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Re: Algae Shrimp
> Well the tank is still not set up (Wife has decided we should decorate the
> room first.Why do they do that?). However I was reading some of the blurb I
> have picked up along the way (most of it conflicting) and was interested to
> read that I should add Algae Shrimp the day after setting up the tank. Are
> they not affected by "New Tank Syndrome" or is my ignorance rearing it's
I don't think I'd add any shrimp or fish right away. Depending on the tank
size, they probably wouldn't create enough waste to cause ammonia or
nitrite problems, but when you later add fish, I'd think the spike would
harm the shrimp.
If the tank will be heavily planted, you might want to try what I did.
I set up my 75g tank, got the filter running (brand new filter pads, no
pre-seeded media) and added tons of plants. Some were just plants that I
added to get things growing good (lots of Wisteria, Hygro, Elodia, and
Hornwort). With enough plants, you will never see ammonia or nitrite.
After running the tank with lights/filter/co2 and all the plants for a
month, the plants were growing well. Then I added 10 otos, then a week
later, I added 5 SAEs. All this time, I added no fertilizer, and didn't
feed the fish. A week after adding the SAEs I added the first cories, and
a pair of rainbowfish, and a bunch of shrimp. Then I started regular feeding.
I tested the tank every 3 or 4 days, and never once measured ammonia or
nitrite. Now several months later, I've got a good sized bioload, and never
did see the infamous "new tank syndrome".
And by letting the plants get growing before ever adding fertilizers or
fish-waste, I never had an algae problem in the tank (knock...)
--
Chuck Gadd