I'd like to introduce myself

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:38 am

Hi!

My name is John, and I am new to this forum. I am 17 years old, and have been aquarium keeping since I was about 10. I have read all the articles except the Dwarf Crayfish article, and have been "lurking" through a lot of information in past posts for around a day and a half now.

I read the forum rules too.

I am relatively new to shrimp keeping, although I speacialize in Tetraodontids, or pufferfish, and I am a Mentor at ThePufferForum, and a active member of PufferResources. I am also working on an article on puffers to submit for TFH magazine. Usually I am feeding shrimp to my puffers, since it is part of there natural diet, although I have always loved shrimp, as well as all Crustacea. I am currently working on a project of setting up 1 or more 10g tanks for breeding freshwater glass shrimp. I plan on "journaling" the whole process, with pictures too.

I am also very interested in breeding Red Claw Macros, although I currently don't have enough spare tanks, so that will have to wait a little while.

I may try Cherry and Bamboo shrimp as well, since my LFS carrys them.

Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself, and thankyou for this wonderful website! I look forward to being an active (Maybe even hyperactive

) poster, and hope to contribute regularly.

-John (AKA: The Puffer Ninja)

Kenshin · Post by **Kenshin** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:42 am

WELCOME!!!

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:54 am

Hi John, and welcome.

Happy to hear that you have red most of the offerings of the site as they will be very helpful in your upcoming project. Best wishes and hope to see your postings soon

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:30 pm

Thanks for the weclome!

I'll keep you updated on my project as I progress, and start a new topic for it once it starts taking off more.

Currently I just have the tank, and sponge filter, since it sounds like those work the best for shrimp tanks. I am debating about putting an undergravel filter in as well, because I am not a fan of them in anyway, although I read that badflash uses them.

Ah well, i'll decide on something soon enough

-John (AKA: The Puffer Ninja)

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:45 pm

The Fisherman wrote:Thanks for the weclome!

I am debating about putting an undergravel filter in as well, because I am not a fan of them in anyway, although I read that badflash uses them.

-John (AKA: The Puffer Ninja)

I'm an outlyer when it comes to filtration, but the combo of gravel and java moss really works for me. I've tried sponge filters and HOB's, but the HOB/Undergravel works the best for me.

BTW- Welcome aboard!

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:52 pm

badflash wrote:
The Fisherman wrote:Thanks for the weclome!

I am debating about putting an undergravel filter in as well, because I am not a fan of them in anyway, although I read that badflash uses them.

-John (AKA: The Puffer Ninja)
I'm an outlyer when it comes to filtration, but the combo of gravel and java moss really works for me. I've tried sponge filters and HOB's, but the HOB/Undergravel works the best for me.

BTW- Welcome aboard!

Hmmm, definitely something for me to think about. I may start out with just a sponge filter and see how that works for me.

-John (AKA: The Puffer Ninja)

zapisto · Post by **zapisto** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:39 pm

welcome to board.
i am not a fan of undergravel, probably because i come from the fish/plant part of the hobby.
but look like this work well for lot of people in the shrimp part.

Newjohn · Post by **Newjohn** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:59 pm

The Fisherman

Hello and Welcome to this Forum.

It is nice to See someone from the same part of the country.

Just a warning
It depends on which LPS you have seen RCS at.
Either they are from Me, And There are both males and Females.

Or a couple of stores,
Just have Females.

Welcome
John

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:14 pm

Welcome,

You'll find the best shrimp and crayfish on the net here. Best thing to do is spend as much time as you can reading old posts. Even ones that don't immediately sound like what you are after are likely to hold key information, and the accumulated knowledge found here is worth the effort.

As for filters, the important thing is to find something effective that suits both you and your shrimp. Whether you use a sponge filter, a modified UGF, HOB, or canister, is up to you.

I use AquaClear HOB's that are oversized to account for the decreased flow through a fine filter sponge placed on the intake. I can't say that my setup is any better or worse than others, but I am simply comfortable and familiar with these and that is why I use them.

Again, welcome!

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:36 pm

I may just go with a UGF, and see how that goes. Although I do have a sponge filter. Well, I think its a sponge filter. It is a Penn Plax clear free corner filter, that is powered by an airpump/stone. Maybe I could post a picture later. There is a small "intake" area, which I would worry about baby shrimps being sucked up. So basically I am undecided as to if I should use this one.

badflash, do you have to clean your shrimp tank UGF filters very often?

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

-John (AKA: The Puffer Ninja)

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 7:06 pm

I never clean my UGF unless I get an infestation like planaria that I can't get rid of. The stuff digests and turns into plant food. I do water changes about 50% a week, and sell off the excess plants. There is a very good market for java moss and riccia, hornwort, etc. I'm mostly doing java moss with the hard water and riccia with the soft water.

Cleaning a UGF amounts to breaking down the tank, so it doesn't happen until there is a disaster. I'm in the process of tearing down two that have playsand to replace it with pea gravel. The pea gravel won't clog byt the sand turns to concrete after about a year.

If the gravel gets to icky looking I'll just vacuum the bottom a little when I'm doing the water changes, but for looks mostly.

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 7:12 pm

badflash wrote: Cleaning a UGF amounts to breaking down the tank, so it doesn't happen until there is a disaster. I'm in the process of tearing down two that have playsand to replace it with pea gravel. The pea gravel won't clog byt the sand turns to concrete after about a year.

I know...Thats why I am not a fan of UGFs. Its not so bad if your just taking it out, but if you need to put the plates back in...

Sounds like you do well with the UGF/Plant combo. I think i'll give it a try.

I'll keep you guys updated, I am nearing the phase where I can put water in the tank. Which is good. Although I am going to age a filter and substrate in one of my puffer tanks, so the bacterial colony can handel a good bioload. (puffers are messy and produce a lot of waste)

-John (AKA: The Puffer Ninja)