[acitydweller]

Hi all,

I have a ton of PMs to respond to but wanted to say Hi first.

Been away for two weeks and returned to find my 6 tanks with fewer shrimp, a ton more floaters and my window garden decimated due to rising temps and low water levels.

So far Ive seen dozens of crystals disappeared, mostly melted pellia and several varieties of mosses holding on to dear life. Had my sister top off water and feed every other day but the heat really is a lot to handle with 6 tanks and about two dozen quart containers of mosses and plants for anyone other than the owner.

Anyway, i spent the night netting duckweed in my main tank and checking on the fish, which largely escaped death due to being moved to the basement with lower temps. Will have to survey and redo my shrimp tanks over the next few weeks. I'll have to think twice before travelling the next time.

anyways, just wanted to say hello and hope to catch up with you all this week.

Al

 

[frrok]

Sorry to hear about your shrimp losses. I lost a few during my move. I find myself struggling with the heat as well. Went I away for 10 days in January I came back to disaster as well and it was the middle of winter! I think this year before I go away on a trip I will probably try and coincide it with a rescape that way I don't have to worry. But that's tough to do if you have multiple projects happening at once.

 

[philemon716]

Are there specific plants that are especially sensitive to the heat? Acid - do you know how hot the water usually gets in there?

Welcome back!

 

[acitydweller]

thanks. good to be back.

From my experience, round pellia or (Susswassertang) is real sensative. Mosses also will retard a fair bit when the water warms up. i have to change the water out each day as the sun just heats up all the quart containers. may just trash the whole window planter idea since it doesnt really work for the summer, but worked great in the cooler months.

I had some excess anacharis which also didnt seem to fair well in the warmer water by turning yellow.

this is why i cant really take leave for extended periods. I'm planning to transplant my 20g Tall to a 45g over the next day or so then setup a new 29G oceanic bowfront for shrimp duty. I'll have to shrimplet proof the overflows with fiberglass window screening so that will definitely take a bit longer. I'm still stuck in china time so i find myself up all night.

I did do a brief check into my main shrimp tank and saw many CRS still swimming about though my backup shrimp tank had developed a dozen or so scuds... I think i'll have to give Jellie a call since she's been wanting some

Also planning to relocate most of the tanks to the basement.

My only regret was finding a very long street full of aquariums on the day i was leaving. man, talk about bad timing

 

[cprash]

Sorry to hear about your tanks, I'm struggling to deal with the heat too.

My only regret was finding a very long street full of aquariums on the day i was leaving. man, talk about bad timing

Was this in Hong Kong? :drool:

 

[HybridHerp]

God, this heat is annoying, what have you been doing to fight it and better yet, what was your method of combat for while you where away? I'm going to Florida in a few days, and aside from not having my timers yet (they better get here like NOW) I have no idea what I can do to make sure my tanks don't get blistering hot.

 

[acitydweller]

Sorry to hear about your tanks, I'm struggling to deal with the heat too.

Was this in Hong Kong? :drool:

I wish... that alone could have made my trip I spent a few days in Chengdu. Seemed like an up and coming town, semi modern but not to the degree of shanghai nor hong kong. Had a healthy population of sandle wearers hak'n up a storm of phlegm everywhere. I hardly saw anyone there wear shoes or sneakers. That aquarium street seemed to run 5-6 blocks. Would have liked to see what type of products and livestock they offered but it wasnt meant to be.

God, this heat is annoying, what have you been doing to fight it and better yet, what was your method of combat for while you where away? I'm going to Florida in a few days, and aside from not having my timers yet (they better get here like NOW) I have no idea what I can do to make sure my tanks don't get blistering hot.

Firstly, i moved all my prized livestock to the basement where space allowed. the ambient temp hovers around 70-74 there. totally awesome! What i didnt have room for that remained on the ground floor, i had my sister drop a few ice cubes into the tank when she came by each evening. I figured folks fed frozen repashy foods directly into the tank, it couldnt hurt. This seemed to keep my lower grade crystals going but there was noticible water evaporation, which was topped off with a brita filter. None of this was ideal but i had to work with what was available and easy to explain over the phone.

if possible, add more moss to fill the tank. Consider that insurance.
Get ready to see your plants flourish, while your shrimp numbers shrink... at least this is what i saw so far. i havent done a full inventory yet.

Consider lowering the light period. I cut back my 10 hours down to 6 which kept my plants growing fine while keeping the water temps lower. do a good cleaning on your power filters/heads so they last longer.

 

[cantsay39]

lol... i was netting the snails and after an hour one of my blue pearl dead~~~ i think my hands is dirty lol

 

[VivaDaWolf]

I'd like to visit China this fall... would be interesting to check out any fish places they have, but too bad you can't buy any livestock if you fall in love with something.
Hope your mosses spring back. All my shrimp are dead and I am giving up with them. Yet I have amanos, ghosts, and a bamboo living in a 86-90 degree tank with no issues. Go figure.

 

[cantsay39]

grab an ac~

 

[Monster Fish]

Good to see you back, Albert. Sorry to hear about your shrimp losses. The heat is one of the reasons why I'll wait until the fall to start the shrimp tank I was talking to you about.

 

[Polarize]

Sorry to hear about the losses. Heat's been an issue for me too, despite having my tanks in the basement (though to be fair, its more of a half-basement--half underground, half above ground kind of thing). Loss a good number of CRS/CBS/TTs. Recently got a clip on fan on timer with the lights for that tank and it seems the deaths have stopped, at least for the time being.

 

[Bananariot]

Sucks to hear, came back home to find some losses too. Relentless summer this year.

I got some b/c grades finally and they're getting berried now. Hopefully my 12 will turn into like 30 over the next month

 

[Linsanity]

Sorry for your lose, it's been really hot for the past weeks.
Did you at least take some pics of that 5,6 blocks of aquarium street?!

 

[acitydweller]

Hey, unfortunately i didnt. The street was nearly as long as the road of Tibetan souvenirs in Chengdu. At a glance, they had tons of Parrot fish tanks and goldfish. If i had a second chance, i really would like to see their tropical and shrimp varieties not to mention their aquarium accessories. There are so many affordable things there. I would have loved to have bring back a ton of ebi nets and sponge filters for you guys

I definitely had the spare luggage space.

 

[acitydweller]

Was just researching fish streets in china and came across this link, though its pretty old and of hong Kong...

I remember back then how everything was bagged and hung out front of every store... livestock, food, you name it. pretty exciting to see for the first time. I would have seriously considered picking up some ada or tank accessories if given the chance. Substrate would have been too heavy and live plants or shrimp would have been a red flag at customs.

have a look at the photos and see how asia does it.

http://www.aquatouch.com/hongkongplanted.html credit goes to the folks at aquatouch for publishing their travel journal.

 

[cprash]

Oh wow. That looks awesome. I wish I knew about it when I went there. Guess I have to go again!

 

[mach_six]

Since my first time there in 2000 when I was still in college, I've been going back every 3 years or so. Been there 3 times and each time I trek to that street but those times I didn't have any tanks so I end up getting nothing and just stare at the Asian Aros I'd wish we had here.

Their planted display tanks are better than anything I've seen around here.