Cherry Shrimp Problem
Moderator: Mustafa
- Neonshrimp
- Master Shrimp Nut
- Posts: 2296
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 5:37 pm
- Location: California, USA
- Neonshrimp
- Master Shrimp Nut
- Posts: 2296
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 5:37 pm
- Location: California, USA
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- Egg
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2006 2:02 pm
- Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Seachem Excel - supposedly a substitute for CO2. You know I swear I remember someone in my club telling me that this stuff was messing up some scaleless fish of theirs. Thought it sounded strange at the time but figured if I was going to go heavy on plants I would do it the old fashioned way - PC's and a canister of CO2 Since shrimp seem to be 4-5x times more sensitive to just about everything I think I would keep that one out of my shrimp tanks altogether. Also how many people are successful with running fast growing plants and high lite tanks with their shrimp? It seems like the suggestions are to use lowtech, lowlight plants like javamosses, and java ferns and especially not plants that grow quickly and suck out the nutrients out of the water column. I would think then certainly not Elodea.
- marusempai
- Shrimp
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- Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:59 pm
- Location: Utah
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Excel is potent stuff, I would not trust it in an invert tank, although I use it in my planted community tank to great success -- it is the best algaecide I've ever used, and the plants grow like crazy! You'll note, it is the only member of the Flourish family of plant food with a child proof cap... like I said, potent stuff.
The problem with fast growing plants in high light environments is that they eat up the ammonia before the bacteria get to. So, over time, the nitrifying bacteria die off for the most part. As long as the fast growing plants are actually growing, you won't have much of a problem it seems (although the plants do compete with algae and biofilm in general for light and nutrients...shrimp eat algae and biofilm). However, most fast growing plants under high light absolutely need fertilization to grow. If they don't grow, they won't take up ammonia and supposedly even release some of the nutrients they store. Your shrimp will, of course, die if that happens...one by one. But, if you do decide to fertilize it's easy to mess up the dosages and overfertilize, which will also kill your shrimp. So...such tanks tend to be very unstable for shrimp in general.Rainbowfish wrote: Also how many people are successful with running fast growing plants and high lite tanks with their shrimp? It seems like the suggestions are to use lowtech, lowlight plants like javamosses, and java ferns and especially not plants that grow quickly and suck out the nutrients out of the water column. I would think then certainly not Elodea.
Last edited by Mustafa on Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Neonshrimp
- Master Shrimp Nut
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- Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 5:37 pm
- Location: California, USA