# CRS new tank



## Nick16

hi all,

don't think ive posted for a year or two now, and I don't recognise many names!

ive just obtained a 21x21x21 cube, around 140 litres.

I would like to keep some CRS properly in the tank, however it will be a new tank and I know they need a matured one. 

I have a new TT Ex1200 coming for the tank which I can swap with one of my ones on my display tank so the media will be well cycled and mature. however, as there will be very little algae growth and biofilm in the tank, is it worth stocking with some cherry shrimp for a couple months first (I have loads in another tank) to get the tank going.. and then remove when I get CRS.... 

already have cattapa leaves from a foray a few years ago.

living in surrey, I do have hard water, will this pose a problem? 

can I stock any tank mates with CRS? my cherries are in with some corys, khulis, cardinals and ottos

cheers


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## George Farmer

Hi Nick - welcome back! 

If you want to breed CRS I'd recommend RO with a GH booster such as Salty Shrimp GH+. A KH of near 0 is ideal and promotes breeding.

An active soil substrate such as Aqua Soil or similar will buffer pH nicely.

Also avoid CO2 injection and heavy dosing if you're breeding. Conductivity should be a stable 200-250. Ideal temp 18-22C.

Plant heavily, especially moss and biofilm will soon grow.

After a couple of weeks you can add a few CRS. If they do well add a few more and they'll soon produce babies. 

The key to success IME is immaculate water quality, stable water chemistry and high O2 levels. And probably no fish or bigger shrimp too.

All the above is based on my own experience. I have a CRS breeding tank journal here - George's "Crystal Palace" - now with HD video | UK Aquatic Plant Society


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## Nick16

hi George, tank looks cracking buddy! 

I don't have an RO unit, but do you think I could get away with a small desktop unit like the following? 
 ET-PURE 5-stage Reverse Osmosis (RO)Countertop Pumped Water Purification System | eBay

that is going to be my only problem with keeping the shrimp as I know im on top of my water conditions, 02 levels will be fine, house is always 18-19C, but I have a hydor ETH to keep it nice and stable, perhaps aim for around 20c so that I have a bit of give when doing WC's.

what is conductivity?

planting is no problem, lighting no issue, soil I can obtain.

what ferts are you guys using now? last time I was on here liquid ferts were TPN+ and easycarbo! I guess its changed a bit since then....


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## George Farmer

That RO unit seems fine.

Many keep CRS in tap but with active soil to keep the pH and KH down. But they are delicate creatures so RO is best as there's no other nasties.

Tropica ferts are still popular but there's cheaper equivalents of course. I don't use liquid carbon but as long as you don't overdose it should be ok. CO2 can be dosed but shrimplet broods are known to be lower. Always keep O2 levels up, especially t night in a planted tank when respiration occurs.

Conductivity is basically a measure of how much stuff is in the water, similar to TDS. I only go by conductivity as my filter gives a constant read-out. It usually creeps up over time, so measuring it can be useful to maintain stable parameters, especially when using a reference like RO and re-min powder.


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## Nick16

are there any RO units out there that don't need to be plumbed in? i.e can be fed water manually?

I would only be needing 50 litres every 2 weeks or so for water changes so im reluctant to plumb something in that requires such little usage.


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## OllieNZ

I borrow a friends one that has had a hookup for a standard garden/washing machine tap fitted to it
Or buy 25l at a time from your lfs


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

I've got this: 

Reverse Osmosis Systems : 50 Gallon Per Day 3 Stage  Reverse Osmosis System


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## Andy D

You can buy a standard RO filter and with a couple of cheap extras you can make it into a portable system so that it does not have to be permanently plumbed in.

See here -


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## Andy D

I use this one - 4 Stage 50 Gallon Per Day Reverse Osmosis System with DI - Osmotics Water Filtration

DI filter is not essential but does give a zero TDS read and if you decide to go down the marine route at some point it would be handy. It can be removed if not needed.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Andy D said:


> You can buy a standard RO filter and with a couple of cheap extras you can make it into a portable system so that it does not have to be permanently plumbed in.
> 
> See here -





Carl gets absolutely everywhere lol!


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## Andy D

Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> Carl gets absolutely everywhere lol!



I don't know who he is. Is he on here?

I thought it was a great video and made setting up an RO system real easy.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Andy D said:


> I don't know who he is. Is he on here?
> 
> I thought it was a great video and made setting up an RO system real easy.



Yeah, his nickname is Bartash.
He does do very good and in depth reviews. He features on APFUK's videos too. He seems in high demand


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## Andy D

Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> Yeah, his nickname is Bartash.
> He does do very good and in depth reviews. He features on APFUK's videos too. He seems in high demand



Good to know


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> I've got this:
> 
> Reverse Osmosis Systems : 50 Gallon Per Day 3 Stage  Reverse Osmosis System




Mines got a DI resin unit on top aswell.


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## Nick16

thats cracking guys, being able to connect to your garden hose is a very clever thing. il try to source the connectors he mentions in the video and il be away! 

in the mean time il get the tank up and running by getting my cherries and a few cardinals in there to kick start the biofilm. 

all i need to do is source a nice shrimp friendly substrate thats beneficial for both the shrimp and plants, some ferts and the plants themselves!


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## sa80mark

You will find all the fitting you could ever want here

www.RO-MAN.com Reverse Osmosis Systems, RO systems in UK


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## Nick16

cheers il have a browse in the morning when im not on the phone. 

i have hard water so will this influence what substrate i need to buy? 

thanks for all your help! if im going to do it, im doing it properly!


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Nick16 said:


> cheers il have a browse in the morning when im not on the phone.
> 
> i have hard water so will this influence what substrate i need to buy?
> 
> thanks for all your help! if im going to do it, im doing it properly!



No, but if your wanting the best for CRS, then go for Ebi Gold substrate, or possibly ADA Amazonia II. Sands and the like will be fine, but won't pull down the Ph.


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## Nick16

was reading a few topics on it and it seems most on here use the Ebi gold and really rate it.
im hoping I can get away with 10l on a 21x21 (inches) I think I will come up about 2kg short of decent coverage. :/


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Nick16 said:


> was reading a few topics on it and it seems most on here use the Ebi gold and really rate it.
> im hoping I can get away with 10l on a 21x21 (inches) I think I will come up about 2kg short of decent coverage. :/



Yeah, maybe a bit shy. It depends if you want it flat or slightly ramped towards the back.


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## Nick16

I assume we don't get a discount from our sponsors? 
think I will be spending a lot of money with them soon!


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## Alastair

Nick16 said:


> I assume we don't get a discount from our sponsors?
> think I will be spending a lot of money with them soon!



Yes if you check the sponsors section some of them offer ukaps members discounts.  
Also just to add to naths substrate options tmc nutrasoil is great to for crs. Lowers ph and kh too. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Alastair said:


> Yes if you check the sponsors section some of them offer ukaps members discounts.
> Also just to add to naths substrate options tmc nutrasoil is great to for crs. Lowers ph and kh too.
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2



Heard good things but have no experience with TMC nutrasoil


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## Nick16

I did have a trawl through freshwater shrimp but I couldn't see anything so im unsure, I might PM them just to be sure because it would be annoying to miss out.
being so close to xmas it might be worth waiting until some shops offer the soil on special or some shrimp on special!


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## Nick16

if TDS is 0, is that a good thing for CRS? 

i would imagine my tap water is about 300 as its hard, but most RO units will filter it to pretty much 0. 
george mentioned 100-200 is what he aims for? 

i plan to connect the unit with a hose adapter to keep it portable, fill up a couple of 25l plastic 'jerry cans' and store for a couple of days until i need them. which means i can pack the RO unit away between WCs

cheers


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Nick16 said:


> I did have a trawl through freshwater shrimp but I couldn't see anything so im unsure, I might PM them just to be sure because it would be annoying to miss out.
> being so close to xmas it might be worth waiting until some shops offer the soil on special or some shrimp on special!



I maintain a TDS of 150-160 for my CRS and they do well. You'll need to buy some salty shrimp or mosura mineral plus to remineralise the water. Or you could mix your tap with your RO but then your not safeguarded against any 'nasties' in the mains water (such as when they flush systems etc).


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## Nick16

so should i be looking to get the salty shrimp GH+ or the salty shrimp GH/KH+ 

i always thought TDS was the same as GH as it was just the amount of dissolved solids in the water? 
cheers


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## Alastair

Nick16 said:


> so should i be looking to get the salty shrimp GH+ or the salty shrimp GH/KH+
> 
> i always thought TDS was the same as GH as it was just the amount of dissolved solids in the water?
> cheers




Tds is a culmination of everything, not just the general hardness. Decaying organics, ferts etc.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Yeah in a clean, undosed tank, your TDS value should give an ok indication of water hardness.

The best thing is to mix the RO water in a tub with Mosura Mineral plus (or your salty shrimp) and take if up to about the 150 mark. 

Then check your GH/kh values. If they are right (GH~ 5 and kh 0-1), this method is repeatable as the solution in the bottle is always the same.
So you'll know every time you hit your TDS, in the tub, you'll have the same hardness values.


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## Nick16

whats repeatable and what bottle? 

i was going to purchase a tds meter that clips inline to the RO unit, but i might get a handheld one so its easier to dip into tubs and the tank.

would you recommend testing a different way? perhaps buying a KH/GH test kit? although the ones that change colour arent accurate, id prefer a digital reading!


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## Nick16

after a quick google you cant buy digital testers which is a shame, i guess most of you are using something like the API kh/gh test kit? 

so its fairly simple, ive only got to test the kh/gh on the odd occasion and as long as it remains in the parameters you suggest then all i have to do is bump the TDS up to 150 and not worry too much! 

il test my water when it comes out the RO unit and hope theres no surprises, everyones water output should be fairly similar if its been filtered though? 

cheers


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Nick16 said:


> whats repeatable and what bottle?
> 
> i was going to purchase a tds meter that clips inline to the RO unit, but i might get a handheld one so its easier to dip into tubs and the tank.
> 
> would you recommend testing a different way? perhaps buying a KH/GH test kit? although the ones that change colour arent accurate, id prefer a digital reading!



The method of obtaining a TDS number. The solution in they 'mosura mineral plus' bottle or the 'salty shrimp', as long as always shook before use should give exactly the same GH and kh readings every time, if you go for a set TDS measure.

If you have a DI resin unit on your RO system, then your water will contain 0ppm of anything. Just pure H2O

And yes, I use an API GH/kh kit as a guesstimate. 


* Cue Clive smashing up his keyboard*


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## Nick16

yeah i intend to get one with a DI filter. what PH is the water that comes out of an RO unit? 7? 

i will get an RO unit, buy some salty shrimp GH and KH, dose it as per the bottle and see what readings i get? 
do you think i should get an inline TDS meter with the two probes for meauring ppm out of the tap and ppm out of the RO unit or just the handheld one for dipping into the containers of RO water? 

thanks for all your help guys! learning alot!


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Nick16 said:


> yeah i intend to get one with a DI filter. what PH is the water that comes out of an RO unit? 7?
> 
> i will get an RO unit, buy some salty shrimp GH and KH, dose it as per the bottle and see what readings i get?
> do you think i should get an inline TDS meter with the two probes for meauring ppm out of the tap and ppm out of the RO unit or just the handheld one for dipping into the containers of RO water?
> 
> thanks for all your help guys! learning alot!



I haven't measured my Ph but I think it will come out acidic at ~6.
Buy a handheld inline one. You can use this to check everything. DI resin needs changing when TDS starts creeping up in the produced water, so you can check the pure RO with it, the tank water, the 'mixing' water.

Mobility is versatility.


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## Nick16

excellent, the unit im looking at contains enough resin to fill the chamber initially and then one more fill which is quite handy.

well anything below ph7 is decent for CRS so that will be very handy. il crack on and order the RO and all the gubbins to go with it and test my the water produced!

watch this space! cheers for all your help Nathaniel, im sure theres more to come!


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Nick16 said:


> excellent, the unit im looking at contains enough resin to fill the chamber initially and then one more fill which is quite handy.
> 
> well anything below ph7 is decent for CRS so that will be very handy. il crack on and order the RO and all the gubbins to go with it and test my the water produced!
> 
> watch this space! cheers for all your help Nathaniel, im sure theres more to come!



No worries pal, i don't know much, but what I do, I'm happy to share


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## Nick16

which one would you pick out of the following?

4 Stage 50 Gallon Per Day Reverse Osmosis System - Osmotics Water Filtration

4 Stage 50 Gallon Per Day Reverse Osmosis System with DI - Osmotics Water Filtration

both are 4 stage but one has DI?

im assuming the DI one is much better going by your previous posts and some searching on the forum!


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

DI resin makes sure the TDS is absolute zero. Not necessary but handy . I use DI unit. 
I think it comes In more in managing going into a reef tank.

I'd choose the DI unit, even though it's cheaper lol.


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## Nick16

sorry for the stupidity, im confused wiith the additives?

do I get the salty shrimp GH+ or the GH/KH+?


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Nick16 said:


> sorry for the stupidity, im confused wiith the additives?
> 
> do I get the salty shrimp GH+ or the GH/KH+?



Without looking I believe the GH+ will be aimed at the CRS, CBS and other Thai breeds. Where the ph is kept as low as possible ~6.

The GH/kh plus I believe will be targeted toward alkaline preferring species such as Sulawesi shrimp, where PH needs to be kept up at around 8.


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## Nick16

okay, seems to tally with what some others are saying online. 
instead of being ripped of by some fancy packaging, what GH boosters do people use? 
how much do you dose to get the magic 6 GH? (grams per 10l of water) or similar


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Nick16 said:


> okay, seems to tally with what some others are saying online.
> instead of being ripped of by some fancy packaging, what GH boosters do people use?
> how much do you dose to get the magic 6 GH? (grams per 10l of water) or similar



I use mosura mineral plus


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## basil

Always used Mosura Mineral plus without any issues. More recently switched to Salty Shrimp. It's in crystal form so needs dissolving before you can add, whereas the Mosura is a liquid so maybe slightly more convenient for dosing. I've had good results with both brands though, but I do like the Salty Shrimp range and they seem highly popular.


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## Ady34

Hi Nick,
your most important tool for successful crs keeping will be a TDS meter, id invest in one of those before anything else. Test your tap water, you may be lucky and have low tds water straight from the tap which can be remineralised to suit. If not then remineralised RO is the way to go and the salty shrimp gh+ is great stuff (ive used it religiously throughout my CRS venture which you can read about via the link in my signature if you choose). You could initially also buy RO water from a local aquatics retailer rather than splash out on an RO unit of your own (its about £2-3 for 25litres). If you dont have a large tank its a small weekly outlay. Long term it will be cost effective and convenient to produce your own, but maybe try out the crs keeping first see if you like it 

Active soils help with stability as mentioned by others, but the key is suitable clean water and good tank husbandry, keep regular water changes and filter cleaning and youll be good, i started with 10 shrimplets and now have hundreds 
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## Nick16

well i have a 21x21x21 cube so its not a small tank. with a TT ex1200 to filter and a hydor eth 300. i will swap the new filter with one of my other two on the mbuna tank so it will be cycled. 

i went and splashed out on a 50 gpd RO unit, and a handheld TDS meter so i can do it properly from the start. 
i will get some ebi gold, salty shrimp and begin to set up!


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## Nick16

i need a good back ground plant for the tank, i want to do crypts as a midground and maybe use c.parva as a foreground which means the shrimp still have good access to the substrate underneath, yet still have broad leaves to chow on! 

what do people suggest? 
low tec, probably easy carbo and TPN+ daily. 

lighting is a clip on led with about 22 small leds. (does that mean 22w output?)  (3 or 5w energy consumption i believe)


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## RolyMo

Hi mate
I have recently setup a low tech fully planted CRS tank for the first time. I don't use co2 (gS or liquid) and rarely EI dose (once every few weeks). Lights are 0.5watts/litre. No issues. I am still flabbergasted to this day that it works.


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## basil

Rolymo - Pelia is another that does well low tech. I don't use any ferts or co2 either and it does just fine, along with my other neglected mosses


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## Nick16

i plan to add very tiny amounts, just enough to give them something to help them along. 

still unsure what to put at the back of the tank! to go with the crypts


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## Nick16

hi all, 

have had alot of financial issues which has stopped me from buying the shrimp, (new engine, gearbox, clutch, flywheel, cambelt for the car). However 8 SSS mosuras should be arriving tommorow. 
have checked the tank today, done a small 15% W/C (dont want to upset the balance now) and checked all the stats. 

TDS is 115 (normally rises slightly every day) 
KH is 0.5
GH is 4
Temp is 22C

tank has been home to 3 ottos for about 6 weeks now who have been keeping it algae free nicely and have little fat bellies. 

I have an assortment of shrimp food

Catappa leaves
collected dried oak leaves
banana leaves
alder cones

baby shrimp powder
5 variety mix pellets 

should i put some leaves in now before the shrimp arrive to have more favourable conditions?
if so what should i add? 

tank had bogwood and various crypts, anubias and java fern for natural food. 
dosing small amounts of ferts and liquid carbon but growth is slow and steady.


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## Nick16




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## Wallace

I would add one or two leaves now to allow some bio film on them before the shrimp arrive. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Nick16

48hrs in and i still have all 8 shrimp so im very happy there. 

some of mine have an almost transparent body instead of white. is this normal and they should colour up or have i got poor quality SSS mosuras? 

cheers


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## Lindy

If they stay transparent they are low quality or very not happy!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


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## Nick16

cant see why they wouldnt be happy

all params are perfect, theyre all feeding, plenty of live plants and bio film and shelter. 

il give them another day and if theyre still washed out there will be a grumpy email being sent. when youve paid a tenner for something so small it has to be good!


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## Lindy

I could sell you some good coloured mosura for half that 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


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## Nick16

wish i had known before, i dont come on forums alot now. 
still very translucent bodies with blotchy white patches, the young ones i have are ok colour, nothing fantastic. to say im dissapointed is an understatement. just a shame i cant take them back and get a full refund. 
look more like an A/S grade in terms of colour intensity


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## Lindy

I think you can get low, med and high standard in any of the grades. Alot of the online sellers will say what standard their shrimp are. Even prls come in low med or high. most of my A grade banded shrimp have the intense white and red or black and red of higher grade shrimp.


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## Nick16

well having contacted them and recieved a very unhelpful and blunt reply saying what do you expect for the money and that theyre 'too cheap'. I am DISGUSTED by this and having spent 200 quid with one of our sponsors (1/4 of my monthly wage so its alot of money for me).

Let this be a lesson to others.


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## GlenFish

Get some pics of your shrimps up, lets see the quality you get for a tenner.......


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## Nick16

There you go mate, i feel robbed. 
young ones are okay, adults are bland. 

tank is 22c
TDS 125
GH 4
KH 0.5

inhabitants 4 ottos 
Banana leaves, catappa leaves and alder cones. They are all feeding okay just have a lack of colour.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

They're pretty bad quality in terms of colour strength. But they need as much love as the beautiful ones


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## Nick16

to be honest, its the quality id expect if i wanted to test the tank water and wanted a guinea pig. not a 'high quality SSS mosura' and certainly not 9.99! 

have been in contact with lucas as sharnbrook shrimp and hes sent me across some photos, wish id got in contact sooner. 
i might cull the bad quality shrimp if the company refuses to help and just order from SBS. 
and all from a sponsor too!!


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## Lindy

Offer the lower quality up for sale here or give them away for postage if you don’t want to keep them but don't ''cull'' them literally! 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


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## GlenFish

I agree not a 'high quality SSS mosura' maybe a low grade SSS mosura...  At a tenner a go I'd be pretty disappointed..... The grading refers to pattern not colour intensity, so can be misleading, but if they were sold as high quality/grade i'd expect better!


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## Nick16

well, im very close to shutting my account down on this forum as ive had a reply after emailing the sellers (a forum sponsor!) a picture - over a week since acclimatising them abd just getting the reply 'looks horrible'
Shouldnt be a sponsor if theyre not even proud of the products they sell. 

its not worth my time selling them for postage, il just accept the hit and re-stock again.

For Now, there will be no further 'Updates' to this Journal


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## darthpaul

Why close your account? its not UKAPS fault that you have been let down by a sponsor. UKAPS cannot monitor its sponsors sales, it is a free online community run to help like minded people meet and share experience. Running a big website costs money and so sponsors are needed to fund the site. I used to run a popular fish keeping website and it was hard work, very time consuming and out of my pocket. These places are about people and expanding a hobby. I have learnt so much from here and learn more with every new journal or idea that users share. We all have bad experiences in life buying things, if a company deliver bad service you are in your rights to name and shame if they dont give you satisfactory support, but that is not UKAPS fault, just my opinon.


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## Lindy

I said sell for postage so you are not needlessly killing livestock. That shouldn't be an option when someone could offer them a home.


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## Lindy

Nick16 said:


> 'high quality SSS mosura'


Were they definately described as ''high quality sss''?


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

I wouldn't advise publicly naming them. There's no point in name calling / shaming a company, and dragging the forum down.

I agree fully with your right to complain, but using proper methods, such as discussing in private with shops / possibly even forum mods will yield better results.


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## Nick16

Have tried emailing but theyre not interested as ive said. 
better to name and shame before anyone else gets burnt


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## KrishP

are all your shrimp like that?


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## Graham01

Shrimp of that low a quality should either be culled or given away £10 each is a joke
SSS grade means nothing its all about the intensity of the white which makes a shrimp high quality
You get better high quality A grades than those washed out SSS
The clear banding is from very poor breeding


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## Ian Holdich

Please don't name and shame the company on the forum. As stated above, ukaps cannot keep an eye on sales by our sponsors. This is a private matter, and should be dealt with accordingly.


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## Nick16

unfortunately private matters dont work either, if a company is unwilling to have an after sales help, then others should be told. 

have collected some shrimp today from a private seller and they are fantastic quality (hand picked them myself) 9 shrimp for £32. 
certainly beats the robbery of £10 a shrimp!

heres some (dodgy mobile phone) snaps of them settling in .....


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## Nick16

what a massive difference from the quality I received from 'the un-named' forum sponsor.
just goes to show the quality of product you can get if you buy from people that really care for their animals.


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## Graham01

Great shrimp for the price excellent strong white no washed out looked to them


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Excellent. 

To be honest, it's the best way to go with livestock. Carefully cared for, by someone who knows the scene inside-out.


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## Nick16

on a side note, what foods/supplements do people use for keeping their CRS happy/healthy and full of colour. (i know alot of it is down to water parameters) 

cheers


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Nick16 said:


> on a side note, what foods/supplements do people use for keeping their CRS happy/healthy and full of colour. (i know alot of it is down to water parameters)
> 
> cheers



Mainly down to genetics


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## Graham01

Borneowild shield is an excellent product for keeping you shrimp healthy & improves water quality as well a brilliant product


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## GlenFish

Cracking looking shrimp! Glad you got them in the end.....


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## Nik

Hi Nick, shrimps look nice in your tank !! any questions feel free to ask.

Thank you,

Nik


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## Alastair

Nick16 said:


> on a side note, what foods/supplements do people use for keeping their CRS happy/healthy and full of colour. (i know alot of it is down to water parameters)
> 
> cheers



Hi nick

If the shrimp is that lower quality with an almost transparent body,  then non of the foods are going to bring out its colour and make it nice and white unfortunately

Your new ones look far better. To help brighten the white you could use genchem white, also I use the tantora mulberry food and mulberry leaves and ebita breed. Mainly my shrimp are left to graze on leaf litter in the tank and once a week I give one of the above foods.


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## Nick16

hi mate, 

how much leaf litter do you have in the tank? 
i have 4 oak leaves, a banana leaf and a small catappa leaf along with 5 alder cones. in a 21x21x21 cube im not sure if i should add more?


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## Alastair

Nick16 said:


> hi mate,
> 
> how much leaf litter do you have in the tank?
> i have 4 oak leaves, a banana leaf and a small catappa leaf along with 5 alder cones. in a 21x21x21 cube im not sure if i should add more?



Hi mate. Is that 21cm??? If so that's more than enough. They do go mental for mulberry leaves though. I have a few packs spare if you want one for postage cost.


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## Nick16

no mate inches. 
never heard of those before, il do some research on them and get back to you! 

cheers


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## Graham01

Shame the sponsor forum couldn't do the right thing & refund you for those rubbish shrimp
But the good thing is you found an honest seller with quality shrimp to sell you know where to go for your next shrimp & which sponsor to avoid


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## MARKCOUSINS

Alastair said:


> Hi mate. Is that 21cm??? If so that's more than enough. They do go mental for mulberry leaves though. I have a few packs spare if you want one for postage cost.





Nick16 said:


> no mate inches.
> never heard of those before, il do some research on them and get back to you!
> 
> cheers


I agree with Alastair they really love Mullberry,in my main tank where i have just Amano shrimp it is incredible they rip it to bits like piranha!


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## Nick16

hi all, havent updated in a while, tank is fully established and plants are growing slowly (perfect for my lifestyle) and are super low maintainence. 
i now have a load of baby CRS (my first ever) which are only a few days old. 
i know this is the critical stage and i have added plenty of mulberry and nettle leaves as well as supplementing with a powder food to help. 
they look a real mix bag of grades despite SSS parents. (as you would expect)  so i will be looking to pass on some of the lower grades if they survive... 

cheers!


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## Nick16

seems i done really well and have had a massive survival rate, theres hundreds of the little ones now and theyre getting to a fair size. would say another two months and they are ready for sale. 

in terms of picking leaves, should i wait until the autumn to pick leaves when theyve 'dried up' a little bit, or can i pick them whenever and dry them out myself? 

im talking about leaves like, ash, beech, plum

i have a HUGE abundance of wild nettles which the public/animals do not have access to and due to my countryside location theyre very clean from pollution


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## Nathaniel Whiteside

Nick16 said:


> seems i done really well and have had a massive survival rate, theres hundreds of the little ones now and theyre getting to a fair size. would say another two months and they are ready for sale.
> 
> in terms of picking leaves, should i wait until the autumn to pick leaves when theyve 'dried up' a little bit, or can i pick them whenever and dry them out myself?
> 
> im talking about leaves like, ash, beech, plum
> 
> i have a HUGE abundance of wild nettles which the public/animals do not have access to and due to my countryside location theyre very clean from pollution



Well done mate. You must be happy with that!


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## Lindy

Wait until leaves have dropped from the trees in autumn before gathering for your shrimp. Nettle, on the other hand, can be picked and dried so you have a supply all winter.


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## Nick16

excellent, thanks guys

i have a sandwhich bag full of dried nettles at the moment, but i will pick some more at the end of the summer to keep me going. i always pick them then boil them up to kill anything and then dry them out, so i know my 'harvest' wont be compromised in the bags! 

will be lovely to be able to sell some on to hobbyists to recoup some of my outlay!


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