29G Shrimp Tank

[myswtsins]

lol I am pleased with the low amount of nerite eggs I have so far, I've had MUCH worse. I am certain my black horned nerite is female (always being mounted and am pretty sure I watched her lay an egg) and I think one of the zebras. I could pull them and possibly have no eggs, but what fun is that?

I'm sure RCS are of better quality now then before, say when they first showed up. I just looked it up and 8 years ago is when I had my super solid red RCS for $1 each. A poor shot of one of them. Wish I could still find those deals!

 

[fishorama]

Well, just to be snotty, lol, your super duper red just looks...mature. No really, not so snotty, I like the maroonish females & their colorful male friends...but I once had a fantabulous turquoise shrimp in a "mutt" group, it was amazing!! but of course it never bred "true" among the other mutts, or in any other way, sigh.

As for nerites' eggs, don't we just pretend it's kh & gh booster? Or fingernail remover getting them off the wood? Actually, mine didn't live long enough to pretend anything...

 

[myswtsins]

Maybe it's hard to tell from that picture but every guide I've seen places that shrimp firmly in sakura grade, if not high sakura grade. She had almost an entirely solid red body and red spots/stripe on her legs, her front two legs were almost completely red even. I can see where the light is hitting her side it looks like blank spots but it's not, she only had a couple clear spots on the very bottom of her carapace.

This was a different female from a different source but still only $1 (I checked lol. which is super hard with the site being messed up atm). Really bad shot but the best one I have (yes, I used to be even worse at taking pictures than I am now!) shows that even this ones legs were almost completely red. This one had no clear spots on her body at all. Her face and tail were not white or that racing stripe color, it's just the picture.

I just know if I were to buy normal cherries today I would majorly disappointed. From what I've seen regular cherries now are what we considered crappy cherry culls then but at twice the price. Trying to find a good deal on Sakura but it's not panning out atm. Considering this tank is intended to be an easy fun tank I might just settle for cherries though.

 

[fishorama]

Oh, now I see the red legs. Don't sakura females get the stripe? Shows what I know.

If you'd be disappointed, of course get high class shrimp. It's your other tank that's had losses right? I don't feel like rereading...

 

[myswtsins]

And it's so much to read with my long detailed posts! Sorry. I lost them in this tank due to the filter not coming back on after a power outage and I didn't realize it for days (wasn't home when it happened). Although I do worry about getting good shrimp and them dying! In the past I have had a lot of heartache with keeping shrimp alive and breeding. That was with different "bad" water and a different tank and I am pretty confident that I have the water issue resolved! If all else fails I have RO water and I can make it perfect!

As I look over at the tank right now though (which is ready for a water change or top off at least) I see one of my nerites completely above the water line. I know they do come out of the water sometimes but usually cause something is wrong. Tested the tank and everything is normal except a slight increase in KH which does seem unusual but nothing to be alarmed about.

pH - 8.2
KH - 11 (up 1)
GH - 9
Temp - 75
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate - 0


I want to buy another copper test. Know of any good ones?

 

[fishorama]

Are you dosing Excel or Metricide in this tank? My MTS snails hate it! Makes it easy grab some out but I only tried nerites once, right before I left on vacation. No Excel...I think it ran out of algae foods before it ate anything else.

Does API make a copper test? Or 1 of the marine 1's (seachem)? Sorry, I dunno.

 

[myswtsins]

No ferts or excel in this tank at all (only did that in the very beginning before any livestock was added). He is still in the exact same spot, I don't like it. If he was moving around I'd say he is just eating the hard water deposits that accumulate up there but no movement. Shrimp are acting normal though. I'm gonna setup my stalking chair and press my face against the glass for awhile, see if anything stands out.

 

[myswtsins]

Everyone was acting completely normal but the pre-filter was very clogged, again. So I rung it out, wow that water was nearly black! Did a WC and that nerite is cruising around instantly, chewing away! My work here is done. ...... Dang it! I meant to trim the front crypts. Oh well, important part is done, sleepy time now.

 

[fishorama]

Go Jen! Investigate their little invert-y lives. You can make it work!

 

[rufioman]

Great color on those, man.