What's the shrimp on your home page?

[Piscesgirl]

Well, you may not believe me, and may think that it is a coincidence, but I'm a firm believer in Indian Almond leaves (Terminalia Cattapa). When I first started my 29 gallon tank -- my high light, no CO2 plus the ECO Complete substrate I was using (buffers at first, but the buffering goes away), my ph went up. I used Marc Weiss's Ketapeat in my filter to softely bring the ph back down. Well, only a couple days after I got my shrimp, I noticed they were carrying eggs! Then another week or a couple of weeks later, I bought three cherry shrimp at a lfs -- again, within a few days, they were carrying eggs too! I bought another three cherries again another week or so later, but this time of course I couldn't tell which of the cherries were from which batch. However, a month later, I was covered in baby shrimp! I looked at the cannister of the Ketapeat and found out about "the Asian breeders' secret" or Ketapang -- Indian Almond Leaf. I was sold. I then purchased two boxes of 50 bags (made into tea bags) Indian Almond leaf from Shelly's Bettas. It certainly isn't cheap (was $16 a box, now $18 ) and says one bag per ten gallons. I use a lighter amount of one bag for the 29 gallon tank for a few days. I don't replenish each water change, but only every other or so (water change weekly), or when the water doesn't look as yellow.

I'd be happy to send you two 'tea' bags free if you would like to give it a try.

[Mustafa]

I have heard about Indian Almond Leaves and their benefits for aquarium inhabitants. However, I can almost guarantee you that they are not directly responsible for the breeding frenzy among the cherry red shrimp.

As long as the shrimp get enough to eat they will breed. My PH is very high at 7.8 and my Cherry Reds are constantly carrying eggs...every single female. That species seems to be well adapted to pretty much any water parameters as long as extremes are avoided.

Other shrimp might prove similary adaptable...the future will show.

I have Oak Leaves in my tank which seem to also benefit the shrimp a lot. You might want to try just putting Indian Almond Leaves directly into the tank. You can get them quite cheaply from a source I know....I don't have the link handy, but you can order online...they are shipped directly from the "source" in Asia.

I'll post the link once I find it...

Take care,
Mustafa

[Mustafa]

Here is the link for the Indian Almond:

http://www.tropilab.com/terminalia-cat.html


These guys are located in Asia.

[Piscesgirl]

Thanks for the link! Always good to have more sources.

[zacasonapan]

Wow Mustafa your ph is at 7.8 !!! Well I can finally rest and relax cause I was losing hair and sleep worrying about my ph being at 7.2. I read on other sites that the ph should be kept between 6.5 and 7.0 . Hear in Southern California the ph tends to be between 7.2 and 7.4 and I've been thinking on lowering my ph. I did read on one site that said to just leave the ph ALONE cause the shrimps tend to do well in slightly high ph and trying to get the ph down can lead to dangerous results and loss of shrimps and fish if there is a ph spike reversal due to the damn buffers. So far I held off from messing with the ph. I heard that the best and safest way to lower the ph is by adding peat moss to my canister filter but that would turn my water into tea over time. I'm so glad I ran into this forum

I'm trying to get some more crystal reds cause the 6 I have in my 125 g tank get lost. There is this place that’s about a 45 minute drive from where I live that received a shipment of 300 Crystal reds from some breeder in Hawaii but they are being sold for 8.99 each or 3 for 24.99!!! Well with some luck my lfs in my area is trying to get some Crystal reds.

[Mustafa]

Shrimp can tolerate a range of PHs as long as it's not too extreme. The most important thing you have to watch is food....make sure they are always well fed and "happy". How do you know they are happy? Well, they are happy when they are picking at things most of the day. If they are just sitting there doing nothing, then there is something wrong.

I would not worry about a 7.2PH at all. Just feed your shrimp well and you should be getting some egg production soon. If not, then you can always try to lower your PH and see if it works out better. A little experimentation is part of the hobby. Just avoid extremes.

$8.99 is a hefty price for Crystal Reds, but then...they are really rare in the US. You might actually want to cycle a 10 gallon for the Crystal Reds alone and breed sufficient numbers of them in there to transfer to your 125 gallon. That way you can target them with food portions much more efficiently.

Where did you get your original 6 Crystal Reds and how much did you pay for them?

Take care,
Mustafa

[Piscesgirl]

Some of the recommendations pertaining to shrimp and ph is because Ammonia is more toxic at higher ph. Therefore, if you have an alkaline ph, and ammonia in the tank, the shrimp are likely to die. If you have excellent water quality, it isn't something to be concerned about.

[Mustafa]

I see that someone did their homework . Thanks for adding that crucial info.

Mustafa

[zacasonapan]

I believe that my shrimps are happy so far cause I all ways see the amanos busy and swimming around going for plant to plant, driftwood to driftwood and so on. My cherry have only been with me a week so far and they don’t seem to be shy at all. They lost their shyness only after 3 days in being in the tank. The cherry don’t seem to be very strong swimmers compared to the amanos who do well against the strongest output of water from my filter. The bumble bees are doing ok I think but I never see more then 5 out of the 20 at a time. I do see a supper large bumble bee always cleaning. The tigers seem to be my weakest shrimps in the tank. So far I bought 30 tigers and I got two doa while I floated the bag. I have not seen more then five or six at a time but the ones I see are always a little different then the ones before so I think they are just very shy, I did see one dead tiger in the tank a few days ago. I have like 12 shrimps that I bought at a place called Petown in Lake Forest Ca. the same place I got my Crystal reds. The 12 shrimps I bought are being sold under the name Japonica but I looked them up on the web and they seem to be Malayan shrimps. They look like amanos at first glance but the strip on the back bleeds to the sides and they changed colors once I got them in my tank. Most of them are brownish tan some are orange and I have one that is black.

I feed enough so that food gets to the bottom and under the plants and driftwood but there doesn’t seem to be any algae left on the wood or plants for the shrimps. I leave any dead or dieing leafs in the tank cause I see that the shrimps like to munch on them. At least once a week I will drop some flakes in the tank when the lights are out around 2am to make sure the supper shy ones get some food.

[Mustafa]

The 12 shrimps I bought are being sold under the name Japonica but I looked them up on the web and they seem to be Malayan shrimps. They look like amanos at first glance but the strip on the back bleeds to the sides and they changed colors once I got them in my tank. Most of them are brownish tan some are orange and I have one that is black.

--This could be actually a form of Neocaridina denticulata sinensis, which is commonly called the "Red Cherry" shrimp here...however, what you have might be the more common variety.....not the red type from Taiwan. This species is highly variable in coloration. It could also be a number of scientifically undescribed Caridina species from southern asian in general....unfortunately, not much scientific work has been done towards identification of many shrimp varieties available for aquariums.

I leave any dead or dieing leafs in the tank cause I see that the shrimps like to munch on them. At least once a week I will drop some flakes in the tank when the lights are out around 2am to make sure the supper shy ones get some food.

--Yes, let the dead leaves decompose in the tank. The shrimp will eat the tiny microorganisms that grow on the rotting leaves.

I would also recommend that you throw in pellets instead of flake as pellets will dissolve slowly and are harder to "kidnap" by a greedy shrimp.

Take care,
Mustafa

[zacasonapan]

Here is a site where they have a pic of the rainbow shrimp. The one in the picture is brownish like most of the 12 I have. But 2 are orange and one is black with the back strips a nice light tan. At 99 cents each I think they are great little algea eaters.

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/shrimp2.htm

Thanks for reminding me about greedy shrimps, most of my large amanos are extremely greedy and since they are almost 2 inches long they tend to bully the smaller shrimp and any fish that gets in the way during feedings. I’m going to get some sinking algae wafers tomorrow.

[Mustafa]

Here is a site where they have a pic of the rainbow shrimp. The one in the picture is brownish like most of the 12 I have. But 2 are orange and one is black with the back strips a nice light tan. At 99 cents each I think they are great little algea eaters.

Wow...99 cents?! That's half the price of what I have seen them beofre. Would you mind sending me maybe 12 of these guys if they are still available from that store? Certainly, I would pay for the shrimp, shipping, materials etc.. I'll even send you a stryrofoam box and bags and everything else you need for shipping (including instructions). If you think you can do this, I'll contact you by email.

I don't want to cause you any trouble, but I really want to find out what species these shrimp are. I've been wondering about that for a while now. I have some acquaintences in Germany, who would love to look at them under the microscope (old skin after molting is good enough) to determine what they are. Please do not feel pressured though (not my intention). If you can do it fine, if you can't then that's totally understandable, too.

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/shrimp2.htm

--Yeah, i've seen that site and the shrimp there before. Unfortunately, as with AZGardens, a lot of information on that site is not very accurate to say the least. That lack of accurate information prompted me to put up this website in the first place.

Thanks for reminding me about greedy shrimps, most of my large amanos are extremely greedy and since they are almost 2 inches long they tend to bully the smaller shrimp and any fish that gets in the way during feedings. I’m going to get some sinking algae wafers tomorrow.

--You're welcome! Yes, amanos can get very greedy, just like Freshwater Glass Shrimp. The trick is to throw in large enough wafers so they can't carry them away without throwing too much food. My shrimp love Spirulina Wafers by Wardley by the way.

Take care,
Mustafa

[zacasonapan]

Mustafa,

I would be happy to pick some up. I was at Petown last Thursday and I was going to buy some more for my self but that’s when I saw that they had Crystal reds and I ended up forgetting about the "Rainbows". The rainbows or Japonica as they are called at the store are very small about 1/4 inch or less but mine have grown to about 1/2 inch in only 2 weeks. I think they should still have plenty left and I did notice that the tank had several babies, about half the size of a black ant.

[Mustafa]

You've got mail!


Yes, shrimp in general grow quite quickly when they have abundant food sources...otherwise they just stay the same size for a long time or grow very slowly...it's all about the food. So, it's ok if they are 1/4th of an inch. I'll take them.

Take care,
Mustafa

[Pigheaddd]

hello everyone,

i'm a new member here and just registered. maybe someone already posted this link, but if not, check it out.

http://www.japan-net.ne.jp/next/red/red*e.html

Tim