# Blue jelly island :-) journal finished



## tim (26 Mar 2013)

Hi folks, 
I've been missing my nano of late ( mostly the low cost of rescaping when you've had enough  ) so it's back out of storage. 
The specs 12 ltr clear seal tank
11w clip on light
150 ltr an hour mini external filter with acrylic in/ outflow pipes 
Unipac Senegal sand
Dragon stone and manzanita wood hardscape. 
Had a little play around earlier and this is as far as I got today 



I will be looking to plant over the Easter weekend.
Any comments suggestions improvements to the hardscape most appreciated 
Cheers for looking.


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## Ady34 (26 Mar 2013)

Looks really good as it is to me! 
If I were to be hyper critical the central most stone is a little too 'textureless' compared to the others....but hey, it may end up covered in plants anyway  it's a great hardscape none the less, it has a good feel and is well balanced...the more I look at it the more I like it actually, the wood positioning is perfect, it really draws you around the tank and adds good depth 
Really like the look of that Senegal sand too....don't think I've seen it before, goes really well with the dragon stone and the manzy.
Have you though of a plant list yet?
I'm guessing the journal title refers to the shrimp inhabitants it will be getting?
Cheerio,
Ady


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## tim (26 Mar 2013)

Hi ady, thanks for the like  it will indeed be getting blue jellys  I see what you mean about that rock it's very flat, i shall have a look through see if i can replace that, plant list so far bolbitus and a mini microsorum I purchased from piece of fish a while back need splitting up, I got some anchor moss which was on its last legs free from my lfs a few days ago, maybe see how that goes maybe some anubias bonsai about as far as I've got again open to suggestions  wont be using co2 or liquid carbon so limited plants wise. 
Cheers.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (26 Mar 2013)

Love it mate, looking really good that hardscape! You could stick some fissidens to the front centre rock.

This will be a great little setup, let me know if you want some weeping moss, I've got lots of it. Don't want anything for it  though.
Cheers, 
N


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## tim (26 Mar 2013)

Thanks nath, fissiedens good call may see if I can get hold of some of the fox variety you have in your setup, may take you up on the offer of that weeping moss  cheers mate.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (26 Mar 2013)

tim said:


> Thanks nath, fissiedens good call may see if I can get hold of some of the fox variety you have in your setup, may take you up on the offer of that weeping moss  cheers mate.



Mate,
Im glad your looking for the fox variety. I will get you a pic tomorrow of the two side by side. What a difference!!

Normal fissidens in low tech appears messy, large and a limey green in comparison to the  rich dark green of the fox variety. 

People claim it is exactly the same moss. Which it definitely isn't. I don't get fast enough growth to offer much of this, but Let me see what I can do buddy. 

Cheers,


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## tim (27 Mar 2013)

That fox variety does look like it has smaller fronds mate, found some on eBay same seller you got yours so will get it ordered pics of yours would be good mate.


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## stu_ (27 Mar 2013)

Looks good to me for what it's worth.
How many pieces of wood is that, and are they just buried in there or joined somehow?


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## tim (27 Mar 2013)

Cheers stu, all comments are worth it buddy  its 4 pieces of wood. I will join two of them before I fill it just to try and stop movement, ill join them with a plastic cable tie or two. Cheers for looking in


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## stu_ (27 Mar 2013)

Always good to see how others do stuff


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## Ian Holdich (27 Mar 2013)

Very good Tim...again you have managed to make a tank look a lot bigger than it actually is. This is a skill in itself, well done. Looking forward to seeing it planted!


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## tim (27 Mar 2013)

Thank you Ian


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## tim (28 Mar 2013)

Realised yesterday I will struggle to get a plant order here by the weekend due to the bank holidays  and not being one to look at an empty tank for long  few cuttings from other tanks and I have this



Some of the plants will stay some will be replaced just thought I'd try and get a feel for the look once planted.
Feedback most appreciated any changes to the hardscape plant positions etc will be adding moss and I'm thinking eleocharis mini just to accent the rocks at the front.
Cheers for looking in


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## GillesF (28 Mar 2013)

Looks good mate! Maybe add some Crypto's to go with the brown of the wood & stones?


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## tim (28 Mar 2013)

Thanks gillesf, crypts if I can get pigmea I will go for those


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## Lindy (28 Mar 2013)

Looks really good already.


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## martinmjr62 (28 Mar 2013)

Tim,about time i commented on one of your setups mate. I think this looks really tidy and well laid out. The island looks good to me,love the combination of Manzi and Dragon stone.As Nath said, fissedens fox will look good on the front rocks.Cant wait to see the blue jellies in there.Well done mate

Cheers
Martin


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## tim (29 Mar 2013)

Thanks lindy & Martin 
Had a little time on my hands today so popped to lfs as you do and spotted some shrimp they had labeled blue pearl out of curiosity asked them to have a look at their order sheet for the Latin name and they were neocardinia hetrapoda blue jelly. So I bought 4 to start off stocking drip acclimatising them for a few hours will try and get some pics of them this evening.


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## fish fodder (29 Mar 2013)

12litres?? The hardscape makes its look a lot bigger and I really like it.


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## Manrock (29 Mar 2013)

Love it! Are you going to heat it?


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## NanoJames (29 Mar 2013)

Hi mate
That's a nice scape you've got there. I really like the hardscape! Although, I was wondering when I saw that you had bought some shrimp, is that not a bit too short for cycling period?
Cheers


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## tim (29 Mar 2013)

@ fish fodder thanks mate, yep only 12 liters, I do seem to have a knack with the dimensions of this tank need to transfer that to my bigger tanks 
@ manrock, cheers mate, ill drop a heater in if the temp drops below 20c, I've kept a few unheated shrimp tanks now with no issues other than a drop off in breeding in winter.


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## tim (29 Mar 2013)

NanoJames said:


> Hi mate
> That's a nice scape you've got there. I really like the hardscape! Although, I was wondering when I saw that you had bought some shrimp, is that not a bit too short for cycling period?
> Cheers


Hey james, glad you like the layout, shrimp should be ok the substrate under the island is from an existing tank so should contain bacteria, and the filter is full of pre cycled media plus daily water changes should see off any issues.


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## tim (29 Mar 2013)

A couple of shrimp pics 







This one below still has a little red on her head as I have read these were bred from rilli shrimp so I would say these four  not top quality but still I like them


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## NanoJames (29 Mar 2013)

I thought you might have something like that up your sleeve! Lovely shrimp by the way, I hope you have success with breeding them...


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## martinmjr62 (29 Mar 2013)

Tim which LFS did you go to.They look lovely.Check out my new post in the invert section

Cheers
Martin


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## tim (29 Mar 2013)

martinmjr62 said:


> Tim which LFS did you go to.They look lovely.Check out my new post in the invert section
> 
> Cheers
> Martin


Got them from osterly maidenhead, only 5 mins up the road from me. Last 4 for £20 so not too bad a price  will have a look at your thread now mate.


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## tim (2 Apr 2013)

Hi folks, not much happening with this one, shrimp have settled in nicely so far, plants are confusing me especially hc in 5 days I was expecting it to melt but so far no melt in fact it looks healthier than the hc in my high tech tank will try and post a couple of pics later.will be ordering more shrimp for this next week.


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## tim (2 Apr 2013)

couple of pics


 
filter in/outflow made from acrylic these filters are fairly good for small tanks but i found the tubing would collapse creating airlocks acrylic solved that problem
had its first trim today was literally 1 strand of hc  really bugging me how the plants are doing low tech compared to my high tech tank where plants can melt on the sight of the planting tweezers, no carbon source and ferts once a week is all i will do with this tank i'm tempted to see how the hc does long term. fissidens geppi on order to cover the stone at the front.
fts



cheers for looking folks


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## Gill (2 Apr 2013)

Great use of wood, and where is the mini canister from with the acrylic lilly pipes.


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## martinmjr62 (2 Apr 2013)

Tim, looking really clean and sharp mate. Loving those acrylic pipes 

Cheers
Martin


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## tim (2 Apr 2013)

Gill said:


> Great use of wood, and where is the mini canister from with the acrylic lilly pipes.


 hey gill thanks mate. the filter is from allpond solutions its a renamed boyu i think. acrylic pipes are diy 9/12 mm with heat gun to make the bends then a small off cut from 12/16mm acrylic so i could use the 12 mm gush shrimp guard couldnt find a 9 mm one anywhere.


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## tim (2 Apr 2013)

cheers martin, i do like acrylic doesnt cut my fingers like glass when i break it (still is sharp though )


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## tim (6 Apr 2013)

Added some peacock moss and some fissidens geppi to some of the wood with super glue gel (visions of the shrimp stuck with the moss lol) not sure about my choice of shrimp the blue doesn't really stand out, may try a cardinia species along side the blue jellys. Pics later


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## Ady34 (6 Apr 2013)

Really like this Tim, it all works well together.
That rock in the centre fits better after the adjustment, its showing more texture to it now.
Looking forward to more pics later 
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## George Farmer (6 Apr 2013)

Great little setup, Tim! 

Watching with interest...


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## martinmjr62 (6 Apr 2013)

Come on. Get those pictures on mate. We need to see the blue jellies  
Cheers 
Martin 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


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## tim (6 Apr 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Really like this Tim, it all works well together.
> That rock in the centre fits better after the adjustment, its showing more texture to it now.
> Looking forward to more pics later
> Cheerio,
> Ady.


Thanks ady, the rock you mentioned was indeed flat, more texture turned round, appreciate your input  



George Farmer said:


> Great little setup, Tim!
> 
> Watching with interest...


Thanks George, I'm considering removing a couple of pieces of wood to try the yoghurt moss method you showcased in your latest journal.


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## tim (6 Apr 2013)

Few pics,



Fissidens geppi pearling after waterchange not used superglue to attach moss before so ill see how the moss does.
Hc sending out a runner I would imagine this is doing ok at the moment due to regular waterchanges so ill see how it does when they become less frequent 



Shrimp have been quite shy so far and not the most prominent coloration 






And a full tank shot to finish 



I still have a few more plants to order and I'm trying to make up my mind on shrimp more jellies or maybe some red tiger shrimp ? 
Thanks for looking


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## martinmjr62 (6 Apr 2013)

Looking very clean and tidy mate. Is that the peacock moss on the mesh at the back ?

Cheers
Martin


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## tim (6 Apr 2013)

martinmjr62 said:


> Looking very clean and tidy mate. Is that the peacock moss on the mesh at the back ?
> 
> Cheers
> Martin


Cheers Martin, the moss on the mesh is fissidens geppi, hopefully get round to attaching the rest of it tomorrow.


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## martinmjr62 (6 Apr 2013)

Go carefull with the superglue,it would bring a whole new meaning to the term "green fingered" 

Cheers
martin


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## NanoJames (6 Apr 2013)

Tanks looks like it's going to grow in lovely mate! Let's hope these shrimp start breeding soon!


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## tim (6 Apr 2013)

NanoJames said:


> Tanks looks like it's going to grow in lovely mate! Let's hope these shrimp start breeding soon!


Cheers james, not likely on the breeding front only got 4 ladies in there so far


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## NanoJames (6 Apr 2013)

Ah, that may make it a little difficult then... Are you able to source males or will you just get some different shrimp, as you said you might before? You could get some nice tiger shrimp or CRS, if you like them.


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## tim (6 Apr 2013)

Sharnbrook shrimp( one of our sponsors) sell these so a few more from them should give me at least a couple of males but I am very tempted by some red tigers from freshwater shrimp ( also one of our sponsors). Maybe I should get both overstock the tank and convince my long suffering wife to let me have another tank to give the shrimp a better quality of life


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## NanoJames (6 Apr 2013)

Haha, that's the spirit! "Oops, I appear to have ordered 3000 shrimp. What a shame, I'll have to get another few tanks....."  I like how you've used different colours in this tank. Someting different from the usual reds and whites!


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## tim (14 Apr 2013)

Couple of weeks in starting to get some fungus on the wood, diatoms here and there, fuzz algae on the leaves of a crypt so will continue daily water changes for another couple weeks to resolve the issues. Light may be to high so will maybe have to address this. 




Hc still looking healthy not spreading much so don't see it being a long term plant in here peacock moss is showing signs of growth really not keen on the white marks left by the superglue, fishing line or the yoghurt method for me in future.



Cheers


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## NanoJames (14 Apr 2013)

How are you getting CO2 into this one Tim? HC's looking great by the way!


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## tim (14 Apr 2013)

Hi james, no additional carbon source hc is probably doing ok because of daily waterchanges adding sufficient carbon ill see how it goes once the waterchanges become less frequent.


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## NanoJames (14 Apr 2013)

Wow, you would have thought that you were adding stuff by the way the plants are growing! Have the shrimp coloured up nicely? I was looking at some blue pearls just yesterday in my LFS.


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## tim (14 Apr 2013)

Just an all in one fert twice a week mate. I am expecting the hc to melt at some point


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## LondonDragon (15 Apr 2013)

If that light unit wasn't there you would think its was at least a 60l tank! Looks great, congrats


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## Ian Holdich (18 Apr 2013)

I have just shared this on the ukaps Facebook page, this is an excellent little scape Tim.


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## tim (19 Apr 2013)

Thanks guys, unexpected to say the least


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## tim (27 Apr 2013)

Hi folks, tanks still ticking along no further with adding more shrimp, been fairly manic at work so will be a couple more weeks probably, had a diatom outbreak so the light is now hung from the cupboard above the tank 


Not the most attractive solution but its working plants are all still growing albeit slowly and the shrimp are starting to colour up a little more. All in all a month the tanks heading in the right direction.
Cheers for looking.


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## LondonDragon (27 Apr 2013)

Great little tank  love that filter, would you consider making a couple of sets of those pipes?


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## tim (27 Apr 2013)

Thanks Paulo, I could make a couple of sets of those for you, I'm ordering some acrylic in a couple of weeks, you'd need to let me know the height of the tanks you'd want them for and if you'd be using the same filter. 
Thanks for the feedback


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## martinmjr62 (27 Apr 2013)

Tim, congrats on getting the tank on ukaps facebook page.I'll have to get some more pictures on here of the cherry tank, its coming on nicely.

Cheers
Martin


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## tim (27 Apr 2013)

Cheers Martin, still owe you that cuppa mate


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## tim (7 May 2013)

been a little slack with this of late due to work and wanting to see the effect of less waterchanges, hair algae crept in on the bolbitus and the hc looks worse for wear, so spent a good hour today on maintanence trimming out affected leaves etc filter clean. think the daily waterchanges are the way to go shrimp and plants seem happier, glad its only 12 liters  will try and post some new pics later.


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## DanMac (7 May 2013)

Hi tim nice tank. can I ask what background you have on your tank?, I bought the "light diffuser background" from TGM and it turned out to be the typical stuff you find for windows/bathrooms which you can get anywhere but it was more expensive. Is that what you have ?

I tried some on my tank a while ago, I scraped all the water out ect and it seemed to go on well,but after a day I noticed that it was far from flawless looking with black spots ect so I removed it.


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## tim (7 May 2013)

hi dan, thanks, it is the typical (cheap) window/bathroom stuff, i put it on the tank whilst empty using a smear of washing up liquid and a plastic wallpaper scraper from wilkos to push the air bubbles out theres still a couple of air bubbles but they are near the base of the tank so not so noticeable.


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## tim (7 May 2013)

couple of pics from this evening with a little extra light for the pics




shrimp colouring up






reshaped the acrylic pipe to a jet shape today giving a wider flow pattern and its just breaking the water surface for better gas exchange.
as soon as i know ill be home for delivery will get the rest of the shrimp ordered a week or so hopefully.


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## tim (19 May 2013)

Things still moving along slowly with this tank
Added some rotala at the back 



The peacock moss is slowly starting to cover the superglue I used to attach it



Should be able to get the rest of the shrimp Thursday as long as there in stock.
Finish with a really bad fts



Thanks for looking


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## NanoJames (19 May 2013)

That's looking lovely as always Tim. Can't wait to see your next batch of shrimp! Will they be blue jellies again?


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## tim (19 May 2013)

Thanks James  yep more blue jellies 8 more and hopefully they'll get, down to breeding.


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## Nutty (20 May 2013)

i'm not sure i can trust my eyes anymore... that tank can not be 12L! Its just impossible! 

where did you get those lights though?

thanks,
Nutty


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## tim (21 May 2013)

Nutty said:


> i'm not sure i can trust my eyes anymore... that tank can not be 12L! Its just impossible!
> 
> where did you get those lights though?
> 
> ...


Thanks nutty, yep just 12 ltr, the lights are super fish clip ons got them from aqua essentials couple of years ago now, not sure if they still stock them.


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## tim (21 May 2013)

Blue jellies ordered


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## tim (23 May 2013)

Jellies arrived 



Very well packaged exactly as stated in sharnbrook shrimps thread How we ship shrimp | UK Aquatic Plant Society
Free mosura samples too



And a sense of humour 



Jellies with the jellies lol
I'll post some pics of drip acclimatising them later.


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## tim (23 May 2013)

Had them acclimatising for about 3 hours now should be ready to move across soon 
Few pics of acclimatising method, moved them into a measuring jug, I use a bucket for bigger livestock but same method.



Drip acclimatise them using air line with an inline flow valve to control water flow



Then use really advanced clamps to keep the airline in place 



I measure the temp and tds of bag water and tank water then drip them at about 1 drip/second until params match up long process but I can use this method on my high tech tanks even with co2 on and it seems to work well for me and livestock.
Thanks for looking in will try and get some shrimp pics up later.


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## faizal (23 May 2013)

I love what you've done with this tank, Tim. It's been a mad week for me too at work , so I just had the chance to catch up. Looking forward to its progress. Nice one.


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## NanoJames (23 May 2013)

Do you have pics of them yet Tim? I'd love to see them!


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## tim (23 May 2013)

@ Faizal thanks mate 
@ James, I'm trying mate kitchens too bright at the moment.will get some up soon as I can


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## NanoJames (23 May 2013)

No bother man, take your time!


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## tim (23 May 2013)

Couple of pics 









Try some improved shots later


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## NanoJames (23 May 2013)

Looking good! How many do you have in there now? I was thinking of trying some more shrimp for my 12 litre bowl. My LFS has blue pearls but they are 2 for £9 so I'd want to know that I could keep them alive! They also have CRS and CBS for the same price.


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## tim (23 May 2013)

They are nice shrimp James thanks, 12 in there now and ill leave it at that will consider a bigger tank for them if they breed well, not kept blue pearls but found white pearls fairly easy to keep/ breed with a mix of tap/ro water just because my water is fairly hard out of the tap. Not been so lucky with cardina species but I will get round to trying them again one day.


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## Michael W (25 May 2013)

Lovely shrimps! Been thinking of getting some blue Jellies or pearls myself, will keep a close eye on this thread.


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## George Farmer (25 May 2013)

Lovely little setup and scape, and the shrimp are adorable.

Are they as hardy as cherry shrimp? They're the same species aren't they?


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## tim (25 May 2013)

George Farmer said:


> Lovely little setup and scape, and the shrimp are adorable.
> 
> Are they as hardy as cherry shrimp? They're the same species aren't they?


Thanks George, they are selectively bred from blue Rillis from what I've read so same species as cherries, so far finding them fairly easy coping well with daily water changes and small amount of ferts,I match the new water using a tds pen. So far so good hoping for little jelly babies


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## George Farmer (25 May 2013)

Everyone loves jelly babies!


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## Michael W (25 May 2013)

Yeah heard these guys are relatively easy to keep unlike my damn crystal red, started to get a few problems with mine. I believe its due to bacterial blooms with the summer. Maybe its something you may want to look out for too.


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## tim (27 May 2013)

Few I phone pics, gotta be the cutest shrimp I've owened so far 







Red head



View when I grab my first coffee in the morning



Thanks for looking


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## tim (2 Jun 2013)

These guys are still doing well, bit of a snail explosion though, picking them out by hand daily maybe came in on the rotala I added. Any tips on ways to remove some without using chemicals would be appreciated. I know generally over feeding is the reason, these guys only fed nettle/spinach once a week, I keep catappa leaf in the tank and that's it. Entered this into iaplc for a laugh more than anything as nanos don't fare well but my 90cm is pants at the moment.


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## sanj (3 Jun 2013)

Really nice scape, you must have to be quite delicate with your maintenance given how small the tank is.


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## faizal (4 Jun 2013)

Tim I had the same problem last year in my excel tank. Unfortunately the only way i know is by manually removing them one at a time. The problem is there's always a peak & trough sort of population pattern with them. I think you've got to keep at it everyday.


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## tim (4 Jun 2013)

sanj said:


> Really nice scape, you must have to be quite delicate with your maintenance given how small the tank is.


Hi sanj, thanks maintenance can be a little fiddly, I use airline to carry out a daily 1 ltr water change and a selection of artists brushes to clean glass hardscape etc. filter clean and 50% water change every couple of weeks to remove more detritus.



faizal said:


> Tim I had the same problem last year in my excel tank. Unfortunately the only way i know is by manually removing them one at a time. The problem is there's always a peak & trough sort of population pattern with them. I think you've got to keep at it everyday.



Thanks for the tip Faizal, have been removing the little buggers every morning, by evening glass is covered again so it's twice daily removal at the moment, may try a bottle trap with a little food in a test tube see if I can catch a few more. I knew those test kits would come in handy for something


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## faizal (4 Jun 2013)

Yeah Tim,...those little buggers are a real pain. I remember removing loads of them one evening only to see more of them the next morning. Hang in there buddy. It took me & my kids a month just to bring their numbers down. Eventually we only saw those tranparent tiny ones that just look like a spec on the glass.


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## dfektor (4 Jun 2013)

Almost perfect setup, beautiful scape and I really like the acylic pipes i'm knicking that one! 


Problem Snails!! Obviously no  loach solution with your jellies, how about some assasin snails?
When Ive used them they mainly killed the smaller ones
which left me to remove larger ones still took a bit of time
but I put all the larger trumpet snails in a small breeder tank with a fish block soon filled it and sold em on ebay!
Take that pesky snails!!!


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## tim (4 Jun 2013)

dfektor said:


> Almost perfect setup, beautiful scape and I really like the acylic pipes i'm knicking that one!
> 
> 
> Problem Snails!! Obviously no  loach solution with your jellies, how about some assasin snails?
> ...


Hi defektor feel free to nick the pipe idea I did from dafil's journal , maybe an idea to raise and sell the snails in a separate tank, think ill give the assassins a miss I've read they will eat shrimplet's. glad you like the scape.


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## tim (14 Jun 2013)

Had a little change of planting today out with the hc and in with some utricularia I picked up from lfs this morning added a little more sand to help keep it rooted not sure how it'll do without carbon addition but will carry on with daily water changes and we'll see  



Getting on top of the snail situation pulling out plenty daily tried a test tube with some lettuce in it but all that was in it in the morning was a shrimp 
Rotala isn't doing so well so looking for a replacement may try some micranthemum umbrosum from my big tank.
If the utricularia looks ok in a couple of months will enter this in aga comp.


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## dfektor (14 Jun 2013)

real beauty! well jel!
Keep up the good work and show those shelled critters whose boss!


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## NanoJames (16 Jun 2013)

Any sign of baby shrimps yet?


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## tim (17 Jun 2013)

NanoJames said:


> Any sign of baby shrimps yet?


Hi James, not sure found a few eggs dropped in some moss a couple of days ago last time this happened a few survived so I'm keeping an eye out


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## NanoJames (17 Jun 2013)

Let's hope some make it!


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## tim (23 Jun 2013)

Update time, lost two of these little guys over the last week probably bacterial or just due to the rise in temps over the last week or so, have had the same occurrence keeping neocardinias in this tank and other small tanks over the last two years which I put down to liquid carbon or co2, as I'm not adding either I was probably way off the mark, bit of reading and ill be investing in some mosura bt-9.
Utricularia seems to be coping without additional carbon 10 days in no melt 



Not sure if it will fare well long term, on the couple of occasions I've tried it before its melted and not recovered after a few days in the tank. Little males have been zipping round the tank tonight and a couple of visible moults from the females so fingers crossed breeding behaviour.
As always cheers for looking


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## danmullan (23 Jun 2013)

Tank looks awesome... was suprised to see it was a 12 litre!  The microsorum must be tiiiiiny.

Shrimp are cool too. Want some.


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## tim (9 Jul 2013)

Well this one is going ok ug seems to be putting down some good roots 



Diatoms have made a bit of a comeback and some stubborn bba on some hardscape maybe due to increased natural light or increased evaporation due to the high temps of late, covered the side of the tank which receives the sunlight with black card see if it makes a difference.
Good news berried shrimp spotted today  



And a fts to finish 



Thanks for looking


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## Ady34 (9 Jul 2013)

Good stuff Tim, great news about the 'jelly berry' and a UG carpet too


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## tim (17 Jul 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Good stuff Tim, great news about the 'jelly berry' and a UG carpet too


Thanks ady, unfortunately the good news didn't last long, the berried shrimp dropped her eggs  woke up this morning to find a dead shrimp also so not great at the moment carrying out small twice daily water changes and plenty of surface disturbance to increase oxygen, as much as I'm liking the weather at the moment really don't think it's helping these guys


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## Gill (17 Jul 2013)

tim said:


>


 
Tim, is that one of the Shrimp gaurds that Winezita sells in his shrimp store on ebay. As have them in my watch list


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## tim (17 Jul 2013)

Gill said:


> Tim, is that one of the Shrimp gaurds that Winezita sells in his shrimp store on ebay. As have them in my watch list


Hi mate, this one is from aquarium plant food but I think they all do the same job


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## cookie3985 (17 Jul 2013)

tim said:


> Hi mate, this one is from aquarium plant food but I think they all do the same job


 
Hi Tim have you noticed a change in flow? I cleaned out my filter a few days ago and found 5 baby cherries in my filter, still alive some how  Don't know how long they were there but I put them back in the tank and they are doing fine. So I'm thinking I should get one of these!!!


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## tim (17 Jul 2013)

cookie3985 said:


> Hi Tim have you noticed a change in flow? I cleaned out my filter a few days ago and found 5 baby cherries in my filter, still alive some how  Don't know how long they were there but I put them back in the tank and they are doing fine. So I'm thinking I should get one of these!!!


Hi cookie flow can drop off a little when they block but I just bought two and swap them over, easy to clean little kids toothbrush fits in nicely then flush with water.


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## tim (29 Jul 2013)

Fts from this evening excuse the air stone but this hot summer is killing these little guys off slowly but surely 6 left from the original group added and no babies yet  removed the ug from the front too much detritus being trapped easier cleaning just the sand foreground added some mature tennelus to the background purchased from ady, thanks mate top quality looks a little like cypres helfri the tank being small. Bba seems to be the bane of my tanks at the moment not spreading fast so I can live with it but I hate the bloody tuffty sight of it to be honest  anyhow think this tank will run for a few more months then any shrimp left can move to a 50 ltr I'm in the process of gathering a few bits for  as always thanks for looking


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## Michael W (29 Jul 2013)

Your tank is looking awesome! I feel your pain, my cherry shrimp colony is starting to diminish, just got to keep up with the water changes and aeration. Hope the rest of you Jellies make it.


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## tim (29 Jul 2013)

Thanks Michael, tank has had at least 10% daily water change since start up aeration definitely seems to be helping, looking forward to getting a bigger tank up and running for them soonish


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## tim (8 Aug 2013)

Still not much luck on the breeding front same shrimp 3 times berried and three times eggs dropped, just notice tonight the other female carrying a few eggs so hopefully they will get the hang of it.


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## tim (22 Sep 2013)

Not updated this for a while. It has been a frustrating summer of algae issues and shrimp fatalities which I can only put down to the increase in temps and direct sunlight due to the tanks location, so I've moved to a room on the other side of the flat given it a bit of a spring clean during which I discovered just one blue jelly remaining  



I think it's looking ok just the rock at front seems to stand out too much now so will probably try and soften this with some moss.
New additions 



Planning to switch to full ro remineralised for water changes rather than cutting tap just to hopefully eliminate that as a possibility for fatalities.
As always thanks for looking


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## Michael W (22 Sep 2013)

I LOVE TIGERS! I'm planning to get some in the near future. Its a shame on the Blue Jellies but it can't be helped.

For future reference, It may be worth trying to artificially hatch the eggs that are dropped. You can put the eggs in a container keeping it's temp as close to the tank's as possible with little daily water changes or throw an air stone in keeping it oxygenated. Also, Since the eggs are fertile if you can see 'em in the first place you only have to worry about removing any that develops fungus. This can be done in the tank using a breeding box providing there are no snails etc.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (2 Oct 2013)

Looking nice Tim! Maybe daily water changes are a touch excessive for shrimp to deal with, if your still doing them that is?

I've kept my Shrimp tank going. Not looking amazing but meh.




Excuse algae, but I'm expecting shrimplets in the coming days so leaving as much biofilm etc as poss. 

Looking for a bigger tank again! 
Hope your good!

N


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## tim (3 Oct 2013)

Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> Looking nice Tim! Maybe daily water changes are a touch excessive for shrimp to deal with, if your still doing them that is?
> 
> I've kept my Shrimp tank going. Not looking amazing but meh.
> 
> ...


Hi Nathaniel, good to see you back on ! Water changes have been twice weekly for a while now, tds gh & ph matched fresh water drip fed in over an hour or so, your mini m's looking good mate get a journal up for your new setup when it's sorted


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## tim (26 Oct 2013)

Quick iPhone snapshot from today



Fairly algae free since moving the tank out of direct sunlight and the tigers seem to be doing ok so far.


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## Michael W (26 Oct 2013)

Nice shot, I think I might have missed this but what type of Anubias is that? I love the narrow-ish leaves.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (26 Oct 2013)

Looks beautiful Tim.
Do you dose anything ?


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## tim (26 Oct 2013)

Hi Michael, it's anubias bonsai I moved it in here from my wabi kusa attempt. Cheers for the likes chaps


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## tim (26 Oct 2013)

Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> Looks beautiful Tim.
> Do you dose anything ?


Hi nath, dose a little diy tpn mix once or twice a month, stopped dosing for a month or so and noticed the java fern loses leaves, must admit low tech is becoming very appealing


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## NanoJames (26 Oct 2013)

Looks really nice tim, I bet your shrimp love it in there! Any jelly babies yet?


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## tim (26 Oct 2013)

NanoJames said:


> Looks really nice tim, I bet your shrimp love it in there! Any jelly babies yet?


Thanks James, unfortunately no babies I lost all but one of the jellies through the summer due to the extreme temps  a couple of berried shrimp dropped eggs before hatching but no babies, I've added a few tiger shrimp now which seem to be doing ok so far.


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## NanoJames (26 Oct 2013)

That's a great shame mate. Hopefully your Tigers will breed. You could always get more at Christmas!


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## tim (26 Oct 2013)

NanoJames said:


> That's a great shame mate. Hopefully your Tigers will breed. You could always get more at Christmas!


Well I'm thinking 12ltrs is a little small for stability so I'm working hard on the wife allowing a shrimp rack  it's doable but I may have to let a couple of other tanks go first, then I'll give the jellies a better shot


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (26 Oct 2013)

Yeah I find stability in my Mini M difficult to maintain especially when it comes to breeding.
Definitely makes all the difference with bi-weekly Or tri-weekly small water changes.

They like it fresh!


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## tim (26 Dec 2013)

Hi folks, not seen a shrimp in this for a while so I'll be taking it down at the start of next week as a scape it's looking ok, I'll be trying to get a good final image over the next few days with my daughters dslr, took about 50 odd this morning, this is one I thought was ok.




Opinions great fully received.
As always cheers for looking


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## Andy D (26 Dec 2013)

I think it looks great! 

All I would say is just try to get the equipment out of the final shot.


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## tim (26 Dec 2013)

Andy D said:


> I think it looks great!
> 
> All I would say is just try to get the equipment out of the final shot.


Thanks Andy, needs a bloody good glass clean too


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## MARKCOUSINS (26 Dec 2013)

Sorry it did not work out with the Jellies,not easy in the small tank to keep it stable(know well from my own expierence).Very clean and well defined nano scape  Cheers mark


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## NanoJames (26 Dec 2013)

Throw some Sparkling gouramis in there Tim, brilliant wee fish!


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## tim (27 Dec 2013)

MARKCOUSINS said:


> Sorry it did not work out with the Jellies,not easy in the small tank to keep it stable(know well from my own expierence).Very clean and well defined nano scape  Cheers mark


Thanks mark, stability has been difficult to achieve think I'll be sticking to cherries for a while on the shrimp front they seem to be the only shrimp I can get to thrive.


NanoJames said:


> Throw some Sparkling gouramis in there Tim, brilliant wee fish!


They are lovely little fish James but I have some new rocks and a scape in mind involving moss and anubias bonsai and maybe some bucephalandras, thanks for the comments and following the journey guys and gals


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## martinmjr62 (27 Dec 2013)

Looking forward to the next chapter

Cheers
Martin


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## Alastair (27 Dec 2013)

Me too.  Your plans for your next scape sound great tim


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## tim (27 Dec 2013)

martinmjr62 said:


> Looking forward to the next chapter
> 
> Cheers
> Martin





Alastair said:


> Me too.  Your plans for your next scape sound great tim


Cheers chaps  I'm looking forward to it too, just need the postal service to get back on track.


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## tim (29 Dec 2013)

Thanks for following the progress of this



Tanks now empty will be a week or so before I can start on the next little scape thanks for all the positive comments and likes along the way


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