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  1. basil

    My Taiwanese shadow bees and F1

    Some good blue shadows in there Vic and the hybrids look real nice too!
  2. basil

    What is killing my shrimps?

    Thats the problem with tap, its impossible to guarantee any kind of stability for any length of time. Soon enough something will change or get added to supply without you ever knowing and some of these changes can prove fatal for shrimp. I've found the only way to maintain consistent water for...
  3. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Not been on here for a while sorry, but I'll drop some update shots on later :)
  4. basil

    Berried wine red!!!!

    Well done Lindy! Looks like you got some lovely shrimp coming through :)
  5. basil

    Crystal black shrimp?

    You'd probably use half a pack of the bee max at setup stage and a couple of teaspoons of mont. Powder. Hobbyshrimp certainly stock the beemax and I think they also do the mont. Powder. If you are struggling to find montmoronillite powder it's deffo on eBay. Well worth paying attention to the...
  6. basil

    Crystal black shrimp?

    This article on setting up a shrimp tanks is excellent and if you follow this step by step, you won't go wrong:- Setting up a Shrimp Tank | Shrimp Keeping The same site also has a summary of the most popular soils along with a breif review. It's an impartial site, so nobody is trying to sell...
  7. basil

    Crystal black shrimp?

    Same colour though! :p
  8. basil

    Crystal black shrimp?

    A decent active substrate will certainly buffer your water to the desired ph level of below 7 and ideal of 6-6.5 for cbs. I'd also strongly advise you do go down the route of RO as this will allow you much more control over what you are adding back into your tank. Sounds like your tank is...
  9. basil

    CRS berried...

    How's your O2? Are you able to get a picture of the tank posted? I've found that an airstone or other that agitates the water surface and improves oxygen exchange solves a multitude of shrimpy issues including improved breeding and shrimplet survival.
  10. basil

    CRS berried...

    Have you got any idea of how long the berried female is carrying her eggs? Is she giving birth or are the eggs being dropped?
  11. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    A few young shadows coming along nicely. These are approx 8 weeks old now.
  12. basil

    Filter Inlet - Shrimp

    I'm using tights at the moment on my inlet. I find them ok for a couple of days but they seem to clog and reduce flow, so I regularly trying to clean the muck off. Bit of a pain in the ass really, so am thinking about a proper mesh guard in the hope that the slightly larger holes will help to...
  13. basil

    Help picking between these cameras

    Whatever you settle on Alastair, photgraphy is fascinating and I've found that especially with shrimp it enables you to enjoy the detail that you'd probably never appreciate with the naked eye. I've always enjoyed taking pictures of my tanks and shrimp, but found myself getting increasingly...
  14. basil

    Aquarium Photography

    Whatever you settle on, photgraphy is fascinating and I've found that especially with shrimp it enables you to enjoy the detail that you'd probably never appreciate with the naked eye. I've always enjoyed taking pictures of my tanks and shrimp, but found myself getting increasingly frustrated...
  15. basil

    Show us your shrimp tank 2013

    Another 6 months Ali, you'll be planning more tanks......! :)
  16. basil

    Do I need to boil alder cones?

    I tend to pop in a seive and pour boiling water over them. More to sterlilize them really. Boiling in a pan tends to remove the tannins and if done for too long, they will leach out almost completely. I use 3-4 cones for 50l. They do stain the water a little but this goes after a couple of days.
  17. basil

    CRS new tank

    Rolymo - Pelia is another that does well low tech. I don't use any ferts or co2 either and it does just fine, along with my other neglected mosses :)
  18. basil

    which kind of shrimp is this?

    I saw an image elsewhere recently of another shrimp with the same problem. I think the green bits may be a fungal infection sorry. :(
  19. basil

    CRS new tank

    Always used Mosura Mineral plus without any issues. More recently switched to Salty Shrimp. It's in crystal form so needs dissolving before you can add, whereas the Mosura is a liquid so maybe slightly more convenient for dosing. I've had good results with both brands though, but I do like the...
  20. basil

    George's "Crystal Palace" - now with HD video

    What a great thread. Topped off with the HD vid.....really enjoyed that. Your shrimp seem to be doing their mating dance in each clip too, must be happy! :)
  21. basil

    Which Substrate do you use for RCS?

    I have a 25kg bag of black quartz sand if anyone wants it. Free if you can collect and perfect for RCS! :)
  22. basil

    CRS and Ei Dosing (copper) ?

    Thanks Nath - a sensible answer indeed and bob on! :) "Move on please........nothing to see hear!"
  23. basil

    What is the best baby shrimp / shrimplet food?

    Oh, and the Benibachi baby food is excellent Rolymo. You won't go far wrong with that..........if your at the Hobbyshrimp shop, get yourself some leaves whilst your there. Catappa and Banana are a very good start ;)
  24. basil

    What is the best baby shrimp / shrimplet food?

    Biofilm is key for new born baby shrimp. So, as bogwood has already mentioned a nicely mature tank with mosses and especially leaf litter is a great way to improve survival rates. Berried shrimp will give birth where the highest level of biofilm in the tank is, no doubt to give the babies the...
  25. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Just over a month old this little-un, but I'm hopeful it's going to grow up just like dad on the other image :)
  26. basil

    CRS and Ei Dosing (copper) ?

    Whilst I agree that the relatively small amounts of copper in ferts is not generally a problem, I think that it's worth holding some respect for the fact that it is highly toxic to shrimp and other inverts at higher levels. It's just a matter of understanding what that threshold of tolerance is...
  27. basil

    Oats?

    Probably best to leave whole, then you can remove any uneaten leftovers easily without the worry about fouling the water.
  28. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    That's right, in the first f1 offspring from a shadow x PRL you get 100% hybrid and no shadow. They look just like cbs / crs. It's only when you breed these F1 hybrids that the shadow babies appear :)
  29. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Still 5 of these f1 PRL / shadow hybrids for sale btw - see for sale / swap section if interested :)
  30. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Hi Lindy - PRL x panda = F1 hybrid but no panda in the first batch. However they do carry the panda gene. When those f1 breed you will get some panda in the offspring. I crossed PRL x panda as I wanted to try and carry over some of the PRL markings into my Shadow (Taiwan bees). Rather than just...
  31. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Grubs up!
  32. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    A couple of shadow panda offspring, growing up nicely now and hopefully they will make it to adulthood:- Also had some lovely hino marked shadow babies, but they won't pose for the camera!
  33. basil

    Is there an optimum lights on period for CRS Shrimp ?

    Sounds perfect Did :)
  34. basil

    What size shrimp tank?

    I've found that tanks with lower stocking density breed quicker. I introduced half a dozen mature PRL and shadow shrimp to 50L tank about 6 months ago, and I now have over 100. The females get berried, give birth and are berried again normally within 1-2 weeks. As the population increases...
  35. basil

    Hydra removal

    Or you could also use a no Planaria treatment. Made from betal nut and made with shrimp keepers in mind too :)
  36. basil

    Is there an optimum lights on period for CRS Shrimp ?

    I know all tanks are different, but for me I've found best results for breeding and shrimplet survival rates come from the tanks that have plenty of surface agitation. Most of my tanks have a twice oversized sponge filter as well as a good airstone. But when you think that most shrimps natural...
  37. basil

    Leech?

    Good to have I think as they help to eat uneaten food that finds it's way into the substrate. :)
  38. basil

    Cardinal shrimp/Sulawesi biotope

    Drop madlan on the forum a note. He's very experienced in keeping / breeding Sulawesi :)
  39. basil

    Is there an optimum lights on period for CRS Shrimp ?

    It's the benibachi super bacteria bee mix. The one in a metallic red pack. Hobby Shrimp sells that one :)
  40. basil

    Is there an optimum lights on period for CRS Shrimp ?

    Yeah, I've used Genchem also with good results too. How are your shrimp Lindy? :)
  41. basil

    Is there an optimum lights on period for CRS Shrimp ?

    In low ph the good bacteria struggles to colonise, so a helping hand with Bacter products is very useful. As Nath says, helps with water quality and improves shrimplet survival. It's good stuff and I'd thoroughly recommend getting some. Few brands out there doing the same thing, but I also like...
  42. basil

    Is there an optimum lights on period for CRS Shrimp ?

    Maybe worth feeding a Bacter type product just to help maintain good bacteria levels.
  43. basil

    What Autumn stuff can I add to my shrimp tank

    I can't figure out how to upload the document sorry. Will try to have another crack over the weekend. :)
  44. basil

    Is there an optimum lights on period for CRS Shrimp ?

    My best performing shrimp tanks seem to be the ones that have the most brown algae growth on the glass. Granted, not pretty to look at but if you can farm algae, then you'll find the shrimp thrive and baby survival will be much better :)
  45. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Dane is very much still around, probably just mad busy shipping out shrimp! Drop him an email I'm sure he'd be happy to give some advice on which PRL to try. Some lines are famous for their intense white, others for their bright red bands. Then you move into leg colour, clean breaks between red...
  46. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    A slightly better angle of the same shrimp:-
  47. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Well, I got mine from Dane @ Hobbyshrimp. I know he's a fanantical hobbiest, that's a bit OCD on quality so it was an easy choice for me! This is my favourite PRL male at the moment:- Ed from FWS also has some great PRL too :)
  48. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Some PRL babies from the shrimp introduced earlier in the year. They are breeding quite well, and the tank is now full of juv and also baby shrimp. Very pleased with the results from these so far. Shadow update to follow on seperate post..........
  49. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    No problem Nath - I'll put some pics up tomorrow [nipping out for a shandy just now!] The hybrids look just like little crs / cbs. I made sure they came from good parents though so they are really nicely marked, and they are F1 generation so should get good percentage of shadows from any...
  50. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Yeah, probably! I have far too many PRL / kk hybrids right now.....probably in the region of 100 which is a few more than I need for my little breeding experiments right now :)
  51. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Hi Nath - sorry not been on for a while. That's the downside to having a multiple tank set up.......maintenance! I'll get some updates posted at the weekend......lots of babies knocking around just now :)
  52. basil

    What Autumn stuff can I add to my shrimp tank

    When selecting leaves make sure that:- They are harvested away from towns, roads etc otherwise they may have a layer of pollutants. Also avoid selecting from areas close to farmers fields as they may have pesticide on. Make sure that they are naturally fallen ie fully depleted from...
  53. basil

    blue tiger shrimp orange eyed

    I hear they do best in slightly higher ph range than crs. Although they will tolerate below 7, they prefer above 7. Certainly no need for an active substrate in order to keep ph down. How's the crs going? :)
  54. basil

    blue tiger shrimp orange eyed

    Have a word with madlan. He breeds some real high quality blue tigers ;)
  55. basil

    Giving Up on Shrimp (or maybe not?)

    Good to hear that! Keep at em :)
  56. basil

    CRS FEEDING TIME

    Great to see a strong colony of home bred shrimp. How long have you been breeding them?
  57. basil

    CRS FEEDING TIME

    Thanks for sharing - some lovely shrimp there! :)
  58. basil

    Breeding Sakuras?

    As Miranda has pointed out, they should mostly be the same. But you will occasionally get some not so well coloured, whilst others may even be better than the parents. That's why you occasionally see people selling off Sakura cull grades. You can bet your wallet that they kept back the good ones...
  59. basil

    eSHa Gastropex - shrimp safe?

    Can I share this info Tim?
  60. basil

    eSHa Gastropex - shrimp safe?

    Hmm, odd. Did you use full dose?
  61. basil

    What do I need for my first Shrimp Tank

    This site is very good, having everything you need from tank to shrimp. They have the dennerle tanks too :) Dennerle Scapers Tank Complete | Hobby Shrimp
  62. basil

    eSHa Gastropex - shrimp safe?

    No planaria will also kill snails whilst leaving shrimp. Just make sure you pick out the dead snails afterwards to prevent fouling the water.
  63. basil

    What do I need for my first Shrimp Tank

    Get an airstone in there. Quite often overlooked, and took me a while to latch onto this, but I wouldn't have a shrimp tank without one now. Just make sure you pick a quiet air pump. I like Eheim and Tetratec as they are both nice and quiet. Shrimps natural environment is quite often shallow...
  64. basil

    Online Shrimp Stores

    What sort of shrimp are you leaning towards? :)
  65. basil

    Breeders and Keepers Vol.1

    Volume 2 out in September. Includes a UK breeder too! Should be great :)
  66. basil

    Absolute shrimp novice seeking advice.

    Oh and make sure you get the shrimp from a reputable seller. I wont name and shame any on here, but there are a handful of individuals offering cheap imported shrimp that will arrive into your tank with problems. Freshwater Shrimp on here tends to breed most of their own, so are a good starting...
  67. basil

    What shrimp can I get next?

    Rolymo, you are quite right about nano's, they can turn difficult very quickly. Whilst shrimp nano's might be 'easy' in terms of water changes and cleaning, remember that the smaller volumes of water can change quickly. They are quickly effected my air temperature changes as well as other water...
  68. basil

    Absolute shrimp novice seeking advice.

    If you want to get the best from your shrimp and see lots of them it's best to avoid housing with fish and I'm afraid there are not many exceptions to that. Without fish, shrimp will feed, breed and babies grow much better. Why not try a shrimp only tank? Imagine.....low tech moss, roots...
  69. basil

    Deleted thread

    It does that too - starts to run dry and makes scary gurgling noises in the middle of the night! Thought we had a badger in the dining room in the dead of the night the first time it happened! lol The power head does gets hot though, to the point where it keeps the tank at about 27-28 degrees...
  70. basil

    Deleted thread

    It's quite easy to do actually Justis.:rolleyes: The problem comes with the powerhead overheating as it has to work harder to pull the water through the sponge. I tried the same and contrary to Justis' advice I found the fitting very simple. Problem for me came with the heat produced from the...
  71. basil

    CRs and water temps?

    Hi Lindy - interesting! How are the berried shrimp, still carrying? Mike
  72. basil

    Eggs dropped

    We didn't use an airline, but some gentle water movement and increased o2 has to be good you'd think. Trouble is, there's so little info on this subject it's hard to sat whats right or wrong. We just went with a few strands of moss and daily water change using water from the tank they came from...
  73. basil

    Eggs dropped

    If you leave the eggs in the tank, the other shrimps will probably eat them. They are like little protein sweets! You could take them out and pop them into a small plastic tub with some tank water in. Then float in the same tank, changing the water in the tub each day [with more tank water]...
  74. basil

    Eggs dropped

    I wouldn't worry too much, it could simply be the shrimps first batch of eggs. As long as they are not dying, are moulting and eating ok I'd say bear with them :) If they are getting berried in the first place it would suggest you are doing something right! Good luck.
  75. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    A few shots of the shrimp stocked into the new rack. Planning rack 2 for the Autumn....... PRL King Kong / Panda Blue Bolts Some berried shrimp too, so looking forward to seeing how the young get on in the new tanks. Cheers, Mike.
  76. basil

    CRS photos, including babies

    Fantastic - great shots too. They look like nice grade shrimp too :)
  77. basil

    Breeders and Keepers Vol.1

    It's a great read - cover to cover articles / interviews and worth every penny! Trouble is it makes you realise how far behind we are with the rest of Europe in the shrimp world. Some really great shrimp out there to be had :)
  78. basil

    What other novel fresh foods do you feed your shrimp?

    Hi Rick, One of the sponsors Aquarium Plant Food on here stocks them, as does Hobby Shrimp to name a couple:- Tantora Mulberry Leaves | Hobby Shrimp Tantora - Shrimp Cheers Mike.
  79. basil

    Sulawesi shrimp experiences

    Have a word with Dane Frampton, I'm sure he would give you some great pointers / tips. :)
  80. basil

    Breeders and Keepers Vol.1

    Yup, got mine ordered. These will be popular I think :)
  81. basil

    Shrimp and Substrate Questions

    Yup, the 27l is the one for the crystals really. Need to make it shrimp friendly though. What filter have you got in there?
  82. basil

    Shrimp and Substrate Questions

    Jojo - are you able to stretch to a bigger tank? 18l is a tad on the wee size, which will make it hard for you to keep stable water parameters. Ideally 30l or more if possible?
  83. basil

    Shrimp and Substrate Questions

    RO is dead water, unless you add something back into it the shrimp will die. Do you have a commercial premises with shrimp stocked in this set up?
  84. basil

    Shrimp and Substrate Questions

    look no further than Ebi gold then. The only downside is its relatively short lifespan.
  85. basil

    Shrimp and Substrate Questions

    Just my own experience though, not the law!! :)
  86. basil

    Shrimp and Substrate Questions

    Ebi is great, I have it in all my bee tanks. The water is bang crystal clear from day 1 and it doesn't leach ammonia. My tap water is a tickle under 7 and it buffers my ph to a nudge over 6. Great for bees, but neo's don't like it. So I'd say, decide on what shrimp you want before choosing a...
  87. basil

    Shrimp and Substrate Questions

    The active shrimp soils buffer the ph to the preferred slightly acidic end of the ph scale, as well as gh/kh which makes them the soil of choice for some species such as crs / cbs bee. However, if you plan to keep shrimp that prefer the other end of the ph scale such as the neocardina sp such as...
  88. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Hi Lindy - yes, it's likely the same rock. There are a couple of brands available, but it's essentially the same Montmorillonite base mineral rock. Not to be confused with food / calcium blocks. How are your offspring coming along?
  89. basil

    Black Sand Substrate and Toxins?

    If it's unipack you'll be fine. Mine was non branded but miss sold as inert black quartz gravel.
  90. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Old images now added back in. Sorry about that, I must have cleared out photobucket and not realised. :oops: Some new livestock in to play with. Some new King Kongs and a very special Green Hulk along with some very sweet PRL's. These were all from a UK breeder and have settled very well...
  91. basil

    Black Sand Substrate and Toxins?

    Dont put it in your tank! Not so long ago I wiped out 3 tanks of shrimp with the same stuff from ebay. Hard lesson indeed, but the dye that they use contains high levels of copper.
  92. basil

    Shrimp Rack build.....

    Sorry, I've not been that active on the forum recently and only just picked up on this. I'll get the images attached again, seems they were removed after I cleared up my photobucket library. Got some new shrimp in the rack to, so I'll get these added as well.
  93. basil

    Breeders and Keepers Vol.1

    He sure has some cracking shrimp. I received some PRL, King Kongs and a very special Green Hulk from Dane this week. This is one of the PRL's I received. A stunning shrimp and believe it or not, this wasn't the best I had from the ones I received, it just happened to be in a good place for a...
  94. basil

    Breeders and Keepers Vol.1

    Cool, sounds great :) I'll be subscribing for sure !
  95. basil

    Picked these up at LPS

    Wow, get back and buy the rest at that price......before they realise and stuff price up ! :)
  96. basil

    Strange behavior??

    Great news - glad to hear shrimp are happy and on the move again!
  97. basil

    When to add shrimp

    No problem, hope its of some use for you :) Regarding shrimp, I'd stick with your original plan of starting with some decent cherries. Whilst you could go down the amano route, they won't breed for you (only very few exemptions to this) and they don't provide the same colour impact that a nice...
  98. basil

    When to add shrimp

    Yeah, decent grade cherries are hard to beat imo! Take some time to find some that are nicely coloured if you can....scour the forums and ebay. I bought some from a genetics student recently that are very good. I'll try to get his contact details for you and send. Shrimp produce very little...
  99. basil

    I got wood!

    Hows comes you have to buy Manzi from USA? Is it hard to come buy in the UK?
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