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Dennerle states that they do not put any cheap fillers in their shrimp food and that they also believe in full disclosure of ingredients so that you know exactly what you are putting in your shrimp tank. The products are Made in Germany according to their rigorous quality standards that Germany prides itself on. I have bought quite a few varieties and there is one common thing that stands out: all the food smells fresh. Even the Mineral food that is packed with Green lip mussel, smells like fresh seafood, unlike most other food brands that smell as though they were made with rotten fish and animal byproducts. I understand that a fermented food will smell fermented, but for other brand shrimp foods to smell rotten when it is not a fermented food, and for the Dennerle food to smell this fresh and pleasant, it really makes me think... The food is very interestingly shaped: small rings instead of the usual food pads. This is a good design as shrimp can eat at the edges without wasting the centre. Yellow rings are the peas, green ones are the leafy ones. Dennerle recommends one loop per 15 shrimp. This is the most entertainment I have had during feeding in a long time: the larger shrimp are strong enough to just lift the loops and try to scamper away with them. The easiest way to hold it for them is to hold it like a wheel, so very entertaining seeing a couple of adult shrimp on unicycles moving about!? I have noticed that the shrimp fight over the green leaf loops more than the yellow pea ones. Ingredients: yellow peas 44%, mulberry leaves 33%, walnut leaves 11%, wheat protein, Rosemary. The Pros: The shrimp like it a lot: TB, Tiger, Neo and Natives are drawn to it straight away Holds shape well. In reasonable form the next day in the tank- the yellow pea ones go a bit more squishy Available in Australia on ebay at a competitive price Minimally altered ingredients fresh, sweet smell packet is packed very full minimal wastage the quality is superb and almost all the loops are intact, very few broken ones The Cons: Due to the loop shape, some loops don't sink immediately as an air bubble gets caught in the middle and then float on top. I have a way around this: I throw the loops into the tank at great speed after taking aim...? I will post the reviews of other Dennerle products in the next few months. I am hooked on the quality. After working my way through my mountain of shrimp foods I already have, this brand is the only one that I will buy from now on as the quality is exceptional, and so is the freshness. And it does not cost more than the other popular trusted brands I have been buying. Shrimp King Pea & Leaf loops get ???? and a half/ 5 shrimp tails. This is as fresh as a dried food will ever get. View full article

Congrats @OzShrimp You have not won anything with this Pick Bwaaahahaha!

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Just a quick tip, you all probably already are aware of, with floating pellets, dried foods etc place them in a syringe suck in some water half full, pulling back the plunger, place your finger over the hole and pull back the plunger to the end or as far as you can without pulling out the plunger. Remove the plunger empty pellets etc into tank, they should now sink if the above has been done correctly. Or simply buy sinking pellets.

Really liking your reviews @KeenShrimp Keep up the good work

Not at all, CAL BEP will buffer pH to 6.5 or lower (if you use more substrate). I have used many types of substrate, ADA amazonia I, II, benibachi, Up Aqua, etc. And I always return to CAL BEP. I'll just give you a quick summary. Low ammonia release, unlike ADA, so much faster cycling. Very clean, no twigs, and floaties, unlike ADA. Buffers pH just like ADA, and I have 1 tank that is still buffering after 2 years. My other tanks that use BEP is still young. Substrate granules are rounder than ADA or Benibachi. Looks better plus better for ground dwelling fish like corys. Minimal clouding when replanting. Doesn't cloud as much as ADA. Does not crumble into fine dirt when crushed. It will still crush if pressed hard, but not as soft as ADA. Cons: Costs more than ADA. Cant think of anything else.

Hi SKFers Just a headsup. yes these aquael unbreakable heaters DO look great and its wonderful they're not made of glass but of plastic instead. i decided to be a guineapig without muxh info out there on the net about their reliability or otherwise.. and so I've got them for most of my tanks. So they've all been running for an average duration of 3-5months i suppose. and now unfortunately I've had two fail recently with the same symptom :-( The power seems to constantly come off and on - (the led indicator keeps flashing) and the heater fails to actually heat the tank at all.. They haven't had to work very hard as my house stays very warm. I am disappointed!! i am sorry @newbreed -edit- oops i meant @neo2fx !! i did not spot the second failed aquael heater until tonight (this one was in the cull tank, issue could well have been going on for some time..) Anyway think I'll be avoiding this one from now on and stick with good ole fluval and eheim. I'm glad its spring now i can probably turn off the heaters soonish anyway and replace them in half a years time (i mostly keep cherries) I'd love to know if anyone else has much experience with these??? love n peace will

So I had the opportunity Friday to setup some new 30cm cubes, which will be used for guppies (maybe shrimp later on!) I then decided it would be great to run a side by side comparison of the lights we sell online. All tanks have same heaters, filters and substrate (shirakura red bee sand). Left to Right: Aqualighter Nano Aqualighter Pico Up Aqua Y series 18cm ATLEDTiS E6 Left to Right: Flexi Mini Aqualighter Nano Up Aqua Y series 18cm ATLEDTiS E6 Left to Right: Flexi Mini Up Aqua ProZ 30cm Up Aqua Y series 18cm Up Aqua Y seties 25cm Left to Right: Flexi Mini Up Aqua ProZ 30cm Aqualighter Nano ATLEDTiS E6 Very surprised by the blue content in the Y series lights, though these still work well wih mosses and low light plants. Really Pleased with the ATLEDTiS E6 as it probably hd the most natural colour. I knew the Flexi minis were bright, and this is the original version, but when directly compared it outshines all. The ProZ has a nice even white colour to it as expected. Not a very scientific study, but amazing to see the side by side comparison. Hope it helps with any future plans for smaller tank setups. Will definitely give me a better base for recommendations in the future. Also have planted some tissue culture plants in each tank, again same plants across all tanks, so will be fun to watch the growth rates of each. As all other factors are the same, light will be the ultimate factor to growth. View full article

I thought we should have a thread for spamming pics of shrimplets ? These are sunkist neos only a few hours old.

Just wanted to share some shrimp pics!

Hello everybody, Ever wonder how the snails are scraping the algae? This shot is difficult to get, their mouth is moving so fast!

One of my 4ft tanks has a thriving population of mostly peppered corydoras, some other types incuding false julii and Emerald as well as some Riffle shrimp, Borneo Suckers and Otocinclus, and some threadfin rainbows just to mix it up a bit. This tank only really has general tank maintenance done, which is usually just drops and tops almost NEVER plant trimming or removal. The fish seem to like the wild jungle and the peppered corys usually reward me with a few fry. I had been noticing some partly grown cory fry in the tank and was glad to see that the corys wheren't eating all their eggs, but tonight for the first time I spied a much smaller albino cory fry that seems to have taken up residence around the base of one of the Java ferns. The only albino cory I have my sister gave me, it is a long fin, but only its pecteral fins are long its dorsal fin is normal length. I do have some longfin normal peppered and both their dorsal and pecteral fins are super long. I had thought the albino my sister gave me was most likely an albino bronze, but it looks like I lucked out and its another peppered. So here is one of the proud parents of my little guy. and now the little CUTIE Because the tank is pretty wild its any bodies guess if there are any more little albino bubs getting about. Just goes to show you the surprises a wild tank can supply.

My shrimp like black worms more than blood worm or tubifex, but the annoying thing is that the dried worms float. I have recently bought Australian Black worm Sinking Pellets. I use this as a meaty protein supplement and have rated it as such. It is not a complete holistic shrimp food and it isn't marketed as such either. Highlights: sinks immediately relatively unadulterated product shrimp love them and feed on it immediately ( I am assuming that they love the taste as they eat at it for a while and they do not lose interest or toss it away). Shrimp taste- test panel: Tiger, CRS, TB, Natives, various Neos. the pellets are the perfect size for shrimp: a young adult shrimp is capable of holding a pellet. Low wastage. it is extremely affordable I cannot fault this product at all. Rating as a protein/meaty supplement: ?????/5 Shrimp Tails View full article

Decided to try my hand at something different last night. I've heard of people having a lot of success with anubia some with Buce and using superglue to mount them, So I figured I have a crack. I'd just trimmed my Buce Brownie Ghost after a year of good growth. Recycling some driftwood I've had for a while and a piece of stainless mesh, I drilled a 3mm hole into the wood and secured it to the mesh with a stainless screw Then test run with my Buce cuttings. Tricky balancing them but enough to visualize before glue Dry the part of the plant that will be attached with paper towel. Just put a drop of superglue where the rhizome or roots attach. Then the finished product. Rinsed and placed into tank The CPD squad scoping it out Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi All Im new to this Forum so thought I would put up my new Zebra Tank for Opinions criticisms etc. I see a few familiar names from another Forum Im a member of. Tank Size - 90 x 45 x 45 Filtration - Sump with Bean animal overflow (marine Pure & mat) Tank is heated to 22 deg, will add a chiller prior to next summer. Tank is open top and the sump has a float valve connected to me 200lt RO tank. TDS - 35 PH - ? GH/KH - ? I have 22 Zebra's which are being fed shrimp cuisine, snow and Almond Leaves. Looking for a supply of Mulberry leaves to add to this. Thanks for looking, please offer you advise, as I want to give this a real good go. Thanks Mark

About a year ago my Dad and I set up an old spa for growing out fry in the warmer months which we doubled up to grow plants (Vallisneria, Aponogetons, Echinodorous, etc.) at the same time, but since the fish won't be able to survive over winter, over the last few weeks we have slowly been taking the fry out and putting them into the hothouse (now only cherry shrimp and the plants should be in the spa). Anyway, I hadn't checked up on the plants in the spa for about 6 months, and to be honest was expecting everything to be dead or at least not in good shape, but instead I ended up very surprised when I had a look. The spa, surely not seeming as though anything at the bottom would be getting enough light to survive, much less thrive. One of the tubs at the bottom of the spa. The plants are as healthy as anything!

Avoid using these stones, if you don't want to keep battling to keep the right parameters.

Yes excellent reviews ! I bought the black worm pellets and will get these next to try on my fussy shrimp!

I'm using it shrimps love it. My shrimp weren't going for the mineral food in the 5 in 1 pack. Haven't tried the others

At roughly the same price as Benibachi, then it's a no brainer. I think you get more CAL BEP in one bag. CAL BEP is better than Benibachi from my perspective.

I have never used ADA or Benibachi so I have no experience to provide a good comparison. From what I have read and experience myself, there is little to no ammonia spike when I use Cal Aqua Labs BEP, water clears up quickly in a matter of hours or a day with just a sponge filter and plant growth is nice. My avatar picture is a tank I am currently running for around 1.5 years with no CO2 and just Cal Aqua Labs BEP and some dino dung root tabs. Lighting is the built in LED light in the Aqua One Ecostyle 61 tank. I had a carpet of pygmy chain swords which I dug out when the tank was about 1 year old and replaced with crypt parva. All that digging and pulling of roots with a tank of TBs with no deaths and I assume no ammonia spike or ammonia gas pockets being released, or I have a super efficient filter perhaps? Haha. Minimal clouding of water and cleared up in a couple of hours. Super no drama substrate in my experience but I have heard of a few who bought a bad batch or two. So far I have used 6-8 9L bags all bought from Tech Den with no dramas. Sorry long winded reply but hope this helps you. :)

Swapped out my heater to my spare 50w eheim heater this morning and guess what, that dont bloody work either lol! damn just saved myself some money, turns out half the bloody power board dont work so had to go get the heater out of the bin lol :(

They should arrive in the post this week. I can post photos once they are settled in.

Thanks for your review @KeenShrimp. I gave these a go after reading this and the shrimp sure love them! It's much easier than the frozen blocks too.

You can do the vinegar test but not always certain. take them out dry them and drop some vinegar on them if they bubble their no good cause they alter your WP

Nice clean impressive looking setup, did u test all the rocks before putting them in the tank?

Half of the rocks have algae and half are new, I will concentrate on growing algae (something my planted tanks never have trouble doing ?) . Wondering if I should be adding any Minerals, such as Boss Mineral Balls ?

Looks like a pretty awesome setup. I can't really tell from the pictures if there is good algae cover on the rocks. Zebs seem to like grazing algae in a similar manner to Sulawesi shrimp - relying less on prepared foods if there is plenty of algae available. Increasing your photoperiod may help to boost algae growth. Your TDS at 35 is OK but in the wild TDS is almost always less than 20, so if you have any issues you could lower it a bit further. Good plan with the chiller. High temps are definitely best avoided with these guys. Best of luck, keep us updated as to how you go.

Hi Mark, Just the fact that you keep zebras are impressive! How long have you had them?

I just discovered this female (?) in my red chili endler colony..... Well, at least I think she is a female. Shape, size and anal fin all look very female to me. Except she is coloured! The whole fish has a beautiful purple-ish iridescent shine and the back half is coloured light red. The colour is much lighter than that of the other (male) endlers. Is this really a female...?

I don't know if endlers are capable of actually changing gender, per-se, but jeez, some of mine have seemed to be completely missing a penis for ages and then all of a sudden it's there, obvious as anything.

I wasn't aware there was a problem with SS mesh and have all my moss in all my tanks tied to it. I must be lucky that I haven't had any adverse effects over the years that I have had this in my tanks. Trouble is now I know it can be a problem I'm going to be worrying about my tanks all the time now! So thanks for the advice - I for one will now make a conscious effort to tie my moss to other items- sometimes ignorance is bliss until things go wrong and I don't think I'm willing to take any chances. on the bright side I now have the perfect excuse to play with my tanks! Just have to find enough items to use now?

Nature isn't always neat and tidy - the wild look works well! My best shrimp breeding tank is a jungle - I don't like it but the shrimp do!

Yup, sometimes just leaving a tank to do it's thing does pay off, my tank was overgrown and running wild and before I knew it I had 16 juvi Common Bristlenose.

24 is probably a bit better.