Saturday, December 31, 2011

Shrimps!!

Yellow Shrimp



Crystal Red Shrimps/Crystal Black Shrimp







Taiwan Fire Reds




Berried Female Fire Red. Lookie, Fatty!

Friday, December 30, 2011

New Arrivals!



I just picked up 15 CRS from a local breeder. These were sold as CRS SS Hino no-entry. They actually range from S+ tiger tooth/v bands to SS Hinos No-Entry. Regardless, at the prices I got these guys for, it was a steal! With some time, effort, and a little bit of patience, I'm confident I will get more SS Hinos No-Entry Crystal Reds.
I'm just in love with this Malaysian Driftwood. It has so much character, I can't wait until tomorrow when I add Needle Leaf Java Fern in behind it as a backdrop, and some Needle Leaf Trident on the sides with some Singapore Moss on SS mesh.
A few shots of the new tank's inhabitants. Got about 15 inside this tank right now, going to add 6 more from the tank below tomorrow. I'm planning on having a CBS and CRS tank going side by side. Ill be posting single shot pictures of shrimps under "shrimps" label. This is all exciting stuff so stay tuned!

Mosura Product Grid



Here's a quick reference guide on some Mosura products everyone loves! Mainly water parameter altering products such as Mosura Mineral Plus, Mosura Richwater, Mosura Old Sea Mud, etc...

Rack Progression

Got water on my MacPro so I haven't been able to post any updates.  It's really hard to type when the some keys don't function properly.  Anyways, this is going to be a big update with lots of changes and new things added.

So far, the top shelf is filled with 2 x 15gallon tanks which should be done cycling within a week. I'm using ADA AS I (new formula) and it's taking sooo long to cycle. I'm planning on leaving the tank pretty bare with one a piece of Malaysian Driftwood with moss and some Needle Leave Java Fern that's been floating inside a 5 gallon bucket.


Pretty straight forward, the tanks are filtered with a Hang on Back (HOB) filter.  When the two top tanks are cycled, I'll modify the HOB with a sponge so it won't suck in shrimplets (baby shrimps.)  The tyop two tanks are future homes for Blue Tigers and Cyrstal Red Shrimps.  I'm excited! 

The tank to the right is a full tank shot of my Yellows Shrimp tank.  The tank is heavily planted with moss, stems, and a foreground.  The moss growing includes Mini Pellia, Flame Moss, Fissidens, Fissidens 'Thailand", Christmas Moss, Mini Xmas Moss, Willow Moss (thick), and Singapore Moss.  I'm constantly adding to my moss collection, so stay tune for more updates!  I'm also trying to grow some Cryptocorynes species inside which includes C. Nurii, C. Nurii Phang "Mutated", C. Blassii, and C. Cordata 'Rosanervig.'  I'll try to get some more pictures of the moss and cryptocorynes later.



The tank to the left is a full shot of my Crystal Reds and Crystal Black and Taiwan Fire Red tank. I'm trying to let his tank more bare because I want room inside the tank for the shrimps to roam and to help ease with picture tanking.  Plants inside this tank includes Bolbitis, Java fern 'Philippines', Glosso, Staurogyne Repens, Erio sp. Japan, Erio sp. Parkeri, Erio sp. Ban Ba Wan, and Erio sp. Aussie II.  The Bolbitis does a pretty awesome job creating a back drop.  It's also a slow growing plant, which makes for excellent grazing zone for shrimps.  I always see the critters hanging on the leaves.

Both the Yellows and CBS/Taiwan Fire Red tank utilize a HOB filter and a powerhead/sponge filter combo to provide water movement and a bio-filtration. I got two units of the powerhead/sponge filter unit as a test to see how I like it, and I must admit, it's doing an excellent job. Only downside is that it takes up so much of the tank's available space.


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Back from Hiatus!!

After a long break from the hobby, I decided to get back into the dwarf shrimp hobby. I've always liked the idea of some sort of a rack storage system, and since my house is small, a rack system is actually a perfect fit for my situation.


Firstly, I had to find the perfect rack. I'm really particular with stuff, call it OCD, but I had to find a rack that was strong enough to support the weight of my fish tanks AND at the same time be aesthetically beautiful. I managed to find a Stainless Steel Rack from HomeDepot that fit the bill perfectly! I wanted to be extra careful, so I also picked up 1" plywood to add on the shelves of the rack so that the weight of the tanks could be divided evenly. Also picked up 48" shop lights as a lighting source for my rack. BTW, the rack measures 48"W x 72"H x 24"D.

Secondly, with the rack bought, modified, and completely setup, I had to find some tanks that would utilize the rack to it's fullest. I have a lot of 10gallons, but I don't like the dimensions of the tanks, so I had to find a local shop that would customize a few tanks for me. I really like the dimensions of the 15gallon tanks, 24x12x12 fits nicely on the rack.

Managed to find a local shop that can make the tanks for me!!! Ended up buying 6 tanks! They look really awesome. Black trims, with black silicone seal, I'm excited.

This is the future shrimp rack with 15gallon tanks, and shop lights. Pretty excited to get these tanks filled with shrimps.