My sulawesi tank

[Sea-Agg09]

Well now that I'm at enough posts, I can show everyone my tank. It's a 20 gallon long. I'm using eco-complete because it's neutral, or actually will raise the pH. My tap water is just about right for sulawesi shrimp;
pH: 7.9
gH: 5
kH: 8


This is a shot when it first cleaned up. I'm letting it run for a while before I put anything in it. I'm letting a biofilm build up before I put anything of value in. I put 2 ghost shrimp in to cycle the tank. The lighting is 4 stunner strips I put into a broken T5 strip. Filtration is an eheim 2211.

[cllui]

Wow...nice mate!
But I think you should provide more hiding space for them...

[Sea-Agg09]

I haven't planted the tank yet, so there will be lots of places for them once the plants go in. I also am considering adding some ceramic tubes.

[Anubia]

I haven't planted the tank yet, so there will be lots of places for them once the plants go in. I also am considering adding some ceramic tubes.

I think you have an eye for aquascaping .... so unless you are going to hide the ceramic tubes within your planting scene then I would go with more hardscape and create the hiding places that way. It would be a shame to disturb the natural layout with tubes...But that's my arty aquascaping side coming out..

[Sea-Agg09]

Yeah I'll have to stop by the stone yard and pick up some more zebra rock. I'm also think once I get plants in, I'll put lava rocks in all the empty spaces. I don't want to throw in a ton of rock then not have space for plants.

I'm also toying with the idea of making a few mounds of lava rock rather than individuals placed around.

[avex30]

nicely done bro yea you might want to stack the rocks the will feel more homely beside they love to hide themselves due to their shy nature. I regret my own setup but i just leave it alone since they are doing okie in the tank.

[Sea-Agg09]

I got some more rocks, and stacked them nicely. Here's a few pictures.






I haven't added plants yet, so the bare spots will likely be filled in with plants like;

Lymnocharus


Chara fragilis


and Ottelia

[Anubia]

Looking good.....

[JoeyBabooey]

Hi Sea-Agg..
Nice scape you've done for sulawesi shrimping! Really hope it'll turn out the way you planned! Am going to explore sulawesi shrimps myself and was wondering if you had done anything specific to keep them besides the 'usual'? Many pple told me to stay away from sulawesi because it's alot harder to keep but i just cant stay away...

Oh and whats the temp like? Thanks!

[Sea-Agg09]

was wondering if you had done anything specific to keep them besides the 'usual'? Many pple told me to stay away from sulawesi because it's alot harder to keep

Oh and whats the temp like?

Temp is about 78 degrees, which is actually a touch low. Most agree that Sulawesi inverts like waters up to 30 degrees C.

If you are keeping proper care of "normal" shrimp, then you should be able to take care of sulawesi's.

1. pH needs to be high. Mine is 7.9-8.0, but it can go as high as 8.4. Fortunately, Houston tap water has a pH of 7.8, so it makes things easier. Houston is REALLY big into African Cichlids for this same reason. This is what I've found to be the biggest difference between Sulawesi shrimp and "normal" shrimp. You CANNOT use CO2 to grow plants, as it will drop the pH. If you want to grow plants, then you have to use a liquid carbon source like Flourish Excell.

2. They are fairly sensitive. Things like small/consistent water changes, proper feeding, diverse diet are all basically required. Technically people should be doing this for cherries and crystals. Cherries and crystals will survive being put into a simple vase with some water and java moss. Sulawesi shrimp will not.

I do weekly water changes of about 2 gallons out of a 20 gallon tank. I probably should do 1 gallon twice a week, but meh....