Got my Amanos!

[Shady]

I got my 10 Caridina japonica yesterday, and they are doing great. They also seem to have motivated the few cherry reds I have to attack the hair algae...havent seen the CRS for over a week! Unfortunately, I think of the 10 CRS I had, only 2 are left. THe Penguin Tetra got the rest

[GunmetalBlue]

Congrats, Shady! Amanos are a bit larger and more foisty than the Red Cherries, so hopefully they'll be able to fend for themselves better. Were the Red Cherries that you think got eaten quite young? It seems like if they were adults, they would get harrassed but not eaten... but I'm not familiar with Penguin Tetras, so don't know how large or aggressive they are.

If you are abbreviating Red Cherries, don't forget to call them RCS. CRS stands for Crystal Red shrimp, a different species.

-GB

[badflash]

I think one of they keys to a good tank is good snails. I have a bunch of MTS and a couple of Apple snails in each tank along with a few pond snails. I've also started putting freshwater clams in the tanks. Have a night cleaning crew not only keeps the tank cleaner, but it seems to motivate the shrimp to come running and eat all they can when the dinner bell rings. I've been able to feed everyone enough without anyone getting left out and the water stays nice & clear. I've got Cherries and Indian Zebras in with a lot of Amanos and everyone seems to be fine. The amanos are very agressive for food, but they don't hurt anything, they just muscle in and take the food from the smaller guys. They get full and what is left the snails take. There is never anything left in the morning.

[Altum]

I'm with you on MTS. There's nothing better for a gravel bed. My apple snails always climb out of the tank and make suicide leaps onto the hard tile floor, so I keep red ramshorns instead.

[badflash]

I had loads of troubles with Apple snails before I discovered Collards Greens. My understanding from Beth Herman, who is a Briggs Fanatic, is that the only thing they like better is Dandelion greens. If you take some collards and blanch them in the microwave for a couple of minutes (depends on the power of your oven and how much you put in). then freeze them, you can feed the sanils and many shrimp and they won't eat your plants. I've not had a briggs suicide since collards. They watch and wait & run a guilt trip on me until I make a vegie run.