SeeLux Aquatics

08/11/2021

The Birds, and The Bees, and The....Shrimp?

One of the easiest, and most fun, hobbies within fish keeping is breeding shrimp.

This picture is of one of my pregnant female White Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridinia). These shrimp are readily available from most local, "Mom and Pop" fish stores. I've also seen them at a few of the bigger stores, depending on who's ordering the fish I think! They come in MANY different colors some even striped with a couple different colors!. In fact, many fish keepers have taken to becoming super shrimp breeders. Trying lots of color and genetic combinations to create their own unique strain of shrimp giving the hobby an endless shrimp color spectrum! That they then sell to fish shops. (Maybe one day you'll see a SeeLuxus-Aquaticsis shrimp buzzing around your local fish shop!....one can dream!)

Within a couple months of birth a Cherry Shrimp females are ready to produce eggs! Once she decides the water quality is right, she will molt her shell, find a good hiding spot, and release a pheromone so the males will know to find her...to do the uh...ahm...dirty dance? She then drops the fertilized eggs to under her tail where she will keep them, and fan them for the next 30 days or so. She is a pro at it, but that doesn't stop me from becoming stressed out for her while I watch her swim around the tank scared she will drop the eggs mid swim! Gives me flash backs to when I was a busboy at Applebee's and I tried to carry too many plates to the kitchen....we lost a lot of good plates that day....

A cherry shrimp can hold around 20-30 eggs! Meaning you will have a mini shrimp cleaning army in no time!!

For a beginner who wants a lot of color and activity in their aquarium....the shrimp keeping hobby is VERY rewarding!

Hit me up! I can help you get the PERFECT set up for your desk top shrimp tank! Then we can talk about how to set up, and plumb a whole dedicated room in your house to hold 100 tanks for your new shrimp breeding venture!

08/11/2021

Aqua scaping for a purpose!

This aquarium was set up with Indian Dwarf Pufferfish in mind. Starting with Fluval Stratum as the substrate to give the rooted plants a nice nutrient rich, and loose soil base to grow roots in, then I used sand on top, as Pufferfish are hunters and will even use their mouths to blow the sand around to hunt for buried worms or snails! I put in smooth river rock to protect the puffers, "skin" incase they bump into the rock they wont run the risk of injuring themselves on a sharp edge. The rocks are stacked in such a way that they create caves for the fish to claim as their own territory, and to give them a hiding spot in case the big monster pressing his face on the glass and throwing food at them becomes too overwhelming.

The plants are all pretty strategic as well! I ignored the typical rule of, "tall plants in the back, and short plants in the front". In an attempt to make a natural looking playground for them to swim through vs. making something that resembles a movie set, and having the puffers on display. It's their home, I just made it for them. That Jungle Vallisneria should grow pretty tall, hopefully, making columns or at least a maze like environment for the fish to explore. The Java moss on the bottom will also spread out and grow up making a perfect snail hunting ground! and the Red Root Floaters up top are to give the fish a break from the very bright light source constantly shining down on them.

I used two sponge filters in the back so I can have beneficial bacteria growing on both. Puffers are wild caught and prone to worms, and infection. So if i need to pull a little guy out and set up a hospital tank for him, I will always have a cycled sponge ready to go! PLUS the sponge filters are very low water flow. Puffer fish aren't the most powerful swimmers. They swim by fluttering their little fins, and use their tail as a rudder, instead of using the muscles in their tail as a propellant like many other fish. I've heard a few accounts of people saying that their puffers like to use the water current to zip them around the tank....almost like public transportation, but I chose to keep things calm an stress free for the little dudes!

I will keep posting more pics and videos, once I have the puffers in and adapted! You'll see exactly why I went through the trouble of dedicating a whole tank to these SUPER personable and entertaining little fish!

Let me help you design an aquarium around your favorite fish, or community of fish! It doesn't get more rewarding that to know your fish are living as close as we can make it to their natural environments!

08/07/2021

This chaotic jungle sits on my desk. It provides the perfect environment for the fish and shrimp who inhabit it, while giving me something beautiful to look at while I work!

This tank is a Fluval Flex 9 gallon. The way I like to aqua scape my personal tanks is to make it feel like we dunked the aquarium in a pond and took a 1' by1' section right out!

I have 7 Dwarf Emerald Rasbora's, who LOVE swimming through the brush. I don't see them too often, so it's always a treat when they chase each other out of the forest, forcing them to come face to face with the giant food monster slapping away at a keyboard. They quickly realize their mistake and dart back to the safety of the jungle.

I also have a thriving colorful neocaridina (cherry) shrimp colony in there! Thank goodness they enjoy being out and about exploring all the leaves, or else no one would believe anything lives in this tank! The shrimp and the snails just spend their cleaning up after me and my ham fi**ed heavy feedings! Thanks for the assist guys!

I'll have better pics of this tank as soon as I learn how to take better pictures! haha!

Is there a dream aqua scape you have pictured? maybe its not a jungle tank like this one. Maybe its more minimalistic, or serene. I can work with you take your individual and unique style or aesthetic, and merge that with a natural environment that and fish would LOVE to call home!

Let me use my expertise to help you get the aquarium you always dreamed of! Whether you are starting