# 11 gallon Fluffy Forest Journey



## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

That looks great. What is that stand?


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

The stand was just some kinda nightstand with wheels meant for a kids bed set I believe. It was just a stroke of awesome that it fit this tank so well.

thank you for your interest by the way


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## GreenBliss (Mar 7, 2012)

Wow tank looks awesome. Very nice. 

I been wondering about that 11g tank from TrueAqua.


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## fish_22 (Jun 13, 2013)

that looks really good


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

Thank you glad you like how its going so far. 

The TrueAqua is a pretty superb quality! I'd almost say as good as ADA where clarity and make is concerned. Can't beat the price, too


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*small update *

Did a water change and trim the other night. these plants have been growing like weeds lately! I put a bunch in my 5 gallon grow out tank. 
:smile: next trimming I'll probably post some for sale :smile:








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coming on out!







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right now I've had a massive invasion of ramshorn snails looking snails, and their definitely helping keep my tank nice and clean but I'm afraid they might take over the tank soon. I'll probably pick up an assassin snail to help control the population. 







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can anyone help me identify what kind of snails these little suckers are?







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oh and my nerite snails have been leaving funky little eggs on my rocks. Its pretty hard to scrap off their little presents! 








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Any advice for getting rid of these funky egg things?


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## peachii (Jun 1, 2013)

Love the way you have laid this out, looks beautiful. 

The green bushy plant that is so bright and lush in the front, what is that? Looks close to but way better than cabomba.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

hi peachii, thank you by the way 

the plant that looks like cabomba is Dwarf Ambulis.


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## papa_mcknight (Aug 3, 2013)

peachii said:


> Love the way you have laid this out, looks beautiful.
> 
> The green bushy plant that is so bright and lush in the front, what is that? Looks close to but way better than cabomba.


It's Limnophila Sessiliflora, im using it my tank too 

Great looking tank, subscribed


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## Mike00726 (May 23, 2011)

Looks like pagoda stones? I like it.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

These AquaTop tanks are great! Glad to see a larger one being put to good use.

Any thoughts on the kind of shrimp you're going to stock the tank with?


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

Honestly I want to start with a pretty hardy shrimp like the cherries, but I'm so tempted to jump into the more exotic types such as the CRS or Rili variety. I've kept a large amount of amano shrimp in the past so I have some kinda experience. 

I'm also trying to find a good breeder and haven't run across any journals that talk about that.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

oh and the rocks Mike00726, are Suiseki Indonesia Bonsai Rocks I picked up at a bonsai shop.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Amano Shrimp aren't really bred in captivity, so you'd have to buy them from someone like Rachel/msjinkzd (she's a forum sponsor - check out her subsection). 

As far as Rili go, they're not really exotic. Same species at Red Cherry Shrimp, so they'll thrive in the same conditions. Could definitely start with Rili or any other Neo - like Painted Fire Red, Pumpkin, et al. 



hryder77 said:


> Honestly I want to start with a pretty hardy shrimp like the cherries, but I'm so tempted to jump into the more exotic types such as the CRS or Rili variety. I've kept a large amount of amano shrimp in the past so I have some kinda experience.
> 
> I'm also trying to find a good breeder and haven't run across any journals that talk about that.


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## tithra (Dec 1, 2012)

Very pretty tank! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mnemenoi (May 28, 2012)

Nerite eggs drive us insane as well. We just gave up on using them in nano tanks due to that issue. We rely on otos and shrimp for algae control. I don't seem to mind them in larger tanks that are less manicured, but scaped tanks the issue is a constant battle. Bleach dipping the stones makes them go away, but it becomes a huge pain over many months and eventually I just give up.


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## Plantnerd (Dec 14, 2011)

The freshwater limpet_ (Septaria porcellana) _does not leave little white eggs all over the place and are in my experiance actually better alge eaters than nerite snails.http://neonfisken.dk/upload_dir/pics/S/Septaria-porcellana---Porcelain-Limpet-Shell---02.jpg


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

Thats actually who I bought my Amano shrimp from the first time around, she has a great stock. I'll have to check if she has any rili.

I am actually leaning more towards the painted fire red shrimp. maybe some tiger shrimp, from what I've heard they don't interbreed with the fire reds but I could be wrong.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

wow I feel like a monkey brain, I just noticed the sponsors forums.


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

I love the tank! And that stand is just a stroke of genius/luck!

I don't see anyone mentioning it, but the snails you are about (with the spiral shells) are ramshorns.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

thank you so much jpappy789 for helping me identify those little buggers . they all seem so colorless and small compared to some of the blue, pink, and yellow ramshorn snails I've seen, but they do a hell of a job cleaning algae off plants and glass.

I figured every time I do a water change that instead of "disposing" of them, I'll just toss em' in my pond. keeps two tanks cleaner and algae free 

The stand I think was from some sort of kids bed set from ikea. The good thing about the bay area garage sales is there's always some pretty cool stuff.


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

Usually the ones that hitchhike come out brown, but when they're smaller the shells are a bit colorless.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*The Shrimp are in! *warning picture heavy**

Last week I received my shrimp! I decided on crystal red shrimp and cherry shrimp. They've all settled down since I first introduced them and have now been routinely grazing and searching for food. 








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I also picked up a black tiger shrimp that I saw at one of my lfs, pretty cute though I wonder if he'll breed with the RCS :/ ?







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heres some more shots of the RCS and (for some reason shy) CRS:







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I also picked up some galaxy rasbora, but god are these little buggers hard to snap photos of :{







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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*Full shot of of tanks recent trim  plus plants for sale!*

the HC is coming in really nicely so far! I'm excited to see how it will look 2 months from this shot !







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trimmed down the tank ALLOT! on Sunday. I trimmed about half a 5g buckets worth of Limnophila sessiliflora (asian ambulia) that plant can really take off lol!


PM me if you are interested


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

You have a beautiful setup! Looks like everything is growing in nicely.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

Just to be on the safe side I wont he selling the Limnophila sessiliflora. Seems to he a banned noxious weed in many states. 

I guess ill just plant the rest in my pond fir my danios to breed in :/.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*"mini" update*

oh and on a side note today I moved the nerite snails to my 5 gallon tank, so hopefully I can get rid of all their icky egg things. I now have two large ramshorn snails (plenty of those tiny ones lol) and one purple "mystery" snail. 

I also moved the celestial pearls to my 5 gallon tank. I think they were the cause of some missing RCS :icon_evil I'll probably replace them with about 4 otocinclus since the diatom is starting to build up on the glass again. :icon_roll

I have a query if someone can interject: 

-are assassin snails shrimp/shrimplet safe?

- are they known to kill bigger snails (i.e. bigger then themselves?) 

hoping to get some to control the population of the hitchhiker snails I have now. 

If anyone can answer this question I'd be really grateful :fish:


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## CheyLillymama22 (Jun 9, 2013)

Ive heard tell of assassins eating shrimplets, but havent had it happen to me.
The assassins can't catch the fast lil shrimps. Lol
Never seen them go after an adult either. However, manual removal of poorest snails will be more efficient inthe long run from my experience.

Eta:: I had an assasin kill a mystery snail once. 
Theyll take down bigger snails when they can


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

Thank you CheyLillymama22, I guess picking out these little buggers one by one is my best bet


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## primo (Jul 28, 2013)

Awesome tank, I really like what you've done!


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*What the F**K is this in my tank!*

I found this nasty little critter in my tank this morning. After some internet searching I'm pretty sure this thing is a dragonfly nymph, which apparently eat fish and stuff. so I'm also pretty sure this is the culprit of some missing shrimp!

I pulled it out right away!:angryfire

here some pics:








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A couple hours later the fish and shrimp seem to be coming out and swimming around more freely. not sure if they were scared before or not. 

Right now I'm keeping a really sharp eye out for anymore of these suckers or any eggs that are obviously not from my snails. :icon_conf

I scared myself by reading into other post of people finding these things in their tank, and how they just tore their tank down and sanitized it! I'm tempted to do the same but I not sure what to do.

has anyone else had this type of thing happen to them? advice is much appreciated :help:


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

also I don't even know how this thing got into my tank since this is an indoor setup inside a room with closed windows.

I suspected its from an almond leaf or maybe even my HC (since I planted some of the HC out of another tank using the dry start tank method)


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*looking for an ID for one of my shrimps*

Noticed this week one of my cherry shrimps doesn't look red like the others. 

The cherry shrimp I bought from a fellow hobbyist so its very likely this little guy isn't a cherry. Sometimes little hideaways make it into the wrong batch (maybe he had a buddy he didn't want to leave) 

here's the little bugger 








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I have a feeling he's a Caridina thambipillia (sunkist shrimp) not sure though. he's one of the most active shrimp in my tank as well lol.:icon_lol:


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*Bad things always happen fast in a nano tank*

so I lost my entire stock of shrimp save for my black tiger shrimp (hardy little guy!) and pretty much my entire tank!

So for the last month I was battling staghorn algae and I finally took some time to aggressively deal with it. everything was going well until I moved my focus to my HC which was severely covered in staghorn algea. while pulling the staghorn off I accidentally pull large section of my carpet with it. All the shrimp immediately acted like they were drunk or half dead. 

I tried saving them using the bucket and air stone method but it was a no go:icon_cry:

I tested ammonia, that was fine, so all I can think of was some sort of aerobic or anaerobic bacteria was released. 

so now I'm starting from the ground up. ordered some new substrate because I hated the fluval shrimp sand it was very dusty. 

I'm not giving up on shrimp raising I just need to be more careful and less gung ho:icon_neut

Anyway updates to come soon once my tank is set up again


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## rustbucket (Oct 15, 2011)

Sorry to hear that. Hope you have better luck with the restart. Some times it takes a lot of lemons to make the lemonade, glad you`re not giving up


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

thank you for the sentiment rustbucket. 

In this hobby it is pretty easy to give up but your totally right about keeping on


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

they orange one was not a sunkist shrimp. they are lower breeders and have a larva stage like amano. it was probably a bad colored cherry shrimp to be honest. sorry about your loss. also incase i missed it tiger shrimp will cross breed with crystal reds.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

I was keeping an eye out for that but the only shrimp that bred were the cherries.

I think when i have my tank nice and stable again, I'll try tiger shrimp they are a lot less shy than the crs.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

oh and thanks wicca27 for clarifying that id


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*Tank "re-birth" *teaser* pic*

It's been about a month and a half since I tore my tank down and started over, mostly from pure frustration over BBA and staghorn algae (and loosing my entire stock of shrimp). 
Anyway I gotta little preview pic for ya all








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Growing back nice and lush! 

More pics to come soon!


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

**official update* 11 gallon (overgrown) dutch wannabe*

besides the teaser update its been a bit since a proper update.

Since my tank crash, or whatever it was, I've started new (sorta)

have a look








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Christmas lights in the background







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I really wish I had a better camera to capture the details *sigh*, but my phone doesn't do a terrible job.







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I really love this red tiger lotus I scored at my LFS. It was pretty big when I bought it, now it just grows and grows lol! I'll probably be selling trimmings from it soon! 








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current stock:

flora

Rotala rotundifolia
Nymphaea zenkeri 
Limnophila sessiliflora 
Hydrocotyle tripartita "Japan" (great low maintenance carpet plant) 
Taxiphyllum sp. (flame moss)
limnobium laevigatum

fauna

mystery snail
Celestial pearl danios (2)
various ramshorn snails
(soon to be stocked: Fire Red Sakura Shrimp)


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## synaethetic (Oct 4, 2011)

Love the new carpet, your plants look like they're doing great. Sorry to hear about your shrimp.You are not the only one to have bad luck on the first try with shrimp. It took me a few batches of shrimp before I had any survive, never knew what I was doing to kill them. 

Try stabilizing your phone while you are photographing your tank, looks like its just simple camera shake causing your blured photos. I flip my office chair around and use it to prop my iphone on when I take pictures of my tank, does a decent job!


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Any fauna in the new scape yet? like the look of it


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

thanks for the advice synaethetic, I'll try that technique next time.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

I have a male and female CPD pair and a mystery snail. I will restock my shrimp, fire reds to be exact, but just thattype (for now).


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*Confirmed breeding pair*

So apparently my two CPDs are a breeding pair. I guess that makes sense why the male is always chasing the female (though she'll do the same thing lol) 

I was very excited about this needless to say. I found about 6 or so clear and a bit darker fry swimming around looking for grub n' stuff.

they look like this (btw this isn't my pic, these little buggers are near impossible to photograph with my point and shoot) 










[credit for image: http://www.celestialpearldanio.com/]


I'm actually surprised to see so many since I know CPDs are notorious egg eaters.

So that begs the question if I should move my breeding CPD pair to their own tank when I start a shrimp colony, or on the other hand keep the CPDs there to keep my shrimp colony in check. 

More likely I'll end up selling any surviving fry down the road.

Not sure I'm kinda twisted on what to do, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*Video Update for 11 gallon nano*

http://youtu.be/ytMs0eDBbYo

This new setup is coming along really nicely! I'm very pleased with it. once the right corner area next to my red tiger lotus fills in a bit more it will feel pretty close to complete.

all it will need after that is a healthy, hyper, happy shrimp colony.

What do you all think needs to be added to taken away? Suggestions?:bounce:


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*CPD male stare off*

I actually got a nice shot of my male CPD today. He was just hovering over that rock staring off into the world beyond his. I found it kinda odd but took that opportunity to snap him. 








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Also snapped a nice top view shot. the Hydrocotyle tripartita "Japan" has grown in sooo nicely over the last couple months. Most weeks its hard to keep up trimming this plant :hihi:








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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*Shrimp! Finally...*

Went to my LFS today and saw they had a good batch of cherry shrimp. SO I picked up 5 (3 females, 2 males). They immediately made a cozy home in the carpet plants. 

I was going to get a batch of fire red shrimp, but decidedly am going slow with a simple batch of cherries.
I kinda dove into the deep end last time, I'll just stay in the shallows for now :icon_conf 








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I also saw my purple mystery snail he rarely comes out when lights are on. I guess he was a little curious of the new inhabitants 








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## pweifan (Nov 2, 2006)

This is a really nice little tank. Hopefully the cherries will breed for you. How many CPD fry survived?


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Lovely tank (and fauna) photos!


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

pweifan said:


> This is a really nice little tank. Hopefully the cherries will breed for you. How many CPD fry survived?


So far I've counted 4 CPD fry. One looks to be a bit older than the other three, may have survived an earlier batch. 

My cherries have really grown attached to the hydro carpet! they only pop up to grab food when I feed the tank haha. Maybe that'll change once they get more acquainted to their surroundings.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

*Tank Trimming update *warning: pic heavy**

I cut out a fat chunk of my Hydro sp. Jap carpet. I actually flipped the whole carpet around. Just trying something different. It unintentionally created this cave like focal point. 

Thinking I'll take this opportunity to restart my Hemianthus callitrichoides (HC) carpet. 








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The rotalia has colored up real nice over the past month aswell.







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The cherries have finally come out to play...well eat actually haha







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## pweifan (Nov 2, 2006)

I like the change. Glad you hear you have some surviving fry.


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## 1Sarah (Jan 31, 2014)

Very pretty tank indeed. Sorry about the first go around ending so badly.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

1Sarah said:


> Very pretty tank indeed. Sorry about the first go around ending so badly.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


thanks!

Its cool gotta learn somehow I guess.


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## parrottbay (May 14, 2012)

Hey, is your baby CPDs still alive?


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## prighello (Aug 19, 2007)

Hey Hyder77! Great looking tank. Funny that our set ups are so similar. Good luck with your cherries. I'm trying to get mine to breed but so far no luck. FYI, Pet Club in Green Valley has a good deal on them.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

parrottbay said:


> Hey, is your baby CPDs still alive?


unfortunately I haven't seen the fry in weeks. they've done this before, disappeared then popped up again, but by now I'd think they would look closer to adults than fry. So I'm not really setting my hopes up :/.

I hope I don't have this problem when my shrimp decide to breed, I'm really hoping for surviving shrimplets.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

prighello said:


> Hey Hyder77! Great looking tank. Funny that our set ups are so similar. Good luck with your cherries. I'm trying to get mine to breed but so far no luck. FYI, Pet Club in Green Valley has a good deal on them.


thanks prighello! 

Yeah I've been to that store too. It's were I got my CPDs. They have the most random livestock sometimes. I found a lone black tiger shrimp, wish they had more, but they rarely stock shrimp and as you know the only good place to get unique shrimp is Aqua Forest in SF, but there $$$$!


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

This tank has been shut down, sad story for this tank. developed a crack.

*Anyway... all equipment and inhabitants have been moved to new tank.*

Check out the journal here>> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=5878442#post5878442


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## rodahl (Dec 1, 2014)

Beautiful tank landscape hryder77.
I live in Arizona and priced out the shipping charges for this tank it was $270 !!! Hard to believe.


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