Caridina Dennerli Research Setup

**Jovel** · 28th Oct 2011, 12:51 AM

Originally Posted by Frits

Thanx!

The PH is 7.8 and the EC is 550 ms.
I don't use any extra products, just 100% tapwater.

Once a week a 30% waterchange, that's it.

Wow, no antichorine whatsoever? Wouldn't tree bark and soil lower ph?

**Frits** · 28th Oct 2011, 06:39 AM

The trunk is plastic and the soil is a regular gravel without a PH lowering effect.

**willw** · 21st Nov 2011, 07:54 PM

Hi guys,

I'm sorry that I haven't said much for a while; I've been SO busy with my school work and university applications!

Progress on my research has been slow but steady. Yesterday I went to Aquatics Live, London and met Chris Lukhaup - the event got me inspired to keep on going with the project.

So, I believe for the benefit of my research and the community, it is time to release the recipe I have for synthetic Lake Matano shallow waters.

Head on over to the specially dedicated thread to look at it!

**Drakarian** · 14th Feb 2012, 07:50 AM

Hey willw, any updates on your shrimp?

**willw** · 14th Feb 2012, 10:01 AM

Hi Drakarian,

Apologies for the long quiet gap in this thread, I've literally tried 5 different fish stores to get some cardinal shrimp. All the orders tried were failed. However, one of them has tried again and their order should be in today (fingers crossed). I'll keep you updated soon

**Drakarian** · 14th Feb 2012, 02:58 PM

Good luck to you! From your chemical make-up, I was looking at possible alternatives too so I'll keep you updated with my experiment too ^^. Although to be honest its a whole lot less precise.

**willw** · 20th Feb 2012, 10:12 AM

Hi guys,

quick update: I went down to my LFS (Maidenhead Aquatics Woking) and got 3 cardinal shrimp. They ordered in 15-20 from Indonesia (so I'm assuming they're wild caught). After the 50 minutes journey home, one had already died (fragile!). I carefully acclimatised the remaining two over two hours. After 1/2 hour of being in the tank, another suddenly died.

This morning I went to check up on the tank expecting the last one to be dead but he was still alive! I noticed that he'd stopped moving completely when he noticed I was there. Shortly afterwards, he migrated to the underside of a leaf of my Anubias plant.

He's been hanging on it completely still all morning - can anyone else confirm this as normal behavior? Perhaps it's a good sign to see that he has the strength to hold onto it upside down?

Cheers for now, Will.

**Drakarian** · 20th Feb 2012, 10:23 AM

Hello. I've been buying from LFSs and I can say most of the time wildcaught means that transportation shock defies any attempt to save them, no matter how well cycled, clean and free of organics your tank is. If it has the sense to move away gently from its perch it seems fine but if it propels violently or simply hangs on limply, generally upside down, it isn't good news

**willw** · 20th Feb 2012, 07:42 PM

Hi Drakarian,

You were right, unfortunately shrimp 3 has died and he was limply hanging onto the leaf upside down. I think you're also right about their death being virtually inevitable as wild caught specimens.

So, new plan: My father is a pilot who works within Europe. He occasionally flies to Hamburg and the airport is quite near the well-known Logemann brother's 'Garnelenhaus'. Hopefully he can get me a few captive bred specimens but that would be next month at the earliest.

**reefdive** · 20th Feb 2012, 08:30 PM

Well I think I got the point of some of the posters as it goes with my beliefs on raising plants and animals . Make them happy and they will want to procreate . If they are not happy nothing is going to happen . Duplicating what a natural environment would look like and cater to the shrimps basic needs ( lots of hiding places and biofilm ) goes a lot further in getting them to reproduce than Identically duplicating the water parameter's or chemistry . Or is that what Imke_j said so eloquently and with so few words . This is such a great forum