# 15 gallon shrimp



## target (Apr 21, 2010)

I recieved my plant order from Aquaflora last night and got my 15 gallon going with a dry start. Substrate is Eco-Complete. Plant list will eventually include:

HC
Ammannia gracilis
Hygrophila ssp. Pantanal Wavy
Ludwigia repens
Heteranthera zosterifolia
E. tenellus

Stock list will be:

Chili rasboras
Cherry shrimp
Amano shrimp

Tank details:

15 gallon w/ glass top
24W sunblaster light from Solar Hydroponics
100w Stealth heater
AC30


I might do some different species of shrimp later on, but I am new to shrimp and don't want to start with really expensive ones. I got the HC planted for the dry start. There is one more pot coming that will be added. Right now there is 3 pots in the tank. I am trying to achieve a golf course type look for this tank. The HC will be the fairway, the tenellus is the rough and the rest of the plants will form the forest. I also have a nice piece of driftwood that will be a centerpiece.


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## wsl (Apr 21, 2010)

Sounds like an interesting setup design. Show us more pictures when you're done!


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Will do. I have never attempted anything like this before so we shall see how it goes.


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## pinkjell (Apr 22, 2010)

Good luck !!! with everything - I will be watching your adventure for sure as I have always wanted to do something like this but have never had the confidence .


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I would try to break the HC up into smaller clumps (I know it's a lot of work) and spread it out a little better so you get faster carpeting. But so far, looks great.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

pinkjell said:


> Good luck !!! with everything - I will be watching your adventure for sure as I have always wanted to do something like this but have never had the confidence .


Thanks Gwenn, you should just give it a try. What's the worst that can happen?



2wheelsx2 said:


> I would try to break the HC up into smaller clumps (I know it's a lot of work) and spread it out a little better so you get faster carpeting. But so far, looks great.


I was thinking that too, but I wanted to get it planted last night before I went to bed. I might break it up a little more over the weekend if I have some free time. And they are pretty small clumps, the angle of the shot makes them look bigger. Plus, one more pot will be going in there as well.


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## pinkjell (Apr 22, 2010)

Im thinking about it for sure..I just need to see it done first ..so cant wait to see more pictures, post as you go along - i know its a lot of work posting pics..(personally I hate it) ..but it would be appreciated if you do


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

No worries, I was planning to post a picture every couple of days to show progress, or lack thereof.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Well, how's this for 2 days growth? Doubled in size! LOL, you too can have growth like this. All you need is a forgetful friend who leaves his order of HC at his office. Then, you go collect it and bam! Twice as much HC in one day. Works like a charm. I may have to patent this technique. What do you think Gary?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow! Impressive growth rate Daniel. Bwahahaha....it's better than letting it go to waste. The receptive was going to throw it in the garbage.


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## wsl (Apr 21, 2010)

Haha, double the size in two days huh. Wish I could get growth like that on my plants


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Hello Daniel.

You may find that 24W of T5HO over a 15 gallon, may not be sufficient light for HC, stargrass, and the Amannia. These guys prefer 2 - 3 WPG. I have 24W T5HO and 28W of T5NO over my 15 gallon and the growth is very quick.

The hygro, ludwigia, and pygmy chain sword should be fine with the existing light.

I would also highly recommend using pressurized CO2 or Excel/Metricide as a carbon source. Your Amano and Cherry shrimp will be fine with the carbon replacement method as well (overdose amounts for algae control are also well tolerated). Of course your chillis will be fine too. I have personal experience with all of the suggestions above.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.

Respectfully,

Stuart



target said:


> HC
> Ammannia gracilis
> Hygrophila ssp. Pantanal Wavy
> Ludwigia repens
> ...


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

CRS Fan said:


> Hello Daniel.
> 
> You may find that 24W of T5HO over a 15 gallon, may not be sufficient light for HC, stargrass, and the Amannia. These guys prefer 2 - 3 WPG. I have 24W T5HO and 28W of T5NO over my 15 gallon and the growth is very quick.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. I had planned on using metricide and if I find the light insufficient I can always add another of the one I have. They chain together easily and are only $25. I will give you a shout if I have any other problems.


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Sounds good.

Update us with pics. I'd take some pics of 15 gallon but my camera is not the best ! People often tell me to post pics of it though.

Best Regards,

Stuart


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

I will be updated regularly. One question I have is that since I have almost filled the area I wanted to be carpeted, How long should I wait before flooding it? I was planning to wait at least a month and see how much it had filled in. I am thinking that could still be a good idea. I want to make sure it has rooted anough that it won't get uprooted too easily. What do you think?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I would wait until I see that it's spreading at least before I flood it. Then you can know for sure it's rooted and propagating.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Good plan.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Well, no new picture right now, but the HC seems to be doing well. Tim, from Aquaflora, dropped off the one pot of HC that was missing from my order. He dropped off what seems like the equivalent of 4 more pots, so the whole area I wanted to cover is basically done now. I just need to wait until it roots a little harder and starts to spread a bit more before I flood it. Another few weeks and it should be good. I will try and get a new picture up before the weekend.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Gee, your HC is going to be growing so well that I'm going to have to steal some back from you.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

LOL, definitely you can have some when it gets there, seeing as how a good portion was yours to start with.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Time for an update. I would like to take credit for the what looks like growth, but again I received more HC from Tim so that filled in most of the holes in the area I wanted planted. It seems to be doing alright, except for a couple of spots that are not doing well. They are shown in the second picture. Any ideas what I should do to prevent that from spreading? Or will those areas come back if I just leave them? Thanks


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow! Looks great. IMO, it's time to flood it. The whole reason to do the dry start is to get the carpet going, but since you have a full carpet now, I would just flood it. I wouldn't worry about that spot. Those should grow back in.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks Gary, as soon as I can get the reflector, and some E. tenellus (cough, cough) I will get it to my office and flood it.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I'll see about bringing you some this week. I got lots of it now.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Cool, I am going to see if I can finally get a moment this coming weekend to try and bring it downtown. I can't wait to see it all set up. I have never taken this long to fill a tank with water before. LOL

How many mosquito rasboras should I add to this tank? I was planning to get 15 of them from Charles. I saw some at IPU this weekend, and they are TINY! I want to make sure I can actually see them.

I also have 12 amanos and the cherries to go in. Not sure how many cherries, but I was thinking of getting a few more of both shrimp from Charles again, just to bump the numbers up a bit.


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## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

nice lawn bud!!

I grew hc with eco before but found that over time it released from the substrate, If you are adding rasboras go with 20-30. I recommend this because out of my 20 chili rasboras 4 are left, I find the survival rate of these little guys poor. 

Another suggestion for the substrate maybe put a thin layer like 1/4 inch of 3m black sugar sand as a cap for the substrate....

Make sure to post more pics when it's filled!


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks for the info tang daddy. I thought of the sand, but figured it would just filter its way through the eco after a while. Plus, almost all the substrate will be covered my plants anyways.

Hmm, 30 rasboras seems like a nice round number. Maybe I will go with more of them and not worry about more shrimp at this time.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

target said:


> Thanks for the info tang daddy. I thought of the sand, but figured it would just filter its way through the eco after a while. Plus, almost all the substrate will be covered my plants anyways.
> 
> Hmm, 30 rasboras seems like a nice round number. Maybe I will go with more of them and not worry about more shrimp at this time.


The shrimps, if not harrassed, will fill the tank in no time soon anyway. In my 20 gallon, you only see so few, because they are hiding from the rummy nose.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

That's what I thought as well. Now I really hope I can get it down to work this weekend.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

I was just looking through my QT tank that is housing my shrimp and plants for the 15G shrimp tank at work and found shrimplets!! The cherries have had babies. Gary, thanks for the shrimp. I have never had them before and to have them breeding already is awesome! You weren't lying when you told me they would fill up the tank in no time. The large amanos in the same tank don't seem to be bothering the shrimplets at all.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

That's great Daniel. Glad to see it's working for you. The amanos won't bother the shrimplets unless they are starving or the shrimplets are dead.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

I got the tank set up on my desk this Saturday. Filled it and it looks not bad. The plants need to settle in a bit, and get re-scaped some. The HC also took a bit of a hit when it was flooded. The water knocked some of it around. But I am sure it will come back. I will be adding the mosquito rasboras today. Here's a shot from this morning. Let me know what you think.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks good. The lighting level looks great. Is that with the single 24w T5HO from Sunlight Supply? I might have to look into those, looking at your tank. Did you fashion a reflector?


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Hey Gary, yeah that is the single light. It is pretty bright. For a reflector I got this one from J&L aquatices: http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=sl-zsbr24
The light slips right in, works nicely.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Time for an update. The HC is doing pretty good, uprooted in a few places, but seems to be doing well. The shrimp are multipying as well. Here are some updated shots. Photo quality is not the greatest, only had my iPhone for pictures.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

It's looking really good. My plecos are not letting me grow an HC lawn. I wake up every morning to see everything pulled out. Guess I'll have to try a shrimp tank if I want to grow HC.


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## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

wow it's filled in great!!


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks guys. I am hoping the areas that are bare at each end will fill back in before too long.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

time for a few updated shots of my tank. The HC is still doing well. It gets uprooted in places now and then. I just push it back down. I really need to give the tank a good trim as the star grass is growing like crazy.


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## shaobo (Apr 21, 2010)

Great plant growth in your tank, Although I love how star grass look when I use to keep them way back, but I end up taking it out as trimming is hard to keep up.

On the side note, just wondering if there are any effect on shrimps with Metricide dosing, and are they breeding ATM?


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

They have been breeding like crazy. The Metricide doesn't seem to bother them at all.


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## shaobo (Apr 21, 2010)

target said:


> They have been breeding like crazy. The Metricide doesn't seem to bother them at all.


Thanks, very good to know that!  What other inhabitants are in this setup?


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

in my tank while i was dosing 4x metricide, the shrimp did not breed, but as im back down to double dosing only, they started to breed once again


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks like they're going faster than rabbits. I think you got like maybe 10 from me and now it's crawling with shrimp.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

shaobo said:


> Thanks, very good to know that!  What other inhabitants are in this setup?


There is only 3 chili rasboras, one endler, some amano shrimp and a bunch of Cherries



2wheelsx2 said:


> Looks like they're going faster than rabbits. I think you got like maybe 10 from me and now it's crawling with shrimp.


Yeah, they are all out right now and this morning I counted at least 12 adults, and lots of babies. This is after having a 4 day weekend awhile ago and having one of my female amanos make a snack of over 35+ babies cherries. I came back and only had 5 adults and one very red looking amano. The colony has come back though.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

You might want to chuck some sinking wafers in there for the weekend then. If you need some let me know, I got lots.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Well I have the auto feeder now, which helps. But that would be a good idea asd well. Maybe I can grab some from you next week when we met up so I can give you the piping for your cube.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Cooooool!!


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