Brian's(Old Scales)Rescape Journal "Yikes!"

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OS, nice FTS update. I wonder why the glosso is getting leggy on you.

Anyways, crystal red shrimp are one of the most sensitive shrimp in the hobby. Go with one of the Neocaridina varieties (i.e.. yellow, pumpkin, PFR, rili, snowball, carbon, or blue jelly). Much more hardy and prolific. If you want to go Caridina sp., Tangerine Tigers are more hardy than CRS. Just note, co2 and shrimp don't mix well. It's possible but has to be kept at a delicate balance.

Then there's TDS, KH/GH, and pH to watch out for.
 
I knew the tank would pop after the trim! I have Red Cherry Shrimp in my tank. I use diy co2 and my shrimp breed like crazy. Maybe we can trade shrimps for plants on your next trim?

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They re about one inch. Mine have reproduced but not since I moved everything from the 29g Bowfront into the 55g. I just dose lower on the glut. I ve had them for a long time but I don t use CO2.
 
Thank you guys for the GREAT information about shrimp. I'll get only about six of the hardier, larger type and see how they fare in my tank conditions. If they do well, I'll then get more. I think it would be cool watching them going all through the Glosso. OS.
 
I'd go for amano shrimp if you don't mind them not breeding. Super hardy, and some of the best cleaners. Plus, they're translucent and won't draw as much attention from your larger fish, so they'll be less likely to be nipped at. Sometimes you can find them on aqua bid. I believe I got 5 for like $30 shipped from a seller on there. However I found an LFS that sells them for $1.98, so I get them from there now. If you're looking to have some breeding action going on, I'd just do some cherry shrimp. They'll be you next hardiest shrimp besides Amanos. You don't need to spend a ton on any fancy species to enjoy shrimp. Cherries are cheap, and just as fun to watch.
 
A little trick to keeping shrimp with CO2, grind up cuttlebone, or just throw a small piece in the tank weekly. Supposedly the CO2 lowers pH (which we do know happens), which tends to make their exoskeleton softer, making them more susceptible to injury/illness. The cuttlebone adds calcium which strengthens the exoskeleton.

Now, how true that is I can't really say, that's only what I can remember from an article I read a few years ago. I do know I've always added cuttlebone to my shrimp tanks and have had success. My amanos were doing great in my 40 with pressurized CO2 with use of cuttlebone until this batch of GBRs thought it was an all you can eat shrimp fest. So maybe it's worth a try for those of you with CO2 and shrimp, or maybe use the Fluval Shrimp Mineral additives, which I also use.
 
Thanks Bill! My LFS is supposed to get some Amanos in next week. By your advice I'll go with them for this first try.

Dragon, because of my 3 dKH water with CO2 I have to add a tsp of baking soda after each WC. It probably isn't enough calcium for shrimp. I'll get a cuttlebone while I'm at the LFS getting the shrimp. Thanks for the tip! I'll look for and read the info on the Fluval Shrimp Minerals but I'm pretty sure this one horse town doesn't stock it. Take care all. Brian(OS)
 
Week 9 update

Hi all!
I'm not posting a pic this week for two reasons. First, tank looks exactly the same as last week. Second is I have the tank on a 3 day dark out. Not total black, just no CO2 & no lights. I'm going to see how much it knocks out the green dust algae that's getting on the glass and driftwood. I've got the NO3 & PO4 and CO2 at the levels the "experts" say keep it away. Lights were at 6 hrs. So I hope this will knock the GDA down enough I can stay ahead of it. I'm still dosing 20ml of glut daily to help fight the algae and I even cheated and dosed with API Algaefix at the start of the dark out. We'll see how it goes.
I guess when you have a full, thick Dutch scape like I had before, just the sheer mass of plants makes fighting the algae easier. Just my theory, not really based on any fact. lol. The two tiny ghost shrimp I got have disappeared. I think I saw my angelfish with shrimp juice on its lips. Darn! I'll have to get shrimp at least a full inch long next time.
Take care all, hope you and your fishys are all doing well. Brian(OS)
 
Spot treating with h2o2 will also help. Sometimes these things just need to run their course. The stones in my little 10g where covered in green, then all of a sudden, it vanished over a short amount of time. Weird. The tank also got overrun by those little mini rams horn snails, so I think they munched on it all... Haha. Nerite snails will also help.
 
Hi Bill,
I did take the DW out very carefully so as to not disturb the Fissedens on it and sprayed the part with GDA with H2O2 and let it sit 10 min. The GSA on the inside glass would be hard to spot treat as it's all across the glass. Easy to clean off the glass. Strange but none of it is on the plants. I ruled out Nerites after they turned my last DW into sesame seed buns with there eggs. Just ruined it. There is no other type of algae in the tank just this light green layer of "dust" on the DW and glass. Makes me want another Guiness. lol. OS.
 
29g standard tank. No natural daylight at all. I feed once a day and change 60% every 7th day religiously. ph=6.8 before CO2, 6.6 after. NO3= 10ppm 1st day to 30ppm 7th day. PO4= dose to 1ppm first day to 3 ppm 7th day. KH=4, GH=6, Ammo=0, NO2=0, Temp=78F. Dose 10ml straight glut daily. 3ml Iron+Mg once after each WC. Dose 1/8th tsp dry K once after each WC. Daily quad T5HO Aquaticlife on six hours daily. Co2 on 1 hr before lights on, off 1 hr before lights off. Goes to true green by 2 hrs of CO2 start.

?????????absolutely no algae before going to Eco fine grade and new scape with a lot less plants than before. OS.
 
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I've also seen it recommended to let the GDA do it's thing for about 3 weeks without cleaning it, then go nuts and clean it of all surfaces and do a large water change. Maybe that's why it disappeared in my 10g. I didn't mind how it looked on the stones, so I just left it.
 
LOL Yeah, I wanted some on the DW so it would look more natural and old. I guess I got my wish too good. Rivercats told me that plants store energy during the light period and grow mostly during the night period. She's right! You should see how much my plants have grown during this 24hrs of dark so far. Weird! OS.
 
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