ShrimpFan's All Things Shrimps

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Hey SS.

 

Decided to move my shrimp journal here.  The other website isn't really a community anymore (not since you guys all moved here) so I decided to make things easier and just post here.  With TapaTalk, I find myself always posting on here anyways.  

 

This journal is to share my experience with photography, shrimp keeping, and general knowledge.  I keep a lot of shrimps, so I didn't want to make too many post so consolidating everyone I own into a single thread is simple.  This will compose pictures and setups of all my shrimp stuff.

 

Those familiar with me on the other website should already know I keep Taiwan Bees.  Specifically, I keep Pandas, Shadows, Blue Bolts, Extremes, BKK, Red Wines, Ruby Reds, Dragon Wines, etc.  There's too many morphs of Taiwan Bees to know.  I also keep PRL including Xin/Feather PRL, and Nishiki PRL.  

 

Future plans is to finish my semi-rack at my parents.  Things are cooling down now and I'm buying a few cooling supplies to help endure the hotter summers to come.  Just got some stuff so I'll try my best to update with photos of what I have.  

 

Mainly, I want to post pictures of shrimps and develop my photography skills.  Any tip on taking macro photography is greatly appreciated!

 

Anyhow, here's a photo of a Blue Bolt.

 

[JamesHe]

for macro photography, here is what I do:

 

1, you need macro lens to get 1:1 live size photo, (105mm/F2.8, or 200mm/F4 which is better) very expensive. other option, get extension tube (Nikon PK-13) for 50mm or 35mm prime lens, what I have now.

2, use external flash (SB800) with extension cord or monolight (WhiteLightning 1600). put on top of tank with glass cover. flash is super fast, > 1/1000s, can freeze any motion of shrimp.

3, close the aperture to min, give you max depth of field, as in macro photography, depth of field is very shallow.

4, set ISO to 100. reduce the noise level.

5, shutter speed 1/60-1/250 depends on body.

6, no need for tripod, handhold is ok as flash freeze everything.

 

I'm a Nikon guy, you may find similar item if you use Canon.

[Greenteam]

Looks cool can't wait to see photos/setups and more.

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

for macro photography, here is what I do:

1, you need macro lens to get 1:1 live size photo, (105mm/F2.8, or 200mm/F4 which is better) very expensive. other option, get extension tube (Nikon PK-13) for 50mm or 35mm prime lens, what I have now.

2, use external flash (SB800) with extension cord or monolight (WhiteLightning 1600). put on top of tank with glass cover. flash is super fast, > 1/1000s, can freeze any motion of shrimp.

3, close the aperture to min, give you max depth of field, as in macro photography, depth of field is very shallow.

4, set ISO to 100. reduce the noise level.

5, shutter speed 1/60-1/250 depends on body.

6, no need for tripod, handhold is ok as flash freeze everything.

I'm a Nikon guy, you may find similar item if you use Canon.

Hey James.

Thanks for the advice. I'm currently using a FujiFilm myself. I was debating between either the Nikon D7100 or the D610. Then a buddy told me to try out the FujiFilm X-T1. Saw what he was able to accomplish with his and got a chance to touch and feel the X-T1 body and fell in love. First time using a Mirrorless camera. GF and I are big fans of Nikon brands but decided to take a chance.

Got the X-T1 body only and bought the Carl's Ziess 50mm Micro separate along with flash, receiver + transmitter, and the flash mounting clip. On the fence about getting another flash but that setup is another few hundred.

My settings are similar to what you recommended. I don't know about the 1/1000s thing as it might be a nikon only thing.

Sounds useful to be able to capture any movement. A picture of a shrimp in flight would be neat.

I've been taking pictures freehand but I shake. It tends to be blurry so I tired using a tripod and the results was the picture above.

Looks cool can't wait to see photos/setups and more.

I'll try to do a FTS tonight. Found that best picture taking time is during the night when there's no external light source. I was going to do a FTS along with my other macro shots but batteries died. Got too lazy to set the entire thing back up after it was charged.

[JamesHe]

external flash has very short on duration time. normally it's fast than 1/1000s.

 

the shutter speed is sync time, depends on body, it has range from 1/60s to 1/250s. once you set aperture to min, it doesn't matter much.

 

 

I always handhold, you need set aperture to F22 or above, you can get sharp photo.

 

I took this with 28mm/F3.5 MF and PK-13 extension tube. the lens is not very sharp, but this is the best I can get for now.

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Pretty good for a non-macro lens photo.

Thank you to everyone's advice regarding the mat issue I had on another thread. I was able to pickup a 3mm yoga mat for $8 in which I was able to cut out 2 layers. Got the dual 25cubes set up. Waiting for some more products before filling. Will update soon.

[Duff0712]

Will be following this as I enjoy photography too! My problem is not having enough light to take a picture at a fast enough shutter speed haha

-Duffy

[JamesHe]

Will be following this as I enjoy photography too! My problem is not having enough light to take a picture at a fast enough shutter speed haha

-Duffy

 

All you need is an external flash and extension cable.

 

you don't need fast shutter speed. flash is much faster than 1/1000s and will freeze any motion.

[Duff0712]

Hmmm might have to look into that. Thanks!

-Duffy

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Spent some time taking a few shots of the tank.  I haven't finished setting up the dual 25G cubes so I only have more photos of my Taiwan Bees and their home.  Hope you guys enjoy.  Still working on figure out settings for FTS, so stay with me here.

 

Sorry for the unsightly suction cups.  I'm using it to hold up moss sheets and my shrimp nets.  Forgot to remove them when I took the first FTS.  

 

Anyways, the berried momma blue bolt is one of my favorites.  She colored up really well since I switched mineralizers and mineral supplements.  I have another female blue bolt that's just amazing, but she hides a lot.  I'll try to snap a few photos of her.  She's a stunner.  

[Duff0712]

So was doing some looking around, but with so many different choices in flashes etc. I get so confused haha. What extension and external flash do you use?

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

So was doing some looking around, but with so many different choices in flashes etc. I get so confused haha. What extension and external flash do you use?

I own a FujiFilm X-T1 for my photography so flashes might be different so buy whatever is compatible with you body. For me, I'm using the FujiFilm EF42 flash. I have a dedicated macro lens so I don't use an extension tube. That said, you'd save more using an extension tube but it might not be as great as a macro lens. I'm currently using the Carl Zeiss Touit 50mm macro lens.

[Duff0712]

So I got an external flash and OMG it makes life so much easier, holy crap. Now my problem is my pictures are too bright haha. Will post process them in a bit and see if lowering the exposure will be fine, but I'm glad this thread is here

 

New toys are fun

[Shrimpy Daddy]

So I got an external flash and OMG it makes life so much easier, holy crap. Now my problem is my pictures are too bright haha. Will post process them in a bit and see if lowering the exposure will be fine, but I'm glad this thread is here

 

New toys are fun

 

Don't need to post-process photos. Just do the following steps:

1. Fixed Shutter speed to the value of between 1/125s to the maximum sync rate your camera and flash can support.
2. Fixed ISO to 100 or lower (if you camera can support); Fujifilm X Series will be ISO 200 (in order to use RAW file).
3. Decrease the size of your aperture by increase the F-stop number. Start with using the maximum F-stop and divide by half then move up or down to control the exposure. For example, your lens support up to F16, then use F8 or your lens support F22, then use F11.

If after you configured the above and the exposure is too dark, increase your flash power by 2 stops and perform step 3 to get the right exposure.

 

Hope this helps. 

 

Cheers.

Shrimpy Daddy

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Fresh from USPS!  I got samples of some mineralizers and shrimp minerals from a friend.  You probably can figure out who.  I'm very excited to test these out and cannot wait till I have time tomorrow to use it inside some tanks to help it cycle.  I've been using Revive Minerals and Revive Vivace for a few months now with great results.  I'm super excited to try out the rest of the other goodies.  

 

Anyways, the 25G cubes I've been talking about is finally filled about 3 days ago.  Earlier this week, I was able to find some time to fill them with some tap water.  All other goodies for these tanks is in the mail on it's way to me.  It's typical that the length of time required to cycle ADA AS tanks is 1month on average (I've experienced longer cycling periods).  I want to see if the Revive Vita will help speed up the cycling process and at the same time cultivate healthy bacteria to make my shrimps happy.  

 

I want my shrimps to not only be happy and alive, but happy, alive and thriving! 

 

 

 

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

A little update on the happenings of my tanks.

 

I have all 3 tanks filled and cycling on the rack.  Both the 2x 25g cubes filled with ADA Amazonia and have been cycling for the past 2 weeks.  The 20gal long is filled with Eco-Complete and as also been cyclinged for 2 weeks.  I've been adding Revive Vita (probiotic blend) to all 3 tanks for a week now and the tanks have cleared up tremendously.  The 20g Long was experiencing a lot of clouding that I couldn't seem to keep under control, but after adding the Revive Vita  the clouding completely went away (this isn't as result of any water changes as I did not perform any waterchanges when I started dosing Revive Vita).

 

I've decided to not use my the traditional Eheims for filtration as the distance of the rack and the height of the tank combined making the overall all distance from floor to tank top too high to be effective.  As such, i've opted to take the HoB route and got myself dual Fluval C3 series for the dual 25g cubes.  Overall, I'm very happy with the Fluval's current performance.  It was a toss between the tried and true Aquaclear HoB brand and the Fluval C-Series, but I'm happy I decided to go with Fluval.  Both Fluval and Aquaclear have very similar design but the Fluval has an ingenious easy-to-remove media design that ultimately won out.  I already knew that any HoB would be hard pressed to compete against traditional cannister filters, and so I decided that I would not do the typical modified sponge intake (which has proven to greatly reduce flow), but instead have custom SS mesh intake built for HoB.  This will help keep as much flow as the Fluval C3 can push out while still keeping baby shrimps safe.  

 

Because I have dual cubes measuring 18x18x18 I do not need to utilize space maximization tactics.  As such, I felt it was not necessary to take the typical route and modify a sponge filter to cover the intake.  The main goal was to have the best filtration at a reasonable cost.  I probably could have gone with a Eheim 2215 or even 2217, but that would be overkill.  I do plan on having an independent sponge filter running on the side of the tank. Having a deep and tall tank is a new experience to me, but definitely a positive one.  Typical problems I've experienced in the past with sponge filters is it being too tall and not fitting inside a tank properly or it would look strange.  This isn't a problem for cube tanks. 

 

Currently, the conditions of the 20g Long is very good.  It's going through the nitrate phase, which I expect to clear up by the end of the week with my continuous dosing of the probiotic blend.  Eco-Compete has always been easier and quicker to cycle compared to AquaSoil.  Future goal is to keep Royal Tigers inside the Eco-Complete using RODI water.  You might ask why use RODI when keeping tigers when tap water is so readily available? I've kept OEBT in the past, and due to a strange bacteria infection that broke out, my entire OEBT population was destroyed.  Not a single survivor and I was left devastated.  With RODI, I know the water will be clean and clear of pollutants and bacterial nasties.  Having OCD tendencies, I like to have complete control over my parameters and the inner workings of my tanks.  I'm very excited to test the Revive Bianco Gamma as it's tailored to breeders keeping tigers in RODI.  

 

Thus far, I've tested the Revive Bianco Alpha + Beta inside an existing (but empty tank) I've had cycled with great results.  Being that it's a liquid mineralizer it definitely has benefits over dry salts.  Similar to SL-Blue Wizard Water (which I am also currently using for my Taiwan Bee tank), measuring and dosing is easy once you know the correlation between TDS and gH.  

 

With weather cooling off, I'm about to add my PRL babies to the 20g Long tank.  I figured it was the perfect opportunity to perform a parallel test between Salty Shrimp gH+ and the Revive Bianco Alpha + Beta.  Because the ShrimpyDaddy products are created to be used in alongside with other ShrimpyDaddy products, I needed an empty tank to perform a 95-99% waterchange to get things set and ready.  Tomorrow I will add the PRL into the 20g Long mineralized with Revive Bianco Alpha + Beta.  

 

I will keep you guys updated.

 

Cheers!

[Duff0712]

Glad to hear the tanks are going well! I have a quick question on the flash use. For one it has been a great help , however what do you (and anyone else who uses a flash) use for your white balance? I had it pretty close when I wasn't using flash, but I have no idea what it should be at, since I'm adding another light source. I have been doing my best in post-processing, but would rather cut that down as much as possible. Also FYI, I shoot both Salt and Freshwater tanks.

[Shrimpy Daddy]

Glad to hear the tanks are going well! I have a quick question on the flash use. For one it has been a great help , however what do you (and anyone else who uses a flash) use for your white balance? I had it pretty close when I wasn't using flash, but I have no idea what it should be at, since I'm adding another light source. I have been doing my best in post-processing, but would rather cut that down as much as possible. Also FYI, I shoot both Salt and Freshwater tanks.

 

For FW tank, it is usually around 4600K to 5800K. Each tank has different lighting configuration and water clarity, thus every tank is different.

 

If you have a decent camera and set the WB to automatic, more or less it should be correct. The easiest way to find the "perfect" WB will be importing the RAW file into Lightroom or Aperture, then adjust the WB in them until you get the correct one. Once you know the correct colour temperature, set it into your camera and take a few shots to test. After that fine tune the WB adjustment, mainly on color biasing but in some cases, you may also need to increase or drop the temperature by one stop.

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

For FW tank, it is usually around 4600K to 5800K. Each tank has different lighting configuration and water clarity, thus every tank is different.

If you have a decent camera and set the WB to automatic, more or less it should be correct. The easiest way to find the "perfect" WB will be importing the RAW file into Lightroom or Aperture, then adjust the WB in them until you get the correct one. Once you know the correct colour temperature, set it into your camera and take a few shots to test. After that fine tune the WB adjustment, mainly on color biasing but in some cases, you may also need to increase or drop the temperature by one stop.

Hehhe. Thanks! I was sweating. I didn't have an answer for Duff as I'm also learning as I go along.

On a side note*

I wanted to share an event that has recently happened (more likely an ongoing event) to my 60P Panda - Blue Bolt Taiwan Bee tank.

About 7 months ago, a buddy and I pulled some cash together to buy some blue bolts. The main benefits was to save on shipping. When we received the Blue Bolts, I was holding the bolts for some time while my buddy's tank finished up cycling. Originally, we bought a few full bodied blue bolts but we did receive a single special "crowned" Blue Bolt. It was exciting because the "crown" or markings on the Blue Bolt was exciting to have, but her body and coverage was lacking. She was nearly clear with minor splotches of blue, but distinct enough to distinguish between her and the typical half head Blue Bolt with the all white bodies. Fast forward a month and my buddy's tank finished cycling so it was time to split the Blue Bolts. I initially offered to give him the "crown" Blue Bolt but did express that she would be a good specimen and great candidate for breeding. With time and selective breeding, one could increase her coverage and her offspring would be beautiful. He said it was a lot of work and told me to keep her and attempt the project myself, so I kept her.

To get to the point, her colors never really improved over the course of the first few months. Around this time, I had contacted a shrimp guru over on ShrimpNow who advised me that the Pandas and BKK inside my 60P looked like their shells were lacking minerals to developed and form nice thick healthy shells. He sent me a few of his minerals to try out. It's been about 3 months and overall, all the Taiwan Bee inside the 60P looks wonderful.

I'm sadden that I don't have a picture of the "crown" Blue Bolt when I first received her but I do have 2 pictures of here. She's unique enough where I can tell between her and my other Blue Bolt.

Photo: 2 months ago

Photo: Now

I apologize for the blurry picture. She's a bit shy, so she only feeds when the others pull the pellets into the shade, under the driftwood. You can make out the "crown" or "mosura" on her head. She's super beautiful to me. I'm very happy she's been breeding. I'll devote some time this weekend to take more photos. All the pandas and pandas variants inside have the super thick shine shells.

Cheers!

[ANBU]

What holy mineral did he sent you?

[DETAquarium]

Still one of my favorite shrimp tanks out there... the ADA shrimp tank you have with all the Fissidens. What minerals in particular was your friend saying your TBs were lacking? 

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

What holy mineral did he sent you?

Honestly, I couldn't give you a straight answer as I don't know. When someone gives you something completely at their own expense, you don't question it. Part of the fun was being one of the first few to test his products. He's a bit more involved over at shrimpnow so when I came across his posts and saw his in-depth analysis, I viewed him as someone much more knowledgable than myself. His minerals and supplements helped my shrimps but also his techniques and insight on shrimp keeping enlighten me.

Still one of my favorite shrimp tanks out there... the ADA shrimp tank you have with all the Fissidens. What minerals in particular was your friend saying your TBs were lacking?

Thanks! I went through many scenarios when deciding on how I wanted the tank to look. A planted tank with stems is nice, but not practical for netting and culling. Bare is awesome, but arguably unnatural and would stress the shrimps. I opted for moss which was easier to maintain and have that Steve Job's simplicity approach. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it.

-

I'm currently performing a cross experimental test to see how the minerals & supplements would affect half bodied Blue Bolt. I already know how it affects them as I've witness the darkening of their shells and colors but I lack the before and after photos.

In this experiment/proofing, I plan on recording a before and after of the half bodied Blue Bolt born from my shadow panda colony. I've moved them to a 20L at my parents house while I attempt to replicate the effects of the minerals & supplements on the shrimps.

A little more insight, the 60P - Panda Taiwan Bee tank is currently using salty shrimp gH+. The 20L housing the baby Half bodied Blue Bolts is utilizing the Revive Bianco Alpha + Beta as mineralizers. Combined the Revive Bianco mineralizers + Revive Mineral & Vavice, I want to see how drastic the changes will be.

PRL is currently using SL-Blue Wizard Water as I'm also testing SL products.

[Soothing Shrimp]

ch3f, please post results of your experiments.  I'd love to follow along.

[Duff0712]

For FW tank, it is usually around 4600K to 5800K. Each tank has different lighting configuration and water clarity, thus every tank is different.

 

If you have a decent camera and set the WB to automatic, more or less it should be correct. The easiest way to find the "perfect" WB will be importing the RAW file into Lightroom or Aperture, then adjust the WB in them until you get the correct one. Once you know the correct colour temperature, set it into your camera and take a few shots to test. After that fine tune the WB adjustment, mainly on color biasing but in some cases, you may also need to increase or drop the temperature by one stop.

Thanks for the info! I had forgotten I had asked this question haha. Yeah I've been using WB auto since when I change the K manually it seems to screw up, based off of what I think it is and try to touch it up in lightroom. Salt is difficult with the blues tho haha. Thanks again!

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

I had some free time after work so I decided to spend some time learning about my new camera. Pictures from my 60P Panda Taiwan Bees tank.

I hope you guys enjoy.