My success story

[Mustafa]

Seems like without additional food your shrimp feed on *pure love*. I am still baffled to be honest with you.

[tooth]

I still think it is because I used a substrate with lots of organic material--hermit crab substrate. I had to deal with ammonia at first, but it gave the algae/biofilm a big head start. This resulted in the shrimp population expanding rapidly. Now the shrimp numbers are great enough to sustain the algae with their waste, so no extraneous food is necessary for the time being. That's my theory, anyway.

The spring mating boom is under way. There are a couple more berried females this week, with one dropping larvae. I don't see the point of counting anymore. I've now gone an entire year with berried shrimp and/or larvae in the tank constantly. This is a new phase for the system. I look forward to seeing how long it lasts.
Brad

[minishrimps]

I still think it is because I used a substrate with lots of organic material--hermit crab substrate. I had to deal with ammonia at first, but it gave the algae/biofilm a big head start. This resulted in the shrimp population expanding rapidly. Now the shrimp numbers are great enough to sustain the algae with their waste, so no extraneous food is necessary for the time being. That's my theory, anyway.

The spring mating boom is under way. There are a couple more berried females this week, with one dropping larvae. I don't see the point of counting anymore. I've now gone an entire year with berried shrimp and/or larvae in the tank constantly. This is a new phase for the system. I look forward to seeing how long it lasts.
Brad

What type of Hermit Crab substrate did you use? Where did you acquire it? I ask, for my crabs sake... i wonder if they'd be happier in a tank with this instead of gravel/sand...

[Mustafa]

Yeah, you kinda just stop counting once you have "a ton of" shrimp and almost constant reproduction. This may last quite a long time before you need to feed anything. And yes, of course the initial organic material in the substrate made the difference. But, before anyone tries it, let's remind them that you had to deal with problems for quite a while due to that so it's probably not something I would recommend to the shrimp novice.

[Ace]

I really liked having a count on what is going on but I understand as I just stopped counting mine. There are too many to know. Oh well, I will still be looking for your posts.

[Edwin]

Ever since seeding my tank with Mustafa's water/snails/moss ball in April, I've had berried shrimp non stop. My tank had gone without having any babies for 2 years prior to ordering from Mustafa. So I'm very happy!

It's about 70 degrees in the house but the tank is in a cooler room so I'm guessing around 68. I'm surprised they are reproducing through the winter too. I feed them maybe once a month if I remember with a dot of spirulina off the tip of a toothpick but sometimes they go for 3-4 months without any supplement food.

It's hard not to mess around with feeding and meddling with water parameters but you are right. Patience pays off!

Thank you Mustafa & members of this forum for your advice and for the magic water!

Happy Holidays!

I'm from Singapore. Is there anyway I can get that magic water from Mustafa as well?

@Mustafa, do you think that it is possible for you to deliver to Singapore?

[tooth]

First a confession, then answer to the above questions.
I noticed the banded female is once again carrying eggs--what is this, the 4th or 5th time in less than a year? Now the confession. Once I noticed her I could not (decided not to) resist the urge to count. There are 12 berried shrimp I can see. There are also a dozen or so larvae.
I was trying to be good, and not count. Now I'm a liar. But, for a good cause.
The hermit crab substrate was purchased from PetSmart. It is composed of coarse sand, very fine gravel, whole but tiny shells, and larger shells broken up. It was also full of organic matter, which caused an ammonia spike for a month. I had to syphon off the lower water with the NH3 two or three times a week until the tank stabilized. And, I lost one shrimp to the mess. I chose it because I liked the idea of shells as a buffer. I just didn't realize how 'dirty' it was. I agree with Mustafa in that it is probably not a good way for a novice to start.
Happy Easter/Lent to all.
Brad

[Ace]

Thank you for the count! I saw this post the other day shortly after you posted it. I'm always trolling for any updates you post. Hahahaha. This has to be the best thread here.

[tooth]

Thank you for the count! I saw this post the other day shortly after you posted it. I'm always trolling for any updates you post. Hahahaha. This has to be the best thread here.

ok Ace, this one's for you, and thanks for the compliment. I think all the contributors to the thread have made it worth while.
It seems I'm back in the counting mode--21 berried shrimp visible this afternoon.
Also, I thought a couple of months ago that the algae on the substrate was decreasing a little. Now it seems it's maintaining just about full coverage of the tank bottom. The tank sides have not grown algae since the first and only crop sluffed off two years ago. There is still a little pile of it resting on the substrate at the back of the tank. It is being slowly eaten, though.
It also appears the hair algae (there is not much) is not able to compete with the good algae (single cell stuff). I haven't needed to remove any of it for 6 or 7 months. What little is there is less than a half inch high.
I think I mentioned the macro algae also could not compete, and I removed the remains a few months ago.
This tank is truly becoming maintenance free. Water top-offs only, if the hair algae dwindles to nothing.
Happy Spring to everyone!
Brad

[Ace]

I don't even have words. And I have no idea how you can diferénciate that many with eggs. This is simply amazing!

I want to note that I do not agree with people that you have some special system because you started with high organic content. I do not believe your set-up to be special. I do believe that your wondefully detailed account is a testament to how these shrimp can be kept. Your account, again I will state, should absolutely be required reading for all people interested in or keeping this species.

I want to thank you so much for taking the time to share the details and entire history of your system.

[tooth]

I also do not think my set up is 'special', just different from most in my choice of substrate: It accidently proved to be a good kick-starter. I did not choose the substrate knowing it would work out this way.
It is easy to differentiate the females carrying eggs, and then count them. I'm getting smaller females berried now compared with the past.
April marks 4 years with no food added to the system.

[tooth]

A pic showing the current crop of larvae, and one pic showing the tank as a whole. Many of the shrimp on the bottom are difficult to see because of lighting. Also, some of the still-berried females are visible, although a couple of them only have a few larvae remaining in the swimerettes. I haven't bothered to count the total berried shrimp, or the larvae.

[Ace]

Wow. That is wonderful! I say they are little baby aliens.

[tooth]

I did a rough estimate of the larvae as of today--over 70 little downward pointing heads. Still a dozen or so berried females to go.

[Ace]

I love it! I'm still following everything you post. I'm getting toward your direction. Thank you for posting updates.