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Had a bit of trim of the plants today. The cheery shrimp, were going crazy over my hand, used to have that problem with cleaner shrimp, didn't think fresh water shrimp were like this.

I’m very excited. The smaller shrimp seem to be hanging around the larger ones now, as they are considerably larger and look to be less shy. 16 Red Crystals, 12 Black Crystals, on their way. I added more reds, lol.

Ah!! That makes more sense and gives everything a chance to settle down a bit before doing the next water change, so go with that! The zerowater jug produces the same as RO so you don't need to buy an RO filter as well, so I would start with the zerowater and see how you get on with that. You may later decide to go the full RO filter if you are using a lot of RO water, ie if you decide to also do the large 190L tank but that is too far off to worry about yet! Just stick with dechlorinated tap water twice a week until the tank is cycled/ready for now and put the zerowater jug and GH//KH+ (when they arrive) to one side ready! Simon

Sorry Simon, I’ve just watched part of the vid again and it fact it’s a 50% water change twice a week. That’s what I’ll do.

I did order a zero water jug but it hadn’t arrived yet. The only reason I’m doing the water changes is following a YouTube video of a bloke doing the same set up and when he first started he was doing daily water changes. Do you think I should do less? I’m slightly concerned about the ammonia levels spiking.

Quick update on the tank. Tested water this morning and it’s reading 0 nitrite 0.5 ammonia and 5.0 nitrate. I’m doing 50% daily water changes with filtered tap water until the cycle completes then I’m going to use RO from then on. My local shop sells RO water for £4 for 25L but I’m going to buy a unit for about 60 quid.

That all sounds terrific and we love to hear a success story! It is always exciting when you start getting baby shrimps, something I am hoping for but may have a long wait as it is wintery here??? Remember to drip acclimate the new crystals when you get them. It will look more interesting having the two colours together. Simon

G'day Simon in the U K, Thank you for your reply. It is great to know I will be able to get other Shrimps from other towns. As for warm cars. Yes we have not only warm cars but extremely hot. All cars now have Air Conditioning to keep you cool. My friend came out from England in Mid Summer. He could no understand why Tradies were working in the 32c heat. I told him I think that they would prefer that, to working in -5c in the snow.. Cheers Perry

You're welcome.

G'day jayc, Thank you so much for the very useful information. I looks like I will be able to purchase some Yellow Shrimps soon. Much appreciated. Cheers Perry

Update. Manual removal has stopped, seems to be under control. Light has been lowered on day cycle to try to combat over lighting. Baby shrimp are showing up more frequently now as I gander around the tank . I’ve received the lid kit and will be assembling that and doing a water change tonight. In other news, I’ve ordered some Black and red crystals to bolster population of reds, and add some blacks. The fish are for a friend’s tank( we like to combine orders to save a few dollars). He offered me half of the emeralds, but I think I’ll steer clear anyway, I’m sure they would eat baby shrimps, even as small as they are. Maybe I’ll take him up on the offer once my colony is booming, as he’s putting them in a designated breeding tank.