Cardinals and Redlines and Harlequins, OH MY! *how to import shrimp update*

[billb]

Don, Drinda, I am glad your plants arrived in good condition. Don it looks nice in your tank! I have a couple plants with the orange red "tips" that gave the plant it's name - they look cool.

Lopez316us - I am the worst photographer. I take 10 pic to get one decent one. I will try to get a whole tank shot tonight.

Here are a couple pics from last night:
my 10 gallon CRS tank - just got shrimplets!


A pic from the back side of the Sulawesi tank


Red-lines are really striking


Thanks

Bill

[billb]

Originally Posted by lopez_316us

Keep posting pictures please!!!

What about a full tank pic???

As promised....
A couple of tank pics


Right side


Left side


Middle


From the left


The exporter said that you will see cardinals in the "red" form and the "blue" form - blue looks more like maroon. They believed that the shrimp will change color based on temperature. My tank is at 80 degrees. I will have to see if they do change.


Closer view of the "red" form


Yellow cheeks also show two color forms


Last one - took this shot through my magnifying glass! ( I have 10 other blurry shots because I couldn't keep from moving)

Thanks
Bill

[Mustang Boy]

wow i am amazed this is an incredible thread and those are some beautiful shrimp but WAY above my expertise so i will ask some questions about the cool looking plant because it looks like it may be within my expertise lol


ok do you know any of the care needs for it like lighting? co2? ferts?
how large do they get? how do you plant them i see you have them both on rocks and in teh substrate
are there any specific water parameters required for it to thrive?
would the biofilm that collects on it be beneficial to some of the more common shrimp species in the hobby like amano, cherries, crs, etc.?
would the plant being an algae be at risk of being eaten by the more common algae eating species like amano?
would it be in danger of snail species that are usually plant safe since this is a macroalgae and not a normal plant?

im sorry about all of the questions but i am highly fascinated by this plant and the possiblilities it could bring to the shrimp keeping community

[billb]

Originally Posted by Mustang Boy

wow i am amazed this is an incredible thread and those are some beautiful shrimp but WAY above my expertise so i will ask some questions about the cool looking plant because it looks like it may be within my expertise lol

ok do you know any of the care needs for it like lighting? co2? ferts?
The only info i got came from a Singapore forum, A hobbyist there keeps it in two tanks - one with CO2 and one with out - both had high light, My tank has no CO2 and 2 watts per gallon lighting. I also do not fertilize my tank but they will get some fertilizer when they cycle through my biofilm culture trays My guess is it will prove to be pretty hardy.

how large do they get? how do you plant them i see you have them both on rocks and in teh substrate
I think these are mature plants. They may get biggerin a CO2 tank with ferts though - just speculation. I had a few extras and sold them to a couple people. I think we will get more info over the next few months. The plant attaches to a substrte usings hold fast - rhizoids. These are not true roots and do not provide nutrients, I have seen some of the plants attached to a few gravel grains. Most of my plants just sank to the bottom and that is where they stay. I have tied a couple to stones and I have put a few into holes in the fossilized coral.

are there any specific water parameters required for it to thrive?
They come from lakes with high pH and pretty soft water. I can only guess on how they would do in other conditions. Acidic conditions may not work out

would the biofilm that collects on it be beneficial to some of the more common shrimp species in the hobby like amano, cherries, crs, etc.?
would the plant being an algae be at risk of being eaten by the more common algae eating species like amano?
I have Amano and CRS in my 90 gallon. They did forage on the plants but did not eat them. I think they function as a pretty high surface area substrate for biofilm but do not produce a special kind. I did try to see if there were any native diatoms and algae on these wild collected plants, but I would guess that ultimately they will be colonized by whatever is growing in your tank. The exporter was the person who told me that Red Cherry Water Plant was "food" for these shrimp (Sulawesi). I searched for Chara sp on the web and found that they are important as habitat/ grazing grounds for small invertabrates.

would it be in danger of snail species that are usually plant safe since this is a macroalgae and not a normal plant?
I can say that,pond snails, MTS, nerites, and two types of Tylo snails (native to the same Sulawesi lakes) have not eaten them.
(***Note*** - five miniutes after I posted this, I got an email from one of the people who got the plant and they said their TYLO snails went after the plant! not sure which kind and not sure why mine do not seem to eat them (yet?) )

im sorry about all of the questions but i am highly fascinated by this plant and the possiblilities it could bring to the shrimp keeping community.
No problem! You are in Florida. take a look at this thread I posted recently. the plant, Chara rusbyana may be found in your neck of the woods and could be a cool plant to try. If you are successful, I would be willing to trade a couple for some Red Cherry Water plants.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/pl...to-brazil.html

Bill

[dxiong5]

My Chocolate Poso checked out the plant, but did not actually eat it; it just grazed over it.

[Mustang Boy]

thanks for answering my many many questions. i dont make it out to the springs very often(havnt been in like 5-6yrs lol) but ill try to make it a point to get out to some of them and keep my eye out for that chara sp. because it does look pretty cool and would look great in a tank and i would be more than interested in trading a good bundle of it to you for a couple of those really cool looking plants.

and seeing the replies to your other thread got me thinking... hhmmm macroalgae planted tank with nothing but macroalgae in it

[dxiong5]

Originally Posted by Mustang Boy

and seeing the replies to your other thread got me thinking... hhmmm macroalgae planted tank with nothing but macroalgae in it

Here's one: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/pl...acro-nano.html

[Mustang Boy]

i remember seeing that thread and that is really cool and it is definitely different to the planted tank world being a saltwater tank but i was talking more on the freshwater side cause macroalgae isnt as common as it is in the ocean

[datta_sid]

Have you seen any mysterious shrimp deaths ( specially yellowcheeks ) ?

[billb]

Originally Posted by datta_sid

Have you seen any mysterious shrimp deaths ( specially yellowcheeks ) ?

I am trying to decide if you are psychic or a jinx! I found 3 dead red-lines this morning. I did a 10% water change and will buy new test kits tonight to check my water parameters after I make new stds. I need to check these and keep a log so when soemthing like this happens - i can try to figure out what happened? Wierd that deaths seem to be species specific, might be chance but I need to rule out Human error...
Bill

[datta_sid]

Originally Posted by billb

I am trying to decide if you are psychic or a jinx! I found 3 dead red-lines this morning.
Bill

OMG I am so sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!

I lost 1 cardinal on my second day, I havent found any more cardinal bodies yet. (touch wood :P). I never counted their full strength either.

I keep losing yellowcheeks. They are down to almost 3 from 12.

I am not sure what causes this, my tests say my water is pristine .

[billb]

I am sorry to here about your yellow cheeks. I found this post discussing Sulawesi disease - specifically with yellow cheeks. It does say that other species can get this too. The post is from Oct 24. I hope they post a follow up so we can see if the treatment they use was helpfull

http://www.blue-tiger-shrimp.com/blo...awesi-shrimps/

There is some good news, I have cardinal shrimplets! These are from the stock of shrimp i got locally here in SoCal. Several berried Cardinals currently too. Will try to get pictures.

Bill

[datta_sid]

I have one cardinal carrying a couple eggs. Now its up to powers greater than me!

[dhavoc]

Billb, i would slow down on the water changes, they stress the shrimp more than its worth if your water is already pristine. do test though to be sure. continued loses for weeks after are common with these shrimps, especially wild caught ones. they just dont ship well. same comment from others i have spoken to who have imported them as well. those that do survive though are tough especially cardinals.

i have dumped many a dollar down the drain on these guys (thousands, good thing my wife is understanding), and had pretty much given up on them. i moved my last few cardinals from a tank specifically setup for them but they didnt like (lost 40+ cardinals over a couple of weeks) into a bare tank i was cycling for no specific species. i just added some crushed coral to the HOB filters and put a couple of heaters in there to warm it up. fully expected them to all die, and even started using the tank to hatch my CPO's. low and behold, 2 months later, they are still alive and i have now found 2 batches of shrimplets (vastly different sizes so assume different batches) and the original 4 are still alive and happy. they bred in this tank as none of them were berried when i moved them originally. this was even with all the cpo's running around in there. of course i removed the remaining cpo's as soon as i saw the shrimplets, and the adults and fry now come out sort of (they stay by their hiding places but come out a little to feed). whats the old saying? a watched pot never boils? good luck with yours.

[Tex Gal]

I'm sorry you continue to have some losses. It hasn't been that long though. It does sound like, over all you're being quite successful so far.

I love the look of your tank. It looks similar in feel to what I have set up. So far so good with the RCWP. My CRS shrimp continue to clean it. The tank has mineralized soil with CO2, no ferts added. Everything seems to be doing well in there.

I love reading about your adventures. Gald you're sharing with us!