Jump to content

chibikaie

Members
  • Posts

    1,846
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

chibikaie last won the day on October 1 2015

chibikaie had the most liked content!

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Not Telling
  • Inverts You Keep
    orange Poso rabbit snails, malawa shrimp, chocolate neocaridina, marmorkrebs, ramshorn snails

Recent Profile Visitors

1,216 profile views

chibikaie's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/14)

401

Reputation

  1. Do you have references explaining how calcium plays a role in hemolymph coagulation? My googlefu is weak, but literally the first thing I found was that "coagulation in crustaceans is not well understood" and the second, that coagulation was triggered by the presence of lipopolysaccharides. As a side note, I wonder if that means that invertebrates have a better defense against gram negative bacteria (that have LPS on the outer layer of the cell wall) than gram positive, or if I just didn't find the paper on hemolymph and whatever component of gram positive bacteria causes coagulation. Or if it simply hasn't been identified, or if I misread things and there are enough LPS to trigger the response. (Yeah, past sleepy time for me. You probably didn't want a discussion of the innate immune system. Or gram negative vs. gram positive cell walls. Did you know that some cell walls actually fall into neither category?) Calcium is necessary for the clotting cascade in the blood of vertebrates; however, I was unable to quickly find documentation that the same physiological pathways are used in hemolymph.
  2. Root tabs will be appreciated by your plants. If you are moving that much media and substrate from a former 40 gallon fish tank to a planted 10 gallon housing exactly two shrimp - you have nothing to worry about. Really.
  3. Some shrimp sold as ghost shrimp are not fish-safe, as you are noticing - typically they are in the Macrobrachium genus and are much more carnivorous than cherries or more peaceful species. Unlike cherry or crystal shrimp, there is no single species of ghost shrimp; many fit the general description of a clear-bodied shrimp and a wide variety are sold under the same name. Enjoy your cherries. Although many people start out thinking that they need to have a variety of different species, it's much easier to cater to single species setups. I think they're more elegant, anyway.
  4. That looks pretty awesome. +1 on buying one remade by another forum member - I could probably cut down some large syringe barrels with handheld cautery, but am not sure of the next step.
  5. I love that for once I was not the one bringing up farm animal equipment. You guys rock, seriously.
  6. Time to set up a shrimp-ponic garden to grow food for the shrimp using their waste water!
  7. chibikaie

    CO2 Generator

    Some of us don't want a high light, high tech system - my tank is a relaxation space. I don't want to dose every day, trim every week, or worry about losing expensive plants to algae run amuck. And "not that much" is still well out of my budget range.
  8. I am pretty certain that my guppies learned how to hunt snails. They are not what I would recommend if breeding is a goal.
  9. chibikaie

    Treating Ich

    Potassium chloride will not have any effect on pH and is not normally used as a fertilizer (too much chloride is not great for plants). An easy source for non-iodized salt is kosher salt.
  10. chibikaie

    CO2 Generator

    My understanding was that it is incredibly difficult to overdose on CO2 if it is being generated by yeast. For a low cost DIY project, it's fun and harmless. I played around with a CO2 "ladder" produced by - Nutrafin, I think? It's inexpensive and efficient, particularly for something that doesn't use electricity or high pressure.
  11. Looks like a nice home for them hope you have better luck this time around!
  12. Thanks everyone! They are still berried. I had done a water change right before I noticed them, so I was a little concerned that they wouldn't like the change. I think my rabbit snails are getting old they seem to have slowed down. Does anyone know what their lifespan is?
  13. I used it in my fish tank before I broke it down. Personally, I prefer a finer substrate - I eventually went with Flourite black sand. My plants rooted much better in that, and it is easier to bury root tabs.
  14. If the test kit is a few years old and is giving you inconsistent results, it is time for a new one. Word on the street is not to trust the API liquid kits after two years post manufacture. I actually like test strips, but I am in the minority. I have been using Tetra multistrips for the last few years, paired with an in-tank ammonia monitor made by Seachem. I would say that they are accurate but not very precise. Although they are perfect for frequent nitrite and nitrate checks, if your ultimate goal is sensitive bee shrimp that require specific GH, KH, and pH, you should look for a more precise method of measuring those values. I need new strips, so I may be giving the Sera brand a trial run. I have their nitrate test kit, which is a thing of beauty compared to API's. Yes, you will want a TDS meter. I have the Hanna Primo 2, no complaints.
  15. The one big drawback with HMF + bag of Purigen is that you only use a miniscule fraction of the media in the bag. Only the media on the outer surface will adsorb anything, and the rest on the inside might as well not even be in the tank. It was the same with a bag placed in a HOB. This media really seems to need a reactor to actually be useful. Perhaps you could take the bag out and give it a shake every week, but I am trying to keep my hands out of the tank from now on.
×
×
  • Create New...