One shrimp, dead

Today I found one of my shrimps dead amongst Java moss.
I tested the water;
pH 7.8
ammonia/nitrite 0 ppm
nitrAte 10 ppm
KH 5
Temp. 26' Celsius
I did 35% water change today just in case.

Flatworms

I discovered that the Oligochaetes spp. is not the only worm I have in this tank. I have quiet a lot of those Flatworms shown on this photo above. They glide very fast for a 1.5 mm creature.
The second photo shows the Flatworm on the right side and the creature I couldn't find an ID for. That smaller organism on the left appears to be a Ciliate ( Dileptus ciliate or Loxophyllum).


Photos by Dusko Bojic.

Oligochaetes spp.

Today I discovered lots of approx. 3mm long worms on the aquarium front glass. According to many web sources it is one of the Oligochaetes spp. with bristles on their sides that are used for moving. It is not the Oligochaete Chaetochaster diastrophus that I experienced in the past.
I am not sure will Red Cherry shrimps eat those worms. If not, I have to find a fish or a snail that will eat them but not harm the RCS babies.

The second photo is showing an organism (question marked) that needs to be identified. I am not sure, but this 1/3mm microorganism could be the protozoa.

On the last photo beside the Oligochaetes spp. one can see long hairy algae. That is cyanobacteria aka the Blue Green Algae. It is impossible to see it with bare eyes.


Photos by Dusko Bojic

19th August white saddles in females

Two days ago I discovered few RCS females having white saddles forming in their carapace and spreading into the abdomen, dorsally (producing eggs, see the 1st photo). In the beginning I had a feeling that I got 9 males and 1 female, but now I am quiet sure that it is the other way around. Some females are not that red which is confusing with sex ID, but the white saddle makes it clear now.
I will wait a bit before introducing Rasbora maculatas, if at all. I would like to breed RC Shrimps and R. maculata would probably eat the shrimp babies. I wonder how long does it take for the N. denticulata to hatch eggs? Non is carrying eggs at the moment. I started feeding the shrimps every day with a very small peace of Hikari Algae wafers. I believe that this tank is not mature yet to provide enough natural foods like algae, microorganisms and fungus.

Photos by Dusko Bojic

RCS and MTS

Red Cherry Shrimps and Malaysian Trumpet Snails are the only inhabitants at the moment.
Next week, Rasbora maculata is going to join this 11 gallon community, since the upper level needs some movements :-)


Photos by Dusko Bojic

14th day; 1-1.5 cm long shrimps

Toady a realised that I probably have more than one female. They are more red today as they settled down. All 10 of my Red Cherrys are active in search for food, and picking up "things" from stones and plants. Just in a case that they were starved in the LFS, I fed them with a very small piece of the HIKARY Algae Wafers, which they seem to like. My plan is to feed them with algae wafers two to three times a week. I am not sure should I feed them with other food types in between. I would rather have them eat the algae and the microorganisms that are growing inside the tank.
The Oak leaves fit very good into this aquascape of mine. I will probably add some more. The Java Moss is providing lots of shelter places for the baby shrimp to hide in. Today I measured the shrimps and they are between 1-1.5cm in length. They are still very young.
Water pH is 7.8 with hardness of KH 5. Temperature is at 26'C. These water parameters should favour breeding conditions. I measured for nitrIte today and it is on 0ppm.
I made a bit better photos today, but still far from satisfying :-(

Photos by Dusko Bojic.

The 13th day, Red Cherry's introduced ! :-)

Today I got 10 Neocaridina denticulata sinensis-red. I am not sure how many males and females I have since they are very small at the moment (approx. 1-1.5 cm). Only one shrimp is very red (the photos) so I presume that is the only female. The nitrIte levels are at 0ppm.

I introduced approximately 10 Malaysian Trumpet snails as well.

11th day new plants

I got new plants today! Microsorum pteropus swapped place with the Anubias nana, and the filter box is now out of sight :-) Java Moss is not attached for rocks but rather placed over the gravel and weight down with a few pieces of gravel. I am hoping that Java moss will grow lots in this tank since the Shrimps will enjoy hiding in it. Especially the shrimp babies.
Microsorum pteropus made this tank look much better now.
I am soaking a few withered (brown in color) oak leaves, so they release excess tannins and are able to sink to the bottom. They will make this aquascape look even better.
I will get a few Moss Balls soon and will place them in the front, mixed with leaves.

NitrIte are at 0.50 ppm so have to wait for them to drop to 0 ppm before adding live stock.

Photos by Dusko Bojic.