mayphly Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 I have been wanting Sulawesi shrimps for a long time. So, I thought I would start a journal here and document my efforts in attempting to keep and breed these guys. I’m mainly interested in keeping caridina spinata (yellow cheeks) Here’s what I got going so far Tank - 20 gallon long Substrate - Crushed black lava rock Light - 30” LED 6500K Heater - Two 50 watt heaters Filter - Aquaclear 50 loaded with bio media and sponge on inlet Additives - Bactor AE and Old Sea Mud Last night I scaped the tank with some large and medium sized lava rocks. I also added some cut up marimo balls throughout the tank and wrapped a couple stones with some. I do have some nice algae (the good kind...lol!!) covered Seriyu stone which I may add to keep the ph up. Since this tank is new I also added stress zyme which adds live bacteria to help with cycling. I’ll be using SS 8.5 and RO water. Here’s a pic of my set up. The water is a bit cloudy because of the crushed lava rock. It has since cleared up. Now for the hard part. Waiting....................... Louie, eozen81 and Timothylem 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Lookin' good so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Congrats! You'll love them! My juvies are finally able to spot in the tank! -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpo Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 What is the min-max TDS and PH range that these shrimp can tolerate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 I keep 84f TDS 200-250 PH 8.3-8.5 -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Today I added some pelia, subwassertang and a few blyxa. I got the temps up to 83-84 and the co2 cranked up to help speed things up. I'm adding bacter ae daily along with some ferts. I'm digging the rocky scape look so far. Louie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Crank that co2 up and it will help! I really like that rock you have with the cave! How much did that cost you? Where did you get them? Always curious because its nice to compare how much they are in the area. I have a crazy rock that is from south africa, at my LFS someone put it in the container that was .50 a Lb. Should have seen the look on his face when I took it up, it was really $8 a lb. He gave it to me without question and he told me the next time I was in. I tried to give it back to him but he was a nice guy and told me to keep it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Sounds like a nice score! I think the lace was 2.50 a lb. It cost me under $20. for two nice big pieces. I am fortunate enough to live close by the Aqua Forest. They have so many cool things there it can be dangerous entering the store. Their display tanks are to drool over. They carrry mostly ADA stuff and have an awesome plant selection. If they don't have a specific plant in stock they will try and locate it for you. I'm going to try and find some plants from the Sulawesi lakes today. Hopefully they can help me out. If you like nice aquarium rocks and want to go broke check this out: http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_7_14&products_id=782#prettyPhoto ctaylor3737 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hungle64 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 How coarse is your substrate? I love those rocks. I was thinking of similar design with more open around middle front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 The substrate is very course. It's crushed lava rock. I keep rearranging the rocks. Lol! I would like the front to have a more flat surface and rise up towards the rear. I saw a similar set up and the person had white sand in the middle which looked really cool. Are you starting a Sulawesi tank as well? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc4PC2 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Nice! Great look, it will be a great home for your shrimp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Sounds like a nice score! I think the lace was 2.50 a lb. It cost me under $20. for two nice big pieces. I am fortunate enough to live close by the Aqua Forest. They have so many cool things there it can be dangerous entering the store. Their display tanks are to drool over. They carrry mostly ADA stuff and have an awesome plant selection. If they don't have a specific plant in stock they will try and locate it for you. I'm going to try and find some plants from the Sulawesi lakes today. Hopefully they can help me out. If you like nice aquarium rocks and want to go broke check this out: http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_7_14&products_id=782#prettyPhoto Wow I would love to see one of those stores. I would spend a bunch of money. -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metageologist Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Never realy liked ADA stones, more times than not it's a lime stone that they give some stupid name to. This looks no different. This one apears to be heavily weathered, or has been altered using either acid or possibly fuel oil (I'm not kidding) I have seen fuel oil spills do this to lime stone. No I won't run this test it's messy and I deal with enough hazardous waste at work. Have a gniess day. -Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 May be acid, but don't know about fuel oil. I would think fuel oil would be impossible to clean out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00camaro16 Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Never realy liked ADA stones, more times than not it's a lime stone that they give some stupid name to. This looks no different. This one apears to be heavily weathered, or has been altered using either acid or possibly fuel oil (I'm not kidding) I have seen fuel oil spills do this to lime stone. No I won't run this test it's messy and I deal with enough hazardous waste at work. Have a gniess day. -Scott I would think you would be awesome at finding/getting awesome rocks for tanks. You said your a geologist right... well also you username says so. Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Never realy liked ADA stones, more times than not it's a lime stone that they give some stupid name to. This looks no different. This one apears to be heavily weathered, or has been altered using either acid or possibly fuel oil (I'm not kidding) I have seen fuel oil spills do this to lime stone. No I won't run this test it's messy and I deal with enough hazardous waste at work. Have a gniess day. -Scott I guess as long as people keep buying them people will keep making them. People are funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 +1! I would think you would be awesome at finding/getting awesome rocks for tanks. You said your a geologist right... well also you username says so.Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metageologist Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 I do have a collection of very interesting rocks from around the world but very few end up in my tanks. This is due to alot containing metals and salts. I don't put many in my tanks anyways as they are so heavily planted you can't see them any ways. I.e. this is a 75 gallon tank lots of drift wood and one very large piece of pegmatite. Have a gniess day. -Scott mayphly and Louie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted June 8, 2014 Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 Great tank! -Chris metageologist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 Nice looking tank! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 metageologist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hungle64 Posted June 8, 2014 Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 The substrate is very course. It's crushed lava rock. I keep rearranging the rocks. Lol! I would like the front to have a more flat surface and rise up towards the rear. I saw a similar set up and the person had white sand in the middle which looked really cool. Are you starting a Sulawesi tank as well? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 No, Sulawesi will be in the future maybe by next year. Right now i am more concentrate on soft water... The reason i am asking you about how coarse the substrate is shrimplets are digging down into substrate or going into an open crack and sometimes they can not going back up. Just want to point that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metageologist Posted June 8, 2014 Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 The substrate is very course. It's crushed lava rock. I keep rearranging the rocks. Lol! I would like the front to have a more flat surface and rise up towards the rear. I saw a similar set up and the person had white sand in the middle which looked really cool. Are you starting a Sulawesi tank as well? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Where did you get crushed lava rock. with its high surface area it seems an ideal medium for biofilmHave a gniess day. -Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 I suppose baby shrimp could become trapped in this sort of substrate. I guess I'll find out out soon. I bought a large box of it on evilbay. There's enough to fill a 20L Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 I have been adding Bacter AE (16 days) since I started the tank, Today I can see green spot algae beginning to form in various spots on the rocks and on the glass. Also, just noticed some brown (diatom) algae on the back glass as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayphly Posted June 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 I was just checking my tank and found this guy hanging out in it. Yesterday I did a water change in my 12g which houses blue diamond shrimp. I took 3 huge amazon frogbit plantlets out of the tank. They were covered in duckweed. Since I don't want duckweed in my Sulawesi tank I washed it all off in the sink under regular tap water and threw them in the 20L. He must have been hanging on for dear life while under the faucet. He seems totaly fine. He went from 72 deg to 82 deg water. This guy is one lucky son of a shrimp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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