Fluval Ebi shrimp newbie + tank pics

[daveyboy]

Shrimp and planted tank newbie so I'd appreciate any wisdom from you experienced shrimp lovers out there . I just bought a Fluval Ebi the other day and I'm now in the process of setting it up and then cycling.

I read about the issues with the Styrofoam background so I used some Silicone I around the edges. Hopefully that will keep it in place. I plan on using everything stock (substrate, lighting, filter).

Since it's my first shrimp tank, I'm going to stock with RCS and some plants (Water Hyssop, Amazon Sword, Java moss) and a piece of driftwood.

The questions I have are:
1. What kind/brand of heater do you recommend for such a small tank? I've seen some people use a Fluval Edge 25W. Is it a good heater?

2. Do I need to add fertilizer for the plants? Will this harm the shrimp? What brand of fertilizer do you recommend?

3. I read that the water in the lower mainland isn't really ideal for shrimp keeping. What should I add to the water to increase GH/KH and what values should I be aiming for if I'm keeping RCS?

Any answers/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I promise to update with pics once I get everything together.

Thanks,
Dave

[Diztrbd1]

Plenty of wisdom & experience from shrimp lovers you will definitely find on here. Unfortunately I don't have it myself to give lol If you haven''t already read it, I can pass this tidbit on that may help with one of your ?'s:
Adjusting hardness in your aquarium
Water supply issue in the lower mainland

Welcome to BCA!

[daveyboy]

Thanks Diztrbd1 for the links.

[Morainy]

Hi Daveyboy,

Welcome to shrimp keeping! I am sure that you will love keeping shrimp.

As far as what to add to the water, the Fluval Ebi comes with a bottle of liquid mineral additives. I don't know anything about RCS but I add minerals for cherry shrimp and for crayfish. Put a little of the Fluval mineral additive into your water according to the instructions. After my bottle ran out, I switched to Seachem Equilibrium. It's a very small tank, so you don't need much. You can buy the Fluval liquid minerals separately if you don't already have them.

As far as your background goes, mine was one of the first exploding backgrounds! It had the wrong kind of silicone seal on it. The new ones will be properly sealed. However I'm sure that an extra bead of silicone all around won't hurt. You really did your research!

I have a 25 watt Eheim heater in my tank. It works well. The Fluval heaters are prettier.

Are you using the Fluval shrimp substrate? It's enriched and you probably don't have to add fertilizers to your tank, especially at first. I don't add fertilizer to my shrimp tanks but I have shrimp in some community tanks that I fertilize. I use Seachem Flourish Comprehensive and Trace. But I would be careful at the start. And again, I haven't tried CRS.

Mainly, don't put the shrimp in too soon. Wait until your tank has been set up awhile. Shrimp seem a little more sensitive to new setups than most fish. Once you add shrimp, start with just one or two. If they survive a week, add more. Once you've got a community living happily in your tank, they are generally quite hardy.

I'm not an expert. These are just suggestions. Enjoy your Ebi!

[daveyboy]

Thanks Morainy for the info. No need to be an expert to give good advice. The fact that you have real experience means you're ahead of me.

I ended up getting a Fluval 25W heater. I know it's not adjustable but the preset temp of 26C seems like it'll suite my needs. It looks damn nice too I keep my condo pretty warm. The tanks been hovering around 23-24C without a heater so I put one in there just to minimize fluctuations.

I'm using the Fluval shrimp substrate and it's good to know that it will provide nutrients. The only thing I don't like about the substrate is it's so light. Had some issues with getting the plants to stay put and not float away.

I'll take your advice and take my time with the cycling. So far, it's only been set up a few days so it's pointless to take any chemistry readings yet. I have some plants in (Water Hyssop and Amazon Swords) and that's it. I'm going to add some Java Moss, Water clover and maybe some pygmy chain swords once I get a chance. I did make some improvements to the filter though. Bought a foam and biomax renewal kit designed for the Fluval Edge. Replaced some of the stock foam with the bag of biomax and cut the foam to fit into the long slot of the filter opening (to prevent shrimp from getting sucked in).

I'll post water parameters and some pics when it gets a little more established.

[AndrewL]

Welcome on board - Daveyboy. I just started back into the fishkeeping hobby a few months ago. This board has been a wealth of information. Pat (Mykiss) of Canadian Aquatics is a good source for shrimps, accessories and advice.

I have CRS in a heavily planted Fluval Ebi (using CO2) along with Otos and pygmy corys.

I use the shrimp mineral supplement to adjust the GH. Also, I have a pail of water with the Fluval EBI substrate and almond leave as I want to try and match my water parameters for my water changes.

Morainy is correct about using not using fertilizer yet. In half a year, you can try what was suggested or mixing your own fertilizer dose (again Canadian Aquatics can supply).

Have fun learning about shrimp keeping.

[daveyboy]

As promised, photos of my Ebi This will be my first shrimp tank and also my first stab at using live plants.

Finally finished planting it on monday. It's been cycling for about a week now. I'm going to take Morainys' advice and take my time with the cycling. I've been adding the old water from my betta to provide fish waste to the tank.

Here's the specs:
Fluval Ebi 7.9 gal.
Fluval Stratum substrate
Fluval Mini Power Compact Lamp
Fluval Nano Filter with added Biomax
Fluval 25W heater

Plants:
Bacopa species (not sure if it's Bacopa Caroliniana or Bacopa monnieri)
Echinodorus amazonicus
Echinodorus tenellus
Marsilea quadrifolia
Vesicularia montagnei attached to drift wood


Planning on stocking with RCS and possibly adding some Bamboo Shrimp when the tank is matured.


Front view


Right view


Close up of modded filter with Biomax and foam intake guard


Left view

Any suggestions to improve would be greatly appreciated.

[effox]

Pics didn't take bro. Did you use photobucket or something and wrap the lines with [IMG][/IMG]?

[daveyboy]

Hey effox, I screwed up with the url's. Just fixed it so hopefully pics are showing now.

[effox]

Pics are showing, and it looks great man. Awesome set up!

Cheers,
Chris