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I've been avidly watching these little guys since receiving them yesterday, and I thought I'd make a new thread for the observations! Fist up some pics! Next, some interactions with shrimp. First up, a pair getting intimate (or failing to - looks like the male was just seeing if she was in the mood) while ignoring some nearby shrimp. Next, a male getting territorial and chasing off a sunkist neo. Sorry about the lower quality - camera was set to low res accidentally. This movement is different from how they attack snails, so I think it's a territory issue rather than a hunting attempt. If you slow down the film you can see he raises his body and claws really high as though to look intimidating. But I'm not a crab expert so I dunno. Next a shaky-cam quick-and-dirty video evidencing snail-eating prowess. Don't watch if you get motion sick!! Next up, a rookie attempt at a close-up film. A bit shaky and focus is off, but you can see the female's cute face.

Hey everyone. Thought I'd post a game with a prize pack for the winner in light of releasing a new range of shrimp products to the Australian market, Mizu Sakura, A true taste of Japan in your aquarium. The prize includes: Mizu Sakura foods pack delivered to your house anywhere in Oz. Every member of skf welcome to enter. (Australian based members only sorry) All you have to do to enter is guess the number of shrimp in this photo :) closest guess wins! This is just for a bit of fun and to give away some great products for people to try. Winner will be announced: Saturday August 5th- 8pm. Hope you have fun and happy shrimping. BEST GUESS AT THIS PIC :) CHECK OUT THE GOODIES :)

Just a check up here. Are you also checking for Nitrites and Nitrates? As your ammonia drops you should be getting a Nitrite spike and some Nitrate reading. Nitrite is pretty toxic and needs to be fully gone before stock is added. I have always found this to be the most frustrating time as it seems to take forever to drop (so close to the end).

Hi. The shrimp hobby has resurfaced for me. Its never ending. I guess we all feel this.

Massive wc then an additional wait and see period before adding stock is always going to be the preferred option :-) [emoji173][emoji111][emoji445] will

You can drop a bit of fish food or shrimp food into the tank and let it rot. If you have fish from another tank, they can go in there temporarily also.

Hi everyone. Well, looks like the aquarium is just about cycled! thank god! ammonia was almost pure yellow this morning before a water change so maybe another week and all should be go... Salty shrimp gh+ still not arrived yet, but a question...should I do a massive water change when it arrives and replace water with premixed fill up to a TDS of say about 150-200 ppm or just add powder to aquarium? would hate to make the TDS to high or worse, the gh of the tank.??

Providing you are still adding some form of ammonia to keep the BB alive and active then the longer you wait the better. It gives the tank time to build up some extra biofilm for the shrimp to graze on and helps to bring the tank into it's final balanced state. It does take months for a tank to mature fully and be balanced out but who has that kind of patience.

Ok i think i have it nailed. Taking away the reflected images that are there i'm going to say 36.

When you compare our member subscription rates to photobucket, we are miles ahead ? Host photos here.

Look into Tiger shrimp. Tangerine Tigers or Orange Eye Blue Tigers.

I think a lot of people get caught up in trying to keep their pets (shrimp/fish) in the perfect WP. While trying to keep them in water that is similar to their natural habitat is good and can yield some great results we have to keep in mind that most of the common breeds have been in aquariums for many generations and are therefor more accustomed to living, breeding and being happy in a wide range of water. Although i only keep RCS and Palamonties Australis which are the hardiest of all i can give a very good example of this. The RCS are in an indoor show tank at a constant 21 deg, winter rain water is added and that can bring down all the WP (not temp) to TDS 78, KH >1 GH <2 And a PH that slowly rises between WC to 7.2. In summer the tank only gets tap water and at it's worst it was TDS 750, KH <4 GH <7 and PH 7.8. Shrimp were happy, breeding, swimming and a doing their shrimp thing. The WA glassies and RCS are also in my outside tank and pond. Same thing. Tap water in summer and rain in winter but with the Temp going from extremes of 28 deg to 8 deg. They dont like the 28 deg but still lived and there are a stack of shrimpetes before it got to cold. The harsh reality is if you have 10 shrimp is your tank, 8 die but 2 spawn. 95% of the new shrimp will do really well in your water parameters. They have adjusted to what your water contains. Leave the perfect WP until you start going exotics or are looking for maximum yield in a breeding situation.

This is where the bacteria will "self" regulate based on the conditions of the tank. When ammonia is low they will die off and thus reduce the amount of bacteria needed to process the waste. When nitrogenous waste increase, they multiply to increase their capacity to process more waste. So this process of dying off and multiplying regulates their numbers to deal with the changing conditions. Likewise, when KH and pH are low, the nitrogenous waste become less toxic, and the bacteria become more dormant as the pH drops. And the bacteria become more active as pH increases, where ammonia is more toxic at higher alkaline levels. See how nature works? Plenty of products that raise GH but not KH or pH. Calcium Sulphate & Magnesium sulphate are the minerals. -> I have a DIY post in the Water Parameters section to make your own remineraliser, if you feel like making your own. Zoidburg has already mentioned a few commercial brands that make the same thing. Salty shrimp GH+ is the most readily available in Aus.