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On Tuesday I asked Sarah (3) what she would like for her 4th birthday on Saturday (7/6) and I couldn't believe it when the first thing she asked for wasn't a new doll or toy but Crystal Reds! Hubby has put his foot down and said no more shrimp for a while, even though we've got an empty cycled running tank waiting for some shrimp to call home. So I asked her what else she would like a new Dolly, some clothes, some toys. But she said 'No Mummy I just want Crystal Reds!' So I hunted around online and found an add for Crystal Reds 10x$35! I sent them a quick text and and Woohoo, they had 1 pack left and organized to pick them up yesterday. Hubby was very unimpressed when he found out, but they were what she wanted so I couldn't resist getting them for. I think seeing how happy and excited she is to have her early birthday prezzie may have calmed him down a little lol. When I tucked her into bed, after she said good night to her shrimp and gave the tank a kiss, she whispered to me "I want to share my Crystal Reds with you Mummy. I know you really wanted some to." Little sweetheart. When she wakes up she'll be getting a few more prezzies to unwrap, a new doll and bits and pieces. But I bet her first stop will be to see how her Crystal Reds are in the morning. She's been asking for them for months (and me to lol).

http://www.perthcichlid.com.au/forum/index.php?showtopic=58206&hl=

ok so i thought i better post a bit about myself... me and my brother both have the aquarium bug haha im 23, started off with tanks in 2005 playing around with planted community after about 3-4 years we moved house and i gave my fish and tanks away to a friend fast forward a few years and i decided one day i wanted another tank... so i just shot down to an aquarium store got a tank 3 footer with light and stand w/e basic starter kit ph test heater ph down general crap u get when u know nothing after i had this tank for a bit with just rocks in the bottom and some struggling plants i started looking around on the net and i found a forum in my local area dedicated to fish keeping hahah wow.. after i found this forum one day a generous member posted 2 2ft tanks for free and it was like 5 minutes from my house, so i got these 2 tanks and put them on a bench in the shed, i had these 2 tanks 1 looked pretty bad so i decided i was going to cut it apart and re stick it together,(i figured how hard can making a square be right?) back to youtube so i cycled the tank using some longfin BN's the old way... 10%-20% wcs everyday for 5-6 weeks, you know when you don't have 15 sponges running, anyways appistos moved in and long story short they breed and i had to use the other tank 1 for parents 1 for fry about 50 fry then i discovered L# Catfish and i wanted some... so i had about 9 tanks now and my parents house sold..... so we were moving, 2 moves later and 1 more to go im at 11 tanks or so now just started playing around with pressurized c02 for plants, and the only shrimp i keep are chameleon/ninja and white bees, ive been struggling with them but i found out now that my 500 ppm tap water wasn't the best for them....gh 11 kh5 sitting on top of a fridge at 17 degrees.... outnumbered by ninja shrimp 10 to one so i had to get the ro water/Distilled and get some salty shrimp minerals and some benbachi bee balls, heater. now WP 200 ppm gh 7 kh 3 temp 21 im looking at the benbachi mineral powder,as i also think im having moulting problems one of my shrimp looked really weird when it was on the sponge the other day like it wasn't fully developed it's shell was like... weird, thin, not there? after i moved the tank around a bit the next day i noticed a few dead guys so i did a decent water change now i have about 2-3 adults left after reading on here maybe im putting the water in to fast but its only 10% change run through an airline 10 mins for 4 liters? the thing thats making me wonder whats going on is theres baby shrimp still loving it in there and i thought even the slightest parameter swings would have knocked the little guys off first, so im guessing its a CA deficiency or MG as the tank is about 3 months old....and the more mature shrimp need more of it(CA,MG) for there shells then the little guys??? so i pmed my fish store guy (Ollie at Aquotix) and he got some info from one of your members and told me to check out the site and join up :) and buy some mineral powder but on the good news side of it i have noticed about 20 baby shrimpletts swimming around and i fed them some banana today as i was reading some posts they loved it hahah mainly feed them IAL,Kale Tablets everything settled now deaths have stopped i think it was due to me dropping the tds down a little fast for them combined with catching all the ninja shrimp out of the tank disturbing it all, Could have also been a predatory thing? white shrimp try to change shell and get eaten from ninjas? did i write to much ahhahah

My entry:

So i have spent last 3 days making RO water i think i have about 80-100 litres made up so now i want to clarify something. I will be adding water into 30 litre buckets and then adding it to the tank, but i am not sure how much of the shrimp mineral i should be adding to the water at a time before testing etc, should i also be testing the calcium and hardness aswell at same time before i put it in the tank? I am not 100% sure exactly what process i should be undertaking for the remineralisation process. I will be removing all my shrimp and holding them in a bucket whilst i add the R/O Water to the tank and acclimating them to the new water and then hopfully giving my surviving 3 crs some friends :)

Yeah man!, I actually managed to fit a carton of beer inside the car on the way home. It will definitely be a busy weekend.

Just found this pic of a gorgeous TB while cruzing the net & just had to share it with you guys! Introducing the Galaxy by Opty Shrimp in Europe.

I would like to enter this as it has not been put in the library or entered in any comp yet... DIY SHRIMP SAFE FILTER GUARD These can be made to fit any size tubing at the fraction of the cost of what is sold and is so very easy to make. So lets get started! Note: It is recommended that you use protective goggles and gloves, as frayed mesh wires can get pretty sharp. Here is what you will need to make the filter guard: *Stainless Steel Mesh sheet hole size #30 (can be purchased at the mesh company online, I got the A3 size sheet which is enough for a lot of guards!) *Tin snips *Heat Shrink (depending on the size of your tube get the heat shrink at least 5mm bigger, can be purchased eBay) *Heat source (Lighter, hair dryer, heat gun, etc) *A tube of the size required *Pencil, marker *Ruler *Cable ties *Craft knife Steps Prepare cable ties as you will need both hands free Cut mesh sheet to size depending on how long you want the guard and how thin the tube is (I cut mine 10cmx10cm) and wrap tightly around the tube, secure tightly with cable ties Cut another piece of mesh depending on the width of the mesh wrapped around tube (mine was 18mm), cut a square piece (18x18mm), place on end of mesh and bend corners over Cut a bit of heat shrink (mine was 2cm) and place over the mesh making sure the piece of mesh covering the end stays in place, leave about 0.5cm above. Using the heat source you are using (I just used a lighter) and heat the heat shrink until it shrinks tightly around the mesh (make sure you don't heat the same place for too long as it will melt! Just quickly run the flame over the shrink) and then quickly push the end down on a flat surface for a minute. The outcome should be something like this (you can use the craft knife to make the opening bigger if you wish) Now for the other end, repeat the steps above but shove the tube in instead. Leave for a minute or so. Remove the tube and cut the cable ties, cut a thin bit of heat shrink to place in middle of guard for extra support, heat it until tight. And there you have it, your DIY filter guard. For a fraction of the cost you can make all the filter guards needed, can be HOB, canister, overflow pipe, etc. for your 20 shrimp tanks!:encouragement: Cheers Chi.

LOL - too funny! No more attempts from me this time.

Ive already got an RO but will have a look anyway....been dealing with Ian & FSA for 3+ years, and they're absolutely brilliant !

Well ! There's a couple of excellent stickies for you to read tonight in the "Water Parameters" subforum. Our little shrimpy friends like all invertebrates (snails, crabs, prawns, crayfish, etc) use calcium to grow their shells. Too much and too little will mean they have issues moulting - leading to deaths during the moulting process. Calcium needs to be supplemented. Dumping calcium alone into the water isn't enough. You need Magnesium to make the calcium useful to invertebrates. A Ca test kit will help you determine how much Ca you have in the water column. With a Ca and a GH test kit, you can work out Mg levels as well with a simple formula.

OzShrimps Guide to transporting and increasing survivability of shrimp for extended periods of time. I utilised this method when moving house last January. I have given this as advice on the forum previously a long time ago but not written as an article. Unfortunately i didnt take photos because i was moving house but i have obtained images of the main items required and done an image in paint to explain the holes. i hope this will suffice?. You will require – · 20 litre bucket with lid (Source from bunnings or masters) · Sponge filter I recommend the ones which have suction caps and a minimum of two if you go for single sponge. Optimum at least 2 dual sponge filters · Battery operated air pump. · Air hose · Drill or sharp pointed object. · Excess plants (the more the better) · Ph buffering substrate. Preparation – Step 1: Ensure your sponge filters are running on your existing tank for as long as possible to ensure you have beneficial bacteria culture growing on the filters. The longer they are running the better. Step 2: Take the lid from your bucket and make holes in the lid. The holes should be big enough for your air hose to fit through one of the holes and I did the extras to ensure new air was able to enter the bucket. Mine was done in a similar pattern to this Step 3: Add existent tank water to the bucket. I would recommend at least 3 quarters full as if you are unfortunate enough to suffer an ammonia spike etc (worst case) the more water the lower the impact in theory. Be mindful of how much you add due to holes in the lid, the more the water the more chance of spillage. Step 4: Add some of your existing substrate to the bottom of the bucket. I used benibachi for the ph buffering ability which had already been in my tank. I felt it would assist in reducing stress due to resembling the tank. Step 5: You want to add the sponge filters to the inside of the bucket and thread your air hose through the holes in the lid. Step 6: Add any plants you have available to your bucket. The aim of the plants is to assist the bacteria on the sponge filters in maintaining healthy water due to the small amount. I utilised needle leaf java fern and it also provides a food source for the shrimp. Step 7: Add your shrimp and turn on the sponge filters and replace the lid on the bucket. Step 8: Store the bucket out of direct sunlight during travel and storage at arriving destination to prevent major fluctuations in water temperature. I had approximately 5 CBS inclusive of shrimplets in a bucket utilising this method alive for close to two weeks. They survived 8 hour car trip and then about 12 days whilst my tank cycled being set up in the new house with temperatures averaging over 35 degrees a day. TIPS: Prepare your sponge filters in the tank and have them running for as long as possible prior to transfer. The later you leave your shrimp to be added to the bucket the better. Keep your bucket out of direct sunlight to avoid over heating and mass fluctuations in water temperature. Avoid over feeding your shrimp as you dont want an ammonia spike from left over food. Depending on amount of plants these should be sufficient to supply micro organisms to feed on the leaves. Battery air pumps are also able to be used in a black out so dont throw them away.

This is mine :)

The tribe.....

One of my Crystal Red Shrimps :)

'Chomping The Lion' Dandelion, that is. Thanks for the tip Jayc.

That's fantastic news! Sounds like you're definitely on the right path now, well done!

Awesome stuff, always smile when I see shrimplets, well done!

Congrats on things settling down! Fingers crossed for CBS berries! It's amazing how time disappears when shrimp staring!

There are shrimplets playing everywhere in this tank! Great work Jen!

Here's some crappy iPhone photos, the sand bed isn't that dirty, it's weird shadows from the LED. LED lighting makes taking pictures of a tank impossible sometimes. [ATTACH]6723[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]6724[/ATTACH]