# Hello from a new aquarium-ist! (well its been a while)



## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

After not having a tank for about 10 years I decided to get back into the hobby. I recently purchased a fluval edge. (and am already wanting a bigger tank... funny how that works!)

I have had the tank for just under a month and started to add more inhabitants over the past week.










Current Stock:
3 zebra danios - active little punks constantly chasing eachother









1: Fire shrimp? - pretty active little guy, roams the plants/mosss 









1: crystal shrimp? who seems to hide on the tree all day (comes out at night...) I think the danios harassed him at first so now he hides alot.









1. Apple snail - cool snail, excellent little cleaner who constantly makes his rounds.









and a moss ball that was added after the danio pic 

I was debating adding 2-3 guppies (since the tank at work is overrun with them) but i think the little edge may be nearing its fish limit, although I may a few more colorful shrimp later.

Cheers!


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## Claudia (Apr 21, 2010)

Welcome to the addiction...i mean to BCA


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Welcome to BCA!

Cheers,
Chris


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## shady280 (Oct 17, 2011)

I have an edge too!! You can add more believe it or not, lots more shrimp even. I have in mine 6 galaxy rasbora, 7 ghost shrimp, 4 red cherries an Otto and 3 cories that are still juvis but will come out soon as the shrimp are doing well and cories are air gulpers. I like your snail. He doesn't seem to try and escape at all? That's what's stopped me from getting one. Guppies poop a decent amount so I'd stay away from them but another danio or 2 wouldn't hurt and a few more shrimp. In 6 gallons you can actually have up to 75 ish. That's a lot but it gives you an idea. I also upgraded my lighting so my plants would do better but I'm thinking about upgrading again. Dang addiction


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

shady280 said:


> I have an edge too!! You can add more believe it or not, lots more shrimp even. I have in mine 6 galaxy rasbora, 7 ghost shrimp, 4 red cherries an Otto and 3 cories that are still juvis but will come out soon as the shrimp are doing well and cories are air gulpers. I like your snail. He doesn't seem to try and escape at all? That's what's stopped me from getting one. Guppies poop a decent amount so I'd stay away from them but another danio or 2 wouldn't hurt and a few more shrimp. In 6 gallons you can actually have up to 75 ish. That's a lot but it gives you an idea. I also upgraded my lighting so my plants would do better but I'm thinking about upgrading again. Dang addiction


Sounds like a pretty good little colony! Do you have any pictures of your tank?

The snail has cruised up to the edge and been about half up the lip but hasn't actually left the water yet.. so so far so good. 
I may trade in the danio's (or migrate them to the work tank)since they seem to harass the shrimp constantly (when they arn't hiding). How would a 6-8 cardinal tetras do in the edge? I like active fish, but i also want the rest of the tank to be active as well. I would like to get a few more shrimp to. Is there any issues with mixing different ones? There was some cool blue/yellow ones at the store as well.


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## shady280 (Oct 17, 2011)

I think cardinals might be a bit big for the edge. I like the galaxy rasbora as they are active and only grow to 1/2". Since adding my shrimp they have become much more social and don't hide at all. The shrimp act as dither fish it seems. I have a tank journal in the journals section. It needs updating but has some good pix. You could do some white cloud minnows. Very active fish as well and highly recommended for the edge. As far as mixing shrimp you can with some. If they come from the same type they will cross breed into a dull brownish color. There are people on here that know there shrimp so I'm sure someone will chime in


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

The Galazy Rasbora look pretty cool. 1/2" seems like a perfect size for the tank as i'm sure a school of 6-8 could live happily in there. Ill take a look at some LFS today


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## inuudo (Sep 23, 2012)

Lovely tank! I particularly like your tree. 

I think your snail is an apple snail not a nerite snail. Nerites tend to keep their bits tucked up close to their shells while apples roam around with tentaclage unfurled. Also, keep an eye on that shell edge that's chipped; it looks like it's smoothing out with the new growth, but you might find that a scar develops. I didn't realize when I first got my snail that I would have to compensate for the softness of our water, so Snailio's shell had a weakened spot that that took some time to grow back.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Inuudo - thanks for the tips (and verification) on the apple snail. He defiantly has his little bits out as he roams around. 

Well it looks like no one locally has Galaxy Rasbora's the one store that did said they all died right away and wont order them again... there goes that plan.. for now.

The backup plan may be either cardinal tetras, glo light tetras or white could's .. Would any of them be better suited for the 6g edge? i'm assuming they are fine with the zebra danio's if i leave them.. but how many could I safely add to the tank? The edge has a great filter for its size but i also want the keep the bioload low. I'm thinking 6-8 mini guys would do all right in there.


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## inuudo (Sep 23, 2012)

What about endlers? I suspect that a school of cardinals would be too much for the tank; I had nine neons in a ten gallon and wouldn't have wanted much more than that.

And just for giggles, here's a link to a video of my snail.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

and here comes the 12g tank migration...


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Nice snail! those guys are amazingly interesting to watch!

I upgraded my tank today (from 6g to 12g) and everyone seems to be happy.. minus the snail who hasnt left his shell since the move.

I added a few more plants in the back. 
I still need to do some re-arranging as I neglected to move the thermometer and need to remove all the rocks that seem to be lacing the plants but I will do that next water change.. I didn't want to leave the fish in a bucket for toooo long.

In the near future i may add a small army of Celestial pearl danios's or possibly Emerald Dwarf Rasboras if i can find them.. otherwise I will have to decide on what else to add to the colony.

Current Stock:
3 zebra danios
4 neons
1 crystal shrimp
1 fire shrimp
1 apple snail

View attachment 13805


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## shady280 (Oct 17, 2011)

I think our local sponsor Charles has the galaxy's. also a local guy to me, screen name couch has them. He breeds them and sells them too. That's where I got mine. In a 12 gallon you could have near 20 of them.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Thanks shady. Ill check them both out

What is the full name for Charles? I did not see them in the sponsors section.


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## Blackbar (Apr 23, 2010)

Charles is with Canadian Aquatics. "Couch" (Rich) won't ship if you need shipping.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Do you think the fish would be okay in the car for 4 hours driving back ??


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## shady280 (Oct 17, 2011)

Yeah they would last no problem. I while ago I bought 7 angels while at work, they lasted 8 hours in a semi while I delivered my route. I work for Sysco Vancouver, all the guys thought I was nuts but its the easiest way for me to get livestock.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

A bit of an update on the aquarium world:

3 Danios and 2 shrimp were moved to the work tank.
I now have 4 Neons, 12 CPDs, an apple snail and a fry (who hitched a ride) living in the 12G Edge. I have added a bunch more plants and will be adding 12x yellow shrimp in the near future.

Current tank - 11/1/13

















1/12 CDP's (thanks april!)









Fry who hitched a ride... i'm guessing its a guppy.









The new 5.5G (prob 5G after my excessively deep substrate) Fluval chi curtacy of the GF.. I'm going to use this as a breeder tank and attempt to make baby CDP's one the tank cycles itself


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks great! Those cpd are fairly mature so should breed. 
Very nice tank.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Excellent!


April said:


> Looks great! Those cpd are fairly mature so should breed.
> Very nice tank.


So my plan is to let the new 5G run on its own for a few weeks and let the CPD's get used to their new home. I plan on feeding the CPDs a mix of crushed flakes and frozen food. Once the new tanks is stable I'm thinking of taking 2 of the bigger CPD's and letting them do the mating dance in the planted 5G for a day or two then moving them back to the big tank. The 5g will become the new home for the frys until they are big enough to move into the 12G with the others. Has anyone on the forum tried breeding CPD's before? Is there anything special to do or just let nature take its course..

Thanks!


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Welcome to BCA, Shift !

We are an amalgamation of many different hobbyists here. There are dwarf shrimp, planted tanks, cichlid, goldfish/koi, pleco, catfish, betta, oddball, community, marine (FOWLR), and reef enthusiasts to name a few.

Enjoy your time here !

Best Regards,

Stuart


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

That's what I would do exactly . Then the eggs can hatch an you would have to feed a microbe type food. There's baby foods that are like a fine powder .


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## FenixVA (Jan 6, 2013)

Nice Edge  I too have had my tank for close to a month now and totally agree with Claudia.... I am SOOO addicted that I am getting my hubby addicted too...LOL

Here is a pic of my newly planted tank that I just updated last night


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Lookin good


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

A few updated pics - 1/21/2013


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## shady280 (Oct 17, 2011)

nice work on your setup. looks like the rasbora arent being too shy. mine were at first but once i added the shrimp they came out of hiding and have been very visable. makes me want to upgrade to a 12g edge


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Thanks Shady.

The CPD's still get a bit spooked and the majority of them deek under the tree if you are to close.. if you are still for a min most come back out. I put 5 of them in the 5G planted tank to attempt to breed some and those guys are as timid as can be.. they bolt under plants the second they see you... *i think they are still scared from being chased with the net last week*


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## shady280 (Oct 17, 2011)

At least a net fits in a 12g. In my 6 I use my hands to catch fish. So far I've been pretty good at it.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

So i took on the venture to swap out my substrate to a darker color. There is about a 2" base layer of miracle grow organic potting mix followed by about 2" of eco complete.
It was a messy venture... many water changes later its starting to look like an actual aquarium again!

I may move all the Cambodia to the right more (few chunks on left) and add a few more corkscrew vals on the left


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## shady280 (Oct 17, 2011)

Like it better with the dark substrate. I have black gravel in mine. Not the best for growing plants but it works. I only have 3 galaxy's left. Guys have committed suicude or just got sick and died. It's weird. Shrimp are all fine. Guess it's gonna be a shrimp only tank soon.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Thats no fun shady, your poor little guys! What kind of shrimp do you have?


I have a 2" layer of organic miracle grow potting mix under the gravel so the plants should thrive. I still have my 12 CPD's and 15-19 fry in another tank.. so the colony should be thriving in no time! i may try to breed another batch soon


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

This is a good tank journal and introduction all in one.
Some great plant growth over the course of the month. Keep us updated with the CPD fries.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

The fry have defiantly been getting bigger over the last week. It's exciting!









I'm going to try breeding another batch when I get back from van next week. 
One of these days it will give me an excuse to get a nice big tank !


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Bigger pic


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Wow, they're growing up fast! So they're taking the food you're feeding them well I'm assuming. 

Any time is a good time to upsize a new tank. Do it now rather than later to get the full enjoyment haha.
If you're looking for shrimps....try contacting Frank (jiang604 on thie forum). he'll have all the selection you're probably looking for. He's the Shrimp Emperor on this forum.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

I actually got some pumpkins and fire reds off him a few weeks back. I emailed him last night but havent heard back yet.
I have 3 10 gallsons on the go that I want to use for shrimp/fry tanks.. so thinking of getting 2 more varieties of shrimp.. just need to decide which ones!

Do you know where abouts Frank is located? i'm going to be in burnaby for work for a few days next week.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

As a mini update. My fry actually look like little fish now!


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Wow your tank is beautiful, and this moss tree amazing. Great job. Start a tank journal and post lots of pics!

Welcome to the forum, btw.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Haha thanks. This thread has kinda turned into my journal but I prob should start a dedicated one. Hmm all my tanks in one thread or one per tank..


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

shift said:


> Haha thanks. This thread has kinda turned into my journal but I prob should start a dedicated one. Hmm all my tanks in one thread or one per tank..


One per tank. Definitely. I find it a lot more enjoyable to follow progress of a single tank at a time in a given thread.

We'll forgive you if you start with only one or two threads at first.


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## shady280 (Oct 17, 2011)

Wow nice work with the cpd. I took mine out of my edge. I think they wernt allowing the shrimp peace to breed. They never breed themselves maybe they will in my daughters 30g.


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