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Great to get an update with no horrific stories, look forward to seeing some photos in due course! I had a shrimp try to make a dash for it when I first got in to shrimps, I saw it crawling across the carpet, I don't actually know how it got out but as JayC suggests, lowering the water level will make it harder, however they try to get out? They can jump out or even climb up power cables. Really pleased your heater problem didn't cause you any big problems! Simon

Yeah it’s right up near the rim, I didn’t realise they could climb (I’ve had shrimp in this tank a few times before) and preferred the high water level look. I’ll drop it down a tad in that case.

Great essay on your adventures. It felt as if I was there ?. Too bad about that one shrimp that was found outside the tank. Is your water level close to the rim of the tank? If it is, reduce the water level a bit to avoid shrimp climbing out.

Alright, so for the first update: I’m really loving the shrimp. I’ve spent ages just sitting in front of the tank and watching them. I really surprised myself actually; I thought I’d enjoy them more in the tank with fish, as an addition to the stocking. But I’m REALLY loving them on their own! If all goes well for another couple weeks, I think I’ll move them all into the ‘fry’ tank. Luckily it sits next to a sink, which I normally use for water changes, so it’s extraordinarily easy to do small and often water changes. I’m going to do one once the water comes back on. I’ve got a couple things to cover. Firstly, I still haven’t found the shrimp with the brown head. The shrimp in that tank are hiding a lot more than the ones in my shrimp-only tank. Conversely, the CPDs are much more active, so I guess the shrimp are acting as dithers? In the shrimp-only tank, I’ve had a couple of mishaps. Firstly, my heater seems to not like me much anymore. After moving houses, it was out of use for 6 months. When I started using it again for the betta breeding project, the set temperature was different from the actual temperature, by about 3 or 4 degrees. By the time I started raising my first batch of CPD fry (which unfortunately didn’t go so well), I had it set at 27, and it was giving me 24°, which was what I wanted. But when I tried to drop it down by a couple degrees (placing it on 25° with the intention of getting it to give me 21 or 22), it just gave up. I woke up the next morning and checked on the tank, and I was shocked to see the temperature at 15°!!! A tiny freak-out ensued, and I set my heater back at 27°, because surely 24° is better than a frigid 15°. The water has slowly (painfully slowly) heated up over the last day to sit at about 22°, so I’m hoping it sticks there and I don’t have to mess around with this hellish heater any more. I’ll replace it next time I order something or go to my LFS. Thankfully it doesn’t seem like there was any problem that followed from that. All the shrimp in there are doing very well still. Except for one. I found him dried out on the counter, next to the tank, just this morning. I was shocked, and a little heart-broken. I’m not sure what could’ve happened… did he somehow climb onto the lid last night when I fed, and he fell off of it when I took it out of the tank, and I somehow didn’t notice? Did he climb out of his own accord, through the tiny hole in the corner where the airline comes in to the tank?? Did I somehow accidentally flick him out of the tank??? I’m flabbergasted, and rather upset. Anyways, it seems that at least everything else is going okay. I’m looking forward to the opportunity of perhaps moving the other CRS over to the shrimp-only tank, and having another go with CPD fry as well. That’s all for now though. Photos definitely coming on the weekend, because I totally can’t wait to bring out the camera and get some nice shots of them.