Shrimp: An Alternative to Bottom Feeding Fish

One of the things that I constantly been told and read since starting out in Aquariums is the importance of Bottom Feeding fish. Bottom feeding fish are the scavengers of the fish tank. They clean uneaten food from the gravel preventing it from rotting and clouding the water and polluting it. Also many of them will nibble away at algae keeping the glass and plants clean. They also provide some activity at the bottom of the tank. But in my tank the gravel is quite large, (6mm or more in diameter) and pointy and triangular. This can damage the sensitive mouths and underside of the fish and kill or injure them.



Fortunately I did find an alternative to these bottom dwelling fish in Freshwater shrimp. They vigorously search the gravel for left over food, some are excellent for algae control, and provide some activity at the bottom without placing a very large on the tank. There are a wide variety of shrimp in existence each with very different water parameters and compatibility. I've done some research and this is what I've come up with.

General Information 
Shrimp are one of the several types of freshwater inverts other then snails, and crabs. They have several unique needs. Firstly for those with planted tanks, copper is quite toxic to shrimp. But unless your putting a massive amount of copper in your shrimp should be fine. However without plants to absorb the copper the shrimps will surely build up copper and die. So be careful. Secondly Shrimp moult there exoskeleton many times during there life. During this time they are very vulnerable to predators and disease an need places to hide while there next exoskeleton regrows. Leave the old skeleton as they need the calcium. Shrimp primarily feed off a very thin layer that covers all things in the aquarium called bio film. To feed a large colony though you will need algae wafers or other like food. Moss is an excellent source of food both in that it is soft enough for shrimp to eat and provides a large surface area for bio film. Also in the right conditions a shrimp population can multiply very quickly and overload a tank, but on the other side many fish will eat the newly hatched fry and many can be lost to power filters so a sponge filter is best for an all shrimp tank.


The Plan
I plan on getting either Amano Shrimp or Cherry Shrimp. Amono shrimp can be very hard to find but Cherry Shrimp are fairly common.

Perfecting Co2

I have upgraded my Co2 system many times since first making it, resealing the joints several times removing the check valve and then going from a high pressure ceramic diffuser system to a low pressure ladder and now I have a new endeavour. I am going to try to find a mix in the brew that will give me the highest Average BPM (Bubbles per Minute) while lasting exactly two weeks so while using the least possible amount of sugar. Most recipes online suggest an eighth of a teaspoon of yeast and two cups of sugar but I am trying to get a high output mix that will last about to weeks to match up with my biweekly maintenance. Also I will be testing out the theory that by mixing in a small amount of fertilizer or certain nutrients you will get higher output. Because each of these mixture will last around two weeks this will probably take me at least a couple months until the results come out but once they do I'll look them over and put them out so that other people who use DIY co2 can use them our Modify them to suit themselves.

New Fish: Neon Tetras

On the weekend I went to the fish shop to finally pick out my new fish. I was deciding between Neon Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras and Lemon Tetras. Although I came in thinking of going with the Lemon Tetras I decided to leave myself some room to expand by going with a school of eight Neon Tetras. There colour contrasts with with my red gravel and I still have room for a small school of Rasboras our a few other fish as well.

Neon Tetra Info


The neon tetra belongs along with other Tetras to the Characin Family from South America. There flourescent colour makes them visible in the black water rivers were they are found. They have a complet blue and partial red stripe and grow to about 3 cm long. They have been bred in captivity for many years and thus they have adapted to a very wide range of water conditions although to breed them you need to replicate there natural enviroment of dim lighting, low pH and water hardness. Although in the wild they inhabit waters cooler then 25 degrees they will handle it quite well. Do not change the water qualities to quickly though as the shock can be deadly. They should only be kept with other small peaceful fish. They are omnivores who will readily eat flake food. They are some times afflicted with neon tetra disease which is incurable and has symptoms such as difficulty swimming, loss of colouration, restlessness and crysts.

Breeding
Requires putting a pair in a tank with no light and gradually increasing it with a hardness of less then 4. Once the eggs are laid remove the adults as they will eat them.

Peat Moss Filtration

In my attempt to find ways to keep certain types of tetras that like soften and acidic water I came across a simple and effective solution. Peat moss can be added to the substrate or in the filter to take the calcium out of the water as well as making it more acidic. The peat moss will absorb calcium ions from the water as well as releasing small amounts of acid. This is a cheap and effective solution for those looking at keeping or breeding less hardy tetras or other fish. A word of warning though make sure there is no fertilizer in the peat moss as this will be almost sure to create an algae bloom. I will not be using this unless the fish appear to be suffering in the current water, mainly because I will be running the tank near its maximum capacity (although my Cascade 200 filter will cycle the water completely 6 times every hour) and the added moss will slightly obstruct filtration and I may need all of it to keep so many fish safely.

Reconsidering Lemon Tetras

On my trip to the local fish shop to pick up some plants I saw a tank of very bright looking lemon tetras. They will brilliant looking fish and have been bred to become accustomed to the hard water. I previously ruled these fish out because they do not like the hard water but now I am reconsidering them. There bright yellow colour and red eye ring would look very good in my mainly red tank. They are also not to large like the rummy nosed tetra and not too small that they might become prey eventually for my Platy's  like neon or blue neon tetras. These fish grow to about 4 to 4.5 cm, like slightly acidic water but will deal with up to 7.5 and other then that are not picky about conditions except that the tank should be partially planted.

A Lemon Tetra in Very Good condition showing slight blue colouring in fins. 

Dead Fish

Unfortunately yesterday one of my Platy's died. The new Co2 ladder was placed a fraction of an inch above the gravel and the poor thing got its self stuck in there and I'm guessing that he got poisoned by the high concentration of Co2 near the ladder. I have fixed this by moving the ladder farther above the gravel and closer to the filter so that there is better circulation of the carbonated water. I also will go and get another Platy if I can the next time I go to the fish shop.

New Stuff: Lights, Diffuser, Rocks and Plants

This weekend I finally went out and got my new gear for my tank. I got a new fixture, not the one I was looking for but it is a newer model with high output T5 lamps and it seems to work well. Hopefully I will have pictures soon. I do have to cut a new top because the fixture is mounted a few inches above the tank and not all the light gets in. I also  flow bubbles from missing a new diffuser. This one is the ladder type but it needs a bit of fixing to stop overflow bubbles from getting past but it sill saves me from having to replace ceramics every few months. I also got a few blocks of petrified wood that matches my gravel nicely. And lastly I got a large clump of Java Moss and a few small ground cover plants. Today I will be taking all the plants out adding the rocks and then putting it all back together. Hopefully I can download my camera software and show some pictures soon. 

AquaScaping

As I read on the internet and look at other pictures of planted tanks on the internet, I realize to make there is more to making the aquarium look good then simply placing plants in a tank and making them grow. You must be an element of design to it. Just like in landscaping, there are two elements to aquascaping. First there is the gardening part, knowing the needs of a plant and making it grow. This is a fairly simple straight forward part of aquascaping. Then there is the much harder part. Arranging the plants and features such as driftwood and rock to make a visually appealing aquarium. This will be a fairly Large post so here is how it will be organized.

Intro
Parts of an AquaScape 
Plants
Substrate
Hard scape
The Focal Point
Rules of Aquascaping
The Four types of Aquascapes
The Dutch Garden
The Natural
The Jungle
The Biotope
Layouts within AquaScapes
The Mountain
The Hill
The Valley
The Slope

Parts of an Aquascape
To be able to understand and set up an aquascape you first have to know the parts. The are several basic parts to an aquascape. Hard scape, plants, substrate and the focal point.

The first thing to consider when setting up an aquascape is the gravel or substrate. It is a good idea to chose a neutral colour of substrate like white or black as colours like red (which I have) can wash out the colour of red plants and fish as well as drawing attention to itself. You also want a substrate that will support the plant such as Eco-Complete or Flourite. Also it is important to have enough substrate to be able to form hills and valleys as well as enough depth that you can plant into it.

Next you must figure out what you will use for hard scape, which is mainly branches of wood and rocks. It is a good idea to use only one neutral colour of rock as well as to have lots of them in different sizes. One rock on its own looks very out of place while a group of them will add to the scene. Also get several pieces of wood if you wish to add to the scene. It is easiest to add hard scape before a tank has water or plants in it.

Next we come to plants. For plants design why's any ways you want mainly small leafed plants with a few large leaf plants. Also it is good to have some ground cover like Java moss that you can attach to rocks with string. The string will eventually dissolve and the moss will have attached itself to the rock.

Last and the most overlooked is the focal point. The focal point can be anything, the highest rock, a group of interesting plants, but there a few important rules to follow with it. First, keep it off centred, it looks far more natural then a centred focal point. Second, only have one focal point, other why's the eyes can not decide which focal point to settle on. Third, if you are going to have red plants that are not your focal point you must have several of them or people will be drawn to them as well.

Rules of AquaScaping


Here are a few basic rule of aquascaping
1. Have only one focal point.
2. Add elevation with rocks and branches
3. Use small leaved plants
4. If your are using red make multiple groups
5.Use only one colour of rock
6.Use neutral colours for the substrate and rocks.

The Four Types of AquaScapes


There are four basic types of Aquascapes each with there own style. They are the Dutch Garden, The Natural, The Jungle and The Biotope which is a subsection of the jungle.

The Dutch Garden
The Dutch Garden was the first style of Aquascaping. It involves grouping bunches of plants together and putting them in orderly rows. Less common then it once was it can still be a very impressive display. They only sometimes include fish. 

The Natural
The Natural is a new style of Aquascaping pioneered by Takishi Amono. It involves using few plants and few types of plants to create a scene from nature like a mountain or a meadow. This type is becoming more popular now and can be very impressive and often has fish as well.

The Jungle
Probably the easiest  aquascape to do and very popular amongst beginners the jungle involves using many types of densely packed plants to create a jungle effect. Can be very impressive and over growness can add to the effect so trimming is not as necessary.

The Biotope
The Biotope is like the jungle except it uses plants from only one area.

A few Aquascape layouts
 Aquascapes can take any form but there are a few common layouts, the hill, the valley, the mountain and the slope.

The Hill
The hill is high in the middle and low on the sides. it is a very flexible layout and can incorporate lots of swimming space for fish, as well as caves for them to hide in. 

The Valley
 The valley is the opposite of the hill, high on the edges and low in the middle. I personally am trying to decide whether to do this or the mountain.

The Mountain
The mountain is a steep collection of rocks with only a small amount of plants, which are mainly moss and other small foreground plants.

The slope
The slope slopes up from one side to the top on the other side. Needs lots of gravel and rock to do this. It can be made to look like the side of a river bank. Driftwood works very well in this set-up.