Shrimps with Axolotls

[mroli123]

Just an update, I have 6 red cherry shrimp left after some God dude had his wicked way with them, they all seem fine now with a heater thrown in I am hoping that they start breeding soon! Do they lay eggs or carry them around? I have some little black dots on the back of one of the leaves in the tank

 

[dazkeirle]

well all 4 Red Cherrys are happily living and I have one ardent bumble bee who is too hardcore to die, he has been named hardcore and I have a special place in my heart for him.

I have just received two coconut shell cave / moss covered caves which are small and should be a really nice hideaway for the masses of shrimps I hope to have.

I have become a little obsessed with this shrimp business and have been heavily researching what can and cannot be kept together etc.

I think the next logical step after getting the red cherry infantry into their tank will be to move onto tiger shrimps and their several colour variations. I'm really loving the blues atm.

Of course this all relies on getting Barney in with Fred, which is dependent on him growing enough that my Mrs allows me to. The issue is, I should be slightly overfeeding Barney to get his size up, but I just can't leave Fred out and I end up overfeeding them both, the tykes.

The good news however is out of left over bits and bobs I've started to create a separator. My original idea with blown out of the water (pun?) as i didn't have a glass back to attach it to, however I just wasn't thinking 3 dimensionally and so using some left over java moss wall grid, some ties and some suction cups from a failed project I should be able to create a separator that runs adjacent to the back wall, then out to the front of the tank. It's certainly rigid enough and will split the tank in two.



not a finished product, but you get the concept

lol, you lot are bad for me, and my wallet weight. Just can't wait to have hundreds of shrimpies swimming about, breeding etc.

 

[seksee]

just an observation... it sounds to me like your getting very attached to your shrimpies so I dont think theres a chance that your gonna throw any in the axie tank when the time comes! lol

 

[dazkeirle]

haha, only the ugly ones

 

[DavidF]

Just an update, I have 6 red cherry shrimp left after some God dude had his wicked way with them, they all seem fine now with a heater thrown in I am hoping that they start breeding soon! Do they lay eggs or carry them around? I have some little black dots on the back of one of the leaves in the tank

Hi Mroli

The female RCS carry their eggs around with them under their tails and rotate the eggs with their back leg things to keep them clean.

Cheers
Dave

 

[DavidF]

just an observation... it sounds to me like your getting very attached to your shrimpies so I dont think theres a chance that your gonna throw any in the axie tank when the time comes! lol

I think you're right. It does sound like "Mr Hardcore", the bumble bee shrimp, is going to be loving cared for till the day he goes to the algae wafer in the sky. They'll be no visit to the axies for him.

 

[mroli123]

Well their is that bubble burst! I will to playing them some Barry White tonight in hope of babies!

 

[dazkeirle]

Well my shrimp tank is finally completed (for now) so I'm happy to share some pics etc.

Tank setup

• 60 litres
• sponge filter
• (power filter off and in tank to keep cycle)
• Java moss wall (growing)
• Large rock with Fire Moss
• Elodea
• Loads of Marimo Moss Balls
• Little rock pile
• 2 x Coconut Shell caves covered in Java Moss

Parameters

• 78 degrees F - 25.5 degrees c
• PH 7.2
• Ammonia - 0 ppm Nitrite - 0 ppm Nitrate 20 ppm

Shrimps

• 4 x Red Cherry Shrimp
• 5 x Tiger Shrimp
• 30 x Red Cherry Shrimp on order

Heres some pics:

 

[mroli123]

My cherry shrimp are coming along nicely, some of them are still a bit clear but others have complete 'cherry red' look to them, does this mean the clear ones are males? Or could it be that some were older when I bought them so the rest of them should go the same colour?

I have never used a heated tank before, I've had my heater in for about a week now at 25.5 which I think is right, it has a little led light on it which seems to go on and off at random times, is this normal? I bought the heater from china or somewhere and the instructions are very limited and can't find out much information on the net about it!

 

[DavidF]

Hi Daz

Your tank is looking great. Nice work. Are any females berried yet? I'm just about to start rebuilding my main tank and, I have to say, I'm getting some inspiration from your java moss wall. When it is growing properly, the shrimp will simply love it.

Mroli, the females are the red ones, males aren't. It makes it pretty easy to identify their genders....easier than axies can be I think.

 

[bayhicoach]

I have never used a heated tank before, I've had my heater in for about a week now at 25.5 which I think is right, it has a little led light on it which seems to go on and off at random times, is this normal? I bought the heater from china or somewhere and the instructions are very limited and can't find out much information on the net about it!

Your aquarium heater is doing what it should, the light indicates when it's heating. It operates on a thermostat so it turns itself on and off. If it's functioning properly it will keep the temperature even throughout the tank (with proper water circulation, of course). You'll notice the light on more when the difference between the room temperature and the desired tank temperature is the greatest.

 

[dazkeirle]

Hi Daz

Your tank is looking great. Nice work. Are any females berried yet? I'm just about to start rebuilding my main tank and, I have to say, I'm getting some inspiration from your java moss wall. When it is growing properly, the shrimp will simply love it.

Mroli, the females are the red ones, males aren't. It makes it pretty easy to identify their genders....easier than axies can be I think.

Hi David, thanks,

No no females berried yet but I dont really expect them to be, not with the living conditions they've had. They will though especially when there's an extra 30 in there.

The tank I know is looking a bit like a work in progress, but then it would, it's brand new.

Once all the mosses are bedded in and growing properly it should look great in there.

All it's getting is non-direct sunlight during the day so it's gonna be a slow process but still should be fine, nothing is going brown anyway.

 

[mroli123]

Thanks Dick! Good to know all is ok!

Do females bury themselves when they are about to lay eggs? I found one of mine hidden underneath some rocks this morning, it was against the glass so I could see it, I thought it might be dead! But could it be laying eggs?!

 

[Shizeric]

The females carry the eggs around...

 

[DavidF]

Thanks Dick! Good to know all is ok!

Do females bury themselves when they are about to lay eggs? I found one of mine hidden underneath some rocks this morning, it was against the glass so I could see it, I thought it might be dead! But could it be laying eggs?!

Females hide when they are molting their exoskeleton as they are vulnerable. It might be doing that. She isn't laying eggs on a rock or other surface - they don't do that.

 

[dazkeirle]

well great bit of news,

today by some coincidence two of my female cherrys are berried.

It's quite extreme the first time you see it, throbbing and all.

It's a great relief as means conditions must be just right. Hope i see one of the tigers berried now too.

 

[morphyrichards]

Keep an eye out for tiny tiny millimetre size shrimps on your tank glass. If you let a bit of algae grow here and there you might see them coming out to graze on it soon.

Congratulations Daz you're going to be a daddy!

 

[dazkeirle]

haha thanks Morphy,

I already had a load of babys with the 30 odd i bought so know the size ranges, it's pretty amazing.

Luckily the moss wall mesh doubled up as a really great hideaway for babys. Not only do they have all the microalgae then need from the moss growing on the back of the mesh but no larger shrimps can get in behind there.

The moss wall is starting to work out, lots of strands showing through now with 12 hours of 15w 4500k lighting daily. I think that's just about right for what I'm growing.

It's starting to turn into quite a pleasant hobby.

 

[Shizeric]

Have you considered adding any blue pearl shrimp to get some real crazy breeding/coloration variations going?

 

[morphyrichards]

Have you considered adding any blue pearl shrimp to get some real crazy breeding/coloration variations going?

ooh never tried that - have you? Have you any piccies?