How To Prepare Indian Almond Leaves For A Shrimp Tank
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ธ.ค. 2016
- Want to BREED more Neocaridina? start here: bit.ly/3QNTr3O
Want to LEARN all about Shrimp? go here: bit.ly/3vDiIGd
Hi my name is Mark and I have helped thousands of people learn how to keep and breed shrimp over the years, I help aquarists go from killing shrimp to tanks busting full of shrimplets. 🦐✨
Disclosure: Marks Shrimp Tanks is an affiliate of Aquaristik Shop and Send Owl, the book publisher. Mark earns a small commission fee for each sale, and all of the money goes back into shrimp keeping. Just don't tell his wife.
Anyone who wants to or is already in the shrimp hobby, listen to this guy & subscribe! He knows his shrimp! His channel seriously changed my life! ❤❤❤
Hello everyone ,thank you for watching my videos and showing me so much support.
If you would like to see more of my content please like and Subscribe you can also see all of my videos here.
th-cam.com/video/byKywDuv05A/w-d-xo.html
Hi Mark,
Thank you. Do I have to look for any particular plastic marking in general like 2 or 5
I never have once my friend :)
Love your shrimp room, I have just ordered my first lot of cherry shrimp for a 60 litre tank. I am lucky to have access to Indian almond, guava, mulberry trees for their leaves, I didn’t think of using banana leaves but I will now and I happen to have a small plantation of bananas.
I already have a outside pond full of glass shrimp and they breed well.
Hey Mark another great video, glad to know I can put my banana tree leaves to excellent use as well, gonna get some of those soaking today for my shrimp tanks, keep up the good work
Oh that's so cool and unexpected. Under water, awesome.
Tack för en bra information som vanligt. Och en riktigt god jul
You are welcome ,have a nice Christmas :)
Thanks for all your great advice over the year. Have a Merry Christmas
You are very welcome John ,Merry Christmas :)
Hello Mark Im just getting into shrimp myself and my first 10gal and 9 RCS and all are doing fine up untill this point of apprx 1 month so fingers crossed! I have come across a few vids of yours now while looking for information. Great channel and look forward to more of your vids.
thank you for the informative vid helping me to look after my cherry shrimp better
You are very welcome AGDFRY :)
thanks for sharing this with us awesome video
Mark i have taken the plunge and set up a shrimp tank, thanks to you and Lup and LRBretz. I used Magnolia leaves because i have a tree in my yard, they break down slower but i hope my "shrimp"(i have shrimp!) like them :)
I would use them if I had them here,Magnolia leaves are meant to be good for the Shrimp so let me know how you get on with them :)
i love ur vids....we have lots of mulberry trees near the house...i pick some leaves wash them under the tap..blanch with hot water for 5mins and freeze them.overnight. Fed them.the next day, at first they dont seemed to notice much but on the next day they went crazy over it....its a great option to geed some leaves now and then
Clear underwater filming at the end! My first real look into the cull tub. Looking forward to seeing in more of the tanks from the inside.
Its weird ,I notice the picture is better in the water ..maybe I have the camera set up wrong lol
thanks mark. always enjoyed your vids
Thank You :)
thanks for the info i will b adding leafs to my shrimp tank for sure
You are welcome Bobby :)
Hi Mark.. this is great. Excellent information!!
Cheers:)
Happy New Year and happy holidays Mark!! Great Video as always I didn't know you could use home grown leaves in shrimp tanks!
Yeah you just have to research which leaves are Ok, All the best for 2017 and I hope you have a great Christmas :)
I love the tannin tea as a tonic for the tanks. I add it three days before a water change, so not dark water all the time. Of course, some inhabitants benefit from the dark water.
We have three Indian almond trees growing next to our house. I love them. Thanks for the added knowledge
So nice of you
Awesome work dude! Do more! :D
Cheers:)
Yes thanks so much, I got nano catappa leaves because I read they enhance the color of shrimp and my CRS aren't grade A they are like splotchy and the color isn't bright, so I got them and read they make ur water turn a brownish yellow after a while, I was like nopeee, thank GOD I found your video :D
ahh I did not know that, now I need to wait whole year :D
you can buy them online but I prefer the free method :D
Me Too :) DIY all the time xD
Great video Mark. :)
Thanks my friend
Thanks for the video Mark, I didn't even consider that, guess I will have to go and get some leaves from the forest while I still can!
Thank you kind sir ,by the way I dint know you were a gamer so I am thoroughly enjoying your other content .I just downloaded The long Dark :D Merry Xmas :)
Nice and useful video :)
Cheers:)
They look great feeding on them leaves mark .... very well done video I enjoyed it as always .... have a great Christmas mark 🎄🎄☃️
Merry Christmas Psyche :)
Great video Mark :)
Cheers Teun ,Merry Christmas :)
Merry Christmas to you too!
My convict cichlid eggs should hatch on Christmas day!!
Excellent !!
Mark great video I just received 12 red cherry shrimp and was wondering what I was going to feed these little buggers now I have South and central American Cichilds I know nothing about shrimp so this video was right in time HAPPY holidays
Merry Christmas my friend :)
5:04 very funny gave you a like lol
Certified gamer!
Good video.
The underwater shot at the end was beautiful.
I like tannins but can understand your dislike of them. Cant see the beauty of the shrimp in brown water.
leaves are very good. Especially the Cattappa, oak and not sure on apple but they have an antibacterial property.
keep up the good work. love it.
:)
Thank you kind Sir :D
Marks Shrimp Tanks
lol 'sir', I may be wearing mens socks but not a sir.
Thank you for a nice informative video, especially near Christmas. :)
Yanny Bean I have another video for your Christmas Day, Thank you for the nice comments, I hope you and yours have a very good one :)
Hey Mark. Awesome channel. Was wondering if i could go out and collect some oak leaves now, and use them? Or is it something that needs to be done in the fall? I live in Denmark, so i guess its somewhat the same as in Norway. Best regards Jonas
If you can get out and collect them still then yes go for it .
Hi are those trees out your garden Indian almond trees can they be grown in colder climates
Was wondering if Mango Leafs are safe for cherry shrimp?
Great video as always. What camera are you using, those underwater shots are great :D . I may have missed it, but do you remove the stems or just leave them in there and let them build up (litter)
The camera is a Olympus TG-4 ..I see it going out of focus alot on some of my shots ,so I will need to figure out why lol .
Regarding the stems I normally remove them because I dont like the tanks looking to messy :)
Hey Mark, great vid. Do you remove the old leaves after you put new ones in?
No I never remove them ,they shrimp eat everything eventually .:)
gg video again
but i must admit i boil all my leaves for 5 min just to be sure of not putting some bad critters in my tanks
and i wish u a happy shrimpy xmas
I have boiled them but they break down to fast for my liking .
Have a great Christmas by the way :)
Could you use magnolia leaves as a substitute?
So can you use any leaves?
Are those pine cones in the aquaria? What are their benefits? Great videos on all aspects of shrimp keeping.
Hello Steve those are alder cones ,I use them as a grazing area for the Shrimp but they also add tannins ect :)
Hi Mark, Enjoy watching your videos. Quick question is the cull tub from Ikea. Does if leech anything in tot he water or alter the parameters. Can i use it as a storage container for RO water. Thank you.
Hello ,I have recentrly just changed it for a smaller but much stronger tub like this www.biltema.no/no/Bygg/Flislegge-og-mure/Murerverktoy/Mur--og-byggebotter/Murdunk-2000019609/
this is much thicker plastic ..if you go ito builders merchants where you live they will have something like this .
Nice video Mr. Mark. One question please: do you use any kind of fertilizer for the plants? thanks for the info and to share your knowledge.
Yes I do, just iron 1ml per in with my water change in a 60 liter tank, it makes a big difference so much so I started using it on my house plants and they are growing like crazy, I have african violets that have always struggled that are now growing huge.
@@MarksShrimpTanks Thank you Sir. And may God bless you and your family
If I feed them these Leaves do I not feed the other food that I normally use (granules shrimp food) ?
I've been using banana leaves (from banana plants outside) and Indian almond leaves.
Hello Mark, you have a very informative channel. I have a question for you. I have 15 Tangerine Tigers and 25 Bloody Mary shrimps in same tank. My tank is mid-planted and has 2 driftwood and some rocks. I feed them every other day because they often eat the algae on the rocks and bio-film over sponge filter. Yesterday I added two dry walnut leaves. The shrimps sometimes feed on it. Do I have to feed them regularly while leaves in the tank? Thanks and wishes.
Yes I still feed them regularly when I have leaves in the tank.
Hey Mark, love your videos, thanks for putting them out there, and sharing your knowledge! I have a quick question; I just started a shrimp tank with just your basic grade CRS in it, but they are multiplying like crazy, and I'm finding it to be a nail-biting experience to do water changes, because the newest babies are so tiny, I'm worried about sucking them in with the siphon. Is there a tip you can offer to preserve the shrimp and water quality at the same time?
Paul
Hello ,yes you can use womens tights over the end to stop baby shrimp being sucked up, just stretch a piece over and tie the two ends together ,I also take water mid tank :)
Awesome! I have a bit of sediment on the bottom which I would like to get rid of, so I'll retain the mid-water advice for later on (thanks!) but the laddie's tights is an excellent idea - you don't think there's a possibility of the tiny shrimp being sucked in, against the tights, and unable to escape the water suction, they might run the risk of being drowned or crushed? Thanks again!
Yes, they can be crushed so you have to kink the pipe to slow down the water flow, just give the end a little shake before you remove it out of the water..i actually don't vac my substrates at all.
Okay, guess that's what I'll do too. I'm actually a bit surprised that you don't vac your substrate - wouldn't there be detritus build up, which would cause ammonia and/or pH fluctuation? I thought most shrimp were sensitive to that? I'm still learning with the shrimp, so this is all great info, and much appreciated!
The bioload is very small so don't worry about it also they eat stuff like decaying wood/leaves substrate etc.
It would be different if they were heavy meat eaters.
hi mark, are they any types of leaves that you can't feed shrimps?
Oh there will be alot ..really do your homework on this or you risk killing them.
How long do you keep the leaves in the bucket?
Hope you get a really nice Christmas Mark.
One or two days is all I do ,Merry Christmas my friend :)
Hello Mark Shrimp Tanks, I would like to know if I can use cashew leaves
I have no Idea Mike :(
Sir i m in saudi Arabia and these almond leafs/catappa leaves are impossible to find here.. can u suggest me substitute for IAL
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Thank you Dilber Kaya
Mark, I just re-watched this video again and I have a question. With your process, all tannin is removed from the Almond leaves. I wonder if doing this removes the medicinal value of the leaves.
Oh without a doubt it does but the substrates I typically use is full of humic acid anyway so I dont have to worry about that. I use leaves just as a growing medium for biofilm.
Q: Is it OK to put drift woods that you find from outside in a shrimp tank (have red cherry). After I soak it in hot water. Also what is the best way to weigh it down? I want 1/3 of the wood sticking out of the tank. And I want to attach moss to some of the branch/wood. Thanks,
you can do this with alot of weathered hardwoods but with all of them its best to soak them a few weeks and weight them down with rocks-
Hi Mark, my neighbor brought me up some banana leaves & stems the other day, but I had previously put in apple leaves, the shrimp aren't touching them, any suggestions?
You need to give them time,Shrimp really dont eat just the leaf,they eat all the stuff that grows in the leaf and on it ..biofilm ,bacteria ect.
please do make a video on shrimp food. I don't have almond leaves, but do have hazelnut. You did say oak, & Apple? Is there any house plant leaves I can use? Do they have to be in a separate tank from other fish?
Hello Amy ,I have lots of videos on Shrimp food in my food playlist ,most of the seasonal trees that lose their leaves in the winter are fine to use ..but be very careful about any house plant leaves some of them are pretty toxic,its something you will have to do some research on before you use kind of thing .
hi marks, i have avocado tree. can i use the dries leaves? or better use the green still at the branch?.
Dont use avacado its considered deadly to alot of animals so I wouldn't risk it on my Shrimp .
my god, i already gave it. i'll take it
Marks Shrimp Tanks i saw you gave banana leaf. can it?
Yes they are fine :)
Hey ! which soil do u use on that vid ? I wanna make my future shrimp tank soon and i dont know what to buy !
Greetings from France and many thanks for all ur vids !!
Hello Jean Claude ,most of my tanks have aladama soil in them :)
Many thanks !!! ( i guess u wanted to write " akadama" ?)
Yes that is correct :)
What is the plant there in aquarium as bushy
Subwassertang my friend
Your shrimp tanks are gorgeous. I'm losing about 3-4 RCS shrimp a week. Just keeling over. PH 7.5 - 7.8, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0-5ppm. GH 6-8 KH 4. Temp around 75-78. Got cuttlebone in there. Not a ton of food. Fed 2x day. Shrimp pellet, flake, blood worm, algae wafer. Broccoli 3-4 days a week. They're still dying. Running fine for about 4 months and they started dying. Colony was booming up to about 50 and now I've got about 15 left. Thinking my PH might be too high. Maybe bacterial infection. Going to try some maple leaves (what I got around here). Have crab apple and pear tree too but those trees aren't in good shape. Hopefully the lower PH will help and maybe some anti bacterial properties from the leaves. Who knows.
You are over feeding my friend, cut right back on the food ..I only feed my shrimp 3 times a week ..I will link you to my schedule and just igonre the sales stuff on the top of that page ,scroll down and you will see what I do marksshrimptanks.com/2018/10/24/marks-shrimp-tanks-shrimp-food-sample-pack/
I think you might also benifit from doing a single H202 treatment I have a video for it here th-cam.com/video/Th3FFTiuzJo/w-d-xo.html
Best of luck and let me know if you need anymore help, infact please let me know how you get on :)
merry christmas my old friend mr Einstein. have a great time ,peace love happiness good will too everyone. carl uk.
Merry Christmas Carl ,I hope you have a great one :)
What are those plants you have in all the tanks? The moss ball looking things?
They are called subwassertang its a kind of livewort
Thanks! I love them... so cool!
Hey Mark maple tree leafs are safe for shrimp?
yes as long as they are brown, like fall leaves :)
@@MarksShrimpTanks tank you mark 😉 have a great weekend
Anyone know what those upturned cylindrical glasses are for? The ones sat on the substrate.
Sotching Oxydator my friend, watch this video it explains what they are and how they work th-cam.com/video/0QqyDKN-ABE/w-d-xo.html
Marks Shrimp Tanks brilliant, thank you mark.
hey mark something els! can i add co2 to my tank with crystal reds? does it do any harm to them?
Yes you can use Co2 with Shrimp what kills them is when people chase Co2 to the point there is no movement in the water and no oxygen conversion .
Marks Shrimp Tanks thankyou :D
Mark where you live it snowy and here its 35 C out side : (
I live in Norway ,coldest its been yet is -15c but its early days yet ,In the time I have lived here it has went to -35c twice .
What substrate are you using for the shrimp tanks?
Akadama when I can get it ,Amazonia and Shrimp King are the other two I buy :)
***** Thank you Mark I enjoy your videos and am looking forward to setting up a shrimp tank one day
Hello Mark,is all kind of leaves safe for shrimp?? I want to use some Mango leaves. Thank you
Mango leaves are fine but not all leaves are safe so do lots of research :)
Wow thanks for the reply, keep updating my friend ;)
We just moved and the house water that I am using I tested and it has a lot high hardness and pH than the other house. Sense we moved, I hadm't tested the water until now, but I did so because I nowticed I am having fewer and fewer shrimp and some are sick and I hardly see any babies now and they hide a lot. I've got the pH and that hardness of the water back down to around what it use to be, but the shrimp are still not doing as well. What do you think is wrong/ what I should do differently? I use to have health bright red cherry shrimp crawling all over the heavily planted tank, and now I barely see them. I am now using purified drinking water for now before we find a better solution to the new houses high pH and hardness of water.
Cherrys normally love hard water so I dont think thats the problem ,Try only changing water every few weeks and see if you have any improvement ?
humm....That's when they seemed to get sicker, when they were in the hard water (It was around 200 ppm) and I change the water about 15%-25% every weekend. What do you think? I don't put any leaves in the water, but I didn't find out until now that I could put other leaves besides the almond leaves.
Oh, I also have a ten gallon community tank that is heavily planted and there are three tetras, some guppies and a female betta, and in that tank as well the fish are now sick, especially the tetras. I had one tetra die and I've had them for quite a few years and they have never been this sick. Ever sense we moved they've been sick as well. I just don't know, but I do know the pH and hardness of the new houses water is a lot higher. The water in that tank has pretty much all the same parameters as with the shrimp.
I also use Indian almond leaves in my aquarium I am however a little confused as to how to prepare them. I soak the leaf first So they sink to the bottom mainly, i am however reading that they loose alot of thier properties if you soak them. I also use Black Alder cones, now i noticed the alder cones in your tanks are fine and look how you buy them. My black alder cones after a few days in the aquarium look like they ar hydrating ! The look like they have just been plucked from the tree and are starting to get white stuff on them ! Do you ever get this problem ? I bought them from Dennerele
Soak or no soak is fine and yes I get the white stuff on the alder cones too,I take is some kind of mould or something.
Would you say a bad mould or good mould ?
good for shrimp ,its part of what they eat as they are detrivoures which means they eat the stuff on decaying matter :)
Would the leaves technically replace food like algae wafers, or is it just a side-supplement?
Side supplement is exactly what I use them for :)
I am from Colombia, South America and I watch all your videos, I have two aquariums of 10 gallons approximately but I don't know how to maintain them without CO2, if I leave them with out that after few hours I will have them with terrible moss. What can I do to eliminate that?
I have never used CO2 my friend ,maybe you just have to stop using it ? The plants I have all like low light :)
Marks Shrimp Tanks Believed or not here is difficult to find the variety of plant you can find else where, what type of plant you recommend? Regards
Lelio Martinez My Low light plants are Anubias,Java fern,Crypts,Subwassertang,jave moss,weeping moss,watersprite,sunset hygro.salvia..and of coarse duckweed :D
Marks Shrimp Tanks I will tried to find some, but here is really difficult. Now I am building a 10 gallons new aquarium for my wife and daughters with a big sponge filter with ceramic rings, I will looks for that plants and let you know, thank you
Hi Mark, from what trees do you use leaves, I maybe didn't hear them all, besides banana tree
I use apple leave the most because I have them growing next to my house ::)
great, thanks, I also have apple trees near my house, will try that leaves! of course I'll use only leaves from trees on which I dont spray any pesticides
if i live in hawaii with warm temperatures year round do you think I will need a heater for a shrimp tank?
oh no you wont need a heater ,I dont use them at all in my shrimp room and its around 24c all the time, how hot is it there?
Im from the United States in Hawaii. Its around 78 degrees on average. Thanks for replying to me Im actually running into a problem right now my GH levels looks like they are too high. Is it due to having sungrow mineral rocks in there releasing too much calcium? I also have sea shells in the tank which might be the problem too.
yes the sun grow mineral rocks should be ok but the seashell are probably raising your gh ,78 is fin by the way :)
awesome thanks for the info, subscribed!
Thank you my friend :)
hey mark just asking what soil do you used right now I have amazonia ada soil is it OK for red crystal shrimp or black or Taiwanese bee shrimp?
Hello John ,Amazonia is great for bee Shrimp ,You just have to Cycle it for weeks ..my last tank was 5 weeks ..Merry Christmas :)
Marks Shrimp Tanks thk you and merry Christmas and how do I cycle them?
John Smurf Long video but this is how I do it th-cam.com/video/YctSb4Cxq1k/w-d-xo.html
thk mark how can I order shrimp from you do you ship overseas?
John Smurf I dont sell Shrimp overseas John sorry,Norway Is one of the most expensive country's in the world to live in and the postal costs are horrific. Starting cost are 100 USD per kg.
Also its winter here so I wouldnt ship shrimp even within Norway now.
do you remove the almond leaves after few days? or just keep in the tank?
leave them in the tanks until they are gone.
@@MarksShrimpTanks thanks! i just added earlier in my tank as what u recommend me :) Thanks always Mark!
What is that round plant?
Its called subwassertang I have a playlist for it so you can see it better th-cam.com/video/aJueVH8Fhqc/w-d-xo.html
Alright I will keep this one short. I would love to try shrimp keeping along side my main tank. It would be simply a small 2.5-gallon tank to keep on my desk. I would use artificial plants and simple aquarium gravel. I would first cycle it with Neon Tetras and then introduce shrimp when I have a fully nitrogen cycled tank as I am aware they are delicate. I would not use live plants. Would this setup work?? and how often would it need cleaning??
what are the leaves for? a snack?
Yeah kind of , a natural object that will degrade slowly in the water ,shrimp it all the biofilm of it .
I just got my leaves from India today (yesterday, it's after midnight). Anyway, should I boil my leaves to sterilize them before I add them to my fish tanks?
I just soak mine in water for a couple of days :)
On another channel they said that too much leaves can cause high nitrates in the tank, is 1 leaf (I ordered from you so you know which size) for 5 gallon is too much?
I always add a lot to my tanks as in 3-4-5 large leaves
how often do you replace the cones?
I just put new ones in once the old are gone ,maybe every 4 months :)
Fantastic.ty again. =D
For all your tanks you use CO2?
I dont use CO2 at allmy friend :)
How did your CRS and CBS do? I heard their babies would turn to brown instead of black or red if you keep them in the same tank for a long time. Is that true?
All of the bee shrimp you see in this video even all the taiwan bee shrimp came from 10 shrimp I bought years back as taiwan bee mischlings , these were the babies of a red or black bee shrimp crossed with a taiwan bee shrimp.
Today that top tank only has red bees in it and the tank under it has black bees in it with some kingkongs ..I dont really see many brown ones but they do appear now and again.
Just robbed my neighbor’s fallen apple leaves. Im sure she’s heartbroken. 🤪😂
do you sell shirmps?
What's plant is that bushy plant
Nepenthes outside of the tank ,the one inside thats bushy is subwassertang .
Do you sell Christmas tree moss i'm having a hard time finding a reliable source with a real Christmas tree moss
I cant even grow it myself lol I only really have one small clump in the corner of a tank .
Only dry leafs?
yes you dont want the sap going into your tanks
will it hurt to boil the leaves?
You can boil them if you like ,but I dont think its necessary for brown dried leaves .I always do it with green leaves for a minute :)
ok ty
Mark, do shrimp get ick? If so, how do you treat it? I put 3 of my big shrimp in one of my platy tanks & they got I'm. I treated the tank, but was just wondering.
Hello, my leafs keep floating on surface and won't submerge even after 2-3 days, how do you submerge yours?
its just takes time my friend they will eventually sink.
Is there any sort of leave that you shouldn't put in your tank?
There are loads ,if you are not sure what the leaves are best thing to do would be not to use it.
Marks Shrimp Tanks oke tanks for the tip!
can i give all kind of leaves?
You have to research them first ,dont just put anything in :)
Ok, Ty :)
What should i look for, when researching for good leaves?
Other peoples opinions ,forums and facebook groups are good for this specific type of question .
ok ty :D
Ketapang leaves ??
Yes
@@MarksShrimpTanksWhat filter are you using?
Do I have to use Indian almond leaves? Or any leaves? Different benefits? Bc Indian almond leaves cost money where I can just go collect leaves for free........
Alot of dried leaves can be used,make sure you know what type it is an do some research before putting it in the tank ok:)
I wish I had the opportunity to collect the leaves around my place but sadly I don't trust it would be a good Idea living so close to a main thoroughfare. I also Wish I could have you send me a good hand full of culls but alas shipping would cost an arm and a leg on top of the chance they get held in customs too long :(
The cold here would kill anything I shipped including plant and Shrimp ..postage alone wouldnt make it worth it :(
Why when i added a indian almond leaf it increases the tds of my tank?
that is very strange are you sure its the leave?
Do you boil them for 5 minutes before putting them in the water? Why not? I have read it is better to boil them to prevent bad stuff in the aquarium
No I dont boil them,they would fall apart if I did that ,I do soak green leaves in boiling water for a minute :)
You don't boil them first to keep parasites from getting into your tanks ?
I dont boil them, what parasites do you think can get in on a dry leaf?
@@MarksShrimpTanks I've got some type of leaches on shrimp and hydra from them
@@MarksShrimpTanks I boil for 5 mins and helps break the it down easier too
Hello! I've bought a package of these leaves from a seller, placed a leaf in and... nothing! It's been around a week, I have ~10-13 red rili shrimps in it, and they are just ignoring it! Is it a preference thing?
You just have to be patient my friend :)
***** Thanks, I finally got my shrimp to stop dying - I started changing the water with spring water bottles instead of tap water. Even with the dechlorine for tap water, it didn't work.. anyways, is it true that winter = shrimps don't breed?
kashewz its winter here and -10c outside...I have thousands of baby shrimp:)
***** I guess patiences is the key again? The shrimps been in for a little over a month, so far only 1-2 deaths so that's the best record haha. I see some females have the yellow saddle on the back, so I'm guessing they should come soon? (or at least, they're happy?)
By the way I don't know if this is bad or not, but whenever I change water, the water is a tiny bit yellow-green, and not 100% clear. Is this a bad thing? I'm assuming it is algae?
kashewz Saddled mean you have the food ratio correct :)
Yellow water coming out of the tank is perfectly normal :D