sKindy's 5g Fluval Chi Shrimp tank

[skindy]

Thanks to you all, I decided it was high time I had a shrimp tank of my own! It also didn't help that I found a Fluval Chi 5g on Craigslist for only $35. So, I picked it up, moved some plants over from my main tank, and picked up the last two RCS from my LFS.

Latest Shot: 03.03.12

Tank: Fluval Chi 5 gallon
Filter: OEM
Lighting: OEM
Heater: Elite Submersible Preset Heater Mini, 50-Watt
Substrate: Floramax
Flora:

• Java Fern
• Windelov Java Fern
• Willow Moss
• Marimo ball (Cladophora aegagropila)
• Subwassertang

Fauna:

• 4 RCS - Bubba, Gump, Tempura, Big Red
• Uncounted RCS babies
• 1 CRS - Hermes
• A couple of hitchhiking snails ...

Hardscape: River rocks and Manzanita branch

Any suggestions, comments, or advice is welcomed! I recently received some really beautiful plants from OTV (you're awesome) so I am trying to split them between my two tanks. I placed the L. Aromatica in here because I love it's colors. I hope they stay and I hope it gets enough light! What I really want to do is to try and create a moss tree. We'll see, I'll have to scour for manzanita branches and then I'll have to decide whether or not I have the patience to tie the moss down.

My two RCS seem to be pretty happy. I love watching them graze and swim around! One is definitely bigger than the other - is this how you would generally sex them?

Here is a shot on the smaller one. If you look in the background there is a long red blur with a little circular black blur. That's the bigger one just chillin' on the plants!

[synthorange]

Can you see that long wedge of yellow inside that shrimp? That's the 'saddle', ovaries for the female shrimp. Given the colour on the other shrimp, I'd bet that one is also female. Usually, cherry males are thinner and less colourful than the females, and wont have saddles.

That's also SOME BARGAIN you got on that Chi. Nice deal!

[skindy]

Originally Posted by synthorange

Can you see that long wedge of yellow inside that shrimp? That's the 'saddle', ovaries for the female shrimp. Given the colour on the other shrimp, I'd bet that one is also female. Usually, cherry males are thinner and less colourful than the females, and wont have saddles.

That's also SOME BARGAIN you got on that Chi. Nice deal!

Oooh, yeah, the other one has a long yellow wedge inside of it too so you're probably right. I have two females! Guess I'll need to find some males, hah! I was so happy I found a Chi on Craigslist though a bit wary of where the meet-up was (a Starbucks in the shady part of downtown LA). I sent my boyfriend instead !

[madness]

Originally Posted by skindy

Oooh, yeah, the other one has a long yellow wedge inside of it too so you're probably right. I have two females! Guess I'll need to find some males, hah! I was so happy I found a Chi on Craigslist though a bit wary of where the meet-up was (a Starbucks in the shady part of downtown LA). I sent my boyfriend instead !

Better safe than sorry.

There are plenty of people in the swap n shop offering cherry shrimp for pretty good prices and there should be plenty of local fish stores in LA that have them.

[tenzero1]

Cant tell if you planted your ferns in the substrate or if they are on a rock or something but you don't want to bury the rhizomes they like light!

[skindy]

Originally Posted by tenzero1

Cant tell if you planted your ferns in the substrate or if they are on a rock or something but you don't want to bury the rhizomes they like light!

They're attached to rocks

[skindy]

Finally, I'm getting around to updating this thing! So, over the weekend I finally was able to track down some Manzanita branches at the Los Angeles Flower Market. It's a beautiful section of downtown LA that everyone should check out when/if they visit. A lot of the florists and flower shops sell untreated Manzanita trees and branches in both natural and sandblasted. They also sell a lot of driftwood as well! The reason being is because both manzanita branches and driftwood are popular in wedding centerpieces!

I wanted a small little branch since my goal was to make a moss tree that kind of resembled a weeping willow tree. I bought some willow moss from mzjinkzd a week or two ago and just needed a branch. The prices for the branches range from $5/branch to $18/tree. I picked up a medium-sized branch and had the florist cut parts of it off into tiny mini-branches so that I could decide which one to use later.

The rest of the story comes with pictures!

This was one whole branch that I had cut into smaller branches. I used the third piece in the picture!


Wrapping moss and tying it down with green-colored thread after boiling it for about 30 minutes (notice the pot). It leeched a little bit of color but not too much.




Finally finished tying the moss down. I used a golf-ball sized amount of willow moss for this tree. It doesn't have the "weeping willow" look yet but I'm hoping it will grow out!




I also went ahead and did a 75% water change. I haven't changed the water in a few weeks (oops, I really should stop being so lazy) with the exception of just topping off the water. I also re-scaped and took some plants out.

I still need to reposition a few things and find some suction cups for the air stone instead of just hanging it like that :P




The shrimpies love this little tree. They like swimming back and forth and climbing on it upside down. Pretty cute, really!


Last but not least a shot of Tempura and her eggs! I say she has about a week left, give or take. This was the only shot I could get of her while standing still since she was zooming around so much.



That's pretty much about it for now! Here's to hoping the tree grows the way I'd like it to and hoping the thread doesn't dissolve before the moss attaches itself somehow. I'm going to be using the biggest piece of the branch for my 10g (and tying some moss and anubias to it). The other two pieces, I'm not sure. Maybe a RAOK for each one

[daphilster08]

Awesome little tank! Nice work with the tree too!

[skindy]

Originally Posted by daphilster08

Awesome little tank! Nice work with the tree too!

Thanks! I really hope the moss tree grows out and doesn't just look like ... that, haha :P

[skindy]

Since my last update:

• Tempura, my berried female, has given birth!
• I added a little "shrimp cave" the day before she gave birth so she and the babies could feel safe.
• I've added another moss tree made out of a itty bitty manzanita branch and some subwassertang I ordered from a TPT member.
• I'm considering a black background for the tank.

Before the black background and close-up of the willow tree:


The pink little cave is my little shrimp cave. It's made from Sculpey Premo clay that I made a month ago. I've been doing a lot of research on using Sculpey and it seems that a lot of hobbyists use it to make their own structures without any problems. Before placing it in the shrimp tank it has been in my 10g with my two goldfish. Water params stayed the same and the goldfish are still alive. When the Sculpey is cured it's a form of PVC. I only had pink/magenta laying around at the time, hence the color. The babies LOVE this thing. They're constantly climbing all over it and inside of it.

Towards the front in the lower right-hand corner is my little subwassertang tree. I ordered a golf-ball sized but there was a slight mishap so thats all I could save. Hopefully it can grow!

As for my main tree, I think there is some slight growth? I can't tell. I'll need to remember to take at least one picture from the same angle over and over.


Fuzzy picture of the tank with the black background:


Shrimp babies! You can kind of see three of them here! Total, I've only counted about 11 so far.



With the broken pieces of subwassertang I decided to throw them into a tiny jar with a tiny piece of manzanita to see if it would grow ... somehow. This is a repurposed spice jar from Whole Foods:

[shrimpnmoss]

Nice Trees!