Happy Birthday Talltree!

[TaurineLittle]

Happy Birthday TT! Loving the flames! <3 look as good as mine do
+1 for the Native shrimp! Would love to see how they go in an aquarium get keen TT

 

[TallTree01]

Happy Birthday TT! Loving the flames! <3 look as good as mine do
+1 for the Native shrimp! Would love to see how they go in an aquarium get keen TT

Thanks!

I'm almost 1 hundred percent on the shrimp now.

I've got a step by step photos on p-bucket but rather than spending half an hour posting up the IMGs, I'll guide you to the folder with the pictures in it.

 

[TallTree01]

The sand is marine sand I got from the LFS, I'm gonna get the plants, fish and stuff online. There was no point paying for shipping twice so I've got a driftwood with anubias in there so I have something to look at during the cycle. I'll put it in my main tank when the cycle is over and the real plants and shrimp have arrived.


http/s1359.photobucket.com/user/TallTree01/slideshow/Dymax%20iq5


You need to start at the back and go forward. The first few are doubles but that lets up after a while.


Finished result:

No responses to my questions?

I'll ask them again cos I'm annoying


1. Is cloudy ammonia the stuff I want?
2. How many shrimp could I fit in the tank? Ther will probably be 1-2 snails in there as well.
3. What would I feed the shrimp if I got any?
4. Any tips or anything else I should know?

 

[TallTree01]

A snail has come in on the Anubias. I hope he will be okay. He's cute.

 

[DreamertK]

I have no idea what Australian shrimp are like, so it's difficult for me to give any sort of advice. If they were rili/rcs then you could keep a small hoard. They are sensitive to NH4 so cycling before putting shrimps in is better.

 

[TaurineLittle]

Sorry I didnt see your questions before, but it looks good so far

 
*those hitch hiking snails are most likely either small ramshorn or pond/bladder snails. Note that they will quickly reproduce and can VERY quickly become a pest in your tank. And if you want to ever get rid of them its nearly impossible without going chemical, and with inverts alike, what will kill snails will most definitely kill shrimp. So think about if you really want them or not before you add the shrimp

 
I personally wouldn't use cloudy ammonia, as I don't know what it is that makes it go cloudy (the companies add soap that makes it cloudy and non-reactive with other chemicals so its able to be sold in supermarkets) and so it could potentially cause problems with fish and livestock after the tank has cycled.
For me to be able to find pure or 25% ammonia solution I had to go to a chemical store and fill out a form to tell them what I used it for. No where else in SA sold it in this form.
 
The number of shrimp depends on which native shrimp you were thinking of getting, we have quite a few different species in Aust and vary in sizes.
 
As for feeding the shrimp, mine aren't native or even wild shrimp but pretty sure they would eat very similar foods readily. I feed mine hikari algae wafers and spirulina pellets. If either of those fail to entice your shrimp try growing algae on your rock?

 
A few of the native Aust. shrimp have arms with pincers (similar to a crayfish but no were near as strong or beefy) so just beware if your catching them from the wild and note that they might fight with them.
Last but not least, remember to quarantine the shrimp before you add them to the main tank to make sure they don't bring in any nasties.  
Good luck

and remember we <3 pics

 

[ncguppy830]

the nano looks nice!

 

[TallTree01]

I I'll opt for a snail in cycle. Mwahahahahahaha!
I think I only have one? I'm guessing I'm wrong though xD.
The plan is the following,
- Make snails do the cycling for me along with fish food and all that jazz.
- kill snails
- create awesome setup.

I think I'll get 6-7 each of chameleon and red nosed shrimp and 1-2 native snails. The shrimp can control their own population. If it gets out of hand I'll put the babies in with my tetras as live flood.

Meanwhile, birthday over.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Poor snailies!
I *think* I talked to someone else about cloudy ammonia, and they showed me a thread on another site where the girl cycled with it and everything was fine, she just did lots of water changes and used carbon after the cycle was done.

 

[TaurineLittle]

Sounds like a promising start! I know I'm keen to watch the progress
 
Hope your Birthday was awesome 

 

[MrsEspoNYC7]

Sounds like I really good Evil Master Plan Bwahahahaha ! Lol sounds like your birthday was a good one, keep us updated with some pics

 

[Ch4rlie]

+1 for SHRIMPS!!! 
 
'appy Birfday! (sorry its late! 

 )
 
 
Would not use cloudy ammonia would rather use this, this is what i used for cycling my tank.
 
http/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Concentrated-Aquarium-Ammonia-for-Fishless-Cycling-Fish-Tank-Use-High-Strength-/181130184497?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item2a2c334731
 
Can get a couple of assassin snails to keep "pest" (IMHO not pests to me!) snails under control, I have two Assassins in my tank and still quite a lot of normal common snails so no problemo!
 
No idea how many shrimps you can fit in that 3 gal, but personally would be surprised if shrimps did not breed in your tank anyway!
 
I feed my shrimps Hikari Algae Wafers and I do also have Hikari Shrimp Cuisine as well just to give em a bit of variety.
 
Tips: hmm.....shrimps sometimes easily spooked with slamming doors or bumps to tank, makes females drop eggs sometimes.
 
Another tip, don't drink too much for your birthday!! Or probably am too late anyway

 ! 

 

[TallTree01]

Thanks for the replies! : D

The tank is going great. Sand looks SOO much better than the pebbles I have in the biorb. I think I might take some crypts out the biorb and plant them in the iq5 along with the anubias. Just temporary of course. I think the lighting is better in the li'l tank so maybe the crypts will have growth spurts. I'll put pics up when the crypts go in. I'll try to get a picture of the snail too. He's just so small I will probably just get a bleb.

There is this one thing that bothers me though, there's 3 filter chambers in the back of the tank see. ( all 3 have water xD ) The 1st hold media, the second holds nothing but a heater ( I put that there ) and the third holds the pump. The second and third filter keep making gurgling noises so I need to top up the water every 3-4 hours. Not so difficult though. I can just take water straight from the biorb and plop it in the 2-3nd/rd chamber.

Do you think there's a way to prevent this noise?
I could put the heater in the main tank where the lid will stop some of the evaporation?


I have a plan for the scape, I'll draw it up for you guys and post a pic. It's essentially this,
- there'll be duck weed in the back left hand corner
- branching Val on the back right hand corner
- driftwood piece in the middle ground with java moss ( I know it's not native but I can't find any native moss for sale. Really bummed about that ) running along it.
- hairgrass in small groups along the front.


Sounds good?

I'll draw a picture later today.

 

[ncguppy830]

uh uh your drawing a picture! jk im intrested to see your progress with hairgrass ive had trouble controlling mine.

 

[Gizaroo2]

Thanks for the replies! : D
The tank is going great. Sand looks SOO much better than the pebbles I have in the biorb. I think I might take some crypts out the biorb and plant them in the iq5 along with the anubias. Just temporary of course. I think the lighting is better in the li'l tank so maybe the crypts will have growth spurts. I'll put pics up when the crypts go in. I'll try to get a picture of the snail too. He's just so small I will probably just get a bleb.
There is this one thing that bothers me though, there's 3 filter chambers in the back of the tank see. ( all 3 have water xD ) The 1st hold media, the second holds nothing but a heater ( I put that there ) and the third holds the pump. The second and third filter keep making gurgling noises so I need to top up the water every 3-4 hours. Not so difficult though. I can just take water straight from the biorb and plop it in the 2-3nd/rd chamber.
Do you think there's a way to prevent this noise?
I could put the heater in the main tank where the lid will stop some of the evaporation?
I have a plan for the scape, I'll draw it up for you guys and post a pic. It's essentially this,
- there'll be duck weed in the back left hand corner
- branching Val on the back right hand corner
- driftwood piece in the middle ground with java moss ( I know it's not native but I can't find any native moss for sale. Really bummed about that ) running along it.
- hairgrass in small groups along the front.
Sounds good?
I'll draw a picture later today.

Is there a way to remove one of the dividers so you can drill some holes to allow for better water flow?