition brine shrimp in suspension incase my brine shrimp don't hatch. I'm ready as I can be just do a bit more research as to when I start feeding I think it's day 3 after they are free swimming because they have their egg sacs to live on .?

Hope you like my tanks!! http://i.imgur.com/6jDMW2G.jpg http://i.imgur.com/0Jd5hAq.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ySpvrbe.jpg http://i.imgur.com/2dyv2CW.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Ls6TTZz.jpg http://i.imgur.com/fPr41cK.jpg http://i.imgur.com/nV17LSM.jpg http://i.imgur.com/exR0Wup.jpg http://i.imgur.com/IW8ce65.jpg http://i.imgur.com/pKuhvTT.jpg http://i.imgur.com/o5IwLwJ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/wArCQS5.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ymgvvC0.jpg http://i.imgur.com/8kSGPKU.jpg http://i.imgur.com/3QDpg7U.jpg http://i.imgur.com/qpEcvBB.jpg http://i.imgur.com/0OIhQdA.jpg http://i.imgur.com/VJ41sTq.jpg http://i.imgur.com/FVfpR09.jpg http://i.imgur.com/0V98PcJ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/D1kP8vk.jpg http://i.imgur.com/d0shwpn.jpg http://i.imgur.com/8tuZRBR.jpg http://i.imgur.com/tHMG4zs.jpg http://i.imgur.com/qYuJ4MI.jpg http://i.imgur.com/DrLlPnh.jpg http://i.imgur.com/CclT04c.jpg http://i.imgur.com/UDqnZvK.jpg http://i.imgur.com/hAW9gFr.jpg http://i.imgur.com/nKdnE7s.jpg http://i.imgur.com/DolUJGg.jpg http://i.imgur.com/KHnFRh5.jpg http://i.imgur.com/nRBkzFJ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Pc9V1Xn.jpg http://i.imgur.com/iJHGroJ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/y3XISLe.jpg http://i.imgur.com/YX9sMOD.jpg http://i.imgur.com/dLK9nCA.jpg http://i.imgur.com/JXKKbHF.jpg http://i.imgur.com/cHtR1aT.jpg http://i.imgur.com/jFIO2Yl.jpg http://i.imgur.com/vEziadL.jpg http://i.imgur.com/2xa4OLq.jpg http://i.imgur.com/eI3lIYO.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ktXRZjW.jpg http://i.imgur.com/94npBb9.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ALNMFVj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/DuoM4hf.jpg http://i.imgur.com/3piq25a.jpg http://i.imgur.com/vO03E3j.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ATro87m.jpg http://i.imgur.com/FHzveQF.jpg http://i.imgur.com/oPv6k2z.jpg http://i.imgur.com/3OYfCV5.jpg http://i.imgur.com/BC5cQjI.jpg http://i.imgur.com/La00CyL.jpg http://i.imgur.com/IDTgO5W.jpg http://i.imgur.com/57afbf8.jpg http://i.imgur.com/wOYbVS2.jpg http://i.imgur.com/JDajAWh.jpg http://i.imgur.com/dzkeyni.jpg http://i.imgur.com/2xoTTMQ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/pXKK6eq.jpg

Way to go Ineke!

Hi Ron I think this model is just a peltier chip not a refrigerated unit. I have read unfavorable reviews of both the brand and that model. However I use air con and have never owned a chiller. Petfish was (still is?) selling a similar unit that might be a better buy: http://shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/index.php/topic/8664-thermostat-controlled-mini-cooler-4-sale/?hl=%2Bmini+%2Bcooler Hope that helps

Small Update: Everything is traveling well, I've got 2 or 3 berried mums. The smaller ones are growing up fast and my sunkists are going well too. Here are some pics of my nicest berried. Nomming on some of my homemade food. Louis

Name - Bamboo Leaves Type of Shrimp fed - RCS, CRS, CBS and Taiwan bee Price - Cheap, and can be purchased as substrate for terrarium Preparation- I boil them and dry them or put them in right after I have boiled them. Breakdown Time - Average Shrimp Acceptance - Good Rating - 4/5 Pros - does not change color on the water. Cons - Not all off it gets eaten or breaksdown. Comment - I love to use them, as the shrimps seems to love them, and they are easy to giv.

True zooplankton that live in the water includes minute animals like rotifers, daphnia, seed shrimp, copepods and even larval shrimp. People culture these tiny organisms as first food for fish fry and corals ... but they are not really the sort of food that most shrimp are eating. Most shrimp are feeding on the bacteria, fungi, algae and animals in the biofilm that grows on the surfaces of the substrate, glass, wood, etc (the benthic animals fishmossy referred to). The zooplankton you commonly see in your shrimp tanks like seed shrimp and copepods you might see on the glass are eating the same biofilm. So these animals are not really shrimp food... they are more like room mates. The biofilm isn't removed by your filter, it occurs inside the tank on every surface - you dont need a refugium. Promoting biofilm is very easy (just imagine a filthy neglected tank)...but often not what we want to look at. A good idea though is to have a spot where you can put rocks and sticks to accumulate biofilm, and then you can periodically put these into your shrimp tanks and let the shrimp clean them up. A shallow pond in the garden in a sunny is a great place to grow shrimp food. I often pull sticks and plants from my pond and put them in the shrimp tanks for a "clean". The shrimp go nuts over them, they get loads of nutrition from the biofilm that they'll never get from dried prepared foods. Riffle shrimp are the exception because they filter plankton and other particles from the water. Promoting zooplankton in a refugium to supply a tank of riffle shrimp with a constant rain of food would indeed be a cool thing to set up.