New Tank :)

[KittyKat]

Oh, that one! From what I have seen, there are a lot of quite good resources provided by the Russian-speaking fishkeeper communities in Israel… but that's probably because I don't know any Hebrew, so can't search for those

 

[minnnt]

Keyholes make for great centre piece fish. 3 or 4 would look fantastic. Definately wanting to own some in the future.

 

[KittyKat]

Keyholes make for great centre piece fish. 3 or 4 would look fantastic. Definately wanting to own some in the future.

I found that the pair would beat the crap out of the other one or two, if only 3 or 4 were kept (not necessarily right away, but 2-5 years after they had been in the same tank together). 6 is a better number to spread any aggression, otherwise it would have to be a pair. 6 probably wouldn't work in anything under 4*2*2ish ft (I think the OP tank will be fine), but I don't think that they should *really* be kept in anything smaller. I have seen them in a 3*1.5*2ish ft, where they spent their whole time going around in circles or not doing much; in a 4*1*1 ft, where a pair with young was fine; and in a 5*2*2 ft, where a group of 5-7 year old fish live without showing any signs of aggression and spending most of their time exploring and interacting with each other.

 

[minnnt]

I wouldn't fancy 6 in a tank that is roughly 220 litres though?

 

[KittyKat]

I wouldn't fancy 6 in a tank that is roughly 220 litres though?

The dimensions matter more, the volume is almost irrelevant when it comes to aggression. In a 4 ft tank which is almost 2 ft front to back and almost 2 ft tall, 6 will probably be fine, in my personal experience. It is of course possible for this to be the case, in a 4*2*2, or even in a 6*2*2 or a larger tank. It very much depends on individual circumstances and individual fish. I do not know the exact dimensions of the OP's tank, but I do know that in any tank smaller than 5 ft long, there is a high possibility of 1-2 fish being harmed if only 3-4 are kept, which is why it is best to go either for a pair (preferably one where the fish picked each other themselves) or 6+. 3-4 fish is a bad number.

 

[Mowbz]

Hey! Thanks or the above, didn't even see it till now! For future reference, the tank is 4 feet long, 2 feet tall, and 18 inches front to back. I make it 250ltrs or 50gl, or what ever it is now minus the displacement of substrate, a few plants and bits of bogwood, and a 20kg "rock".


The nice couple that i bought the above tank from offered me enough media from the three externals they have running to do my new one, so i went round to pick it up from them yesterday. (They're only just across town )

While i was there i was also lucky enough to get some free Cherry shrimp. She picked me out a few females and a male in the hope they would breed and i would get more in time. Having looked at them pretty closely after i put them in, it appears i have 3 females and 2 male. The larger of the three females (I appear to have fully adult female, one slightly younger, and one very young, and an adult and juvenile male). I read a large amount of info on their life-cycle and care when i got home last night, as i've never kept shrimp. "Apparently" you cant go wrong....

The "older" of the three appears (based on my reading above) to be carrying a large amount of early stage eggs, very small and yellowish.

The "middle" of the three also appears to be carrying, but only several and much larger eggs of a orange colour. I cant see any "eyes" in them, but have read not all of them show this.

The youngest female and 2 males there isnt much to say about, they're just shrimp after all!

I noticed this morning that the "middle" one appears to have "dropped" a few eggs, no idea where they are, and the "larger" one had so many i couldn't possibly tell if she too has dropped some.

They're also now in permanent hiding. It might be worth mentioning that the tank has no other inhabitants, and there wont be until next weekend when i get some FISH

The tank they came from was very heavily planted, so much so that it was quite hard to pick some out (beautiful tank however, with a full CO2 setup)

Should i be worried? Water was tested last night before they wet in and this morning, all zero's with 20-40ppm nitrate.

I have a 2ft upstairs i could get running an put them in if they would be better off?

Ben