12L Micro Tank

[Mamashack]

No worries Zik, it's all interesting reading.
Great pics btw! Remind me, is it the 88L tank?

 

[Zikofski]

awesome and yes it is my 88L (23G)

 

[Mamashack]

Have finally managed to get the tank temperature to something closer to the temp zone reasonable for the shrimp. 
It got to almost 29 a couple of days ago, but have taken the plastic lid off altogether leaving just the craft mesh to allow evaporation, turned the light off for the last couple of days (even tho it's LED and was cool enough to touch) and have had a fan blowing air over an ice pack towards the tank (stopped my son from using the oven or hob - haha!!) When it was really high I even added ice-cubes made from dechlorinated water tho wasn't sure if a fluctuating temperature was worse than being hot all the time.
Anyway have got it down to the low 25s today for the first time! 
Am hoping the weather forecast for a cooler weekend is correct and can get it down nearer to the 23 that fm recommended.
I reckon I'll feel more comfortable too! lol

 

[Zikofski]

well i hope so, i bought some more fish today but my tank has hit an all new record high 29.3c i was starting to get worries i am so surprised my fish and shrimp can handle this heat i remember killing my angels and RLTB's in my old 330L tank because the temp went to 29c but on another side note i thought i would let people know, i am ordering my Blue shrimp from MA in Leed's (leeds south one) so if anyone wants to see high grade blue shrimp that live near Leeds can see them in a couple of week time as my Led driver arrived today and i will be scaping my new tank tomorrow  
 
but yes colder weather PLEASE how are your plants mama? any more pics to show  

 

[daizeUK]

That's one of the reasons I haven't bought any shrimp yet Mama - temp is around 27 degrees so I'm a bit concerned it's not good for shrimp and I can't be faffed with worrying about maintaining temperature right now.  Sounds like you're doing all the right things though!

 

[Mamashack]

Have to admit I did panic when it got that high, but the 2 I see regularly seem to be ok with it. 
Interesting about MA in Wakefield, Zik! Which ones are they? Are they getting a few spares in or just the ones for your order?Have you got any pictures of the ones you'll be getting from them? It's just a few miles up the M1 for me so I might give them a bell.
I thought the vallis tortifolia might suffer from lack of additional light, but if anything it seems to be thriving and has thrown out a sucker with roots and shoots.
Can't say I blame you for waiting, daize, it's been a bit worrying at times to say the least.
 
I did notice yesterday that 1 of the shrimp was a powder blue rather than the usual turquoise blue and wondered if it was due to the astaxanthin pellet I tried a bit back. May try another one and see what happens. The 2 that seem to regularly show themselves do seem to be growing tho and are looking quite good. Still not sure of the genders yet but I guess only time will tell.

Will try to get a picture of the powder blue one when it's a bit cooler and I can put the tank light back on.

 

[Zikofski]

hmm interesting maybe they colour in more as it gets older, but i know from fish just one feeding of food won't help you may need to try that food for a month or so and then see if that works?
 
and i am not sure tbh with these shrimp but yes the one in wakefield is the lfs i go to and bought all my fish so far and I'm very impressed with them so far 10 out of 10 stars for me

but i won't be calling them for a couple of weeks but i will let you know when i do order them in, i ask about them being the highest grade of blue they can get, so i presume they will be the fantasy blue shrimp, but next time i pop in in 2 weeks i may ask them for more details and to order them but he said they are expensive and i guess they won't stock more

but if u want some too maybe we can buy together? need to wait for my new tank to cycle, for 2 to 4 weeks and that should be enough time for the shrimp to arrive 
 
but if u are interested n having a look, they do have some lovely Black and white crystal shrimp, yellow shrimp normal cherries and a few others  

 

[Mamashack]

Thanks, Zik! I might pop over to MA this weekend to have a look and chat. Did you speak to anyone in particular? Whisper how much they are going to be - no-one else will notice! lol

 

[Zikofski]

haha no i didn't actually altho i mentioned that site u told me with them for £12 and they guy there did say ye sounds about right, so maybe i can them for same price or even 5 for £10 each instead of 12 maybe who knows, but ye i can't remember his name but from my experience there is only 2 people who work there a guy and a girl, so i spoke with the guy, if u say u spoke to the me who cleaned them out of CPD"s then he will know who i am haha

 

[Mamashack]

Lol ok I'll do that!
The Shrimpland site says theirs are var. Fantasy Blue (altho it also says in the description they are blue velvet/ dream blue - go figure! They are £6 each (then 10% new customer discount at the moment still)

 

[Zikofski]

yea i think thats a definite type error there, il be surprised if MA and sharn website have them for around £12 and shrimp land at £6 that price difference is to much for a high grade and i think is more medium grade tbh

 

[Mamashack]

You are probably right and having had one experience with misleading advertising. I don't want to risk that again! Altho I do

  the ones I have - the only problem is they just blend in with the background! lol

 

[Zikofski]

haha yea i know what u mean, I'm frustrated with the CPD's that i bought if i knew they would hide away i would never have bought them

 

[Mamashack]

Well I'll pop into MA on Sunday if I get chance and have a natter with them and see what they say.

 

[Mamashack]

The MA trip was a bit disappointing tho that could have been because it was a Sunday afternoon and the place was heaving with families buying stuff. They had the crystal reds and blacks, red cherries, yellows, greens and orange sakura. Waited until they'd served everyone and then asked about acquiring dark blue shrimp. They said they'd never heard of blue fantasy shrimp, didn't think they could get any and if they did they'd be £20-£40. I think they were just trying to get rid of someone who wasn't actually purchasing tbh even when I mentioned that someone had already spoken to them about ordering some previously. They were 2 young lads so the one Zik spoke to was probably not there. 
Have finally managed to get the temperature down to 23.3⁰C altho that will probably increase a bit as the day goes on. It feels fresher outside but still a bit warm inside. Haven't seen any shrimp for days, but it was hard enough to spot them with the light on so I'm not surprised I can't see them with the light off.
Plants are still looking ok so far [Have lost most of the salvinia in the 60L as I didn't think to take it out til it was too late. Have retrieved what I can and stuck it in a dish on the windowsill, but it's not looking good at the moment.]