Aaron's Aquatics - Video Journal

[ibebian]

Whoa your temp is really high! Are you running a heater? Shrimp are very sensitive at 75+ and 80 is pushing it pretty hard.. I watched a ShrimpKing video recently where he talked about wild caridina being very tolerant of dropping temps since they've adapted to bouts of rainfall but cannot handle rising temps well. I would aim for 70-72.

Bacterial causes become more likely as they thrive in warmer temps, not to mention ammonia is more toxic at higher temps and higher pH.

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[ibebian]

Came home from work to 2 dead shrimp. Not sure the issue... details in the video:
Parameters

• pH - 6.6
• Ammonia - 0
• Nitrite - 0
• Nitrate - 5-10
• TDS - 218
• Temp - 80

I feed every other day with shrimp baby food and half a pellet (the big ones). Looking for advice here.
 
 

Just watched video (always enjoyable!) and see only neos in the tank but even though they're more tolerant, I would really recommend bringing it down. IMO there is really no upside to having water that warm!


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[Byron]

1 minute ago, ibebian said:

 

Just watched video (always enjoyable!) and see only neos in the tank but even though they're more tolerant, I would really recommend bringing it down. IMO there is really no upside to having water that warm!


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I already begun (per another comment on the video) to reduce the temp 1 degree per hour to bring it closer to 73. And yeah, they're blue velvets (neos). I had read that they tolerate a wide range from 72-82... Alright, lessons learned. 

 

Also, I just tested my GH/KH:

• GH: 6
• KH: 0

 

[shamedic]

I'm very new to keeping shrimp so I can only tell you what I have found out from my tanks. And a lot of cherrys dead.

1.Bacter AE kills my shrimp don't know why but it does I tested it by not using it and then dosed a VERY! small amount next day had a few die so I don't use it anymore just to be safe.

2.80F is to high they grow faster but die faster as well I keep them around 72-74F

3. I use sand so I'm not sure if your substrate lowers your KH to 0 but from what I have read a KH of 4 is needed so the PH doesn't swing (might be wrong)

I hope any of this helps you, trust me I know it suck to find dead shrimp I started will 100 cherrys and about 50 died till I found out what I needed. Just now getting to the point where I'm getting baby's again.

[Byron]

53 minutes ago, shamedic said:

I'm very new to keeping shrimp so I can only tell you what I have found out from my tanks. And a lot of cherrys dead.

1.Bacter AE kills my shrimp don't know why but it does I tested it by not using it and then dosed a VERY! small amount next day had a few die so I don't use it anymore just to be safe.

2.80F is to high they grow faster but die faster as well I keep them around 72-74F

3. I use sand so I'm not sure if your substrate lowers your KH to 0 but from what I have read a KH of 4 is needed so the PH doesn't swing (might be wrong)

I hope any of this helps you, trust me I know it suck to find dead shrimp I started will 100 cherrys and about 50 died till I found out what I needed. Just now getting to the point where I'm getting baby's again.

 

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I do in fact use a buffering substrate (ADA Aquasoil). As for Bacter AE killing shrimp, this is news to me. I'll have to do some research -- thanks for the heads up.

[ibebian]

As with many things some swear by it others hate it =P


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[Shrimp Life]

Here are a few tips that work for my Neocaridina Tanks-

 

1. Do not use a heater, they much prefer and can easily tolerate cool temps (low 70s)

2. I think your PH is on the low side I keep mine over 7.0

3. Imported Neo shrimp do not adjust as well so you may experience die off - Try to buy home bred shrimp from a hobbyist who is breeding the shrimp themselves and has a good reputation for selling healthy shrimp

4. Don't stress!  this hobby is lots of fun but yes it can be frustrating when things like this happen! 

 

 

[TheGlassBox]

Pat yourself on the back!  You did everything perfectly.  Yeah, maybe the temp was a little high....  But Neos should be able to handle that temp.  Neos are a lot tougher and much less fussy than Caridinias.  A good temp for a Neo is probably about 75 or 76.  They'll do okay at 70, but they generally like warmer water than Caridinias.   And fancy $$ shrimp sand isn't necessary for Neos either.  They'll do just as well on pool filter sand... 

 

When you did the unboxing, you said that 2 of the shrimp looked kind of brown.  Hmmmmm... Wonder which 2 simply didn't travel well?

 

Some shrimp simply don't travel well. IMHO I think it's because they're so inbred that it's normal for a few individuals to not be as 'robust' as the others.

 

I sell shrimp.  I always offer them at $10 +1 for X$.   The extra is always to cover DOAs.  But my customers usually find 13 or 14 in the bag.  Not patting myself on the back here,  I think a lot of shrimp sellers do the same thing (Yeah there are some who don't -boo).  It's just because we know that some won't travel as well as others.  And in the end, we want customers to be happy.  If they're not happy - we get bad feedback, right?

 

So that's why the seller sent a few extra instead of just 1.  Hat's off to Aquatic Arts!  I'm with 'ya!    That's a good seller.

 

Oh, one thing to mention, the packing material...  I think you're going to find most fish or shrimp shipped in this packing material these days,  It's called 'cellulose insulation' and it's made of recycled paper.  It serves 2 purposes in shipping aquatic animals.  1)  It's insulation and helps keep them at the correct temperature.  2) The shipping companies insist that there be enough packing material to absorb all the liquid should one of the bags leak. 

 

It's super absorbent.  But yeah, it stinks to breath it.     But until something better comes along, we're stuck with it.  Sometimes you can get away with newspaper stuffing if there isn't too much liquid in the box...    But inmost cases we have to use it.    The post office, Fedex and UPS get really angry with us if they have to transport a soggy box.  
 

 

 

[TheGlassBox]

Oh and one more thing...  This is the greatest product since sliced bread!

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Fish-Tank-Plastic-Frame-Net-Fry-Hatchery-Breeder-Breeding-Incubator-Isolation-Aquarium-Fish-Hatchery-Breeding-Hospital/1501980_32524838534.html

 

Didn't get mine from Ali, I forget where I got it.  Thought it was Foster's and Smith but couldn't find it on their website.  I've had mine for years...

 

No need for fancy plumbing, the inhabitants get the same fresh filtered water as everyone else.  It goes up and breaks down easily.  And can be bleached in between uses.

 

Love this thing when I find a baby cory in the tank and I just know one of the Cardinals will get it....  i call it "the play pen".  The babies can hang out in it until they're too big for anyone to pick on them.  It's really cheap and really great!

 

[Byron]

@TheGlassBox

 

Thanks for the detailed information, haha. That fish fry net is interesting, though don't you think the shrimp would just climb out?

[TheGlassBox]

That's something I've never thought of...  They absolutely can climb, the net!  I saw a video of a couple of shrimp climbing up the glass wall on someone's tank while they were doing a water change.  They can survive out of water for a few minutes as long as they're wet.  The glass must have had enough film for them to cling to.  I went to find the video and this came up:

 

 

 

Works great for fish though!  

[Byron]

3/21/2017 - Week 2 Cycle

• Blue Velvets are doing better!
• Tanks are still cycling
• One tank has slightly elevated ammonia but zero nitrites (high nitrates)

 

[TheGlassBox]

74F is just fine for Neos...  Neo's can handle warmer temps than Caridinias like.  If that's ADAs' Amazonia soil, it'll give off ammonia *forever*.  I fast cycled mine with Tetra Safe Start and it was ready in a month (And for TSS that's slow).  It's just because of the amount of ammonia in the soil (which is why plants like it).  They're actually making a product now called "Amazonia Light".  Like light beer LOL it gives off less ammonia.  Neos do fine on plain old pool sand and a little TSS, because their bio load is so low.  (Unless you have 100 or so). 

 

Hats off on the rotala wallichii.  I can't grow that with high lights and CO2.  It just looks at me and drops it's needles.  

[Shrimp Life]

Your cat is an awesome co-host  what kind is it?

 

[TheGlassBox]

Love cats! 

 

[Byron]

6 hours ago, dazalea said:

Your cat is an awesome co-host  what kind is it?

 

 

Thanks! It's an exotic shorthair (cross between a british shorthair and a persian).

 

On 3/21/2017 at 10:25 PM, TheGlassBox said:

74F is just fine for Neos...  Neo's can handle warmer temps than Caridinias like.  If that's ADAs' Amazonia soil, it'll give off ammonia *forever*.  I fast cycled mine with Tetra Safe Start and it was ready in a month (And for TSS that's slow).  It's just because of the amount of ammonia in the soil (which is why plants like it).  They're actually making a product now called "Amazonia Light".  Like light beer LOL it gives off less ammonia.  Neos do fine on plain old pool sand and a little TSS, because their bio load is so low.  (Unless you have 100 or so). 

 

Hats off on the rotala wallichii.  I can't grow that with high lights and CO2.  It just looks at me and drops it's needles.  

 

When I used amazonia in my 55, it didn't leach ammonia (or at least wasn't detectable) after it cycled in a month~ or so. I hope the same goes for these tanks, but we'll see in the week 3 update

[Byron]

3/27/2017 - The Tanks are Cycled!

• Both tanks are cycled
• Adding RODI water
• Questions on how to add that water (meeting TDS per bucket, or dividing between 4)

 

 

[ibebian]

Good question on TDS. Since it's a measure per volume of water, you're basically measuring density assuming the mineral salts have been evenly distributed. If you do 150ppm (equivalent to mg/L) per 5gal x 4, putting it all together has the same density: 150ppm. Same if you did 37.5ppm/5gal because it's not "total" like the name Total Dissolved Solids might have you think. You could also make 600 ppm in 5gal and then add 15gal unmineralized RO, but I don't recommend this since it might be harder to fully dissolve the 600ppm.


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[DETAquarium]

Not sure how I missed this topic thread but I need to catch up on your videos. Looks like you have a couple really nice setups going, keep up the great work.

[Byron]

On 3/29/2017 at 7:20 AM, DETAquarium said:

Not sure how I missed this topic thread but I need to catch up on your videos. Looks like you have a couple really nice setups going, keep up the great work.

 

Thanks! I also enjoy your videos too

[Byron]

4/2/2017 - Remineralizing RODI Water

 

 

[Byron]

I've decided on the shrimp I want to keep (CRS & Bloody Mary). I'm looking for the following advice for those of you with a few minutes:

 

1) What parameters have you kept these shrimp in the past/currently?

2) What sellers do you recommend?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[TheGlassBox]

Bloody Mary's are Neos, so they're not so picky as Caridinias.  I've kept them in 2 different situations.

 

     1)  In a high-tech heavily planted aquarium with lowly pool sand, but CO2 injection with a ph controler; both liquid nutes, and home made root tabs made with gel caps and the powdered version of the nutes for root feeders.   It's a community aquarium with 1 male betta named Boo, who's too lazy to chase and bother anybody, cardinal tetras, threadfin rainbows, Spotted Blue Eyes (Pseudomugil Gertrudae ARU II), Panda Cories and Ottos.  It's my 'Small Schooler" Tank.  And despite all the fish, they still bred like rabbits because it's so heavily planted with so many hiding places for the babies...

 

     2)  In a low tech shrimp tank.  Shrimp only, lowly pool sand, sponge filter with various mosses, java fern and some water sprite.  No special lighting or anything fancy, although it is situated next to (but not in front of) a north facing window.  So it gets a little, but low light.  Enough to keep the water sprite alive....  

 

Both tanks have my well water KH = 5.5, GH = 6.  Ph = 7.4 out of the tap and ~8.0 after off gassing.  The high tech tank stays at a constant pH 6.9 because of the pH controller and the CO2.  TDS ~150.

 

They breed like rabbits in both situations....  And although they're more prolific than Caridinas, you may have to do more culling than with Caridinias.  But if you you cull heavily in the beginning, you'll have to cull less later on...

 

In short, Neos are hardy!  There's no need for fancy and $$ shrimp sand and additives.  But, if you have a tank with all the fancy and $$ stuff, they'll also do just fine in that!  You can't get more adaptable than Neos...

 

Now my PRLs are an entirely different story....  They are picky indeed!  ADA Amazonia soil and the whole shebang....  But I love them. 

 

And (shameless plug, I do sell Bloody Marys)....

[Byron]

@TheGlassBox Thanks for sharing your experiences!

 

Hey, no need to call it a shameless plug. I asked! Do you sell PRL's? They've been in the list as well just because of their relationship with CRS.

[TheGlassBox]

Not yet, Maybe in the fall.  Caridinias aren't as prolific as Neos, and they breed very slowly or not at all in the winter.  Especially PRLs.

 

 

If you like the look, you might want to try the crystal reds first.  They breed better.  That's why PRLs usually cost more than CRS.  And that's why PRLs were originally cross breed with golden bees to make crystal reds..  It was to make them more prolific.

 

I love them.  I call them my little candy cane shrimp....

 

 

I think the shell colors are more solid on PRLs.  But that's not true for all of them.  You can have low quality PRLs and high quality CRS that are beautiful!