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Hey guys first thing is first ill show you where I began with my shrimp keeping and over the next couple of weeks explain my shrimp rack build and where it's at now. The first tank I had I kept red cherries in a small community tank.

Just thought I would briefly share our current scape. It's been kicking about for 22+ weeks now :) Unfortunately it has also been the death-place of over 100 red cherry shrimp over the course of it's existence. Introduced 20 at a time over 5 periods (all with different water parameters at each extreme); they just don't like this tank. To this day it continues to remain uninhabited by shrimp and will be decommissioned soon for a complete reset. Our first scape before it was decommissioned: http://shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/index.php/topic/3152-dsm-mr-aqua-12g-3ft-bookshelf/#entry3152

Thought I would throw up some progress shots of a 2ft tank that I am setting up for shrimp. It is pretty average compared to some that I have seen on here, but hey you gotta start somewhere!! Bare tank with a foam divider Shrimp Soil added. only one side to start with. Not sure what/how I will do the other yet......trial and error I guess Need a heater at the moment, one of my other tanks got down to 16 last night I have added some stainless mesh to grow some moss on, and an Anubias. I am new to planted tanks so this will be a learning curve, the world of Co2 is new to me, so I will need to research alot more on this. I also have some Foxtail floating on top. Also I stole the idea off @Jimmynich tank journal post, with a sunken in feeding tray. Will see how it goes. Putting some Yellow Cherries in this side. There is currently 12 in there, but I have already picked out the best that I am going to keep and will cull the rest (Ive been reading Daydreams posts on the importance of culling too) I just need to be confident that I am leaving myself with both boys and girls. Let me know what you think, I am still learning so any advice/critisism will be appreciated. Adro

G'day folks, recently purchased a second-hand fluval edge 23l and currently cycling the tank. Planning to stock CRS/Taiwan bees or even tigers. Had set the tank up this week, firstly adding a nice layer of Mosura Old sea mud powder Decided to go with half a bag of ADA Amazonia 1 creating a depth of about 5cm Filled with Pure RO water however will add Salty Shrimp gH + when cycling period is completed. Planned Flora: Needle leaf java fern Bucephalandra Us fissidens Planned fauna: CRS or TB orTigers Hardscape Lava rock Driftwood Shrimp caves Filtration Aquaclear HOB Lighting Hallogen bulbs from original fluval edge Now waiting for a few water changes to clear up the water a little then i shall add the hardscape and some plants.

My little rack consists of 3 600x300x200 tanks, for the moment I’m only going to be running cherry variants. I don’t have a chiller and the I don’t like my chances of getting one any time soon, the room there in isn’t the most stable for temp so I’m not taking chances with big $ shrimp ATM I might play with some a/s grade CRS later on when I’m happy with the system. the 3 tanks are filtered with a very basic sump that adds 1/3 extra water volume. I also have a big sponge filter in the occupied cell, I’m aiming to replace it with the stick on the side sponges soonish. I’m using fluval pre filter sponges to stop my babies going out the bulk head. ATM I only have yellows in the fare right and I’ll be getting some snow balls for the centre tank very soon, I’m still undecided what I’m going to get for the left tank. I’m thinking Carbon Rili atm I had a little break from shrimp since my move, but the yellows did better in their transition tank then they did in my scape . so I’ve taken that as a sign to not bother trying to breed shrimps in aqua scaped tanks and just put them in tanks designed for them. I’m not being fussy about cleaning the glass of algae, just keeping water quality tip top. trying not to put my hands in and just letting them do their thing.

Its been over two years using the Benibachi soil and its time to change the soil. I have decided to change the old 4ft (divided into 3) to a new 4ft (divided into 4). Extra partition to play with hehehe :) I have also change the substrate to New ADA Amazonia. Ammonia at the moment is crazy. Doing heaps of water changes. Using the same sump for the setup as before.

For most that know me on this forum, this new tank is a pretty big deal. For the longest time, my lovely wife has put a ban on any new tanks in the house. However, this last birthday was different, I managed to convince her to let me have another tank, as long as it was not too big. My plans were to turn this tank into a formal area decorative tank. I chose the Mr Aqua 3ft bookshelf. She's a beauty. Perfect proportions. Stocked up on some supplies... And visited Canley Vale Nursery for some bonsai rocks. After a quick washdown... The rest of the setup will come from existing gear. I'll reuse filter, media, heater, chiller, and plants. Plans are to use Mini Pellia to fill out the "hills" and "mountain valleys". Not sure yet, but maybe Staurogyne clusters as denser "forest" areas. Next will be putting the hardscape together.

Good evening! This one has been in planning for a while now and finally it's starting to come to fruition :) A while back I purchased a twin tier 3ft setup for bristlenose, but since MTS is taking over I've found myself wanting a divided tank so I could have more sections for my shrimp. I'm like a parent with a newborn at the moment, constantly checking it to see if it's alright, taking pictures of it, planning it's future, lol With the new tank there's been a slight change to the layout in the room, with the new layout I've found myself wanting to name the room, so I'd like to dub this room and it's contents within as "Warehouse 13" Lighting:: 2x 39W Sylvania Aquastar 10000K bulbs CO2:: Via three Ista basic diffusers connected to one disposable can Filtration:: 2x Eheim 2213 Canister filters, 3x Air Driven sponges Substrate:: 10L Cal Aqua Lab's Black Earth Premium Substrate In this pic I'm taking my baby home from the hospital for the first time, one last look back to see if it was sitting comfortably before driving at grandma pace to get home The holes in the dividers are being plugged with filter foam donated by the ever-generous Twellsy! This is the position it's going into, I had sold off the previous bottom tank, then dropped the top tank to the bottom. My new tank is taking the pride and joy placement at the top (plus works better for canister filters) Note the 2ft, stuck almost hidden on the left side new layout, allowing the 2ft to be accessed and viewed MUCH easier! Compared to my other tanks, this thing is BRIGHT! All tanks had their lights on in the following photo, I dropped the exposure so the whole picture wasnt washed out Beemax and Benibachi mineral layer, as all good tanks should have :) In goes the Substrate The bits and bobs

Hi all. Been a member for some time now and had ups and downs already breeding tb/mish. I have just moved in with my girlfriend to a nice apartment and am setting up my four foot as a divided mish/tiger/tb breeder. Using my existing substrate which is around 5 bags of up aqua shrimp soil with a bag of benibachi powder over the top. Hardware will be a halea chiller, eheim 2217 and an aqua one 800 cannister also. Chiller will be run via the aqua one cannister as the slower flow rate will keep temps a bit more constant when the chiller kicks in. Have still got the aqua one in a bucket running with old tank water until my new ro unit arrives. Already lined the bottom of the tank with bee mineral bacteria aswell as micronektron powder. Plan on updating this journal with plenty of pics as I go. I have some beautiful perspex dividers on the way from Korea so will update again when they arrive. Can't wait to get it cycling. [ATTACH]6757[/ATTACH]

Time to share my journal as a Beekeeper :) Some of you already know me from other forums where I share my experiences about my hobbies as a Reefkeeper, Guppy genetic manipulator and now a new direction Bees. I enjoy having projects that give me distraction from the daily grind. Having a hobby in Saltwater aquariums opens up countless avenues to go explore the same can be said for Guppy Genetics..... not content with having all that - I have decided to explore Tibee and Taibee genetics too:) Having landed in a friendly forum such as Shrimp Keepers, it's now time to share what's going on in my tanks. So here goes......

I am finally taking the plunge into serious shrimp breeding. I am going to build my rack from the Bunnings rack-it with 6 tanks. I want to keep the design simple and use sponge filters. I also need to ensure that water changes are able to be done with minimal fuss. The plan is at this stage to have pipes running to each tank purely for water change purposes. So the idea is to use the taps to isolate the RO tank from the pipes to drain water from the tanks, and then isolate the drainage outlet and open the RO tap for the top up. I am after any constructive criticism and general comments which will help me come to a final plan.

Hi guys, Just received all the gear for re-scape. Original tank: 11W light, inert course river gravel, crypt, java fern, java moss, drift wood. Re-scape: 36W compact, 4L of Ista Shrimp Soil, HC, HM, Japanese Hair Grass, java moss, 1L Pressurised CO2 system (with solenoid), Iwagumi Style rocks. Gear supplied by Age of Aquariums, ******, my LFS (Annerley Aquariums), and a few items from when I lived in the UK (from the Green Machine for those who know the Youtube videos) and also from a recent trip to Hong Kong. Objective of the re-scape was to make it suitable for CRSs, and CBSs in the future (will require RO, chiller, and external filter), remove snails, and re-plant with plants suitable for a nano tank. Here's the original. Obviously over-run by plants and snails. Ignore the algae in the back. I leave it on the glass in the back as something for the shrimp to graze on. New equipment. The black sheeting is from the Green Machine in the UK. It's used at baffles to prevent substrate from falling down when attempting to build a slope. Hard Scape In with the plants. Also inserted 6 Flourish Root tabs. Flooded after 1hr. Water cleared up might quick. Used 10L of original water and same filter to speed up cycling. Also added in Benibachi Bee Balls and Benibachi's Active Shrimp Water. Dosed the water using Seachem Prime, Flourish Comprehensive, Excel and Iron. Close up photo Didn't test the water initially (3rd of April) but tested it yesterday. pH: 6.4 Am: 0ppm Nitrite: 0ppm Nitrate: 10ppm CO2 was going at just under 1bps. Permanent indicator says it's low so I bumped it up slightly and will monitor. The HC was already pearling yesterday to my surprise. Looks like it has cycled but I will leave it for at least a few more days before I add in the shrimp. I used my phone to take these photos so it's not the best quality. I've got a new macro lens on order and should arrive when the shrimps go back in. Will update then. I also plan to get some fire and sakura grade to breed. About half of my population is sakura. When transferring them to the temporary tank found 5 to be berried. Hopefully they won't be too stressed out.

So, after much procrastination and time wasting, I am finally getting my rack together! Many Thanks to Jay, Marcus, Dean, Serkan for sharing their setups and how-to's. I am not handy and would not have known where to start without you guys. Jay, thanks for answering the multitude of questions, you are a legend. So this was the base I had to work with (mess warning) [ATTACH]6629[/ATTACH] I am not confident cutting glass, so had five 24x12x18 tanks made and drilled (lazy option) I have just silicone in the substrate divider/feeding area.(Thanks Jay & Dean) [ATTACH]6630[/ATTACH] Have many plumbing pieces to measure, cut & assemble (It's like lego for adults!!) [ATTACH]6631[/ATTACH]

With all the time I'm spending at home lately, My wife is sick of hearing about shrimp and tanks So i thought I would share my ideas with people that will appreciate them lol. I'm getting a rack built that is 1100mm long,540mm wide and three tier. Top teir will be the 40x40x40cm planted cube with cbs and yellows, and a 2x15x18 divided in half with mishlings and pumpkin one side, crs and black cherry the other side. The planted tank won't be on the system. Second teir is 3x18x1 divided in four. Section 1, red rili and snow white rilli Section 2, select bred red cherry and? Section 3, no stock yet but want carbon rilli and Tibee Section 4, no stock yet but want tigers and a different cherry The bottom teir will be a sump that runs through Dacron and sponge onto bioballs in dry section with Scoria on the bottom, which will flow into.a section of k1, then a 25cm cull tank with sponge stopper and the last section will be for the 1200lph pump and heater. If all goes to plan the rack and sump will be done this weekend, planted tank will go on top. Any suggestions or freebies to fill the tank accepted lol. I will also have a four foot tank in the garage running a ghetto sump for culls, but I will start a new thread for that tank. Cheers mick

Finally up and running! I'll let the pictures do most of the talking LOL but here are a few specs: :happydance::happydance::happydance::happydance::happydance::happydance: (Had to do 6 happy dances to go with the theme of the rack LOL 6 tanks 2ftx18"x16"h sump 2x18x18- 3 compartments. First compartment K1, need a heap more and need to put some gutter guard so it doesnt flow into compartment 2, which is a variety of sponges. Compartment 3 has a few litres of ceramic rings and soon to have 2L of marinepure spheres (just ordered some from AOA, for my marine tank and this rack). And yeah I'm also waiting on a filter sock to come lol. Sump pump-italian made (forget brand LOL) 3500L/h pump. Seems to be going well! Also sponge filters comming for each tank. More diftwood coming as well and plants! Substrate-natural river sand from my old discus tank Stock (mostly still comming)- bottom 2 tanks will have a trio of pep breeders in each one + some cherries. middle tanks will each have a variety of cherrie shrimp and tiger shrimp at a later date. Top tanks will have a cherrie colony in each. Chiller: hailea hc250a - not hooked up yet. Temp will be kept at 24-25c. Lighting: top and middle tanks will be lit with T5s and bottom tanks will be natural sunlight/T8 when needed. Excuse the plate in there lol, forgot to get it out :) So, what do you think people? I'm very happy with it!

Ok guys so my ideas are starting to come together. So far this is what I have. I'm still undecided to what to breed in here but I will figure that out later. I will be working with a 1000L ibc. I have 6 of them. That is the plan. I think it is do able. This is my filter hopefully it will do the job. It will be made of plastic storage containers from big w or bunnings not sure yet. That's what I have so far just waiting on pay day lol

So a mate linked me an add for a cheap tank that didnt look to worn out, hadn't planned on setting up another tank before the divided 3ft but here we are :p The plan for this tank is to try to be as budget wise as possible, using items I already own to get it up and running. The tank came with the stock 11W CFL but no filtration, originally this tank would have come with an undergravel filter but I wouldnt have been using that anyway as I plan on using an active substrate. Tank:: AquaOne AquaStart 320 (bought secondhand for $15, no filter) Filtration:: Air driven sponge filter(s) Lighting:: 11w stock CFL Heating:: 55W AquaOne that I had lying around Substrate:: Cal Aqua Lab's Black Earth premium (leftover from another scape) Substrate additives:: Benibachi's Beemax Enzym and Mironection powder, 2tsp of each Hardscape:: Lavastone and Driftwood Plants:: Whatever I can gather, includes some Javamoss, ambulia, java fern and a crypt So first off I had to give the tank a bit of a clean, I'm always worried when buying a secondhand tank that the previous owner may have used a chemical to clean the tank out before sale. So for this reason I give the tank a spray down with water several times before moving on. Once I've given it a clean out next up is the layers of Benibachi's Mironecton powder and BeeMax powder, I've used a good heaped 2tsp of each making sure I cover the whole bottom of the tank evenly. Now that I've got the additive layer down I like to put down a small layer of substrate before placing my hardscape to try to spread the weight out more and prevent any cracking of the bottom, this is just paranoia really but with these small aquaone tanks they have a rim that the tank sits on meaning pressure is focused on the center. Now time for the hardscape! I tried a few different layouts before settling on a single peice of driftwood and two peices of lava rock I was given, the lavarock was actually being used as a filter medium so comes pre-loaded with bacteria. Both peices have had javamoss tied on about a week ago, the smaller of the two I tried a dry start method on and the growth rate is surprising, it's already covered the white string used to tie it on. The larger piece obviously has some catching up to do! Now for some plants! I hate planting, they never seem to stay in place for me so I've tried planting them then after pouring a small amount of substrate over them to further weight them down I'm pretty content with the way it is, so time to start flooding! I've been typing this while a 4mm airline slowly adds some water into the tank. I'll pause here and come back when it's flooded (and hopefully not flooded my desk too) Ok, well flooding is complete! Seems most plants have stayed in place so I'm happy, even the javafern which I'm a little shocked about Ok so all complete, now I just have to wait for the tank to cycle and the PH to balance out. Aiming for a ph of 6.2 - 6.5, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up at 5.8 or so but *fingers crossed* The main purpose for this tank will be to focus on my RCS, I'll be selecting my favorite male and females and trying to make my RCS into something to be proud of. This is a picture of my favorite female that will be one of the starting colony Thanks for taking the time to read my thread Happy shrimpkeeping! -Bristled One :rockon:

Hi, You might have seen this on another forum. Over christmas i bought a custom made shallow tank that matches the dimensions of the ADA-1200F with a stand. A big thank you to Dennison of Mary Anne Aquariums. Been in DSM but filled up last Saturday. What do you think? Full tank shot with two extra globes on (10000 and royal blue (marine, came with kit). I think i like this better. And these are the blue body red rill shrimp i am thinking of having in there when the tank has cycled (that or yellow or chocs). Cheers Gbang (bought late last year) Tank: 1200 x 300 x 200H ~ 70 litres. 6mm starphire glass, braceless, rimless, ADA style. Filtration: Fluval 206. Expected to blow away HC and sub but with the inline stuff and reduction to 12mm outlet/inlet barely have flow on opposite side of tank. Glassware: Cal aqua NANO efflux and influx (Cheers, to a sydney store who is not a sponsor) Heating: Hydor 200w inline (Same sydney store) C02: 6kg steel cylinder (downsizing on next refill, was a homebrew kegging nerd). Dici reg and solenoid UP Aqua inline reactor Substrate: CAL Aqua Labs Black Earth. 2 bags. Lighting: 2 x t5ho giesemann 1 aquaflora and 1 midday (room for 2 more tubes) in a generic HK setup. Light may need dropping as i have leggy stauro and mini alt from DSM. Hardscape: Yingshi stone sourced from local bonsai guy (Cheers Rob, Redcliffe markets) Melaluca driftwood and some sneaky manzantia. Flora: HC Cuba Stauro tropica Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini' Anubias petite. Some mini pellia but main stock destroyed due to neglect Would like a driftwood moss but my stock is very hair and black beard algae infested at the moment. Possible emersed fauna as well (air plants, moss maybe) Fauna: Choc or Yellow or Blue body red rili Cherry Shrimp (thinking blue guys, cheers Glenn, starting to see lots of babies) Maybe CRS (have 2 $3/piece CRS survivors from hot days over summer) Maybe Boraras maculatus (or liquorice gourami from my other tank, posted here) - try to stick to one fish species i think, maybe two if i can't help myself. Challenges A few: Such a high (1100mm) yet narrow (300 mm) stand means stability and levelling issues but it is screwed to brick wall and levelled with chocks etc. Filtration for shallow but long tank may be future issue Not many examples of shallow aquascapes to draw from I had only small stones to work with! Red brick background mutes the brown, red and orange within the tank. Needs a background. Inspiration: Green machine: Tributary and Crimson Sky UKAPS: A little box of chocolates and Toms bucket o mud Other: Ohko mountains Build: Got it home, dumped a bag of substrate and other hardscape into it, Dec 2013 Soil and driftwood arrangement Some initial planting, and hardscape changing Yellow sand and some tillandsia in left driftwood, tank was in DSM by here (the sand was removed because 1: didn't look right in person front on and 2: thought 206 would blow it away, in hindsight this wouldn't have been an issue) Yingshi closeup, this stone will raise pH. If you soak it in vinegar overnight, you get awesome crystal formations (can't find pics atm) Recent DSM shot, no driftwood, pretty much iwagumi Black Earth and pretty clear water on filling Almost iwagumi (like right rock work better, but now covered by driftwood) Alternative driftwood, despite totally different scale and type, the pieces kinda work together. But i have it setup as in first pictures. Pearling HC First (unintentional) animal inhabitant, native (?) bee Cheers, Dan.

hi guys this is my first real shrimp tank its a fluval edge 23L its not the best planted tank but Im hoping the HC carpets the whole tank and I might change a few plants and its going to bbe stocked with yellow cherrys in a couple of weeks ( ill upload pics soon )

I joined the forum a little while ago and am completely new to shrimp. I have kept fish for about a 1 and a half but my friend showed me some of his shrimp and I decided i had to get some. On wednesday he gave me 8 yellow cherries (which look sweet) But all my bigger tanks were filled. So I filled a 8 L nano tank with water from a very well cycled tank and took a cycled sponge filter from the same tank. I then let the shrimp acclimatize to the ph which is at ~7.4. I then let them loose and they looked very happy. After a few hours I fed them a algae wafer and they all attacked it with relish. All was good on thursday morning, until just before I left. When i saw a shrimp lying on its back moving it's legs slowly. Worrying about it dying and causing a ammonia spike I took it out and put it in another tank. When I got back that arvo It was gone (presumably dissintergrated). BUT IN THE SMALL SHRIMP TANK I saw to my delight little shrimplets. One of the bigger females I found out was actually berried and all the shrimp looked very content in their little tank. Since then I have had no more deaths and have been seeing a few more shrimplets. I have been monitoring the temp since I put the shrimp in and it has stayed at a pretty steady 28-29°. I dont have a TDS pen and is this nessesary? Also was the death of the shrimp just a freak death or am I doing something wrong? Once I sell some peppermint plecos I will have a larger tank availiable. I am really enjoying watching the shrimp and can't wait to progress in the shrimp world. PS. sorry for the bad quality photos. Regards Gary[ATTACH]6388[/ATTACH][ATTACH]6389[/ATTACH][ATTACH]6390[/ATTACH][ATTACH]6391[/ATTACH]

hey guys this is my first shrimp tank setup as i am new to shrimp and fish keeping in general :) i am just awaiting moss balls and java to arrive i will be attaching them to the driftwood and breeding tunnels :) i know the green box filter is a eyesore but i am going to fully incase it in foam so it kind of looks like another sponge filter( but with the extra bio and chemical filtration)

Hello again fellow shrimpers! I've given myself an excuse to convert a tank from inert gravel over to using Cal Aqua's Black Earth Premium substrate, just the "normal" grain size. Basically trying out the substrate to decide whether to get Benibachi or this when I do a rack. Tank::28L AquaOne AR-380 with stock lighting and filtration Substrate:: Cal Aqua Lab's Black Earth Premium, Normal grain size Substrate additives:: Benibachi's Beemax and mineral powders Hardscaping & Ornaments:: Mopani wood, Easy-Aqua shrimp tubes Plants currently used:: Asian Ambulia, HC, Java Fern, Skrillex Moss, Java Moss, Peacock Moss, some kind of sword, Others I dont know the names of due to LFS purchases Planned snails:: MTS, Baby gold apple snails (when they grow up they'll be removed) Planned shrimp: Blue Velvet project, breeding from Blue gene rili culls. Possibly caridinas of some form will be added in later once the tank has matured a bit more So I actually scaped this tank about a week ago but I overdid it with the amount of substrate used, also admittedly wasn't too happy with the resulting layout. Unfortunately the amount of substrate caused the PH to stabalise at 5.2 which is just stupid So I rolled up the proverbial sleeves and scooped out about a liter of substrate, did an 80% waterchange and also had a bit of a play-around with the planting and layout while I was in there + added the two shrimp tubes I recently purchased. PH is currently sitting at 6.9, hopefully it wont drop past 6 once it's stabilized... *fingers crossed*

Come show my aquarium shrimp hope you like it! Setup Shrimp Cave 2.0 Aqua = 115x50x50 divided into 5 Filter = 600 with HF siporax. I need more! Substrate = Mbreda Black Blue mixed with amazon - Mbreda products 10 = Cooling Shrimp Cave 1.0 underground Shrimps: Black Crystal / Red Crystal / Orange / Red Fire / Blue Velvet / Yellow / Blue Velvet / Blue Pearl 4 tanks [ATTACH]6284[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]6285[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]6286[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]6287[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]6288[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]6289[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]6290[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]6291[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]6292[/ATTACH]

ok guys finally finish my rack. well not yet but still in progress toke a lot of time in building the tanks and everything here are some photos. there was one that found it same size so what i did was cut it all back to just glass and just re assemble with new silicone and bottom glass short it a little bit and whalla i wanna give a big thanks to Twellys who has been donating me some shrimp here and there to help me start , nice guys to talk to for hours hahahaha. i have some yellows, red, red rillies, orange, orange rallies, and 2 blue shrimps and some wild choc if anyone wants to donate me some shrimps your welcome that will help me a lot. hope you enjoy it and soon will be 100% done and i will be putting more photos up

thaught id throw up some pics of my current shrimp tank. the tank was one i bought cheap (ish) then divided and resealed. originally a bristlenose breeding tank. they have since changed tanks which freed it up as a selective breeding tank for my cherries (yellows one side and reds on the other) i have a 4 foot tank which was a cull tank but i sold all the cull red cherries today and drained the tank ready for a bit of a rework (most probably split into 4 sections) the 3 foot was a bit of a chuck together the other day using stuff from the 4 to get it going quick when i got my yellows and its current occupants i appologise for the crappy camera phone pics. once the little guys grow a bit more ill get the slr out for some better pics