Not Dead

Hello Bloggers!

I am not dead yet.  I have just been pretty occupied with life and I got caught up with things.  A photo update on my CRS tank!

A quick update:  

1.  I no longer have any Taiwan bees.  They all died 2 months ago.  Death was unexplainable, so I won't be getting them any time soon for now.  I think I will need to dedicate a tank specifically for Taiwan bees, as my CRS seem to be more aggressive than the taiwan bees.  While being of the same species, I did notice a difference in behavior.  

2.  I DID lose a few of my original 17 CRS, aka. my starter shrimp.  However, I chalked those up to natural deaths of age wearing their immune system down and passed away from a recent heat wave/nutrient dosing.  Losing two or three shrimp isn't exactly a big deal anymore, since my tank is infested with shrimp now as seen above.

3.  My shrimp colony is running great.  They're still breeding and babies are growing still. 

4.  Interesting thing I should note that my first batch that were born (I believe in February) are still NOT sexually mature.  Growth seems rather slow, even though I feed almost, if not already, a small piece of Mosura Speciality food once a day.  I may pick up Mosura Excel and see if their claims of faster growth will help improve this.  I do know that a richer protein diet will speed up growth for other animals, as I tested this with Dwarf Crays a few years ago.  Results should be similar with shrimp, as they are closely related.  

5.  That is all I can think of for now.  I hope y'all are having a great summer!  

Mischling Failure

Well, if some of you guys have read, I had recorded a berried Panda on April 14, 2012.  It was impregnated by a male CRS in my CRS tank and I had intended to separate the mother into a breeder box (the net type) as she got closer to giving birth.  I estimated a minimum of 4 weeks.  Well, that was a poor estimation.  I checked her today in order to separate her and found that she was no longer carrying eggs.  She gave birth early!  I suspect that the rolling heat waves we've been getting in Northern California sped up the incubation process as my tank temperatures were hitting 76-78, as opposed to the usual 72-73 degrees Fahrenheit.

In conclusion, I now have mischlings amongst my CRS.  I intended to keep this a pure strain CRS tank but I guess that's not really possible now, unless I somehow get rid of all the newborns.  But I don't really want to do that, so I guess this gives me a reason to start a new tank with new pure line CRS.

Either way, I feel like a failure for not catching this sooner.  My life has been quite busy and I totally overlooked the heat wave's effects to the incubation of the eggs.

Ah well, lesson learned!

Sorry folks, no pictures today.

SSS Cull photos

These are examples of my SSS culls.  Half hinos, some might call them.  However, I call them SSS culls because they are an in between from SS and SSS.  Furthermore, they carry the SSS gene and their offspring are likely to produce SSS patterns, though this small red dot pattern can come up too.

Lucky One

Lately, I've been finding baby shrimp, dead and/or alive, in places they shouldn't have been in.  Yesterday, I picked up my shrimp net, only to find a dead baby shrimp inside.  It must have gotten caught when I was scooping out shrimp for buyers the day before.  A baby must've snuck inside and I didn't notice it when I pulled the net out of the water.
Last week, I cleaned the sponge I use to block my breeder box.  The sponge's purpose is to keep baby shrimp inside the breeder box and out of the main tank.  Unfortunately, the holes are large enough for small shrimp to climb into.  It's like a jungle gym inside!  While cleaning the sponge off from dead plants/algae, a baby shrimp was inside, hiding.  I ended up putting the sponge in the wrong position, not knowing there was a shrimp inside.  The shrimp dried up and died.  I only discovered this the day after the incident.

Last night, I received a batch of Rili Shrimp from my dear friend.  I came home, looking for a container to put them for the time being.  I decided to put them in one of my plastic holding containers (the ones you find in pet stores).  Well, the container I decided to use already had dirty tank water in it.  The container held water from a month ago, when I took a mini pellia square out of my tank to propagate and retie onto stainless steel mesh.  Funny thing is, I try to be really cautious when taking moss squares out of my aquarium because I know baby shrimp just LOVE hiding in there.  I try to shake it a couple times before taking the entire piece out.  Well, I must have missed one because look what I found inside the container.  *See pictures below*  It must have been living in there for at least a month with no filtration, whatsoever.  It lived in stagnant water.  I have placed it into my tank after snapping these photos.

Lucky little fellow, aye?  We give shrimp too little credit sometimes.  It really bothers me when people try to baby their shrimp by buying a million different products out in the market, thinking it will bolster survivability or whatnot.  The fact of the matter is, all you really need is the right water and enough natural occurring food and shrimp will be just fine.  This CRS lived in a small container with tank water and muck from my mini pellia.  No filter, no extra feedings, just water and mulm.
Now, do I think we should just let our shrimp live in filthy water and expect them to thrive?  Of course not.  I just want to make a point that our shrimp are hardier than we give them credit for.

Mosses and Liverworts

    There is no doubt that plants are often highly recommended to add into a shrimp tank.  Heck, into any freshwater aquarium nowadays, it seems.  However, the most recommended plant to add into shrimp tanks are probably Mosses and Liverworts.  

     I am a very big fan of the moss-type plants.  And I say moss-type because from here on out, when I say moss, I also include the liverworts.  Aesthetically, they're quite pleasing.  You can attach it onto anything with the use of clear fishing line.  I personally use stainless steel mesh but you can attach moss onto wood and/or rocks as well.  Aside from being pleasing to the eye, the real beauty of moss lies in its purpose of providing a safe haven for shrimplets (in case there are predatory fish in the tank) and generates more surface area in the tank for micro-organisms to grow on.  There was a misconception in the past that shrimp ATE the moss because one will often see shrimp picking away at mosses.  However, this is untrue.  In fact, they are picking at the moss because there is food growing on the moss's surface for them to pick at.  Think of it as the shrimp cleaning the moss and in exchange, it gets fed.  It's a win-win situation.  So, thinking about starting a shrimp tank?  Then definitely try to get your hands on some moss!  Enjoy the beneficial properties it provides to your enclosed ecosystem and best of all, its aesthetic beauty.

Below are some photos of the mosses I use and also some of my personal favorites.  

Note* Liverworts are the plants that look like freshwater seaweed.  These would include mini pellia, round pellia (subwassertang) and regular pellia.  There are more variants, but these are the main three types we see more often in the hobby.  

Mini Pellia

 Mini X-mas

Fissidens Fontanus

Another "Just a Picture"

What was once a small colony of 17 CRS, that number has since multiplied!

Just a Picture

Been a while since I've uploaded anything.  Here's a crummy photo taken with my iPhone with an awful glare/reflection.
On a side note, second batch of F1 babies have been popping late of last week.  Only 3-4 females have released so far with 4-5 more females to go.  As you can see in the photo above, there are already a ton of babies on the glass and the first batch of F1 are also growing up nicely!

Bucephalandra sp. 'Midnight Blue' update!

I made a post about this plant a few weeks ago and I just wanted to make an update on it.  You can check the original post here.

Yesterday, April 13, 2012, I noticed that the flowering bud, previous green, has turned a beautiful white color.  As seen in the photos below.  It was going to bloom soon, I knew it.

Today, to my surprise, the flower has opened up and fully bloomed!  I have been waiting for this day as I find the bucephalandra flower to be quite unique and attractive.  I fell in love with this plant because of its flower actually.  I hope you enjoy them too!

Berried Panda Picture

Here's a new photo of my berried Panda Shrimp.  I am very proud to have her, as she seems to be the only mature female of my four taiwan bees.  I believe I have two male Pandas, one female (this one) and the Wine Red is ambiguous right now.

Can't tell she's pregnant?  It's because her color is so thick, they hide well within her carapace.  It's quite amazing really, to see the intensity of their colors in person.  When the prices go down for these guys, I highly recommend you all to keep a few and marvel at their beauty.  Or if you don't care so much about the cost, jump right ahead.  They will quickly become a favorite in your collection.

Shrimp Thief

I've been really hesitant to make this public, but on Wednesday, April 11th 2012, I had a shrimp buyer come to my home.
I made a post of this on a local club that I am.  So I will simply copy and paste my story here.  The purpose of this post is to warn people that yes, thieves in this hobby DO exist.  It's strange and bizarre to me but I guess it does happen.

My post on the local forum, dated 4/12/12:
Post #1
Yes, a shrimp thief.

I was selling some of my S+ CRS yesterday to some guy named Marvin, who lives in San Francisco. He goes by the email m_tea@yahoo.com. 
He came over to my house, I had the shrimp packed already but he asked to see my tanks. I said sure and let him come into the house and took a look at my shrimp. He was eyeing my Pandas and asked if I was selling any. I said no and because they were really expensive, so I didn't have any to spare for sale. 
He asked for change and I didn't have any on me at the time, so I went upstairs to look for change. Took me at least 5 minutes upstairs and my stupid self left him alone downstairs. I come back down, told him I had no change and asked if he'd like to pick up something else (more shrimp). He tried lowballing me a lot the entire time but I said whatever, I don't have change anyway. So for 14 S+ shrimp, I sold it for $50. It was done, he was gone, whatever. He was incredibly annoying and rude the entire time. "Can you just give me this one? *Points at SSS* Can you give me extras?" etc etc.

I notice after, that I was MISSING one of my panda shrimp. I have three in total and I can only find two now. My tank isn't exactly heavily planted and it's only a 20 gallon long tank. I lifted the driftwood, every piece of SS mesh of moss I had, nothing. Only had TWO pandas. 


Post#2
It was one of the two larger pandas too...  
Lesson definitely learned. There's honestly no other way it could have disappeared. I ALWAYS check for all 3 PD and 1 WR before I leave the house and whenever I'm at the tank, absolutely always. I still feel dumb and scat but life goes on and I can only wish for the best for it at this point. iwillslaughterhimwheniseehiminhell.


Post#3
 I actually pre-scooped the shrimp being sold already but he insisted on seeing my tanks. I made it way too easy to steal, I guess. Leaving him alone, let bags and the net right in front of the tank... I let my dog outside because she's incredibly protective, I was afraid leaving her alone with him. I checked my adult CRS to make sure they're all still there. Thankfully, they are (Unless I miscounted, which happens when the number is above 15). 

I am moving forward from this, not even gonna bother but hope for the best for the little girl. 
----- end.


Since then, I have repurchased another Panda shrimp from my original source.  Unfortunately, he only had males left so I had to pick up a male.  It was to help fill the empty void I had inside me.  I always counted three pandas when I looked into the tank, seeing only two made me feel ashamed for being so careless.  I felt uneasy.  Buying a new panda is like a small band-aid to me.  It still doesn't fix the void completely but I feel a little better.  Call it my OCD-ness.  

Berried Panda Shrimp

I was surprised today by finding one of my Shadow Panda Shrimp to actually be carrying eggs already!  Holy cow, that was incredibly fast.  I guess they're comfortable being in my tank after all.  The photo above isn't exactly the best photo in the world, I know, I know.  But you can see the Panda Shrimp hanging upside down from the driftwood.  You can see the white part of the abdomen area to be darkish in color.  Those are the eggs!  I'm incredibly stoked right now.  They're likely to be mischling (Hybrid CRS x Taiwan Bee) because I only saw one of my Pandas to be swimming rapidly last night.  So the chances of him impregnating her isn't that high.  I hope it was him though, I would love to get taiwan bees and not mischlings.  I didn't really think much of their activity yesterday but after seeing eggs today, I now know why they were swimming around.

Today will be marked as day one (1) of berried.  I will be keeping track on her progress from berried to birth.  It should be similar, if not, the same amount of time as regular CRS.  But since this is a taiwan bee and technically different, we shall keep a record.

Temp is 23C, approx 73F.

Shrimp For Sale

To order, email me at JustShrimpStuff@gmail.com

All shrimp for sale are approximately 1/4''
All shrimp sold are young shrimp and must be kept in a shrimp-only tank. I strongly do not recommend keeping them with fish.

S+ CRS - $5 ea
These are either half Hinomaru, tiger toothed or V bands. They come from SS-SSS/SSS+ parents, thus carrying the gene to get SS-SSS offspring.

SS CRS - $6 ea
These are either Hinomaru or No-Entry pattern

SSS CRS culls - $10
These culls are shrimp with a smidge of red on their back. Not a complete Hinomaru or No Entry, but not pure white on the back so I don't consider it SSS quality.

SSS CRS - $15
These carry a red head and white body.

SSS+ CRS cull - $15
These culls carry a crown or flower head pattern, however, like the SSS Cull, they have a smidge of red on the back. So I do not call them true SSS+. They carry the SSS gene though so their offspring can potentially lose the smidge of red, making them pure SSS(+)

SSS+ CRS - $20
These carry a crown or flower head pattern and also have a white body. These are top of the line shrimp in terms of patterns.

Taiwan Bee Video

Video of my Taiwan Bees.

This video shows my four (4) new shrimp.
3 (Shadow) Panda Shrimp
1 Wine Red Shrimp

Wine Red & Panda

Picked up two more shrimp.  This should be the last for a while, I don't have a lot of $$$ to be throwing around right now.  Haha...

Wine Red & Panda Shrimp

Panda #1 update

Panda #1 has passed.  It was a looming death of unknown cause.  Perhaps it was too difficult for him to acclimate into my tank?  Who knows?

Panda #2 and #3 are doing well still though.

Crossing my fingers!

Two More Pandas + Update on Panda #1

Picked up two more Pandas.  These were shipped in as Shadow Pandas but as weeks went by, their blue hue went lighter and lighter.  You can definitely see some blue on the white still, but it is significantly less than original.  Thus, they were sold to me under regular pandas.  The history of the Blue Panda is still a mystery to me and the seller.  I hope to discover what the deal is with these guys.

Update on Panda #1

Originally, I placed him (or her?) in the Black Crystal Shrimp tank.  After two days of observation, I noticed that the Panda wasn't really behaving like a normal shrimp.  It would just stand still in one place and move every now and then.  I rarely saw it forage for food, though he did do it every now and then.  He'd groom himself here and there but not much activity.  He'd just move from one spot to another every few minutes.  It was truly odd behavior.  I wondered if this was normal or not.  I decided it was odd behavior by the 3rd day and put him into my CRS tank.  He still behaves the same way as he did in my CBS tank.  Still alive though, so he must be doing something right?  Who knows?  I want to believe he is SLIGHTLY more active than before, but it may just be wishful thinking.  His behavior was like this the moment I added him into the CBS tank, so I am wondering if it's just his character or if there's something wrong with my water.
I did my water tests and they seem to line up with the seller's, whom by the way, has kept him alive in his tank for over a month now.  So I've ruled the bad water out for the most part, but not completely.

The reason I picked up two more Pandas today was because I wanted to see if it is truly my water and the Pandas can't handle it or if it's just that one specific shrimp.  After all, I chose Panda #1 for color, not for activity.  I chose #2 and #3 for both color and activity this time.  I noticed that in the seller's tank, there were some shrimp (I saw one Wine Red and one Panda) that behaved similarly to Panda #1.  Perhaps this is just a taiwan bee thing?  Furthermore, I noticed that the activity level of the Taiwan Bees are less active than my CRS at home.  Very interesting to observe the difference.

Panda #2 and #3 was introduced into my tank a few hours ago.  They went straight to picking for food, behaving like a what a normal shrimp would do.  Panda #1 didn't do that at all.  *Taking notes...*

That's all for now!  I'll update as things go by.

Infestation

They're like ants!

Shadow Panda Shrimp

The newest addition to my shrimp population, the Shadow Panda Shrimp.  The Shadow Panda is part of the Taiwan bee era.  Taiwan bees include the Black King Kong, Wine Red, Ruby Red and Blue Bolts.  Other new variations are coming to surface still but these seem to be the most prominent right now.

I only bought one because:

A.  It's really expensive.
B.  I've never kept them before and need to test out its hardiness when living in my tank.

It is currently residing in my second tank, the Crystal Black Shrimp tank.  You can view the tank here.  Minor changes in the tank have occurred.  For one, I took out the marimo moss ball.  I also removed the container that had flame moss in it.  Driftwood is still there, large piece of rock covered in xmas moss is there as well.
I don't know if this will be a permanent home for the Taiwan or for the Crystal Blacks.  I have about a month or so to figure out where he/she will stay.  More than likely, this tank will become a Taiwan bee tank though.  He/she is still too young to mate, so to avoid hybridization, I need to make up my mind fast.  I will update how this little shrimp does as days/weeks go by.

Wish us luck!

Crystal Red Shrimp Tank - Video update

An update of my Crystal Red Shrimp tank.  The larger babies seen in this video are approximately 6 weeks old (1 month and 2 weeks).  They're getting steadily larger and larger.  I started off with 17 CRS, 13 SS and 4 SSS.  All pure line CRS, never mixed with goldens.  They are NOT Japanese PRL however.

Food Fight

I just got back from my trip to LA in SoCal.  Turned on my shrimp tank lights for the first time in 3 days and found my shrimplets to be larger than I remember them!  I decided to pop in a small piece of Mosura food and they soon gathered together quickly.

Pics to follow.

Bucephalandra sp. 'Midnight Blue'

I'll be the first to say that these photos are pretty awful.  My camera isn't doing it justice at all.  

Besides being a shrimp keeper, I have a strong background in aquatic plants.  My fascination with plants started as a young child but my forte lies specifically with aquatic plants.  I just love collecting rare aquatic plants and within the past year, the Bucephalandra sp. have entered the hobby.  

Bucephalandra is merely a genus name of all sorts of variants.  There are currently only three known species that have been described but there are many variants.  From what I've gathered, variants all vary depending on where they have been collected.  Hence why the name of the plant pictured above is Bucephalandra sp. 'Midnight Blue'.  Midnight Blue isn't even a location, it's just a description given to differentiate this Bucephalandra from other variants.  There are so many variants out there, it is easy to get lost.  Some have long narrow leaves, some have round leaves like my Midnight Blue.  Some stay small, others grow a decent medium size.  However, they all have one thing in common and that is their flower.  Unfortunately, I do not own any photos of flowering Bucephalandras.  

I just got this plant a few weeks ago from a local hobbyist and good friend from a club I am a member of, SFBAAPS.  He was incredibly generous enough to share this plant to me.  Currently, it is only about 3/4 - 1 inch tall.  It was emersed when I first got it but I have since submerged it.  It is finally showing growth at the top of the plant, which is a good sign.  

The conditions of this plant is pretty simple.  Many people will describe this plant with similar care to the common Anubias sp.  They are a simple rhizome plant and must NOT be buried under the substrate.  Common ways of keeping it is to either tie it onto a solid piece of wood or rock and let it grow roots to attach itself onto the object.  Only roots should be covered but rhizomes should be left above the surface.  I have been told that unlike the Anubias sp. these guys do need co2 injection if submerged.  I already have co2 being injected into my tank, so I have not tested it without co2.  I am currently not in a position to experiment it without co2 injection, as this is an expensive plant and a rare one at that.  Perhaps in the future, when I have it propagating more.  

It is a slow growing plant but an easy one to take care of.  It does not require heavy doses of nutrients in the tank, as my tank is pretty lean in nutrient levels.  I know this because I can see deficiencies in my Hygrophila Pinnatifida.

Overall, it is a beautiful plant and a must have for collectors!  Slow growing, easy to keep, rare.  What more could I ask for?  

*Note* I like slow growing because that means less maintenance for me :)

CRS Tank Update

It has been a few months now since I have set this tank up.  I got my first batch of shrimp early in December of 2011.  I haven't had any losses in this tank and all are still alive and breeding.  *Knock on wood*

I came home tonight and decided to snap some pictures.  Lots of improvements.  For one, the mosses have really grown in.  I actually had to redo one of the mini pellia squares.  A friend needed some so I decided to redo one of the squares.  I noticed that a lot of baby shrimp like to hide within the liverworts and mosses AND underneath the square.  So with that in mind, I am taking extra precautions to not redo the mosses all at once.  It is a haven for baby shrimp to live in as I am sure the darkness makes them feel safer and with plenty of micro-organisms for them to feast on.  So hobbyists out there who follow the same tank set-ups as I do, keep that in mind.  Food for thought.

Picture time.
*Note*  All the white dashes on the tank's walls are young shrimp.  They're growing up nicely :-)

Full Tank Shot

Side shot.  

The CRS are gathering on the right because I dropped a food pellet there.

Mini Xmas moss mesh with baby shrimp roaming.

Berried SSS+ female!  Second round now.

Random Photos

Removing Fenbendazole after treatment

I dosed my tank with Fenbendazole (Dog Dewormer) about a month ago.  I did this because I caught my tank with some hydras.  With shrimplets being born soon, I acted quickly and went to the store to purchase some Fenbendazole to eliminate it.

While Fenbendazole DOES do the job and eliminates all the hydra in the tank, it is also toxic to nerites for some reason.  My nerites would get sluggish and pass out after a day or two in the water.  However, if removed within a reasonable timeframe, they do recover.  I saved all my nerites but had difficulty putting them back into the tank.  They would still pass out after a few water changes done in the tank.

I didn't know what to do, so I asked for suggestions in a local club I am in.  One of our most revered members suggested adding carbon.  So, that weekend, I bought a tub of carbon and added two filter bags filled with carbon in my HOB filter.  I had to use a lot more carbon than the usual tank servings.  Within a week, my nerites are now living happily in the tank without passing out anymore.


In summary:
If you dose Fenbendazole to eliminate hydras or planaria and want to reintroduce nerites, do a big water change and add a lot of carbon to your filter.  It should remove the toxins.

First batch update

My first batch of shrimplets are growing strong.  The oldest ones are a few days over 4 weeks old now.  Others are a few days under 4 weeks.  So these shrimplets are approx. 3-4 weeks old.  Some are about 2 weeks old, those of this age came from the SSS+ CRS that hatched her eggs not too long ago.

Overall, I am happy with my results.  I foresee a lot more shrimp in the future!

Baby Pictures & Genetic Information

So, I haven't really updated in a while.  Not much to update as I have been pretty busy with other aspects of my life.
However, I did snap some photos of approx. 2 week old baby CRS!  A majority of the offspring from this genetic line come out as SS CRS, very little S+ grades.  I'm quite happy with the genetics my SS Crystals carry.
Furthermore, my SSS crown CRS gave birth last night.  From what I've seen so far, the babies look to be mostly SS.  I am crossing my fingers that there will be some SSS babies here and there.

Photos below are pics of the babies!  That's only a couple of the 30~ I counted.

Now, information time!
I want to begin by saying this:  Not all CRS are alike!  Genetic background plays a HUGE role in these shrimp (and any animal for that matter).  What I mean is, if you pick up SS grades from person A and person B is also selling SS grades, it does not mean they are equally the same!  Grades and look-wise, they may look similar in terms of patterns.  However, a good genetic background will determine which SS CRS is better.

Important things to factor are...
- Hardiness of the genetic line
- Offspring survival rate and phenotypic patterns
- Overall health of the genetic pool.  Is it too homozygous or is heterozygosity still thriving in this population?

We can take the earlier scenario for example.  Let's make fake scenarios for the two, shall we?

Person A's SS Crystal Shrimp stats:
- Has lived and bred just fine in ph range from 6.4 - 7.6
- Babies DO survive in ph above 7.0 (not a common occurrence in CRS!)
- Baby offspring is averaging at around 80% survival rate
- Most babies come out to be A-S grade, a few SS grade.  A percentage of 80% A-S and 20% SS
- Color of the red and white are average.
- New CRS sources have been added multiple times, ensuring heterozygosity in the population's genetics.

Person B's SS Crystal Shrimp stats:
- Has lived and bred just fine in ph range of 6.4 - 7.0
- Baby survival rate averages around 60% - 80%
- Most babies come out as SS grade, a few S grade.  A percentage of 70% SS and 30% S grade.
- Color of the red and white is thick and dark.
- Original CRS came from 3 different breeders but have not had any new CRS added then.  Depending on how long this population has been going for, heterozygosity might be low.  So you are unsure.  However, survival rates are not too bad for offspring.


With both of these stats to consider.  Which genetic line would you pick?
They have its ups and downs, so choose wisely!  It's all a matter of preference, therefore, you should always ask for a genetic background when purchasing shrimp.


As for my CRS, their genetic background are of the following (and these are not made up now):

Original SS Crystals genetics are:
- Lived and breeds perfectly fine in ph 6.4-7.6
- Baby survival rate is at around 70%~
- Above average red and white thickness
- Offspring come out 80% SS grade and 20% S+ grade
- Original owner has had the CRS for approx. 1 year and have been selectively breeding for color.  No new CRS were added.  I assume heterozygosity in their genetics is not too high but original genes are extremely sturdy as shown in their survival rate and flexible water parameter conditions.
- I have since added 4 SSS CRS to improve genetic variation however.

Video

Here's a video I took a couple days ago, before eggs hatched.

First shrimplets

They hatched yesterday morning!  My first batch of shrimplets with this new batch of CRS of late 2011.
Hatch date is marked at February 11, 2012.  Temp stayed stable at 72-73 F.  That's around 22-23C

January 15 - February 11

I should note that it took the entire day for all the shrimplets to be released from the mother.  Not all shrimp go free swimming instantly.  I checked again this morning to find the mother not to be carrying any anymore.  So if you find shrimplets in the tank and the pregnant female is still carrying some, do not be alarmed as this is normal!  The rest will follow within the day/night.

I'm too lazy to make this a long post, so I'm going to keep this short.  Picture time!

Tank Redo

Redid the tank a little.  Just organized the driftwood more.
My digital ph meter indicates my ph in this CRS tank is 6.8~  A little higher than I'd like.  I'm kind of anal, even though technically 6.8 should be fine.
I'll probably be switching them into a tank I am currently cycling right now with new Aquasoil Amazonia I.  The Aquasoil they're in right now is old Amazonia I, about a year old.

In any case, pics.