Shirakura Products - Food

[Kenshin]

Gabe,
I followed exactly what you said. I removed all of my CRS and Black Bee shrimp from the planted tank into a tank with basically Java, Willow, and Christmas moss and Flora Base as substrate only (no CO2 injection). pH is still the same at around 6.50 - 6.70 and temperature is also around 23C (cooled by a chiller - IceProbe Chiller). And guess what???
The shrimps started to eat the Shirakura food and they all gather at the food spot (finally and very enjoyable to look at). So anyway, thank you Gabe. I think I will only add the "Strange Powder" and the "Micro-organisms" once a week only after I carry out my water changes.

Oh, I finally got around to measure the intake of my filter. It is 2cm in diameter. Gabe, if you can send me a sponge with that size intake, then I really will appreciate it.

Also, my planted tank has been cloudy (never happened before) for the last week or two (the CRS/Black Bee shrimp were in this tank at first). I tried to find out the reason why and try to fix whatever it could be but no solution still (even with weekly water changes and cleaning the whole filter out and rinse out all the sponges). The planted tank is being cooled by a fan (24 hrs a day, non-stop), and I believe that might be the problem. After reading another thread in this forum in regards to another member using a fan and finding out their water is cloudy or dirty, I believe my planted tank problem fall under the same scenario. So I cleaned out my fan today and see if that will solve the problem. I will update the outcome in a few days or sooner I hope.

[retardo]

Good to know that Gabe's recommendations worked. Let us know if Shirakura has any impact on actual coloration of your shrimp. Keep us posted.

BTW, you can probably find a sponge filter at your local fish store. If it isn't a correct fit you can always cut the sponge to fit your filter. Or you could buy filter floss and rubberband it on the intake also.

[gabeszone247]

Hey thats great! I will send you a sponge this week. Im not selling these sponge its a gift for him. I dont have any problems with cloudy water using my fan. Just becareful with watching your temps, becuase its starting to get cooler, over here it is. I stuck to giving the strange powder and micro powder every other day just to be on the safe side. I will conduct some experiments using it everyday with some b-c Grades and some over dosing to see the effects. I hope all goes well with your shrimps! Im in the process of setting up a 60cm CRS Moss tank for SS-SSS breeds for the winter. I wont be online to much for the next months due to my job. I have a business and a school to teach at :( , but will check in every once in awhile. Take care all,

Gabe.

[milalic]

Kenshin,

I am not sure how old your flora base is, but be aware that it looses its capability to lower ph and kh when it reaches around a year of using it.
I had this happened and it killed a lot of shrimp. It seems nice at the beginning, but not a good solution for the long run.

-Pedro

[Kenshin]

Hi Pedro,

Thank you for telling me that. I also read the label as well and found that out too :cool: . But I will definitely be aware of that. Anyhow, I have been using muratic acid to lower the pH of my tank and have been monitoring the pH of the tanks everyday so it should not be a problem. I have tested my water before I added muratic acid, but with the Flora Base substrate only, and the pH is around 6.90 - 7.00. So it hopefully should not be that much of a difference after 1 year later. Right now, the pH of the tanks of CRS and Tigers are around 6.55 - 6.70. Thank you once again for your advice. :D

[gabeszone247]

They have these hollow charcoal tube looking things here in Japan that help keep the PH down and let you CRS hide. I havent used them yet but thinking about using them in my new breeding tank.

[oldtimer247]

Gabe,
Can you PM me? I have a couple of questions about Shirakura products.

[milalic]

Why not post the questions here?

[i_Snail]

They have these hollow charcoal tube looking things here in Japan that help keep the PH down and let you CRS hide. I havent used them yet but thinking about using them in my new breeding tank.


I've seen those charcoal tubes on some Chinese/Taiwanese websites. I think they look pretty interesting. Are they being used same as activated carbon? Don't think we have such items available in the UK :undecided

Let us know how you get on with those tube things Gabe. OR... if anyone uses them, can you give us more information about them? :D

[silane]

I've seen those charcoal tubes on some Chinese/Taiwanese websites. I think they look pretty interesting. Are they being used same as activated carbon? Don't think we have such items available in the UK :undecided

Let us know how you get on with those tube things Gabe. OR... if anyone uses them, can you give us more information about them? :D


Take a look at this:
http://www.shrimpnow.com/forums/showthread.php?t=521&highlight=shrimp+house

I think you should be able to find bamboo charcoal in health products shops. But I think the house is quite useless, I have never see a CRS get into the hole. Maybe you really need one that has very large holes.

[i_Snail]

Thanks Silane. Hmmmm.......don't think they are available in health product shops in the UK... Sure we can use alternative material if the charcoal serves no purpose other than a decorative one. I think the reason your shrimps don't hide in them is because they feel no threat in your tank. :D No need to hide when you feel at home, right? lol