# 1 Gallon Shrimp Cubus! (now with plants!!!)



## Jayme (Nov 27, 2011)

Your making me want one, just because!

I have an addiction to aquariums and even though we have no room left anywhere for more I still long for them. :help:

Can't wait to see what you do with it!


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

hey where's the pixi?


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)




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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Lol!!
I'm sorry!! I was being dragged out the door as I was typing the end of that.
Me and my sister's birthdays are two days apart. So my family lumps us together and celebrates our birthdays together in that two day time period.
Shes the 25th and I'm the 27th.
We were having birthday dinner and presents and I was slowing them down with my "Damn fish crap!!".
I just got home.
Heres the pictures as promised
The first one is the box. This thing is covered in writing about how awesome and sleek and amazing it is. And how amazing and perfect it is for a betta.
The second picture it out of the box and on its side after a quick rinse.
Ignore my tacky yellow counters. They came with house and are being replaced this spring. Unless I go with that french theme I was considering.
I think they would be perfect for that...
Any how... In that second picture you can see the white "pedestal" thats on the bottom. It raises it about a centimeter off the counter. The pedestal isnt exact in the center. But not enough to affect the balance of the thing much. If I push hard on the back left corner it goes back by about one or two millimeters.
In the third picture you can see where its going on my counter.
The fourth picture is it in the corner full of water with the light on. This is the angle I'll see it most often from. The toher angle I see it most often from I didnt take a picture from. But its the toilet. Which is off to the left. Should I have mentioned that?
The fifth picture is the light, which slides on to the rim in the back. I need it on the side because of my mirror cabinet.
The light itself is pretty bright in such a small space.
Its 6x6x6 inches btw..
The sixth picture is from head on with the light on. This picture gives you the clearest idea of what it looks like. And the bright bar in the bottom is the gap between the counter and the tank. 

Now I knew that this thing was bright because the floor was reflecting alot back into the tank. 
Since I plan on some sort of coloured shrimp I knew I needed a dark substrate. I hate hate hate hate gravel and brown substrate. So I opted for Tahitian Moon Sand from CaribSea. This sucked alot of the light up.
I'm Hoping its enough to see the shrimp and scape. 
The difference is not as bad as in the pictures. My cell phone has a very old bad camera. So the quality of these shots isnt great.
The seventh picture is of it filled with sand. On the bottom.
The picture with the sand is much darker than in real life. It didnt like adjusting between the LED above and the black sand below. And the picture without the sand is brighter than in person. Though more true to life than the one with sand.
You can kinda see the breathing hole in some of the pictures. When buying it I was wondering why it had a breathing hole. I figured that even if you filled it up the the rim there would still be a space between the lid and it. Wrong!!! This thing can be filled all the way up to the lid and to the very edge of the breathing hole. I was very surprised!!

Anything else? I'm always talking it seems... Hmm.. I know I've forgotten something. 
Oh!! I ordered some yellow shrimp from BobsTropicalPlants. I was getting some sparkling gourami's for my 5.5 and decided that not paying the extra separate shipping fee wasnt worth it.
So I ordered 8 of them.

Now for the scaping part.
I want something real low light.
I used up all my birthday gift opportunities already on other things (a Disney pass, more tea, the gourami's and shrimp, and some tea pots. Sorry, I had to share) so I can't order anything else. And I dont get paid till the 10th. 
And I really want this thing scaped at least mainly before the shrimp come. At some point I would love some mosses to put in there but I hate removing hardscape once its been laid down.
Heres what I've got at my disposal that I think will live in this tank.
I have anubias nana, anubias nana petite, crypt parva, water wisteria, a very small amount of mini pellia, fissidens fontanus, and duckweed.
I have dark grey slate, and assorted grey rocks in varying sizes and shapes and shades of grey. I can go out and collect as much driftwood as I want. Theres alot of manzy and oak around here. I prefer oak honestly.
I have CaribSea Moonlight Sand (white), poolfilter sand, Tahitian Moonlight Sand (black), and Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil.
I also might order some floated soon. So If you think a specific one would look good. 
Thats all I have...
Oh.. Marsilea that has never ever lost its 4 leaf clover shape. Though who knows in such a low light tank. And some sort of small sword, and some sort of grassy plant that does well in lowlight.
Examples of the slate and rock are in my 5.5 gallon journal, and examples of the grassy plant, and marsilea are in my 4 gallon bowl journal.
Ok heres the pics!!


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Jayme said:


> Your making me want one, just because!
> 
> I have an addiction to aquariums and even though we have no room left anywhere for more I still long for them. :help:
> 
> Can't wait to see what you do with it!


Something real lowlight lol...
Real real lowlight.
You have room for this!! 6"x6"x6"
Everyone has room for that!!
C'mon.. you know you want it..
You need it...
You can't live without it. Just tell everyone its just been sitting around being a waste of money.
You've had it for years..
You found it in the back of your closet.
It's always been there.. 
How are they supposed to know?



Lol... I'm allowed one more tank in my house. And saving it for a future 56 or 65 gallon for a pair of angels.
And that comes when I move rooms. And then this one becomes the guest room. And what guest would want to fall asleep to a nicely planted, scaped, stocked, and soothing fish tank?
lol...

One day I'll make journals for all the tanks that other people are having me take care of.
My friend moms goldfish tank.
My brothers 10 gallon.
The 3 bowls at my moms house.
Her 5 gallon in the bathroom (this ones a nightmare)...
The list goes on.


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## WillPlanted (Jan 14, 2012)

I have the same tank but I use mine for a betta. I love the idea of using it as a nano shrimp cube. What are you thinking of for filtration?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

WillPlanted said:


> I have the same tank but I use mine for a betta. I love the idea of using it as a nano shrimp cube. What are you thinking of for filtration?


You should!! Go out and buy a 5 gallon for the betta, and make this into a shrimp cube!!
not sure yet. The shrimp should be here on friday so I have till then to rig something up.
I'm either going to go for a fountain pump, or a sponge filter. as internal filters take up precious space.
Looking for a cheap small HOB.... I would love to have one.
Marina makes a real skinny small one But I thing its too long. By an inch.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I wanted to get that glass cube originally, but the plastic one was $6 and I liked the inner square, but it's so heavily planted you can't see it anymore anyway. Good find! 

Let me know if you find a good HOB filter, I may just toss my plastic cube and "upgrade" -- it's getting pretty scratched up. Awesome that it came with a little ambient light!

You know... I'm actually going to Petsmart to pick one up, I need a temporary housing for my blue rilis (cull) coming in the mail until I get the 9g scaped.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> I wanted to get that glass cube originally, but the plastic one was $6 and I liked the inner square, but it's so heavily planted you can't see it anymore anyway. Good find!
> 
> Let me know if you find a good HOB filter, I may just toss my plastic cube and "upgrade" -- it's getting pretty scratched up. Awesome that it came with a little ambient light!
> 
> You know... I'm actually going to Petsmart to pick one up, I need a temporary housing for my blue rilis (cull) coming in the mail until I get the 9g scaped.


How weird... the square in the middle appealed to me to...
I thought it was brilliant till I realised I wouldnt see it. 
It would be nice as potting soil holder though. For a specific crypt or something.
I loved the glass. the .4 gallons of extra space, the raised up bit, and the light. They were all nice touches for such a tiny tank. I'm still looking around I may end up breaking down and ordering the azoo filter. I just wish shipping wasnt so expensive...
Go!! Get one! Now!! lol... Its on sale right now by 4 whole dollars. Just enough to make me feel better. 
When those rilis start breeding I would love to get some babies from you. seriously.
Since the fish are coming tomorrow... I'm scaping it right now!! Just sent the hubby (fiance really) out for super glue for the moss, pellia, and anubias. And my neighbors are giving me dirty looks as I happily, and a bit maniacally, smash rocks to tiny bits with a hammer.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Eldachleich said:


> How weird... the square in the middle appealed to me to...
> I thought it was brilliant till I realised I wouldnt see it.
> It would be nice as potting soil holder though. For a specific crypt or something.
> I loved the glass. the .4 gallons of extra space, the raised up bit, and the light. They were all nice touches for such a tiny tank. I'm still looking around I may end up breaking down and ordering the azoo filter. I just wish shipping wasnt so expensive...
> ...


Yeah that's what I wanted to do too, use the square for potting (it's a little deeper), but then thought it'd be better to utilize the whole space for plants, given how little it is already. 

I will try my best the breed the rilis  they are culls though but from the pictures looked fairly blue. I want to see if more red striping returns in generation 1 (the blue + red looks amazing). 

Are you using soil? If so, I sift the big pieces out, bake mine at 350F for 15mins, let cool. In addition to some gravel, put a layer of fine sand on so nothing escapes (also makes it easier to plant things so they stay). Shrimp are more sensitive to ammonia that may leech out, but should be okay if heavily planted. You also don't want air bubbles, I have maybe 2-3 Malaysian trumpet snails in mine aerating the substrate. Oh, and use DARK substrate so your shrimps' coloration are better.

Is your fiance into the hobby too? Lucky you can just send him out for stuff. :tongue:


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Hmm I need one of those filters too.. Azoo Palm seems the smallest, is it discontinued? I don't see it on Azoo's website, only being sold on drfostersmith. 3" x 3-1/2" x 5", 6 gph, $8.99+$5.99 shipping.

Amazon has the Mignon 60. 3.2 x 3.8 x 6 inches, 16 gph, $13ish shipped with Prime.

The marina cubus is 5.9 inches long, 5.9 inches wide, 5.9 inches high, so mignon may unlevel it, unless the dimensions are accounting for the to hangover section too... it'll probably also be fine.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Yeah that's what I wanted to do too, use the square for potting (it's a little deeper), but then thought it'd be better to utilize the whole space for plants, given how little it is already.
> 
> I will try my best the breed the rilis  they are culls though but from the pictures looked fairly blue. I want to see if more red striping returns in generation 1 (the blue + red looks amazing).
> 
> ...


I adore the red and blue rilis more than any other kind!! 
I dont think I'm using soil as its mianly going to be fissidens and anubias nana petite. Well now that I'm thinking of it that tiny sword I have might look nice.
I'm not sure... I can put the shrimp in my hate tank If I have ammonia issues.. And move them after its settled.
Well see... I'm still struggling with my hardscape. 
I already have black sand prepared and waiting to go for them!! Cant wait to see the yellows in person.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Hmm I need one of those filters too.. Azoo Palm seems the smallest, is it discontinued? I don't see it on Azoo's website, only being sold on drfostersmith. 3" x 3-1/2" x 5", 6 gph, $8.99+$5.99 shipping.
> 
> Amazon has the Mignon 60. 3.2 x 3.8 x 6 inches, 16 gph, $13ish shipped with Prime.
> 
> The marina cubus is 5.9 inches long, 5.9 inches wide, 5.9 inches high, so mignon may unlevel it, unless the dimensions are accounting for the to hangover section too... it'll probably also be fine.


For now I'm setting up a small sponge filter using the prefilter sponge on one of my nano's...
I'm out of cash right now.
Its birthday season. My entire family, all 12 of us, have our birthdays in between December 17th and February 6th. With Christmas in the middle o it all were normally all broke in the winter. lol
So I have no money to even think of ordering or buying locally. Shame really. So much that I want..

Oh... its my birthday today!!! xD!!
I never celebrate it much in real life so I figured I might as well go nuts online.

I'm gonna play around a while with different filters. I might order the palm from drfostersmith. Even if I dont use it on this tank it would still be super useful...
I cant find info on whether or not the palm is discontinued.
I came to the conclusion that the 60 and the palm were the same filter.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol happy bday! The sponge filter is fine for shrimp, a lot of ppl only use a sponge filter. Where did you get yours? I might just get one of those instead.

Yeah the dimensions of the 2 are very similar, but the gallon per hour are very different. I think the Palm is a different model. I just started a 2 gallon bowl ($9-10 @ Walmart), not sure if I should filter that too or what to use, do you do water changes or clean your 4g betta bowl often?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Lol happy bday! The sponge filter is fine for shrimp, a lot of ppl only use a sponge filter. Where did you get yours? I might just get one of those instead.
> 
> Yeah the dimensions of the 2 are very similar, but the gallon per hour are very different. I think the Palm is a different model. I just started a 2 gallon bowl ($9-10 @ Walmart), not sure if I should filter that too or what to use, do you do water changes or clean your 4g betta bowl often?


 Thank you!!!
I rigged one up out of an airstone, a pump, an intake tube from a spare hob I had lying around, and a a pre filter sponge from one of my nano's.
though petco sells complete already made nicer sponge filter.
The sponge is the fluval prefilter sponge form petsmart.
I love those things.. Initially it was just to stop sand from entering my HOBs. But they stop all the crud from gettign into my filter and add awhole extra layer on my bio filtration. I just love them.
Plus its already teeming with good bacteria from being in my tansk for months on end. Figured It was a good solution till I figures out something else.
I've never looked at walmart. Homegoods is way closer and their glass is the same price.. I should look if I wanna start one again.
Initially I did a waterchange once a week. Buut its stabalised now and I do a waterchange about once a month. Maybe a little longer. I test it once every two weeks, so whenever I see any changes in the parameters.
which is normally once a month lol.. 

I hadnt looked at that. I need somethign with pretty low flow. Perhaps I should buy one from drfosters soon. Maybe they just have a large stock left....hmm...


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I ended up getting another hagen elite mini internal for $7 :/ how do you make your own sponge filter with an air pump? I have a spare lying around.

That's a very low maintenance bowl without a filter, I guess the snails eat the fish poo and process it down further so the plants use it up fast? I threw some malaysian trumpets in everything I have.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> I ended up getting another hagen elite mini internal for $7 :/ how do you make your own sponge filter with an air pump? I have a spare lying around.
> 
> That's a very low maintenance bowl without a filter, I guess the snails eat the fish poo and process it down further so the plants use it up fast? I threw some malaysian trumpets in everything I have.


Well... the sponge is meant to fit over an intake tube.
I always replace the filter that comes with my tanks with an Aquaclear So I have a few extra HOBs lying around. 
I took an extra airstone I have and made it smaller, Weighted down the bottom of the sponge with a few pieces of slate, Cut the intake tube down to size, about 2 cm below the lid of the cubus. I stuck the airstone in the bottom of the sponge, took the airline tubing and stuck it down to intake and to the airstone. Connected it, and fit the intake into the sponge. It took some fiddling to make sure that the air went up the tubing and was pulling water through the sponge. But in the end it works out well for a filter in a pinch.
I'm out of money and my shrimp come tomorrow, so This is the best filter their gonna get for now. I just wish I knew if I could make it smaller. Its bit big for my liking.
Can't wait for something smaller...

It is very low maintenance. I do a 25 - 50% water change about once a month and feed my betta once day. The shrimp I dont feed.. they just survive off of... who knows what... lol
Oddly theres no snails... Just a single zebra nerite...
There were bladder snails... but after a while there not a single on in there. Not sure if there just wasnt anything to eat, or if my betta picked them off.
I haven't been to the store yet to look at my options as far as filters go. But so far it looks like I'm gonna be ordering one online in the future.\
Trying to convince my friend that she needs an azoo filter for her 5 gallon betta tank. Her internal filter takes up too much space!! lol..
I really just want her to split shipping with me...


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Ok!!
I finally planted this thing!!
I had a huge hardscape dilemma.
Nowhere within a reasonable distance carries driftwood.
So I normally go out and find what I need. Same with rocks...
I had a problem!! All the wood I found was either soft or I didn't trust it (that means it smelled). I finally found an old gnarled section of trunk that had been rotting away on a hillside for god knows how long. I believe it once belonged to a pink pepper tree.
I picked it up and immediately found what I was looking for.
There.. on the side.. Was the remnants of a branch.
I took it home as started attacking it with a hammer. 
Because well... Im a civilized human being and this is how we handle things... With a hammer.
It didnt look good at first. It was clear that this thing had been ravaged by bugs and termites.
There was a lot of rotting soft wood.
But would you know it. It got more solid as I got closer to my branch.
Eventually I ended up with a rough representation of what I wanted. 
Before this branch I had no idea what I wanted to do.
I spent at least 12 hours last night boiling and cleaning this thing. Scraping away all the soft dead parts, revealing a beautiful piece of wood underneath. It took at least 5 hours for it to finally sink. And another 6 before it was all clean and not leaching tannins..
But I finally got it clean.
Now my problem with rocks was really simple. Every rock I collected that I likes had rust in the middle.
I can't have rust with shrimp!!
I finally found a small light grey rock that worked out well.
I'm still up in the air about it. I sort of feel that it too light.
I'm waiting for the fissidens to fill in before I officially decide. Let me know what you think!!
Ok.. So I added in a 10 watt heater. Tested it to see what temp it keep the tank... At a nice 76 - 78... 
The substrate it black sand from caribsea...
The shrimp arrive today according to the tacker on USPS so hopefully I'll have pics of them in it tonight.
I rigged up a sponge filter from a prefilter sponge I had one my aquaclear in my 6.6 gallon. Its pre cycled which is awesome.
I had a die off in my first batch of shrimp I ever ordered.... I hope this one goes better know that I know what I'm doing.. I just hope that the sponge is enough.
It sort of looks vaguely jungle inspired to me.
Ok so heres the stats..
Tank - 1 Gallon Marina Cubus (6"x6"x6")
Substrate - CaribSea Tahitian Moonlight Sand cap, MGOPS base.
Lighting - 3 LED Stocklight
Filter - Sponge DIY
Heating - Marina 10 watt
CO2 - Excel
Fertz - MGOPS
Hardscape - Local rocks
Flora - Marsilea Quadrifolia (I hope it stays in clover form in this tank), Fissidens Fontanus, Anubias Nana Petite, Mini pellia, Creeping Jenny, and Water Wisteria. 
Will be adding crypt parva, and more creeping jenny.
Fauna - 8 Yellow Shrimp (possibly less)

Sorry for the bad pics once again.
My cell is horrible and I am super shaky. Plus LED's and my camera dont go well... Hopefully you get the idea.
These are the 3 angles I'll see it most often from.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Nice! Good job with the wood! It fits snug in that corner. I still need to find a few branches for my bowl. 

Also think the rock is a little light, but I like the shape. I know there is aquatic safe spray paint but I wouldn't risk it. I think Home Depot had cheap black river rocks in the garden section. Or just go to a park and look in a river/stream, you live in CA after all!

You could probably just tie some more fissidens to the rocks and wait for them to cover it.


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## sapphoqueen (Feb 9, 2010)

i love it! good job !


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Nice! Good job with the wood! It fits snug in that corner. I still need to find a few branches for my bowl.
> 
> Also think the rock is a little light, but I like the shape. I know there is aquatic safe spray paint but I wouldn't risk it. I think Home Depot had cheap black river rocks in the garden section. Or just go to a park and look in a river/stream, you live in CA after all!
> 
> You could probably just tie some more fissidens to the rocks and wait for them to cover it.


I love that wood.... It was an awesome find..
My biggest problem with this tank is.. Its probably the best tank I've done..
Its a super cute and wonderful and awesome in person. 
But it looks terrible in photos...
I really hope I can find my camera charger sometime soon...
Its not translating at all... Dissapoints me... You cant even see the shrimp...
If you look real hard you can see little vaguely shaped super blurry mustard coloured spots... Those are the shrimp... Still juvies.. Unfortunately one jumped out within the hour... Every other one is doing well and seems to be enjoying their new home.
I'm still searching for stones..
The problem is when have lots of wonderful stones.. But they either aren't what I'm looking for, or have rust inside of them when I crack them open...
I love this little tank though...


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

sapphoqueen said:


> i love it! good job !


Thanx!!
I love it to...


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

An update -

Ok.. well... I have some issues with this tank. Mainly just the light.
Its a cute LED, actually a bit brighter than I though it would be, but I'm beginning to doubt its enough light for my purposes.
I just do not know if it is enough to grow even lowlight plants. The anubias seems to be doing well, and the moss is already starting to pick itself up and frond out. But everything else seems to be sitting there. Theres no real evidence for this yet. I just have a feeling that it is not enough light for my purposes.
I was at Ikea and they have a clip on super bright LED reading light for around $15.
I might try that light and see if it makes me feel better.
Other than that everything is going great.
The shrimplettes are thriving and great little guys to watch in this tank...
A few of them disappeared for a few days and emerges much more yellow than before.
I'm very pleased with them.
The driftwood is slowly releasing tannins into the water, I stuk a packet of carbon in a few hours ago to help get them out. I plan on taking it out in another few hours.
What else..
Oh! I added in some crypt parva in between the rocks and mosses, some more creeping jenny in that one spot where I only have those two tiny stems, and some Java fern to the sponge filter. 
I'm going to be adding some anubias nana to the back of the driftwood near the top.
I want to encourage it to start growing emersed and up the stem of the driftwood that pokes out of the water.
I HATE the wires. So many tubes and wired for this little tank.
I really need to start organising them so that it doesnt drive me up the wall when I;m getting ready in the morning.
Again this requires a trip to Ikea... 
Is that it.. I think so.. Wait no..
There were two shrimp deaths.
They both happened on the first day. Within an hour of adding them one of them jumped out onto the counter. I neglected to notice till later that evening.
And later that night, I found one dead in the front corner.
I did a test and all the parameters are fine, the temp was fine, no sudden spikes or drops in anything.
I've been monitoring them ever since as well. Everyone seems happy and healthy so I think the dead one in the tank was an isolated case. Perhaps shipping did the poor little guy under.
Hopefully once I get this new light I can take a decent picture of the scape....


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Hmm I'm testing an IKEA LED reading light in my bowl, the aponogeton is growing, but then again I think it will grow in complete darkness. I put new clippings in, will see if they do anything in a week. I've never had a shrimp jump out of water. Add some frogbits, I think they help. Is the filtration too strong? Can they walk around without being blown away?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Hmm I'm testing an IKEA LED reading light in my bowl, the aponogeton is growing, but then again I think it will grow in complete darkness. I put new clippings in, will see if they do anything in a week. I've never had a shrimp jump out of water. Add some frogbits, I think they help. Is the filtration too strong? Can they walk around without being blown away?


Unfortunately no one near me carries any of the floaters associated with the aquarium trade.
I use my baby water lettuce..
Which I never uploaded a picture of... Shame on me.
But I don't want a floater in this tank... I'm not sure why that shrimp jumped, but none of the others go near the surface of the water.

I'm pretty sure we are talking about the same light. It would be wonderful so see how it goes.. It seemed pretty powerful for such a tiny light.
Of course that doesnt mean it will grow plants... I hope it does well.
I would really like a replacement light.

No, the current is nice and soft. It just the current given off by an airstone, so there isnt much current at all...


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Oh tannins..
How I hate you...
I love tannins really.
Blackwater Biotopes inspire me. They look amazing and I've been looking for a great reason to set one up. 
But I hate tannins in normal tanks. I want clear crystal water... 
I boiled this wood... For days..
Partly because there was a lot of soft parts to get out. And my house is kind of lacking in the convenient tools department, And partly because I wanted the tannins gone. And partly to sink it. It sunk after the first 4 hours. The next bit was harder. I wanted the tannins out.
I finally got it so that the water was clean no matter how long or hard I boiled it.
Turns out they werent gone.
They have invaded my tank. Its funny to watch though. Since its a sponge filter theres very little flow. Every day it moves about 2 inches away from the wood. Slowly encroaching upon the rest of the tank. 
A dark red wave of hate and destruction. Slowly engulfing my little tank.
I want it gone...
Some of my shrimp are growing way faster than the others. And some of them are a much more yellow. I'm not going to cull this batch though. Not yet. 
We will see. 
Thats all... I wish you guys could see how this actually looked. These pictures literally do nothing for anything... Ugh...


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

So...
I got some more plants to put in. I have them floating in my betta bowl right now.. 
Java fern, creeping jenny, crypt parva, and cabomba are waiting to be planted.
I've been slowly draining it by 25% a few times a day. I am trying to get the tannins out. Without shocking the shrimp. On my next waterchange I am going to plant them.
I got a new light for it. A single LED reading light from Ikea. MUUCH brighter.
Got a few over exposed but better pics...
Hopefully this is better for my tank...


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## synaethetic (Oct 4, 2011)

Looks good! The bathroom is a great place for a tank IMO =]


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

How cute is that?! Love what you've done!

I especially love that part of the driftwood is out of the water. Very natural look!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

The pond plant girl has floaters, she's in Nor Cal though, not sure how far that is from you. I got frogbits from her on eBay. If you're close you should pay her a visit, she has a huuuge array of pond plants.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

synaethetic said:


> Looks good! The bathroom is a great place for a tank IMO =]


Its an awesome place for a tank!!
Except when my friend who is scared of fish comes. 
She uses the downstairs...


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

kcartwright856 said:


> How cute is that?! Love what you've done!
> 
> I especially love that part of the driftwood is out of the water. Very natural look!


Thank you!
I'm trying to convince some anubias to slowly grow up it. I think it would look adorable


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> The pond plant girl has floaters, she's in Nor Cal though, not sure how far that is from you. I got frogbits from her on eBay. If you're close you should pay her a visit, she has a huuuge array of pond plants.


Lol..
I have to say I'm about 6 - 8 hours away from NorCal.
Only about an hour from Mexico though... Or is it longer.... hmm.... I don't know... I've never paid attention when I go. I'm close...
There are lots of people with floaters down here... I just have yet to meet or find any of them.
In all honesty theres a few things I'm holding out for.
More anubias nana petite. I neeeeeeeed waaaaay more of this stuff.
I always see people selling of giant mats of it right when I'm out of money. I'm so annoyed. I have use for it in every single tank I have...
I need more mosses!!! I have so many types of mosses that I just need and want. So many uses... I want them all... I have use for them in almost every tank I have...
I need some floaters...
Seriously.. I do.. I admit it.. 
I just don't wanna pay for it.
I wish I could find someone close and pick a baggy of dwarf water lettuce up...
Thats what I need.... meh...

Anything tank related...
Hmm...
The new light is awesome...
And my shrimp are getting huge.
I can only ever see around 5 at a time though. I also have determined I hate wires.
They are so ugly. I'm trying my hardest to make them go away and look nice.


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## Robotponys (Sep 7, 2011)

I love this tank!


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Robotponys said:


> I love this tank!


Thank you!!
Cant wait to see what you start up!


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Shrimp skeletons everywhere!!!
Upon reaching my bathroom this morning.. To....
...
.....
Conduct business... Thats subtle enough... Right?
I saw what seemed like a pile of skeletons sitting in the far front fright corner.
Get it? Fright?!?!?
I'm a sucker for really bad puns. Best form of comedy... Anywhere.. Ever.. 
Anyhow, it worried me to see them. I immediately panicked, and thought "OH NO!!! ONCE AGAIN THE CRUEL HAND OF FATE HAS ENTERED MY LIFE AND KILLED OFF ALL MY SHRIMP!!".
See, this happened once before... I had order 10 blue pearls. I let them live and grow. It was magical. Until that day. 
My tank was inert sand with.. well the only reason I think anything grew was because of how shallow it was.
I decided that this one clump of plants needed to go somewhere else. I did some rearranging and left.
I came back to shrimp that were either dead or spiraling... A huge waterchange and prime didnt help anything. It was far too late.
Three managed to survive. But upon closer inspection it was realised that they were all female.
I had previously been throwing all my weird culls into my betta tank. If he ate them, fine. If he didnt eat them, fine...
So I had some weird ones in there. 
I had some clear. One was Hershey brown. One was half brown half blue in a perfectly solid even symmetrical line. One was orange. Weird stuff.
I eventually moved those three shrimp into the betta bowl with the others.
It was all well and dandy... 
Ive been slowly breeding and culling them back to blue in that bowl.
But the shock of losing so many at once, especially with how much they cost, was alot for me to handle. This was my first attempt after that.
This, on top of the high temps my house harbors, is why I don't do anything but stare at nice shrimp... Blue rili is about as adventurous as I get. Or will get
So as you probably guessed... My world crashed down around me.
I though I had viciously murdered 10 perfectly innocent yellow shrimp
I panicked.
In the middle of sobbing on my bathroom floor, an event comparable to the most heart wrenching moment in a Lifetime movie. I realised that the skeletons were clear.
I peeked my head around the counter and saw that it was in fact a pile of exoskeletons.
Don't ask me why they all piled them in the same place. Perhaps its a communal feeding center. That is where I drop the occasional leftove rbits from feeding my other fish.
BTW... can I mention how creepy it is to see them snacking on their leftover shells? It is creepy. Sacrificial almost.
I hope they survive this molt.
This is my last hurdle before I'll start to relax about this tank.


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## fishyspots (Sep 29, 2011)

I love your little tank and your entertaining journaling! Keep us posted on updates as now I want to go grab one of those tanks for MY bathroom (because, you know, four tanks in there just isn't enough )


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## charms (Jan 8, 2012)

You guys are SO lucky to have that much room - in the bathroom... I have found this very entertaining tho. That tank is too cute!!

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk


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## dragonsong93 (Nov 25, 2011)

Haha this is awesome  The tank looks so cute and I love the driftwood!

I have entirely too much frogbit btw, if you'd be willing to trade some plants :biggrin:


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

charms said:


> You guys are SO lucky to have that much room - in the bathroom... I have found this very entertaining tho. That tank is too cute!!
> 
> Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk


My bathroom is tiny!!
Well not super tiny.. But it isnt big.
This tank is only 6x6x6 inches and takes up almost no room!!
So... you know..
Free the beast..
Go out and buy it...
You know you want it!


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

fishyspots said:


> I love your little tank and your entertaining journaling! Keep us posted on updates as now I want to go grab one of those tanks for MY bathroom (because, you know, four tanks in there just isn't enough )


I wish I was entertaining!!
I would never be bored!! I wish and pray and hope for work.
And despite my fear of zombies I think I subconsciously wish for a worldwide epidemic. I think...
Maybe I just want to know how I would handle it... Based on what I've seen... not well.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

dragonsong93 said:


> Haha this is awesome  The tank looks so cute and I love the driftwood!
> 
> I have entirely too much frogbit btw, if you'd be willing to trade some plants :biggrin:


This driftwood is AWESOME!!!
Seriously..
I've been out back slowly dismantling this giant log that I got this from.
Most of it is soft and unusable, but underneath that are gems of wood.
I must say. The bits leftover form the termites are just amazing!!
You cant see how intricate and amazing this wood is, because... well...
My camera can't capture it. And cause I filled it wiht plants.
The termites make these pockets almost, and it seriously is amazing. It looks awesome.
I filled the pockets in this tank with anubias nana petite though.
Almost wondering if I could sell this wood to someone..


I'm not sure If I have any plants worth trading.. What would you be interested in?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

On second though imma shoot you a PM...
Thats more.. professional right?
Something like that.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol I thought your shrimp really died on reading that last post :icon_cry: All alive and well and molting?

I can't find my berried rili anymore  I think I killed it when siliconing the edges of my moss wall yesterday, that or I scared it into dropping all the eggs.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Lol I thought your shrimp really died on reading that last post :icon_cry: All alive and well and molting?
> 
> I can't find my berried rili anymore  I think I killed it when siliconing the edges of my moss wall yesterday, that or I scared it into dropping all the eggs.


Lol!
I thought they did too.. Sad day..
Everyone is fine..
Or I think so..
I'm not exactly sure how many shrimp are in there. They adore hiding behind the driftwood and in the water wisteria. I count around 5 most times I'm in there so I think they are doing well..
Theres one shrimp thats obviously way bigger than the others. I'm pretty sure she is one of the ones that molted and shes out alot.
So I think it went well..
I did notice that all my shrimp went a little lighter this molt.
I'm blaming the rocks and rushing for a suitable replacement... Something darker that will encourage them to go bright yellow..


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

What do you feed those shrimp? I noticed my shrimp in my smaller cube are smaller than the bigger tank. Feed the same.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> What do you feed those shrimp? I noticed my shrimp in my smaller cube are smaller than the bigger tank. Feed the same.


I've heard they stay smaller in smaller containers.. Which to be honest.. Is completely fine with me.
I feed... almost nothing...
Um... oh!!
Sometimes when I'm feeding my other fish. If theres a tiny bit left on the plate I drop it in.
I feed homemade food.. I keep it in the freezer and grate it against a tiny grater wheen I want to feed.
Its just easier because of the tiny cory and sparkling gourami mouths... So they get a couple extra pieces of that around once every week and a half.
And I've been trying veggies... So far the only thing they even showed the slightest interest in is spinach.
I'm going to try spirulina powder next...
Mostly I just leave them alone though. I feed them maybe once every week to 2 weeks...


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

What do you put in homemade food? I throw in a piece of swiss chard every now and then, but only snails eat it. Will try spinach after some more grow out of my garden.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> What do you put in homemade food? I throw in a piece of swiss chard every now and then, but only snails eat it. Will try spinach after some more grow out of my garden.


Depends on the fish I am feeding.
Right now I just have a basic all around food.
Its 
1/3 lb Salmon
1/3 lb Beef Heart
1/3 lb Shrimp (d-veined and shelled)
1/3 lb Cod
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 1/2 Zucchini 
1 Small Summer Squash
1/2 Package Frozen Bloodworms
3/4 Cups Cold Water
1 Large Jar Organic Pea and Spinach Baby Food
1 3/4 Cups Water
1/2 Tbsp Spirulina
4 Packets Gelatin

I blend everything together while I'm boiling water for the gelatin. Mix the gelatin with the slurry and pour it into icecube tray and put it into the fridge to set.
I used to keep what I would use for the week in a baggy in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. But It went bad quickly in the fridge... 
I realised that it unfroze quickly in the water.. like 5 - 10 seconds...
After I got the habrosus I had to start grating it. And it was just easier in frozen form. It normally defrost before I get to the tanks.
Now I keep one frozen one separate in bag till its all gone.
I made that batch months and months ago... Like September or something.
It cost around $20 total and I'm not even halfway through it. A quarter maybe. Not sure... lol
I feed that in between feedings of grated live foods, and blanched veggies. 
I'm thinking of making a different batch.
I want one that is mainly veggie based for my goldfish and shrimps...
Thinking of doing an all veggie one with an agar agar base instead of gelatin.
I might have to try chard. I've got some rainbow chard I could use.
Even if the shrimp dont eat it its a great way to bait snails out.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Wow, so the jello-fish-food stays together in the water? I've been meaning to do something similar to feed my otos. I guess I would need spirulina powder, where do you get yours? 

Why beef heart? Did you find a recipe online? I just ordered a HUGE batch of gelatin for jello shots (don't judge me), I could whip up a few batches of fish food. Blah, I'm going to end up doing more cooking for my fish than for myself. 

Here is the ingredients for Soilent Green, wonder if I should make my own or just buy some. Will probably just try making general fish food and buy food specifically for otos, they're so picky.

Chard is pretty acidic and most fish/shrimp don't like it, need to boil it pretty well to reduce the oxalic acid. I think spinach is more palatable. Chard is just so much easier to grow.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Wow, so the jello-fish-food stays together in the water? I've been meaning to do something similar to feed my otos. I guess I would need spirulina powder, where do you get yours?
> 
> Why beef heart? Did you find a recipe online? I just ordered a HUGE batch of gelatin for jello shots (don't judge me), I could whip up a few batches of fish food. Blah, I'm going to end up doing more cooking for my fish than for myself.
> 
> ...


Stays together really well.
Not as complicated or long lasting as the repashy foods. I was honestly looking into purchasing some.
But its a great basic food, and better than flakes and most pellets.
So I'm really happy with it.
Try your hand at making some. It's kinda fun and the results are fantastic.
It holds up well in water, but the agar agar might hold up better.
It stays in shape for a few hours or so in water.
I have some spinach growing outside lol but I can never get chard to grow.
Beef heart is used alot for carnivorous fish. I didnt use alot.
I pulled from alot of recipes I found online. Mainly Discus and angelfish food recipes. So lots and lots of meat.
I'm still on my first batch and havent had alot of time to play around with it.
I love jello shots..
I'm weird with them.. I make what my friends call "adult jello shots" lol...


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

As in you make mint julep jello shots? 

I'm going to make some fish food tomorrow! I need an ice tray.

Thinking: 

Spinach
Chard
Chicken Breast
Shrimp 
Algae Wafers
Garlic/Ginger
Peas

That's all I have at the moment... is it counter intuitive to add flakes in there?

Do you cook your meat first? Probably should?

Small amounts of meat in this first batch for the platies/shrimp/oto. I'll probably do a mostly-meat one for the bettas later.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> As in you make mint julep jello shots?
> 
> I'm going to make some fish food tomorrow! I need an ice tray.
> 
> ...


Its important to start with a base.. I normally opt for organic baby food...
I get my spirulina at ralphs.. Most grocery stores have it.
I would avoid the algae wafers depending on the kind. Look at what the ingredients say. Most of the time algae is the last ingredient on the list. Most often wheat and other ingredients are first.
Plus they usually don't blend all that well. I tried lol...
Spirulina powder is easier.
I have no idea about adding ginger. Let me know what it does! Powder of fresh?
Don't cook the meat. Leave it all raw. They get more nutrition that way. If your making a recipe for the shrimp and oto's use agar agar instead of gelatin is meat based and agar agar is veggie based. Better for their health..
I might also drop the chicken in favor of a fish like cod or salmon.
The chicken is better suited for the betta food.
I didnt add flake food but I did add in half a container of freeze dried brine shrimp cubes from omega. I don't think it would harm it though...
Thats just my opinion though. Do what you like. Let me know how it turns out.
It loses scent once set, but giving you a warning. Wear gloves when making it or it will stick to your hands. Wish I did lol...
Let me know how it goes!!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Yeah, chicken = salmonella. Do you have any idea how to create "gel-like" food? Just use more gelatin? Or less?

Ginger & garlic ground up I guess, fresh. Supposed to boost immune systems, could just be an old wives' tale. My fiance won't be happy seeing me use good salmon for fish food.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Yeah, chicken = salmonella. Do you have any idea how to create "gel-like" food? Just use more gelatin? Or less?
> 
> Ginger & garlic ground up I guess, fresh. Supposed to boost immune systems, could just be an old wives' tale. My fiance won't be happy seeing me use good salmon for fish food.


Tee hee... my fiance said the same thing when I bought my food.
I'm not sure what gel like food means... With the gelatin and agar it will set up like a really stiff jello...
Really stiff...

Have you tried tequila sunrise or strawberry margarita jelly shots?
My favorite is elderberry flower and blackberry....


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Elderberry liqueur, tastes like lychee?










Love that stuff 

This is cheaper though, tastes similar:


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Elderberry liqueur, tastes like lychee?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


We need to have a jello shot plant potluck..
Lots of jello shots and lots of plant and shrimp and fish exchanges and oggling..
lol...


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Hmm, not sure about moving plants and fauna. That's a lot of glass and water. Not as mobile as a LAN party :/ Maybe....










How are the shrimp doing?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

lol!!
They are doing great. I am starting to see them get more yellow with time.
Still want to switch out to slightly darker rocks..
Other than that nothing really changed...
Oh!! I added two baby nerites.
My LFS just expanded their plant and invertebrate section. Lots of cool thing there...
But he had tons of nerite everywhere now. Just everywhere is every pattern and size. I got two horned nerites that are black with stripes.
They are this ____ big.
And only $1 each!!
Too cute. Some GSA was building up on the glass and I was hoping they would eradicate it.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Blah and you say you have no selection. All I have are Petsmart-co-supermarkets. Maybe 2 or 3 LFS that sell mostly big/marine stuff. No one carries shrimp. Horned for $1 ea  I want some.

Pics of nerites or it didn't happen!


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Blah and you say you have no selection. All I have are Petsmart-co-supermarkets. Maybe 2 or 3 LFS that sell mostly big/marine stuff. No one carries shrimp. Horned for $1 ea  I want some.
> 
> Pics of nerites or it didn't happen!


Its only recently that this store has gotten anything in.
Hes starting up a nano fish section. The first time I've seen celestial pearl danios in real life. They are so cute...
I'm not sure my camera on my phone can do that.... I'll try....


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

By recently I mean... Within the week.. I was there on sunday and came in today too a whole new row of tanks dedicated to plants, and a row of smaller tanks dedicated to shrimp and nanofish as well as plants...
These are the best shots my phone could get. I don't know where my other one is at the moment. Theres a giant space behind the driftwood that has lots of fissidens and water wisteria the all the shrimp and snails like to disappear into for long periods of time...
But There was one in the front I managed to take a photo of.
And At the bottom theres a blurry pic of a shrimp. If you look close you can see it in the dark knot in the wood, between the semi circle of water wisteria leaves. To the upper right of the marsilea...


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

They're black/brown horned? That's awesome! Your marsilea looks different from mine.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> They're black/brown horned? That's awesome! Your marsilea looks different from mine.


Lol! He had so many different kinds... And almost all of them had horns!

It does? How so?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Plants staying alive in there/growing under that light?

Do you get natural light in your bathroom?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Plants staying alive in there/growing under that light?
> 
> Do you get natural light in your bathroom?


Yup!! Everyone is doing well..
Actually.. The marsilea is slowly turning a weird green colour.
Keeping an eye on it.
But other than that my tank is going great.
Little concerned for the moss.
Its starting to pick up and frond out like it should. But its a little brown.
I think it might be the constant 78 temp... Cant adjust that.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

A couple things, 
The light s too strong!!
Theres a nice patina of algae on the rocks, which I enjoy. 
But the mass of hair algae is just insane...
It appeared over night.
I have cut back the hours the light is on. And raised the light higher.


Now for the heartbreaking news.
All my shrimp are dead.

And the worst part is. I didn't kill them.
I have been hearing a slight chinking noise the past couple of nights.
I have three cats and they over to play with each other through the night so I assumed it was them. Turns out it was.
I finally decided to investigate it as the noise was too constant for playing.
I sneaked into the hallway and discovered it was coming from the bathroom...
I got in there just in time to watch a yellow shrimp fly out of the tank and my youngest cat, Toki, catch him in his mouth.
Apparenty he had figured out that if he hit the glass and scared them they would jump.
Horrified I chased him out and did a thorough investigation of my tank.
There isnt a single one left alive.
I am at a loss.
I need more before the person who gave them to me as a present notices they are missing.
But I have no cash.
I feel like crying...


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Cats are evil 

You should RAOK them!


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## charms (Jan 8, 2012)

I wouldn't take them!! I have my own evil kitty!! Sorry to hear about the shrimps.. 

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Lol!!
I love my kitties. Least evil kitties out there.. just troublesome..
They are too awesome to ROAK...
And I wouldnt have anyone to go with on my morning jog with if I gave them away!!
That would be so sad!


Updates... After some debate with myself I decided to go with a cheaper shrimp for now.
Need to make it work and train the kitties that this tank is completely off limits..

So!!!
I invested in some cherry shrimp. Not terribly high grade ones. But not too low of a grade either. Just simple straight forward cherry shrimp.
One of them did not like being moved. It started laying on its side in the bag on the way home.
And the store is only 5 minutes from my house.
It stayed on its side through the acclimation and addition process. It swam quickly down to the bottom and picked a spot.
It hasnt moved in hours. It still alive. It just hasnt moved. I'm keeping an eye on it.
I'll upload a picture soon...

That's it I think... Other than that... One of my anubias nana petite has grown some intense algae on one leaf. 
I have to google if the plants in my tank can handle a hydrogen peroxide nuke job or not to get rid of it. Its going to be a very controlled nuking though as I do not want to to go near my rocks. They have and awesome patina of green spot algae on them that I do not want to get rid of.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

You jog with your cats?

Put some double sided tape around the tank.

How much are local RCS?

Are you sure it's algae and not melting from emersed growth? The algae will be gone as your tank gets more established. I wouldn't sweat it. Or get a nerite to eat them. Avoid chemicals.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> You jog with your cats?
> 
> Put some double sided tape around the tank.
> 
> ...


Yes I do...
We go jogging everyday. They are boundary and leash trained.
Meaning they can run with me on a leash. And I can let them off the leash at parks to go run and play. They stay within my eyeline the whole time and come back to be leashed back up again when called.
Kinda like a dog lol... 
They are also trained to jump on my shoulders if a dog comes near.
Alot of dogs arent used to cats and I would rather avoid confrontation.
They do play with my dog Blooregard...

My RCS were $3 each. Not terribly cheap but I don't have to pay shipping...

For now I'm making sure the door is shut tight. Anti fish tank training begins tomorrow. They had never showed much interest before this point so I never addressed it..

I already have a nerite remember!!
I bought two tiny ones from my LFS.
This anubias came in from someones tank fully submersed. And has been in my hate tank for a while. It's just algae.
Everything in this tank is fully submersed. Though I am working on sending some anubias and moss up the wood to grow emerged.
I think its beard algae and I want to kill it now before it gets too bad. 
My nerite and shrimp wont eat it.
I plan on lowering the water line below the anubias, using a pipette to drip it over the leaf. I am going to have some paper towel below it to catch the drips, and I'm going to rinse the leaf with another pipette with water in it. That way none of the hydrogen peroxide actually gets into the water.
We will see how it goes lol..


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Epicfish has 20 for $20 shipped.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Epicfish has 20 for $20 shipped.


Dang thats cheap. To be honest I'm thinking of getting some Painted Fire Reds.
See I bought 4. Theres quite a few left at the store as well...
I could see some of them were pretty red.
But I didnt expect this.
Two of the 4 are a deep solid red. Really really solid. 
They are almost painted fire red. I've been staring at them and can't see a single clear spot on them.
However their colour isnt as bright as I would like.
And I have one that is almost completely solid. But it is a birght bright bright red. Almost neon.
The last one is a typical cherry shrimp. Half red half clear with spots..
I'm thinking of buying a few more from my LFS and seeing if there are any solid ones. Might make him catch him all so I can pick and chose.
The ones that don't pass will be put in either my 6.6 or my 5.5 as a cleanup crew. 
The other ones I'm going to breed for a few generations and cull towards a painted fire. And when its time to add new stock to the gene pool use painted fires instead of normal cherry shrimp...
Wish I had looked online first.. Ah well..


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Heres some pictures. 
This does not do my shrimp justice....
Two of them are a nice dark solid red. Too bad you can't really see them.
I did try to take a picture of it. But it didn't go so well.
Whatever. You can also see my two more normal looking cherry shrimp...


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## Alyssa (Sep 16, 2011)

What is that clover like plant called? I am fully in LOVE with that plant!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Some of the ones I got from epic are very very red, at least Sakura grade, 1 or 2 I would say PFR, can't spot clear spots. They come as juvies but grow up fast. I find that most if not all Sakura/PFR are just adult female cherries. At $3 a pop you're better off getting 20 for 20 imo, but I think he's out of stock for 2 weeks. The plants look nice on that driftwood. Doesn't this thing come with a lid?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Alyssa said:


> What is that clover like plant called? I am fully in LOVE with that plant!


Its such a cute plant. It does well in high - low light. And it puts out leaves anywhere from tiny 1 inch stems with a pencil eraser sized clover. To a 8 inch stem with a quarter sized clover.
The clover itself lasts a couple weeks.
It spread via runners and likes a fertile substrate.
As far as I know it is some type of marsilea.
Not sure which kind.
It came from the side of a pond.
Most marsilea loses its 4 leaf cover form after being submerged but this one didnt. Not sure why.
It retains its 4 leaf form no matter which tank I stick it in. I'm hoping to have enough soon to sell. I want to see if it keeps its form in other peoples tanks...
Sorry for all the info lol..
I have tried to get it an ID before and the best I can get is some type of marsilea.
Perhaps quadrifolia.. who knows..

Its also not a very fast propagator. Its not super slow. But its not super fast. Mine grows maybe another 2 square inches in about a month and a half...


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Some of the ones I got from epic are very very red, at least Sakura grade, 1 or 2 I would say PFR, can't spot clear spots. They come as juvies but grow up fast. I find that most if not all Sakura/PFR are just adult female cherries. At $3 a pop you're better off getting 20 for 20 imo, but I think he's out of stock for 2 weeks. The plants look nice on that driftwood. Doesn't this thing come with a lid?


I cant wait to try and breed my own bright red cooked lobster line.
Eh.. The convenience of the other store near me trumps online ordering in my head somehow.. I dunno why.
Besides... I plan on getting only like.. 3 or 4 more at the max.
20 would be waaay too many...
Curiously enough I think my darkest ones are males. 
No one is displaying a saddle so I do not know for sure. But I am fairly certain my darkest ones are male.
These guys are def not juvies. Hoping to get a batch or two out of them before old age gets them. Who knows how old they are... They sort of strike me as someones culls lol...
The anubias?
I love the anubias. The marsilea has grown on me too. I originally took it with the plan to make a lowlight carpet. But it never went that route so.. Now I think I like the 4 leaf thing...
It does indeed come with a lid.
But theres a huge hole in the middle. And I would need to cut out a space in it fro the driftwood. And then I would have no where for my frogbits cause thats where the light shines in.. And yadda yadda yadda yadda.... I already tried earlier....
Spent like an hour pondering over it with no solution.
I think I might get my own piece of acrylic and cut it. Possibly raise it a few millimeters so the frogbits can float freely...


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## Overgrowth (Feb 19, 2012)

Great tank! I love the huge tree!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I forgot the wood comes out of the tank, get a hack saw and saw off the top lol.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Overgrowth said:


> Great tank! I love the huge tree!


Thanks!!
Its actually a really really tiny tree... lol...


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> I forgot the wood comes out of the tank, get a hack saw and saw off the top lol.


I love the top!
I'm hoping to have plants on it.


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## Overgrowth (Feb 19, 2012)

Eldachleich said:


> Thanks!!
> Its actually a really really tiny tree... lol...


Lol, well huge is a relative term. I meant huge as in how it takes up most of the tank space; it reminds me of a forest with a 'king' tree.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Overgrowth said:


> Lol, well huge is a relative term. I meant huge as in how it takes up most of the tank space; it reminds me of a forest with a 'king' tree.


Thats awesome. It was sort of what I was going for!! Glad its coming through somewhat. Actually that was exactly what I was going for.
What you cant see is the gian giant space in the back. Mainly cause I hid it with my water wisteria lol.
My shrimp like to hide in there for days at a time, and worry the crap out of me.

In other news...
Nothing... lol..
I purchased one more as the even number of shrimp irked me.
Now I have a confirmed 3 females as they are all saddled... Hoping to get a berry soon...


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## pedropete (Feb 27, 2012)

update?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

HAIR ALGAE!!!!!


Thats about it lol.... Oh and a black background....

Other than that nothing much. Couple of saddled females. 
This light seems to be great at growing hair algae. Even underneath the covering of frogbit and salvinia. Thinking of switching out some plants for others.
I'm concentrating on my other tanks right now.
For some reason or another I had a huuuuuuge die off in every single one of my tanks except this one... No idea what caused it but I'm still reeling form the damage a little.
Almost all my fish are dead or worse. Mysteriously missing.
So I'm slowly trying to get my tanks back in order.


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## pedropete (Feb 27, 2012)

dang, that sucks wonder why? 

i'm considering either setting up a cubus like you or maybe a marina kit likey xenxes (for just some really pretty shrimp), but it seems like the cubus is better all around. would probably do the azoo palm filter. which ikea light did you get? thanks


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Hair algae's awful. I'm not sure what eats it, certainly nothing I have. I think Amanos eat them, but only a certain kind (there's diff. species of hair algae apparently). 

Agree with pedro the cubus is better, larger, and glass!


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## Alyssa (Sep 16, 2011)

Eldachleich said:


> Its such a cute plant. It does well in high - low light. And it puts out leaves anywhere from tiny 1 inch stems with a pencil eraser sized clover. To a 8 inch stem with a quarter sized clover.
> The clover itself lasts a couple weeks.
> It spread via runners and likes a fertile substrate.
> As far as I know it is some type of marsilea.
> ...


I actually JUST found a whole POT of it last weekend! Yay!

Hey what light are you using now for your cubus?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

pedropete said:


> dang, that sucks wonder why?
> 
> i'm considering either setting up a cubus like you or maybe a marina kit likey xenxes (for just some really pretty shrimp), but it seems like the cubus is better all around. would probably do the azoo palm filter. which ikea light did you get? thanks


Honestly.. The cubus is nice and glass and all.. But its a tad small. It works for around 5 or 6 neo's, but not much beyond that. Thats excluding offspring of course.
I would seriously consider a 2 - 4 gallon cube. Its only a few inch bigger and would be alot easier to handle.
Just my 2 cents.

The Aqueon 2 gallon evolve is pretty snazzy. To be honest. Imma test how low a PC fan will keep the temps in my tanks. If its low enough I'm going to buy the 8 gallon Evolve and invest in some middle grade crystal black and red shrimp. Also considering a few blue or royal blue tigers.

This option is cheaper lol..
The azoo mini palm would be great. But I've made peace with my sponge filter lol.


The ikea light is the same one Xenexes uses I believe. It is a single bulb LED reading lamp. More in the yellow spectrum. Mine is the white clip on version. Cost $15


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Hair algae's awful. I'm not sure what eats it, certainly nothing I have. I think Amanos eat them, but only a certain kind (there's diff. species of hair algae apparently).
> 
> Agree with pedro the cubus is better, larger, and glass!


 Ugh its a apin in tthe butt to get rid of. And its worse in moss.
Excel and Hydrogen peroxide will get rid of it. But it will also get rid of my shrimp.
For now I am just removing it bit by bit by hand. 
Honestly its only in the moss. But gosh, once its in the moss its hard to get out.

I honestly need a timer for this light. Part of my problem is that I forget its on an just go to bed lol..


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Alyssa said:


> I actually JUST found a whole POT of it last weekend! Yay!
> 
> Hey what light are you using now for your cubus?


Thats awesome!!
I steal mine from a local pond lol. Same way I got my creeping jenny and rotala lol.
Let me know if it reverts to its one leaf form. I am really interested to know.


I am using a single LED clip on reading light from Ikea.
This one actually. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80169636/
But in white.
They sell one with a base as well. Honestly I kind of dig it. I have some hair algae problems but its my fault not the lamps. Its a little yellow for me though.
MAkes me want to go back and cruise their lamp section lol.
They had some sleek LED clip on lights that I think would be awesome for a 5 gallon.

These! they had tons of styles and kinds. Super slick aand thin. And not that spotlighty at all. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20180726/
I think it would do well for my low light hate tank.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Eldachleich said:


> Ugh its a apin in tthe butt to get rid of. And its worse in moss.
> Excel and Hydrogen peroxide will get rid of it. But it will also get rid of my shrimp.
> For now I am just removing it bit by bit by hand.
> Honestly its only in the moss. But gosh, once its in the moss its hard to get out.
> ...


I wouldn't worry too much about it, hair algae's just another plant. Think of it as decoration  I have a whole tank of it in my 6g Edge. I have to use it in place of moss.


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## pedropete (Feb 27, 2012)

cool cool. i am thinking a cubus + azoo palm filter + fluval shrimp substrate (a tiny bit) + riccia carpet. for hardscape....maybe some small stones or very tiny branchy twigs (like manzanita). for shrimp...idk. i have S+ crs in my ebi, so i could do a couple really nice (SS/SS+) shrimp, but i kinda want to do either sakura/pfs or orange sunkist/pumpkin/whatever they're called. i could only keep a couple, obviously, but it'd just be for fun, not really for breeding. i need to get over to ikea and grab a light  thanks for heads up!

i will keep an eye on the evolve 2g as a potential nano cube for the future....


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## Alyssa (Sep 16, 2011)

That is a cool light! Wonder how heavy it is? Or how it would attach to the tank?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> I wouldn't worry too much about it, hair algae's just another plant. Think of it as decoration  I have a whole tank of it in my 6g Edge. I have to use it in place of moss.


Its making my fissidens too big and ruining my tree illusion!!
Darn algae.
I was thinking about how pretty it could be before I ripped it out of my tanks.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Alyssa said:


> That is a cool light! Wonder how heavy it is? Or how it would attach to the tank?


 Honestly the clip end of the light is just shoved behind the back corner of my tank. The tank is what keeping it in place.
I have no idea how much the one with the base weighs, this one ways next to nothing really..
If I had something to weigh it for you I totally would.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

pedropete said:


> cool cool. i am thinking a cubus + azoo palm filter + fluval shrimp substrate (a tiny bit) + riccia carpet. for hardscape....maybe some small stones or very tiny branchy twigs (like manzanita). for shrimp...idk. i have S+ crs in my ebi, so i could do a couple really nice (SS/SS+) shrimp, but i kinda want to do either sakura/pfs or orange sunkist/pumpkin/whatever they're called. i could only keep a couple, obviously, but it'd just be for fun, not really for breeding. i need to get over to ikea and grab a light  thanks for heads up!
> 
> i will keep an eye on the evolve 2g as a potential nano cube for the future....


That would be a cool tank.
Maybe take your best male and female and stick them by themselves and make high grade babies?
Sunkist sounds like a great idea too.

The evolve is pretty nice. I want the 8 gallon for some shrimp in the future.
I just purchased the 4 gallon evolve for my friend. In person its a nice tank.


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## SpecGrrl (Jul 26, 2012)

Eldachleich said:


> lol!!
> They are doing great. I am starting to see them get more yellow with time.
> Still want to switch out to slightly darker rocks..
> Other than that nothing really changed...
> ...


*do want horned nerites*


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Any updates? How is your hair algae battle? I currently am defeating a legion of hair algae by removing it, shortening my light period and a 72 hour blackout. It worked. I see most the thriving stuff all brown at the bottom of the tank >8)


From MABJ's iPhone
2G Fluval Spec ~ fauna and flora in the works!


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## Sleek1607 (Aug 20, 2012)

I have an Azoo Palm filter on the same betta tank you have that I also have. It works really well and as soon as it is cycled my first shrimps are going in


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## KatJack (Sep 13, 2012)

Oh dear. I've been wanting to take a shot at a small shrimp tank for a while. Thought I wanted something with a longer footprint, but now I think I want a cube! No, I don't need one. But I want one lol.

Nice tank set-up! Updates??


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