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I don't think it would make much of a difference as ANY fish has a risk to baby shrimp. Ottocinclus are 'concidered' the safest. I keep my cherry shrimps with ember tetras and neon tetras and have for 5 years. They co-exist well but the fish may pick off the odd shrimplet but the tank is overgrown with moss and plants anyway? It depends how fussy you are with regards the baby shrimps. The only safe fish is NO fish but lots of people accept that losing the odd baby is no big deal and worth it to have more in a tank to watch! If you don't see the cory then maybe it is worth putting them in another tank and just sticking with the shrimp for a while until your population grows to a good size and then think about getting some fish if you still want some. Some Cory can get quite sizeable as well over time? There are quite a few nano fish, if you can get them, I personally like (and had once) chilli and dwarf spotted rasbora? If it is making you nervous as you are only now starting to get baby shrimp at this stage, I would transfer the Cory to the other tank and just concentrate on the shrimps and in 3-6 months you should have quite a colony - all going well? Then you could revisit the fish idea?? Simon

This ^^^ That's the cause of TDS rising higher than what you put in.

Photos time.

I have one. Same unit. It just .... works. It's not the top brand name, but functionality is the same as your better brand names like Teco. I have Teco units too, which cost a bit more than the Hailea, yet still does the same job. I have also tried those cheap Aliexpress chillers. So I have a bit of experience in this area. The Hailea (or Teco) chillers do a much, MUCH better job at keeping your tanks consistently cool. Get one and you will never look at the cheap chillers again. These units are a good investment, especially for anyone living in a hot country. When fitted to your canister to the chiller, the flow is no more than the flow you have now with just a canister. If anything the flow will be reduced slightly as it now has to go through a chiller. Always get a unit that is rated slightly bigger than your tank, so that the chiller is not straining to keep the tank cool and is constantly running. If you have a sump that services several tanks, one chiller can be used to cool several tanks.

Thanks! The corys are small, and I hardly ever see them as the hide most of the time. I am able to move them to the other tank, maybe I’ll do that. I would still love a few fish, is it possible that something like Galaxy/Emerald Rasboras would be safer? They stay very small, so I’m wondering if they would be less likely to snag one?

I'm considering this new chiller to replace the DIY one, don't want to experience another error, and these new chiller is more power efficient. The Hailea HC130a is consider little too strong for my tank, even the smallest chiller on the market is too big for my tank, if I use their default unit, as the temperature reading may not be accurate, so I intend to use a external sensor that goes direct to the tank, when connected to my canister, this will also reduce the water flow.

This isn't my field as we don't need such devices with our cold climate........... but I had a quick look pit of curiosity! I had a quick look though and the flow is 200-1000 l/min, isn't that way too powerful, especially for small tanks even on the slowest flow????? Looks like a serious bit of kt!! Are you looking to replace the chillers that have been causing problems? Simon

My male RCS are swimming around like their lives depend on it. The females are grazing in the gravel and showing no interest. I assume a hidden female is molting and releasing hormones. I´m surprised because I am battling high nitrites and it's a relatively new tank.

?

That's the risk you take with any fish in a shrimp tank.

Here's hoping

Thanks Trish! If by floaters you mean floating plants, I have some duckweed in there that’s growing back, but may consider some other larger types once I restock my rocket killies, they love that sort of stuff.

That's real nice @Crabclaw Well laid out... black sand sure does make it, and the rock and driftwood are wonderful. Do you think you might try some floaters?

Ok, so I’ve had water hardness issues for a while now, so after determining the issue as the gravel and rocks, I decided to rescape my tank with inert substrate and rocks (rocks looked good, couldn’t help myself...). Yesterday I made the switch, and the process took from about 9 in the morning to 5 in the evening. The steps I took (for anyone planning to do this in future) were first emptying the water halfway, then turning off the filter and heater, and realising I’d burnt out the heater (ARGH!), then draining the water to maybe 10 centimetres, and removing the driftwood and plants. The rocks had been removed 2 months prior. I then caught out every last little fish, counting along the way, as well as my shrimp. I chose to keep 5 Malaysian trumpet snails as future breeding stock, cuz they’re really cool (and even better in sand!). I housed my 5 shrimp, trumpet snails and 3 juvenile BNs in a small plastic container, so I could keep track of them, and the rest of the fish in a 50 Litre tub with the plants and wood. The tub was filled to 3/4 with the tank water. I proceeded to remove the rest of the water, before bagging the gravel to see if I can get a refund. Then I was stuck with this weird black water at the bottom of the tank, along with a little bit of invisible gravel. I removed this with paper towels. Now I cleaned out the tank with my algae scraper and more paper towels (so much for team trees ?). Next I cut a black yoga mat down to the size of my tank’s bottom (idea from Joey, King of DIY) and got a hand to lift the tank up while the mat was slid underneath. This is to cushion out any areas of high pressure, to prevent the glass from cracking, since the cabinet is getting a smidge of swelling. It worked pretty great. After this, the next stage was to chuck in all the sand. I chose Pisces x Oliver Knott AquaIron, as it is inert, and it looks great so far! Unfortunately it only comes in 15kg, and I needed a 20-25 kegga, so it's spread a bit thin, but it should do. Next step was to set up the hardscape - the driftwood and new rocks (the rocks are called 'red wood rock', lfs said they had tested and they were inert) - so I mucked around and found a good look, then got some help and started to set up for the planting. Got my mate to sort the plants while I filled up the tank with 'aged' dechlorinated water (aged for the hour it took to plant before I could put the fish back in ?). Once the water was filled, I stuck the filter on, tried to stick the heater on (and realised it had reached the point of no return, so yay, gotta buy another) and then we started planting. Once it was sorted, I had the fun time of catching all the fish AGAIN, getting them in, and then I got to clean up my huge mess... One thing I would have changed is acclimating my fish and shrimp before putting them back in the tank. And also not killing my heater. And maybe making a less stressful environment in the holding tub, because my blue Apistogramma turned orange ? Anyway, still have a bunch planned for the tank, next step is grabbing a new test kit (as I've run out) and heater, and seeing if I’ve fixed the problem. From there I can remove the Apistogrammas and change up the stock! I’ll keep this page updated for anyone who cares ? Also photos coming soon of the tank before, after, and during the fix. ???

Thanks Jayc, I've took the following readings tonight: Tap water is 280ppm TDS, water from filter jug 227, water in the tank now 370. What could be giving the high readings in the tank? All that's in is substrate and Dragon rock. I did a 50% water change this afternoon using filtered tap water. I've ordered the Zerowater jug kit and the GH/KH + from Pro shrimp, so I'll be able to get the parameters right and keep them stable. I've got a Juwel 190L Malawi cichlid set up that virtually runs itself.

I assume these little guys hide very well. Because I’ve only seen a few. I’m concerned that I’m not seeing more, and am afraid the corys might be feasting ???

You might have a berried mama somewhere in the tank now!

It's normal for new driftwood to grow that fungus. It's something to do with the sugars from new wood that seep out which feeds the fungus. Some shrimps will eat this, but even if they don't eat it, the fungus will disappear after a while. You can leave it in the tank, won't do any harm apart from the looks. If you take it out, keep it soaked in water, or it will just grow again the next time you put it in the tank. That's too high for shrimps. They will have a lot of problems trying to moult and will die from trying. What is the TDS out of the tap? It might be time to look for an RO system. Whether it is the Zerowater jug system that Simon uses, or a more permanent system installed in your kitchen tap. TDS of 400 is not even good for humans to drink. Your water, however, is great for African Lake Tangangyika cichlids.

She has obviously molted, there is an empty exoskeleton in the tank. It's very exciting for first-timers