12L Micro Tank

[fm1978]

Good news getting the temp down, that's a good result!
 
I've no idea why I've missed so much of this conversation... Probably the heat...can't be anything to do with all the brandy I'm drinking...
 
I wonder why no one seems to be able to get these deep blue shrimp anywhere...they must be somewhere...
 
Excellent photos Zik, very nice, how on earth did you get that CPD to stay in once place for that long? Mine are all extremely active and will just not stay still for a shot. Still, they surprise spawned and I have 7 CPD fry, so that's really cool!
 
Thought I'd share a pic or 2 of my new Painted Fire Reds, if anyone was interested! I'm going to ask the shrimp man about these Fantasy Blue ones as well, maybe he know's of a respectable source...
 

 

 

[Mamashack]

Good to see you back, fm!
I think daize has seen some local to her altho whether they are the fantasy ones or not I'm not sure. The names are all a bit confusing really and seem to be haphazardly applied. I'm not convinced that MA can't get them either - I think those 2 yesterday were probably too busy to want to be bothered. At least I hope for Zikofski's sake that's the case.
I had the light on in the micro tank for an hour this morning just to see if I could spot any of mine and it's like the Marie Celeste! Not a sign of them anywhere. They must have gone on holiday and forgotten to tell me about it! lol

 

[fm1978]

Aw, that's a shame you're not able to see them much...you'll just need to get more so you can see at least a few each time you look in
 
I've been reading some of the shrimp related articles on planetinverts.com and in one of them it suggests that they may be hiding as they're not 100% happy about the conditions. Now, I know you've been doing everything right - you've been looking at the water hardness, food, temp etc, and all is good. However, I also remember reading this... (quote from easishrimp describing tank setup for Painted Fire Reds)
 
Tank Setup: The tank should have lots of hiding places in the form of plants, foliage & ceramic tubes. Plant species which are particularly suitable are Java moss, moss balls & Java Fern. Anubias and Cryptocoryne are not good choices for plants because their roots may release toxic substances. The water in a shrimp tank must not be placed on copper. Before you buy any shrimp make sure that your shrimp aquarium is set up correctly and has been running for at least 1 month.
 
It seems to me that if this applies to PFRs, then it would apply to all cherries since they're just colour variations of each other. Do you have any of these types of plants in there? It might be a long shot but I wonder if it may be a factor...

 

[Mamashack]

Wahh! I have anubias on wood in there! I'll take it out straight away!
The temp gradually crept up to 24.2⁰C by lunchtime and I managed to see one little one.
Have since done a 35-40% water change today because the nitrates were at 20 (courtesy of the snail I reckon)
TDS had gone up to 180, but I reckon that was due to evaporation and the replacement water is still 121 so will check those 2 parameters later.
meanwhile I'll remove that anubias!
Thanks for the heads-up, fm!!

 

[fm1978]

It's definitely worth a try. And if they become more activeor more visible, then it might have been the anubias. If not and they behave the same, I presume you can just stick them back in. 
 
I much prefer mosses for my shrimples, but I do have one small (but tall) bit of banana plant. Lots of surface area on moss and it's shrimp safe.

 

[Mamashack]

Have rearranged the tank as it had left a gap!  
The java fern has taken the space left by the anubias.
Moved the heater to the opposite side and transferred the bridge from the 60L (swapped for the anubias)
I don't think I need to worry too much about hiding places - they seem very good at finding their own! lol
I

Just realised I didn't comment on your pictures! The red ones you've got are superb, aren't they?
Is that java moss in the second picture? Perhaps I ought to get some of that too. Sounds like you can't have too much moss where shrimp are concerned! lol

 

[Mamashack]

Just been having a look on the EasiShrimp site and they stock the plug and play HMF I did a thread about!!! OMG I've been trying to find an English or English-speaking site that sells them!!

 

[fm1978]

That's OK, I still feel guilty for posting on your thread, so you reserve the right to comment or not!
 
They are very deep red and beautiful up close. Most seem to have a gloss 'finish' in certain light making them shiny...very cool. On of the females looks close to dropping here 'berries' too, which is brilliant.
 
The top pic is just a bog standard Marimo and the bottom picture is some Riccia that's managed to cling on to some flame moss. It's not very tidy looking but I'm scared to move anything in case there are any shrimplets in there. 
 
Well done on the rescape. Only time will tell if that makes any difference at all to their behaviour. I hope so, so you can get to see them more!
 

 

[Mamashack]

Don't feel guilty about posting any pics on here. I think it makes it much more interesting than just me droning on about it all.
I've rejigged it a bit more since as i didn't like the way it "flowed" Nothing major just minor tweaks really.
I'll have a look at getting something like the Riccia. A good hiding place for them!

 

[fm1978]

I've got loads of it if you want some. Can't guarantee it'll be snail free, unfortunately but I can spare quite a lot, if you want.

 

[Mamashack]

That would be great, fm, thanks! I'll PM my address
Don't worry about the snails - they can become assassin snail fodder if there's too many, unless they are fancy ones in which case I doubt you'd be letting them go! lol

 

[daizeUK]

I wouldn't worry about your anubias.  I believe it only releases toxins when cut and I pruned mine quite heavily before I heard about this, with no ill effects to anything.
 
With regards to blue shrimp, the ones in my local MA are definitely high-grade Fantasy Blue.  But there are two other branches of MA close to me who do not stock blue shrimp.  Another does stock normal cherries and CRS.  I'm really lucky in that I have several branches close by that specialise in different things.

 

[Mamashack]

Thanks daize - it's gone now so we'll see if I get to spot the little blighters any more than before.
They may simply be exhausted from the heat altho that seems to be better controlled at the moment.
Are you still waiting for the weather to cool down before getting yours?
Am envious that you can see the blue fantasies in the flesh!
I'm hoping the lack of enthusiasm from those 2 assistants at MA Leeds South was because they were busy.

 

[daizeUK]

I'm not one for quick decisions I'm afraid Mama, I tend to over-analyse everything to death before I take any action
 
We're off on holiday very soon, so together with the warm weather it's not the right time for me to buy expensive shrimp.
I'm also questioning whether it's wise to jump in at the deep end, since I've never tried cherry shrimp before and I don't know whether they would breed in my water.  If I invest in high-grade shrimp then I'd be very disappointed if they don't breed.  No doubt I'll keep talking myself in circles about it until we get back from holiday at least!

 

[Mamashack]

Probably best to wait then! Hope you have a lovely holiday when you go, daize.
I can be impulsive and also very analytical - I guess that's because I'm a Pisces! No wonder I like fish! lol