Red Cherry Shrimp and Scarlet Badis

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Shrimp need a mature tank, one that has been running for a decent period of time.

Stable parameters which are required to keep shrimp alive and healthy are the result of a cycled and mature tank. It would be unwise to try to fish in cycle a tank with shrimp. Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate spikes are all things which can cause death for a tiny shrimp. Without a mature colony of BB you have no way to make sure you won't have water issues during the cycle.

This thread has lots of info which can help you, noted below in this paragraph. Also there is a link in my signature, and you can check out additional info in the articles section found in the green bar at the top of the forum /thread pages.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html
 
Thanks man, you have helped me a lot. The water is a bit murky anyway, which I think is coming from the Mopani wood. I am going to let it sit awhile, and I still need to stock my 10 gallon with something :). Would you keep the Scarlet Badis in the 10, or just a single one in the 2.5 with shrimp?

Nils
 
What else are you wanting / or thinking of, or what do you like, to keep in the 10G? If you want a long term solution, start a new thread for a 10G build and stocking ideas. Post the link here for others to follow.
 
Thanks Autumn, and yes, I have thought about what I would want to keep with my Cories. I thought about a GBR, but unless I up my game with water changes, and finally get a water testing kit, then I won't be able to keep them. Also, I heard and researched the Bolivian Ram, which are lots easier to keep and can be kept in a regular tank without any special daily water changes. There are also the Gold Rams and Cockatoo cichlids, but I have heard that the cockatoo's are quite aggressive. If anyone wants to add cichlids, or any other beautiful, well built and vibrant fish, also something that's not very aggressive, than here is the link where y'all can add it:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...s-in-a-10-gallon-tank-322824.html#post3082183

Nils
 
Does anyone still use this thread? I wish people would, I need advice on Scarlet Badis and shrimp
 
In my 2.5, I am not doing what you consider heavily planted, there isn't enough space for that. I am doing Mopani wood, and then some Java moss on top, and the rest scattered in the corners. Also a marimo Ball to keep algae under control. Would the shrimp and SB like that?
 
Those are some great examples, and awesome tanks! I don't have much access to small plants and stuff, and my mom is very stubborn with tanks, and she won't even let me have a 20 long :-(. But I am treating the wood now, and the moss is fine. Will the SB be able to eat and survive mainly off the shrimp lets ands micro organisms, with some supplemental feeding from me, or will they even need extra feeding?
 
I have some experience keeping Badis. [ now called Dario dario] I have two females, as the male did not survive long. They certainly prefer live foods and there are a couple of other live foods that will provide variety, if you can get some.

One would be scuds, which is a nickname for a small FW crustacean, properly called amphipods, aka gammarus. They can survive nicely in a small tank and provide both food and hunting exercise for fish. They won't bother shrimp. They're detritivores, so they eat almost anything they find in the substrate and also really like algae.

You can buy a starter culture of them from Carolina Biologicals, or turn over rocks in local streams or rivers where fish live, and you may well find them there, for nothing. They're fast moving, doing a hop'n glide sort of motion along the bottom. Very slender viewed from above, as their legs are curled up underneath them. Varied colours, white to greys, bluish or greenish.

Microworms are another very small creature, but they have to be cultured. It's very easy, you need a small deli container, about two cup size, some oatmeal and baker's yeast. They live on the oatmeal, which should be mixed up very thick and stiff to begin with. They eat the yeast. Even yeast that is long past the expiry date will be perfectly fine for them. Mine seem to like dead yeast even better than the fresh stuff.

They crawl up the sides of the container when the population gets going and you just scrape off a tiny smear of them to put in the tank. Use a finger or a wood or plastic stick of some type. A tiny smear will have hundreds of worms. The nice thing is that they can survive for a week or so in the water, so fish and shrimp both will find them and eat them. If a few die, they're so small it usually does not cause water issues. Cultures to start with can often be purchased from other hobbyists. If you should end up with baby fish, microworms make a good food for fry once they get past the first few days.

Microworms don't smell bad unless they get mouldy. They tend to have a smell similar to sourdough, and usually it's not really noticeable except when you open the container. I keep a culture in my bedroom, and I wouldn't do that if I could smell it ! You should restart new cultures every few weeks to keep them fresh and have at least two, in case one does crash or becomes contaminated. I find feeding them generously with yeast not only increases the numbers of worms, but also helps prevent moulding. Sprinkle a thin layer of yeast over the entire layer of oatmeal every few days.

Make tiny air holes in the lid of the worm container, a small sewing needle or sewing pin makes about the right size hole. You don't want fruit flies to get it. If they do, you'll have to start a new culture. But if you happen to end up with fruit fly larvae, before you toss the culture, feed the larvae to the fish, they'll really like them.
 
Awesome FishFur! Do you feed your SB a lot, or do they live just fine on shrimp lets and other small animals? I am willing to get a worm culture, and the tank is ready and set up! Do Dario Dario like small pots? I could add some along with the drift wood to create many hiding spots,

Nils
 
They are not fussy about where they hide, so long as they can hide under something. I have rocks and small wood pieces piled so they have small caves underneath. They do come out now and then.

I feed microworm, California black worms on occasion, live brine shrimp on occasion. I'm probably going to take the shrimp out, because too many of the young ones are disappearing and I don't want to lose the whole colony. I plan to get scuds and put them in to substitute for the shrimp, as scuds are similar in size to young shrimp.

If I can get some whiteworms, I'd feed them too and I feed some fruit fly larvae, because I raise the wingless flies to feed other fish. I'm trying to culture springtails too, but they are strictly for surface feeders.. I'm hoping the Bettas will eat them.

The blackworms do have one minor issue. They often have a small type of leech living with them. They're harmless to fish and people, I'm not really sure what they live on, but I've found they like to attach themselves to the underside of the floating plants. That's a nuisance because there are no surface feeders in the Dario's tank, so they don't get consumed in there.

But my Bettas like the leeches, so when I find one, into a Betta tank it goes. In future I may skip feeding blackworms to this tank. They were mainly for the pygmy cories who share the tank, though I expect the Darios may have eaten some of them. Blackworms can live for a long time in a tank if they are not eaten, so no worries about water fouling.

If you put a lot of them in though, they can sometimes manage to become an established colony. Totally harmless, but they stick one end in the gravel and wave the rest of their body above gravel if they don't get consumed, and this doesn't look so great. Most bottom feeding fish eat them but if you overfeed, they'll miss some.

I try to feed very few at a time. I use the tip of a chopstick to gently lift two or three out of the container at a time. They're very soft and easy to damage, so you have to be careful handling them. Bettas chase them 'til they catch them, same as they do with the live brine shrimp. The Darios, well, I rarely see them eating so I'm not sure. But between them and the cories, most of the young shrimp are gone and I've only found one live blackworm in there, which I doubt would have lasted much longer. I'm hoping to get a decent number of scuds established in there, which will take care of all the bottom feeders in between the other things I give them.
 
Awesome!
It turns out the Marimo wood was not done with soaking, and now the tannis stained the water, again! So I have to siphon out the stained water and siphon new water into it. So frustrating! But I plan on feeding mainly shrimp lets and bloodworms, so I think they will be fine. So, any other suggestions on the SB?

Nils
 
Not much else to say about the fish. I'd like to find a male for my two girls, I keep an eye out for them.

If you want to hasten the leaching of tannins in your wood [ I think you mean Mopani wood, maybe, 'cause marimo is a moss ball ] try boiling it for a few hours, or soaking it in some bleach and water for a few days. If you bleach, rinse well and then soak with some water & extra dechlorinator before putting it back in the tank. Both will remove quite a lot of tannins, but not all of them. Wood can continue to leach for years, but with every water change it gets a bit less and a bit less than before. I even ran some small pieces through the dishwasher without detergent, but then, it's my dishwasher so I can get away with that sort of thing.
 
The tannins don't hurt anything. It's just colors the water.

Personally... bleach around anything going in my tank scares me, but that's me.

You can boil it, or just soak it in a bucket.

I don't mind tannins.


Smoke signals from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ok that's awesome! SO I can have shrimp and SB in there with tannis, and no problem? I heard it lowers PH. But it looks pretty cool when the water is a little dimmer! Will the tannis go away over time? Can I just add animals with the Tannis in there?

NILS
 
I have soaked and changed water with the Mopani wood for about 3 days, and the Tannis still leaked!
 
I have soaked chunks of Mopani for six months and they still leached a lot ! Patience helps, it is not a quick process.

Having grown up with a chemical engineer Dad, I got used to bleach early. I'm very careful with it, and I don't use it when I don't need it.. but I don't worry about it too much either. Bleach degrades into salt and chlorine gas, which is highly volatile. So if you rinse well and let an item dry, there isn't going to be any chlorine left in it or on it. Using dechlorinator is nice insurance, especially if you don't want to wait for something to dry out.

Not trying to convince anyone to use it if they don't want to, but it's not as dangerous as it's made out to be either. Common sense and a bit of care is all that's needed.
 
Thanks, but I am going to stay away from chemicals. I am going to stick with traditional ways. Will the tannis harm the fish or shrimp in anyway?

Nils
 
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