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Two more shrimp molted, and wow they are growing fast! The BB are growing very fast, the RWP moderately fast, and that remaining BKK is... still about the same size as when I got it. I probably won't buy any more shrimp from that breeder. Regarding the algae, ever since I started following Jayc's advice to turn the lights completely off, the hair algae on the plants has kind of turned into crumbles. The shrimp still don't like to eat it, I guess because most shrimp don't like hair algae, so I will just vacuum them off the plants on my next water change. The algae that's growing on the s. repens may or may not be shrimp edible. It's like they only eat it sometimes. What I will try to aim for is to have the shrimp slightly hungry, but not nutrient deficient. Something like feed shrimp food once a week, a small amount of mulberry leaf to last a few days, and no extra food laying around for a few days every week. Maybe this will cause them to eat the remaining algae off the plants. Also I'll try increasing the lighting period again to get some more plant growth.

I am pleased to here the other shrimp are behaving normally now. I don't know how long they stay inactive after a moult as my tank is densely planted so I never see them all anyway and they are probably hiding (natural behaviour I expect) when they do moult. I would guess just a day or 2 to harden the new shell and they will be back to normal and feel less vulnerable? I don't think shrimp will eat all types of algae so expect, as you state, they maybe don't like the type you have. If it is the string type I know my shrimps never touched that for instance, but it cleared on its own with time as the tank settled? I imagine if the shrimp are moving around the tank a lot they may be searching for food so it could indicate a little boost may be a good idea? Simon