SIP, my big momma shrimp, mother of colonies. Establishing first colony is hard!

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Seriously hair algae is the devil. You described my tank perfectly Its quite how I had it pictured in the mind's eye.. bit more hardscape is needed to give it some height. I have MTS in mine so they're probably clearing up most of any algae (other than the damn hair stuff). So yeh, the Otos would need to be house trained

I need to pay more attention to my cherry shrimp. They're doing well and ive noticed one or two with eggs, or 'berried' as ive heard you mention. But, ive no idea how many I have, or how many females..

Lol, hope I don't sound like a creepy nut. I'm stalking your fishtank!
It was only the other day that I saw the photo you shared. I remember it pretty clearly because I liked it so much. I'd like some valls, but they get a bit too tall for a 15 gallon really. Hmm, I could stick some in my dad's 55 gal, but he's covered the light to make it dimmer, and only java ferns and moss can survive. Might have to fix that.

I have no idea how many female RCS I have either. Trying to keep track of that would drive you insane! I just happened to spot a berried female

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I need to pay more attention to my cherry shrimp. They're doing well and ive noticed one or two with eggs, or 'berried' as ive heard you mention. But, ive no idea how many I have, or how many females..

Just realised, was it this that made you think I keep track of how many male/female shrimp I have?

This blog post seems to explain why I only saw one new shrimp at the end of May, lost my only female earlier this week, and yet one of those first batch of shrimplets is now a mature berried female already.

I knew that because I only had two shrimp at the time All of the 40-50 in there now came from that pair. I couldn't tell you which is the original male, the big daddy, since males stop growing. But females keep growing, and that original female was slightly bigger than the other females and a richer deeper red. Was getting harder to tell though.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Ah right. I think I cheated, I got 25 off a chap on ebay, he only lives 5 minutes from me. Starting out with a few and ending up with 50 would be a far more rewarding feat

 

[mbsqw1d]

Lol, hope I don't sound like a creepy nut. I'm stalking your fishtank!
It was only the other day that I saw the photo you shared. I remember it pretty clearly because I liked it so much.

I'm flattered!

I'd like some valls, but they get a bit too tall for a 15 gallon really. Hmm, I could stick some in my dad's 55 gal, but he's covered the light to make it dimmer, and only java ferns and moss can survive. Might have to fix that.

I believe valls are meant to do well in hard water. Be cool if you could create a canopy in your dad's with them so you could uncover the light and have the valls do the shady work

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Found a dried out, dead young shrimp outside the tank on the cabinet this morning
Must have tried to go for a wander, not known how to get back in. The tank was second hand, and the hood isn't the one made to fit the tank, so there is a good gap they can fit through.

Thinking about getting an acrylic sheet cut to size, but would need to look into that, and between the £960 vet bill this month, converting bare bottom tank to a soft water planted one and new tank the other day, really need to wait for a while before spending even more. I don't know how much it costs to have one cut and how to cut to fit holes for equipment, but I imagine it's not super cheap.

Is it common for them to climb out? First time I've had that happen, that I know of. My water parameters yesterday were 0/0/5, and I haven't messed with the tank since the last water change five days ago, so don't think it's a water parameter problem making them try to leave, more likely just a bad luck/brave but foolish shrimp thing I think.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Ah right. I think I cheated, I got 25 off a chap on ebay, he only lives 5 minutes from me. Starting out with a few and ending up with 50 would be a far more rewarding feat

Not cheating at all, a very sensible way to do it! I tried to cheap out, since hobby budget was tight. Since it was my first time with keeping shrimp, didn't want to spend a small fortune buying loads, only to lose them. So I just bought five to begin with. Gradually lost those over time until I was pretty sure there was only one left in there, and ended up buying another five, 'cos I felt bad for the lonely dude. Gradually lost those as well, until I only had a male and female left, and you know the rest!

The way you went is much better I reckon. Probably also a good price if you got them from another hobbyist on eBay! I do want to support my LFS where I can, and I only bit the bullet and got some because he'd started stocking them and I couldn't resist, but it makes much more sense to get a larger group to start. I bet they feel more secure with more of them in there, and of course, better chance of having a good mix of male and female.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Perhaps it just happened to be hanging around the surface when another fish got a bit close and it did that crazy reflex flip/jump thing that they do, and unfortunately landed outside the tank? Could that be possible?
What are the dimensions of the tank?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Perhaps it just happened to be hanging around the surface when another fish got a bit close and it did that crazy reflex flip/jump thing that they do, and unfortunately landed outside the tank? Could that be possible?
What are the dimensions of the tank?

Could be possible. My guppies don't appear to bother the shrimp much, have never seen any pecking at them, the most annoying thing they do is eat the shrimp food I drop in, and probably annoy the shrimp that are eating an algae wafer by eating it as well. The shrimp are impressively brave and chill about it though usually. They just keep eating!

Tank is a 15 gallon, L - 24 in, W - 12in, H - 12.4 in.
Plenty of tall plants they can use to climb out, and they're often found sitting on the sponge filter, or eating from the floating plant roots. Wouldn't be hard at all for one to climb out, or do a leap and wind up outside, if the angle was right. Pretty sure it's not a water quality issue since the parameters are very stable, but can do a water change today if it might help. Am due the next one one soon anyway.

 

[mbsqw1d]

I was impressed how mine settled down after a while. Intially they were skittish whenever one of the corys got anywhere near and now they mostly don't mind, however if one of the cats gets a bit too boisterous they'll flip and dart out of the way.

I think the acrylic sheet would set you back around £20

 

[Essjay]

We have a brand new summer house, constructed by our son who has a handyman & electrician business. As soon as it was finished my husband mowed the lawn and strimmed the edges - and broke a pane of glass in the summer house Rather than try to find somewhere that would cut tempered glass our son suggested replacing it with perspex. He got it from B&Q, a 600 x 1200 mm cost £25. It did have to be cut to shape, but he has a lot of fancy saws he can use.

 

[mbsqw1d]

I've used this stuff before, is a slightly cheaper option

 

[Essjay]

And it's easier to cut - a stanley knife will do the job. When I broke a pane in the greenhouse we used that to replace it. It was one of the triangular pieces at the apex so we had to cut it.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I was impressed how mine settled down after a while. Intially they were skittish whenever one of the corys got anywhere near and now they mostly don't mind, however if one of the cats gets a bit too boisterous they'll flip and dart out of the way.

I think the acrylic sheet would set you back around £20

That's not as bad as I thought. It was mainly wondering about cutting out the right size gaps in the right places that made me think it would bump the price and be a hassle to communicate. I don't really have tools to do it with other than a hacksaw, and I'd probably ruin the perspex sheet and have to start over.

I've used this stuff before, is a slightly cheaper option

Now this could be a great temporary solution, thank you! Cheaper, and I could cut the holes for equipment myself with that. I'm sure that it would do a great job at keeping my skrimpets safe until I have the budget/time/energy to get a perspex one cut. Chances are that shrimpy dude climbing out is a one off, the others are still all over the tank, doing their shrimp thing, nothing usual looking happening, and googling "shrimp found outside tank" suggests it happens sometimes. But I've never loved that the hood is just resting on top and doesn't fit, especially with guppies that can jump, so a fitted cover would be great.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

We have a brand new summer house, constructed by our son who has a handyman & electrician business. As soon as it was finished my husband mowed the lawn and strimmed the edges - and broke a pane of glass in the summer house Rather than try to find somewhere that would cut tempered glass our son suggested replacing it with perspex. He got it from B&Q, a 600 x 1200 mm cost £25. It did have to be cut to shape, but he has a lot of fancy saws he can use.

Man, I can almost hear the annoyance about your hubby breaking it right after it was finished.. lol! I'll have to see what tools my dad has lying around in the shed. Nothing too fancy or electronic though like a jigsaw, pretty sure he only has hand tools and a drill. I do have stanley knife though, so yay!

And it's easier to cut - a stanley knife will do the job. When I broke a pane in the greenhouse we used that to replace it. It was one of the triangular pieces at the apex so we had to cut it.

You and your hubby are apparently well matched in the garden...

 

[Essjay]

He wasn't pleased with me. The difference is that he broke a tempered glass pane almost as soon as it was put in, while I broke a sheet of very thin glass in a greenhouse that had been there for years and was second hand when we got it