[abc]

I bought some borneo wild shield and grow for my cherry shrimp and tiger shrimp nano 3 gal Picotope planted tank.

But the directions for shield say: 1 scoop for every 200 liters. If I'm doing the conversion right, 200 liters = about 53 gallons :icon_eek:. how do I measure 1/15 of a scoop? help? anyone out there use shield for small tanks? how much do you use?

 

[abc]

Also, what is SHIELD? Is it a water conditioner or something the shrimp actually eat? does it collect and mix into my substrate? It looks like a bunch of insoluable saw dust so I'm afraid it is just going to "gunk" up my water or look like clods of poop on the bottom of the tank.

from all the posts, people rave about it but looking at it, I'm a bit hesitant to use it. thoughts?

 

[sayurasem]

They seems to eat it. Or maybe the bits of saw dust going to release some stuff that shield them from bad stuff. Similar like when we brew a bag of tea, we drink them for the antioxidant.

 

[ravensgate]

Use a tiny pinch between your fingers. That's what I do on my 3 gallon. They eat some of the bits, the other settles into the substrate. It's not a water conditioner and not really meant to be a food though they do eat some of it.

Shield is a natural product that enhances growth, immunity and anti-disease ability, lowers death rate, and even control white spot when used with fishes. It absorbs toxin and waste such as HNO2, NH3/4, NO3, H2S, assimilate organic waste into micro-organism food, thus creating a balanced environment in high bio-load tank.

Observation: Shrimps will appear in a slight feeding frenzy digging around for the undissolved particles of Shield. You can observe that shrimps becomes much more active and have better appetite.

Composition: Beneficial microbes, beta-glucan, vitamin b group and mineral, amino acids, carotenoid, enzyme, Ginseng/PSB extract, Ginger, colostrum, Mannan Oligosaccharides

 

[abc]

ahh... so it sounds like a little bit of everything: part bio-filter stimulant material, part food, part sponge. Thanks for the pinch measuring advice.

I hope the stuff dissolves and does not aggregate in the substrate. I'll give it a shot...

 

[Newman]

you'll want to add a bit of tank water to a small water bottle, then add the tiny amount of shield powder to the bottle and then shake like crazy for a minute or so. then pour into your tank. since its such a small tank you'll want a tiny amount of the powder.

 

[abc]

good idea! I'll pre-mix in tank water first.

By the way, is it danger to overdose the Shield? what harm can it do? I won't tempt fate and be cavalier about dosing but I'm also winging it when I take a pinch and add it to my tank. I'm thinking there must be a generous range for error otherwise I would try to be more precise.

am I right about there being a generous range for error with sampling a pinch of the shield for the 3gal nano?

 

[Newman]

Thats what i do for all of my powdered supplements that i feed to my shrimp tank.

You can overdose and spoil the tank water like you said earlier. better to underdose with powders and foods. it isn't that hard to just scoop out a tiny amount with that spoon they provide.

 

[Dayumdanny]

If you wanted to be more exact you can always do the crack method. I have a 4 gallon so measurements are a crazy fractions. Take one spoon amount then split it in half. Then split that half, in half to get 1/4 and so on It's not 100% exact but I think it's more accurate than pinches

 

[Newman]

why is it so hard for you guys just to get a bit of the powder on the tip of that measuring spoon?

 

[ravensgate]

why is it so hard for you guys just to get a bit of the powder on the tip of that measuring spoon?

Why is it so hard to pinch a small amount with your fingers??? Even the tip of the spoon will be too much for a 3 g.

 

[Senior Shrimpo]

The key ingredient in Shield is colostum (I learned this from Liam) its something momma cows (and all mammals I believe) have in their milk only when they have just given birth, it contains something or other that fight off infections until the calf builds up an immune system. So for shrimp, who don't have "active" immune systems, feeding it around once a week will really help them from getting sick.

Sorry I totally butchered the definition of colostum- for a better description, google it, it's pretty interesting!

 

[sayurasem]

I'm just wondering what the ginseng and ginger does for shrimp. I think this is the only shrimp food/ supplement that contain those ingredients.