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Every nice. Those are some good quality CRS.

Hello everyone! This is an update on the crystals. All 20 are doing great in the main tank, the whole tank looks so alive now that they are in here. *happy* None have died so far. I took close to 2 weeks acclimating them in the measuring cup before putting them in the tank*paranoid* They have coloured up beautifully as well. Regards, Jo Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

Cool idea. I've been wondering what to do with plants in the middle of the tank vertically. Thanks.

Hi simon! Love what you wrote "Long may it last." I am hoping for that! Yep the yellows are doing so great! Earlier i wrote that one got pregnant? Well, She delivered those in her tummy and it seems i got 2 more berried?! One could be her again im not very sure! Lots of yellow tiny shrimps hopping around in the tank right now. I am so very happy to see progression and results! All thanks to everyone guiding me here, it was quite the learning journey. I have recently bought a hang on breeding box meant to cull some of the bloody mary babies that are chocolate, dark brown or black in colour.( in the main tank with the crystals) Still figuring out how that thing works as it comes with an attachment for an airline hose?? It will filter in and out the same water as the tank? Regards, Jo Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk Thanks jayc!! They are so fun to watch and beautiful to look at. They really do seem more fiesty than neo caridinas when it comes to feeding? Haha just thought its weird but they dont seem to like sharing their food. Regards, Jo Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

Yep i meant ph will go up. But if you mentioned that parameters have been the same for the past month, thats good news than. Just thought i shared with you what i experienced with dragon stones, i have them in with my tetras instead now. Had originally bought them to be used in the tank of yellow neo caridinas but changed my mind after testing them. I have black lava rocks for hardscape in the yellow neo caridina tank now. Beautiful setup by the way! Those holes in the dragon rock can be stuffed with mini or petite nana! Regards, Jo Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

FANTASTIC NEWS! Long may it last. Great pictures. Hope the yellows are still doing well also? Simon

Hi there! Just wanted to put it down here since i assume the ohko stones aka dragon rocks are still in your tank? Those are beautiful stones. But i would not use those for shrimp tanks. Just really sharing my experience with them. If you read many online articles on them, many say they are inert stones. But i have experimented with them and they do raise ph and leak a small amount of carbonates into your water. (Something to take note of if you plan on using ro, kh is 0 so with alot of these stones in your tank, ph can be constantly swinging about without you knowing why) Not as drastic as seiyru rocks but they do leak a little. I would think black lava rock or lava rocks are the safest for shrimp tanks in terms of hard scape choices. (100% inert, with the same "holey" appearance) If you put a little acid(vinegar) on dragon rocks you will notice a little fizzle coming out on them, not significantly, but it will fizzle. (Have tried it) So i guess the idea is if especially the tank capacity is real small and you got quite the volume of dragon stones in it, parameters can change overtime. Just something i like to share, dont know if this would help you at all. Hope things turn out for the better for you. Regards, Jo Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

From my years of playing around with tap water, and from what I have read, and thats a lot, the only assumption I can come too is that you don't know what is in tapwater (TDS) and it can be changed by the water company/source without you knowing. I assume you read my tapwater thread where the TDS/parameterts were perfect with our tap water for Taiwan bees but they never survived, but by using the zerowater filter jug producing RO alternative water and remineralised water it has been plain sailing all the way since. I do use tapwater for the cherry shrimp and they are more adaptable (although I believe they would probably do better with remineralised RO water all the same, I posted a video on here that suggests that from a Pro) and survive without any problems. To summarise, your blues should be ok in tapwater, but as you don't know what is in the water then it is a risk from the start. If you use RO water and remineralise using a shrimp specific product then you KNOW that everything the shrimps need is in the water and will always be the same! Simon

Here, by the way, is my solution to the problem of shrimp getting into the filter chamber. It is knitting mesh. I cut coarse foam to put behind it just where the intakes are - putting it the entire length seemed to slow down the flow too much. Hopefully, it will keep most shrimp out of there.

Stats this morning. Gh holding at 5 (well, 4-5, 5th drop). Kh holding at 2 (1-2, 2nd drop). pH is 6.6 (it is dark, though, and I will probably also take a reading when the lights are on to see the fluctuation). That seems like a pretty big drop in pH to me overnight, but it is what I have seen throughout the cycling process, and when I measured, except for one oddly low reading of like 6, the pH held at that. We'll see. I'm using this thread as a sort of tank journal to keep these numbers. Hoping the TDS numbers give me some insight. Today, getting TDS pen, going to get the knitting mesh (hobby store - 4.5"x12" is the size for the Flex 9's intake chamber), and then hopefully finding some foam to fit too, also 4.5"x12"x2.25" (probably some bigger foam I can cut to size). That should keep the shrimp in the main tank instead of in the filter chambers.

That is one beautiful blue shrimp. I hope they all arrive alive and well and you get lots of enjoyment from them. I noticed there is a difference in your water parameters from the first post and the last post (only 4 days apart) as you are using tap water. I think you should be fine with neo caridina in tap water (mine are, and my tap water has the same instability issue, not as drastic though) but you should probably be aware of the issue with tap water. When doing water changes do a slow drip etc and not too large water changes, has worked for me for 5 years anyway. It probably isn't worth going the RO water remineralised unless you have a problem as it is a lot more fiddly and neos should be ok with tap water, and yours looks to be close enough. You may need to get some RO (or similar bottled) water for top up though IF you get a lot of evaporation between water changes, but that is something for the future when you have had it running a while? The original photo looked great, it is a shame that you removed that lovely beautiful rock. Hope the shrimp are as wonderful in colour as the above, good luck! Simon

Here are the shrimp I just ordered from Aquatic Arts. They call them "Dream Blue Velvet." Very excited. First 10 shrimp, ever...

Yeah that sounds like it might work. Using sponge to block the intake holes should be enough. Whatever you use, make sure it is easily removed during tank maintenance days, so you can clean it. Pulling a sponge insert out and swishing it around in water to clean it is the easiest. Minimise your chores, so you have more time watching the shrimp. That's fine. It's not your plants you need to worry about. Worry about the likes/needs of the shrimp first. Shrimp prefer a slower flow. Correct. The ferts themselves do not kill shrimp, but ferts change the water parameters. And the constant change can upset the shrimps health. Stones can change water parameters - KH increases and thus pH also increases. If you find your KH and pH rising and you need to battle it rising then look at removing the stones. Flourite is an ok substrate for Neo Caridina. Hopefully Neos were on your plans for this tank. That's normal for a cycling tank. As the bacteria convert Ammonia to Nitrites and then to Nitrates, they cause pH, KH and GH to drop. This is fine while the tank is still cycling. Keep your pH above 7 using tap water (dechlorinated). You can reduce pH, GH and KH after the tank has cycled to match the shrimp's requirements just before adding them. Fish are a different ball game. Be prepared to re-learn all new things when keeping shrimp. I bet you never needed to worry about TDS with fish. So a tip from me is to buy a TDS meter. You can get a cheap one for now (Amazon or EBay). It won't be super accurate, but that doesn't matter. You just need it to be consistent, even if it is consistently reading 10ppm off. Knowing your TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in the tank is very helpful to keeping healthy shrimp, and the TDS meter can be used to improve your water quality for the fish tank too. RO is undoubtedly better because you are in control of what is in the water. But of course there is an initial cost of purchasing the unit. Check out the Water Parameter subforum and read topics on RO water. Weigh up the benefits vs the cost and then maybe you can make a decision. (RO water is much better than tap) Even Rain water is many times better than tap water. Not the best idea when the tank is cycling. Heater is required at this stage of the tank's setup for bacteria growth. Think about it ... do bacteria grow faster in a warm wet environment or a cold environment? - Crank the heat up to 28degC. unless you have lots of time to waiting around for bacteria to grow in the cold. The bacteria needs 4 things to grow... Neutral to Alkaline water (ph 7.0 up), food (ammonia), oxygen (well aerated water), and heat (heater). Remove one of these and they don't grow or die completely. Tap water can provide pH 7 & up water with some ammonia in it, so all you need is to provide water that is circulating and heat. If you squeeze the gunk from your fish tank's filter into this new tank, you will seed it with millions of beneficial bacteria, thereby reducing the cycling time drastically. That's how I cycle a new tank. I use tap water initially, squeeze in the gunk from another filter (from a known healthy tank), turn the heat up and wait. After the tank is cycled, I empty 99% of the tanks water and add RO water adjusted to the parameters of whatever shrimp I am keeping.