40 Gallon Breeder

[Faile]

I thought I'd share some pictures of my 40 gallon breeder. I just set it up and got it planted this week, so it's got some growing in to do. I'm very happy with it so far. I hope you enjoy!

Hardscape Only


Currently it's only got two male Red Cherry Shrimp living in it. I plan to stock it with more shrimp, some small fish, and nerites.

Freshly Planted


Plants include Anubias nana, Anubias nana 'petite', Crypt parva, and several forms of Java Fern.

 

[Ziggy953]

Very nice!

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Well Done!

 

[An t-iasg]

Very nice! Is that driftwood or something else - it's different! I love the anuabias nana "petite" planted up on it. The substrate really catches my eye too!

 

[Faile]

Yep. It's a real gnarly driftwood that sinks without any soaking. I really like it, but since it's sold by the pound, it does run a little pricey.

 

[Ziggy953]

It's a type of root isn't it? I've seen it at the LFS. It's very nice color and heavy as crap.

 

[maxst2]

For a second I thought that was coral... Looks really sweet, that must have a price tag next to it. lol

 

[Ziggy953]

The LFS near me sells it for $4.99 per pound I believe. It's some cool looking stuff.

 

[Faile]

After doing a little looking, I believe that it's African Mopani Root. And you're looking at about 20lbs in those pictures. So have fun with the math.

 

[Faile]

Yesterday I received a shipment of Cherry Red Shrimp and Tiger Shrimp. They were added to the aquarium after being drip acclimated for about a half hour. I plan to get some pictures once the lights are on again. The aquarium doesn't seem near as empty now that there's a bit of activity in there.

 

[DragonFish71]

I love the wood, good job picking those piece. I can't wait to see it finished.


I remember when we had just set up our 40 breeder, it looked like something from an alien movie. I think there's still pics in my albums.

What kind of stocking are you planning other than shrimp?

 

[Faile]

I was thinking about putting some small fish like Micro Rasboras and Pygmy Corydoras in there, but the shrimp are being so active and swimming all over the place that I'm tempted not to add any fish. The shrimp would definitely multiply better without any fish snacking on the babies. I'm still planning to get some Nerite Snails though.

I just spent probably an hour just watching the shrimp swim all over the aquarium. They are so amusing. They were even playing in the currents! They'd swim up to the output of the power head and take a ride in the current across the back of the aquarium. The Cherry Red Shrimp have colored up quite nicely and the Tiger Shrimp are definitely showing their stripes. They definitely seem quite happy in there. I'm pretty sure that some of the swimming was due to some mating going on, as most of the shrimp taking laps were males. So hopefully I'll see some berried shrimp soon!

 

[Ziggy953]

I love my pygmy cories!! They are so cool I have 5 though I've only been able to see 4 at a time. I'm planning on increasing their number to 8-10. Edit...lol as I was typing this I looked over at the tank and now all 5 are swimming together.

Anyway I really like the look of your tank and I wish mine was looking as good.

 

[th08tu]

loks awesome! Following along

 

[Faile]

Well, I've seen at least one Cherry Red Shrimp berried, and possibly two. Hopefully it's two, since the first one I saw was carrying quite a few more eggs than the one I saw today. I still haven't gotten around to pulling out the camera to take more pictures. I always find it fun to put the pictures side by side as I often find that the plants have grown more than I realized.

 

[Faile]

I can add a Tiger Shrimp to the list of berried sightings. I'm currently acclimating some Nerite Snails. It will be nice to have a little more variety for my viewing pleasure. The plants are filling in quite nicely even without fertilizing. Now that it's warming up again, I hope to be able to order some more plants to finish planting the foreground and background.

 

[Faile]

As of last night I've had my first official sighting of baby shrimp. They're about 3-4 mm long, so about 3-4 weeks old. Definitely some Cherries as some were already starting to color up. I'll need to wait a little longer to see if there are any Tigers in with the babies.

I added some of the spotted Nerites a few weeks ago. I lost a couple in the first week, but the remaining 6 seem to be happily patrolling the aquarium for algae. With the warmer weather I was able to place a plant order, and I've got some Echindorus vesuvius waiting to be planted. I've also got some Christmas moss left over from starting my son's aquarium that I'll probably add as well. Once everything is planted I plan to take some more pictures.

 

[Faile]

Well, this thread is long over due for an update.

The plants have really filled in extremely nicely and I should get an updated picture up. I'll have to do a water change/top off first though!

For some reason the nerite snails didn't like my aquarium, and I've lost most if not all of them. I also haven't seen any tiger shrimp lately, though the could easily still be around and just not out and about much. There's still plenty of cherries to be seen though. I don't see them as regularly as I've added some additional fish.

Some Micro Rasbora have been added to the list, as a friend was breaking down their aquarium and needed to find them a new home. About 12 were added initially, but most have died (probably old age) and I've probably got about 3 still hanging out. I also happened upon some striped khuli loaches which I simply couldn't resist. I added 2 initially, and added another 3 last night. Apparently the striped ones can be fairly hard to find these days.

I'm really happy with how this aquarium is maturing and it is very relaxing to just sit back and watch it.