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.

Neritidae Update #2

I came back from my vacation in Las Vegas yesterday and to my surprise, the front of my tank is all clean! Wait, should I even be surprised?  It was bound to happen anyway.
Check it out!

There are watermarks outside the tank's glass walls but the algae on the glass has been shredded to a minimum.  They are actually working on the algae in the back of the tank now.  Pretty awesome, right?  I should note that while it does look crystal clear, there's still some algae left on the glass wall.  It's pretty minimal, so it's easily missed when taking photos or just casually looking at the tank.  My Clithon corona  are amazing.  Took about a week to get to this stage.  Didn't have to stick my hand into the tank at all.  Saves money and time from having to buy and scrape algae off the walls, aye?

I did see some small nerite eggs on the wall of my tank.  I simply scratched it off, there weren't many to begin with.  An abundance of algae they had gobbled up surely got them excited to think they can breed in this water.  Again, they do not hatch in pure freshwater, so just scratch them off if you ever end up getting them.  Or let them fall off naturally, whichever comes first.

Click HERE to see my original post about nerites.  Photos available to see how dirty the tank was on day #1.

Neritidae Update #1

An update of the C. corona clean-up project!
There are significant changes (perhaps better in person) to the cleanliness of the glass walls.  You can clearly see the trail they make as they chew away at the algae!

Full Tank Shot

This side was cleaned up a lot more than the other.  Granted it still needs some cleaning done.

Check out those patterns.  Those are the trails being made by the C. corona.

More trail shots!  Look at him go!!!

It has been 3 days since they have been added.  They're doing a great job so far.  I'm expecting this to take longer than a week to completely clean up my tank.  Nonetheless, I haven't stuck my hand in there to assist them at all.  I've got faith in my little critters.  

Crystal Black Shrimp Tank

A little emergency and bad news on January 17, 2012.  I found one of my two SSS CBS dead in the Marine Breeder Box.  Furthermore, one of my SS CBS died later that day.

While I am not 100% sure of what caused their deaths, I knew it was not a good long-term home for 13 shrimp.  I was just hoping they would be able to stay in there a little bit longer for their tank to get ready (Should be ready by January 26).  

The question that ran through my head, after seeing their deaths was, "What caused it?"  I fed them at least every other day with Mosura food.  Sometimes, they wouldn't even finish eating it all.  It couldn't be water parameters because the water system is linked to my CRS tank and the CRS are perfectly fine.  In fact, within the past few days, the total number of berried CRS females has jumped to eight (8)!  

Oxygen levels in that tank should have been fine too, as I have the air pump running on max speed into that box.  

I strongly suspect that the lack of biofilm and micro-organism led to their death and unhealthy behavior.  I only put in Mini-Bolbitis in the breeder box.  Very minimal plant material, surely it wasn't able to host enough micro-organisms for them to feed on.  Maybe for a few small shrimp but for 13 mix sizes?  Highly unlikely.  I do not think it is starvation per se but rather a lack of essential foods/nutrients from the micro-organisms they pick away at.  

Of course, this is merely a hypothesis.

In any case, I decided to transfer the rest of the CBS into their premature tank and crossed my fingers.  They seem to be acting fine for the most part.  I actually had two Rili Shrimp culls living in that tank for over a week now to test the parameters.  Those two Rili Shrimp are still alive and well.  And to be on the safe side, I also dosed the tank with Prime to neutralize any ammonia (Although the ammonia should be non-toxic since my Ph is below 7) and nitrite.  

I now only have a total of 11 CBS.

10 SS CBS

1 SSS CBS

This tank is probably bound to change in appearance in the future.  I'm just too lazy to fix it up.  The moss inside the plastic cup is flame moss.  The moss on the right is Christmas moss tied onto a rock.  Small green plants in front of the driftwood is the Mini Bolbitis.  Marimo Ball to the right of it.

Crossing my fingers they'll pull through.

Tank parameters:

Ph 6.4~

Gh 4-5~

TDS - 150~

Temp 22.5 ~ C

Neritidae

Group of Clithon corona

These beautiful snails hail from the Neritidae family.  They are close relatives to the common Olive Nerites, Zebra nerites, red spotted and so on.  These horned nerites, however, are my favorite of them all.  Their yellow and black stripes appeal to me and who wouldn't love those horns?  A horned snail is definitely a unique spectacle to most.  

Aside from being aesthetically pleasing however, their function is much greater.  They are #1 on cleaning glass algae.  

All the snails available in the freshwater hobby under the name "Nerite" are excellent glass algae scrapers.  If you ever get tired of green spot algae, brown spot algae or anything that requires you to scrape, these snails will do the job for you.  

I have kept these before a few years ago, when I was in the hobby.  I had a 10 gallon tank with all four walls covered in thick brown glass algae.  I threw in a few (2-3) olive nerites and within a week, it was clean and clear.  I never had to stick my hand in there to scrub the glass.  

Clithon corona will do the same and also give your tank a nice looking specimen.  I would recommend at least 1 per 10 gallons.  I added 4 in my 20 gallon tank because I will be moving 2 into the CBS tank in the near future, when it is done cycling.  

To record this process, I have taken photos of my tank currently.  

As you can see, the walls are quite filthy.  My previous blog posts of shrimp even show the brown spot algae on my photos.  It clouds my images immensely.  

Today is day #1 of adding the snails (January 15, 2012).

When taking nerites into consideration as a co-inhabitant in your shrimp tank, you should understand that these guys will NOT breed in freshwater.  So if your tanks are snail free like mine and you want to keep it that way, these guys are perfect for you.  (Although technically nerites are snails...)

Furthermore, nerites, like all snails, ideally require higher ph water to maintain good shell growth.  Because we keep CRS in lower ph, do expect shell degradation overtime.  Shell thinning and possibly getting "uglier" over a period of time will be normal and should be expected.  It's an unfortunate fate for these guys.  

Average lifespan seems to be approximately 1.5-2+ years.  This has been reported by local aquarists that I have spoken to and my own personal experience as well.

FAQ

Q:  Can nerites breed in freshwater?

A:  No, but they do lay eggs that will never hatch.  Eggs can be spotted as white dots in your tank.  They are often laid on driftwood or any hard surfaces.  Some argue that in exchange for no algae, you end up with eggs all over the place.  I never had this problem though as the eggs usually disappear overtime.  They will only lay an abundance of eggs if your tank is literally infested with too much algae.  

I will update how the tank is doing in the next couple days.

More photos to below.  

More Berries!

Alas, the breeding has come and it continues.  Yesterday, there was another molt and a berried female.  This morning, I found three more berried females!  What a wonderful surprise, after a terrible time at the bar last night.  Haha!

It's funny how my heart is filled with bliss just by watching my shrimp.  Most people would just look at me crazy...

FAQ:
Q:  When will other females get berried once I get my first?
A:  When you get your first berried female, expect other sexually mature females to follow her lead within the next following days! 

Here's one hanging on the sponge filter.

 Two of the five going for my Mosura Specialty Food bait!

 Pregnant female

Pooping pregnant female

First berried CRS

I received my CRS approx. 1 month ago on Dec. 11, 2011.  After doing a top-off last night, one of my females molted.  A few hours later, I watched multiple males (about 3, my M-F ratio is skewed.  More females than males) harassing her.  I knew this was a sign:  I'm going to have my first berried (pregnant) female soon!

This morning, when I went to check on my tank.  Lo and behold, my first berried female.

Now, this post is to record the time it takes for a newly introduced CRS to start getting berried.  My friend told me it took about a month, I said 3 weeks or so.  I was wrong.  Caridina sp. such as Crystals took me about a month indeed.  I believe 3 weeks is for Neocaridina sp.  But... that needs to be officially tested still.

FAQ:  
Q:  How soon should I expect my CRS to start carrying eggs?
A:  Approx. 1 month

*****
Please note that the time/duration will vary accordingly to the conditions you keep them in.  I've kept my tanks pretty stable with no giant swing in parameters.  Stable environment leads to more comfortable adaptations to changes for the shrimp.  They will berry faster in a stable environment.  Granted, expect about a month's worth (+/- a few days) of waiting still for stable parameters.

Marine Hang on Holding & Breeding Box

Here, I have a photo of a Marine Breeder Box I bought.  This is the largest one of three sizes (S, M, L).  

It's about 10 inches long, 6 inches high and 6 inches deep.  A good size for a temporary home for a small number of shrimp, I would say.  Currently, I am using this box to house 13 CBS of mixed sizes just fine.  

It's a clear box with good visibility inside.  In order for this box to work for you, you need two extra items that this kit does NOT include.  These two items are an air pump and air tubing.  

The reason you need an air pump for this box is because it uses bubbles to push water upwards into the box.  As the box overflows, it leaks out into the other side.  See image below.  

I have modified this box by not using any of the dividers it provides.  You can keep dividers in or remove it, it's removable for customization.  Pics below is what mine looks like in the end.

This is a pretty simple product but works wonderfully for me.  It does its job perfectly and I can see it being useful even after I house my CBS into their permanent home.  I do not recommend using these boxes as a permanent home for shrimp or fish, for that matter.  It's still too small for longterm use.  Excellent to use if you are trying to separate individuals for breeding purposes or culls though. 

Note that newborn shrimp can escape through the lining of the outflow but young shrimp of 2 weeks of age or so should be fine inside.  

Great product, I would recommend having at least one on hand.  

Fluval Shrimp Net

I decided to purchase this net earlier at a LFS in San Francisco.  I don't necessarily "need" it but I justified it by saying all my other nets are pretty old and had a little bit of rust on em.  In any case, I picked this up for less than $10.  Normally, I used brine shrimp nets found in Petsmart.  But I figured I should try this one out.

Let's begin by going over what features this net offers.

• Aesthetically, it looks pretty neat.
• The net is a circle, instead of the typical rectangular shape.  It's almost like a small butterfly net.
• The best thing about this net is that it's telescopic.  Meaning, it's extendable.  See pics below!  It's all the same net.

I can reach into my 20 gallon long tank, all the way to the very bottom without my hand getting in the water, at it's longest extension.  It's totally adjustable so you can customize how long or short you want the net to be.

I used this net for the first time today to move my Crystal Black Shrimp into a new container.  Catching the shrimp is still a pain, but that's expected.  The net's diameter is approx. 1 1/2 - 2 inches.  More than enough for dwarf shrimp.  Easier to selectively catch what you want too.  The length of the net itself is about 2 1/2 - 3 inches long, so there's room for the shrimp to go in deep enough.

My only complaint about this net is that it is NOT as soft as a brine shrimp net.  In fact, its material is more similar to a regular fish net.  If it were a brine shrimp net material, I would be much happier.  I'm not sure why they didn't implicate that when creating a net specifically for shrimp.  In any case though, it's not a terrible net.  It didn't damage my Crystal Blacks in any way.

Would I recommend this net?  Yes, but only if you don't have a net already or if you really want an adjustable handle.  If you already have a small brine shrimp net and it works perfectly fine, you can save your money and stick with it.  A net is a net.  This one has cool perks but definitely not deemed necessary and you can survive without it.

Crystal Black Shrimp

My Crystal Black Shrimp arrived on January 12, 1012.  I didn't make a post about it though, so here it is now, making an actual documentation of their arrival.  Anyway, their tank isn't really ready yet.  I don't want them to mix with the Crystal Reds, so I have them separated in their own little plastic container, connected to the CRS tank.   First they were in a plastic breeder box but I have now moved them over into a Marina Breeder Box, which I will make a review of later!

I also got 4 SSS CRS "culls" as noted by the breeder.  However, he sent me two that have a headgear!  I believe they're crowns.  One is better than the other, in terms of crown pattern.  Either way, it's a gem.  I should note that their white is not as intense as my current SS CRS.  I hope in time, it will get more solid.  If not, I'll just have to selectively breed it.

Shrimp Count:
4 SSS CRS
12 SS CBS
2 SSS CBS

Now, picture time!