[Dragon Stone Decay]

I put Dragon Stone in my tank, and over time, it seems to be almost dissolving / crumbling away.

Is this normal? Kinda disappointing…

[Cherry Shrimp - Genetic Diversity]

I started with 10 Cherry Shrimp at about Christmas time in a 29 gal tank.  Now there are … hundreds.

The question is, will inbreeding eventually become an issue? I.e., should I periodically introduce a few fresh stock for genetic diversity?

[Rabbit Snails]

I put two yellow Rabbit Snails in my new Cherry Shrimp tank a month ago, on the basis that they help control algae and help keep the tank cycled as the Shrimp population gets established.  Also because they reproduce slowly.

A month later I have seven (5 babies). That’s a little faster population growth than I thought, but not a problem.  

Is this the population growth rate I can expect to continue? 

 

[Amano Shrimp]

Check out Flip Aquatics - tons of good videos on YouTube.

[White Cloud Behavior]

Just an interesting observation. I originally cycled my tank with a few White Clouds - about 5 years ago.  For the last year or so, through natural attrition, there is only one left.

I know they like to hang out in groups, but I don’t want any more White Clouds, so just letting it live out it’s life.  It now schools with the Neons - always hanging out among them & they don’t seem to mind at all.  I guess it has been adopted…

[What Are These Little White Wormy Things?]

They wiggle to ‘swim’ and appear to be round.

[What Are These Little White Wormy Things?]

These are in my Shrimp tank. There’s quite a bit of algae in there. Should I be concerned or does it need some kind of treatment?

[Shrimp Tank Chemistry]

Just started my Shrimp tank (Cherry).  I cycled it first with a couple Comets, removed before adding shrimp. I drip-acclimated the shrimp.
 

Questions:  

(1) I started with 10. 2 have died.  Is it normal to lose a few? The others aren’t too active - just sitting on the driftwood, though they seem to be eating biofilm.

(2) Water Chemistry, Ideal  (per Flip Aquatics).

pH:  6-7 Ideal / 7.8 Actual

Ammonia: 0 Ideal / 0 Actual

Nitrite: 0 Ideal / 0 Actual

Nitrate: <20 Ideal / 5 Actual

KH: 2-8 Ideal / 7.5 Actual 

GH:  7-15 Ideal / 18 Actual

TDS: 180-400 Ideal /  485 Actual

Temp: 68-72  / 72.4 Actual  (no heater in tank)

So, GH and TDS are a little high. Should I be concerned? How do I bring it down? Should I be concerned about the pH?  Am I over-analyzing & just let it work itself out?

I have fed Rapashy - no interest.

Thanks.

 

 

[White Spot on Hillstream Loach]

Thx. Looks flat, as opposed to raised.

[White Spot on Hillstream Loach]

Just noticed today (see pic). Water parameters before a 30% water change.

pH 7.4

Ammonia just a trace, < .25 ppm

Nitrite 0

Nitrate 15

KH 6

GH 12

TDS 463

Temp 76.4 Deg F

This is a fairly new tank, 45 gal. It doesn’t look fuzzy or anything. 

[White Spot on Hillstream Loach]

Just noticed today (see pic). Water parameters before a 30% water change.

pH 7.4

Ammonia just a trace, < .25 ppm

Nitrite 0

Nitrate 15

KH 6

GH 12

TDS 463

Temp 76.4 Deg F

This is a fairly new tank, 45 gal. It doesn’t look fuzzy or anything. 

[Boiling Driftwood]

How long should I boil driftwood to make sure it’s ready to go into the tank - and hopefully stay sunk?

 

 

[Disinfecting Plants With Alum]

Moving some plants from a pond-snail infested tank to a new one. This will be a shrimp tank so I really don’t want to use Assassin snails if I don’t have to.  I’d also like a few Nerites - but have read that Assassins will go for them, sooner or later.
 

I’ve seen videos that say a 1-2 day plant soak in an Alum solution will kill snails and eggs without harming plants.

 

Anyone here with experience with this?

[Shrimp Tank - DI Water Questions]

Thanks - very helpful.  I did watch the Flip Aquatics video last night - which set me on the current course.  Since I'm following their regimen I will likely order the shrimp from them, when ready. 

[Shrimp Tank - DI Water Questions]

I'm setting up a shrimp tank (20g), and plan to use DI water, which I can easily get at work.  I will add minerals to achieve TDS around 200.  

1.  Other than hitting TDS; (and obviously monitoring Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates) - is there anything I should pay attention to?  

2. The PH for DI water should be right at 7.0, which, as far as I can tell, is fine for Cherry Shrimp. Will PH generally increase or decrease in the tank, over time?

3.  Does any of the above have any bearing on plants that I put in?

4. If I use Easy Green for the plants, other than watching Nitrates, will there be any impact on water chemistry from the fertilizer?

Substrate will be Seachem Fluorite, if that matters. No CO2, plan to use no heater.  Thanks in advance!

 

[Converting from HOB to Sponge Filter]

I have a 20 gallon long - cycled / well-seasoned tank with a HOB filter. I want to convert to a sponge filter to start a Cherry Shrimp tank.

I plan to run both the HOB and the sponge filter in parallel for a while to get the sponge well populated with bacteria before removing the HOB (and before putting the Cherry Shrimp in).

How long would this take?  The answer is probably “it depends” but are we talking a few days or a few weeks?

 

Any advice?

[Sinking Meaty Pellet Food]

Trying to find a sinking pellet food, that is ‘meaty’. In other words, not algae based.

This is to feed Assassin snails who have cleaned up all the pest snails. 

Any suggestions?