LunarValkyrie

I have a Doy TDS/EC meter from amazon. It can be set to F or C for temp and does ppm for Tds and EC. My problem with mine is that on Fahrenheit temp...it says 50degrees when I know the water temp is 73. I have used several thermometers to double check. So I am not so sure the TDS is correct. I recently filled a 5g with DI water and it said TDS was 1. --24 hours later I had TDS of 36 in the tank, after dosing Prime and Stability. The temp is still wrong if I use F. When I use the Celsius side, it is a correct temp, and still shows 36ppm TDS. So I don't know if it is messed up or if I am doing something wrong.

Hey folks, I have another silly question. Sorry. What meters do you folks use for TDS meters?? Mine looks like it gave up the ghost today or I just don't know how to use it lol . It was a cheap one from amazon, I suppose. Anyway, thanks for any info.

Ok, I have been to all my LFS's and no one has any snails except small mystery snails that don't look healthy.. I used Trumpet snails last time I was doing shrimp to sift the sand and will probly try some of them again, but I wanted some bigger ones to make sure if any plants lose leaves or anything, it will get cleaned up. And....I know they keep the bio load going. I have seen rabbit snails at some of the shrimp sites, but they are a bit expensive right now for me....Suggestions?? Mystery? Ramshorns? Nerite? What do you folks like best?? And why?? Thanks!

congratz! I hope to do the same except with blue sand. I set up a tank today with filter media from another tank and live plants with some lava rock. I am waiting on remineralizer to come in. I used Distilled water. I hope to get it going quick. What is a great snail? I used Trumpet snails last time I was doing this and they will probly find their way into this tank to sift sand, but I would like to get some that I can see and to keep up the bio load going. So what do you use??

Hey folks! It's been a while since I posted anything. But I keep reading that I can use pool sand for a couple of the species of shrimp I want to start up....so my question is.... Can I use regular aquarium sand??? I want some Black Rose neo's and I know some shrimp prefer a darker substrate to look their best. Pool sand is all white, so will it wash them out? I was thinking of maybe using Deep Blue sand so they would pop and yet maybe feel like they have a dark background. My tanks are all painted on the back with a nice deep blue color and it looks like nice with live plants on the blue sand. Thanks for any advice.

Nice!

Hey folks, can anyone tell me where I can purchase these new crays? I saw a post that someone got some, but where? Or do any of you breed these and sell babies/pairs? They are really pretty and I have looked all over the place, but just can't seem to find any. Also, at one time, I found a Pink version of the Electric Blue. Even Amazon had them, and now I can't find them either. Any suggestions or do any of you folks have them? Thanks!

Hey folks, I have a question about gendering. I have some fairly young C. Sajica's that are coloring up nicely, but I still can't tell genders. Anyone on here keep these? Or have any secret to sexing them at a young age? I was told...Males tend to have red on the fins earlier and the females will be more blue-ish with a yellow tail. The sideways T they have as youngsters is deeper in the females and extends into the dorsal fin. Males also tend to outgrow the females pretty quick. Any other ideas?? These are my favorite cichlids and I really want to get a nice pair out of my group, but I first want to make sure I have both sexes. For anyone that has never seen these, here is a nice pix from Jeff Rapps site that shows a nice pair pretty much grown. I had a nice pair with a male that had a great hump on his head colored mostly like this. But he thought the floor looked more fun than the tank and leaped to his death through a very small hole near my HOB filter. Now I have a good group of youngsters now that I want to find his replacement.

Hey folks! Anyone on here do African Cichlids? I mean, raise/breed them? I have Yellow Labidachromis (Labs) and was wondering if anyone had ever mixed in a Malawi Blue Dolphin cichlid. (Cryptocara moorii) I hear they are peaceful, but they get pretty big and I would love to have that blue in with my bright yellow Labs. Anyone with any advice?? Thx! Yellow lab http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/l_caeruleus.php Blue Dolphin http://tropicalfishandaquariums.com/AfricanCichlids/BlueDolphin.asp

Well, apparently that is over. They ate like little pigs earlier and I just gave them some spiralina powder and they went wild again. Some of the bigger ones came to the top when they saw the shadow of my hand. I hope the others learn too. There looks to be about 175 now that I can really see them in the breeder box. The 2 week old pure con's got moved to a 10g today and they are loving the room. They are very dark like dad as always. Stripes are very black and the bigger fry have a blue-ish background like dad. Meanwhile mom/dad have cleaned a pot from top to bottom and she is parked inside. I figure I will get pure convict eggs soon. That's ok, though. The LFS called wanting to know if I had any, so I am taking my bigger group in tomorrow. They are about 1/2+ inches and a few months old. Maybe, I will get a new filter for a 40 breeder I have sitting empty. I would love to use it for a growout tank for these hybrid guys, especially if they get the size of flowerhorns. At one week, I am seeing odd spots on them even tho they are very clear looking. Only a few look like they will have vertical stripes like convicts. But they are very young still, so we will see. The size of both is almost the same however. So I am wondering if the hybrids will outgrow the con's.

Well, folks, lesson learned....When convicts decide its time to breed....IT IS TIME TO BREED! I got up today to find my surrogate parents all colored out and munching on the babies they had taken in. So, I yanked them out of the tank, removed all the pots/plants and netted all the babies I could find that were left. Thankfully, they found a good hiding spot and I still have about 200 left. I put them into a breeder box for the time being and put the convicts back in their tank. They immediately forgot the babies and went about cleaning a pot, so I guess 2 weeks is the limit. I have another box with 2 week old babies of theirs already, and the surragate babies are 8 days old. I will keep them in the box until I know they are eating good and they realize what that "massive hand" is for and then put them into a grow out tank. The babies seemed a bit confused when I fed them, but a few of the larger ones did eat. So hopefully, the sudden change won't be detrimental.

any luck with these? any berries??? I will have to live my crayfish life thru you Soothing....my fish would eat them. updates, updates!

Good luck, and fingers crossed for berries.

Awesome! They seem to be doing good so far. Like I said, they are running themselves to death trying to keep them in line. They want them in that big pot, but the babies have other ideas. LOL They are all over that tank and if it doesn't move....they will try to eat it. LOL I tried BBS again yesterday and they parents were so busy with them that they didn't bother the baster for once. But the babies just watched it fall to the floor. Only a few went after it, then swam away. So I used some Spectrum dust and ground up some green flakes in it....THAT made them go crazy. It was like watching a micro shark fest. Hey monty, check out my other thread at http://www.shrimpspot.com/index.php?/topic/2410-calling-all-angelfish-breedersgot-a-or-1k/ I am trying to gender some marbles...again. Can you take a look and tell me what you think? Thanks a million!

Pretty fish! Love the blue Betta's.