Start of My PRL Journey

A) This is my second project. The journey has been full of pains and joys. Hence, i termed it as Project See-Saw. 

B) My first setup in Jun 14 was enlightening. You can check out my first setup. Through many trials, I wasn't successful in breeding my CRS... Key lessons learnt from my first setup was the need for a cooler and DI water. The use of fan wasn't economical as the cost of distilled water for the top-ups was hurting my pockets after a few weeks. The fan can only maintain the water temperature at about 28 degree. Together with my inexperience in controlling TDS through the water top-up, my CRS's off-springs started to dwindle....

C) Finally, I decided to take the plunge and invested in all the equipment necessary for a successful setup. With the help from Aquaticquotient and Arofanatic, i began my 2nd journey....

Dec 14
All equipment from Fishy Business, Plants from GC 
1) Ada 60P

2) Old Sea Mud

3)BT 9 BB

 4) ADA Amazonia Soil. There are many options for shrimp substrate. I went for ADA as it has a longer buffering lifespan and I was also contemplating to include aquatic plants for the setup.

5) Plants used during cycling

6) Cycling

D) This was the worst part of my 2nd project... Couldn't manage the parameters and my plants started to melt away. The tank underwent all kind of issues: brown algae, green algae, BB boom. On hindsight, i should have just have followed this guide.

E) After two months of pain, did a re-scape once the tank had stabilised

Mar 15

F) Finally introduced my 10 x Bee2 PRL from Aquarist Chamber. At the same time burnt a big hole in my pocket :(. Ouch when 3 of the ten did not make it. Left 7 at the end of the first week. Fortunately, the pendulum swung after that and my PRL population never looked back since then.

Apr 15
G) Starting to see some results in Apr 15. The berried mums from the first batch were able to kickstart the PRL population. It is also important that the you have a healthy female to male ratio (3:1). The numerical superiority of the female is to ensure the population boom. The males must be good grade to ensure quality offsprings.

Jun 15
H) Once a critical mass of PRL had been established, I started to play with "fire". The Co2 level was gradually pushed up to assist the growth of the aquatic plant . From my observation, the Co2 had some negative impact on the shrimplet production and survival. Eventually, I scaled down the Co2 rate from 1 BPS to 0.5 BPS. 

  

July 15
I) Introduced a stainless surface skimmer from TAOBAO. The skimmer definitely made the water surface "oil-less". The other advantage of the stainless set is the absence of the unsightly algae in your lily tubes :)

J) As a hobbyist, you will never be contended with your setup and will always be looking for improvements. Did some research and decided to try a series set-up using my spare canister. The most tricky part was to prime the two canisters....So far, the results were satisfying. Those interested can check out these link 1 / Link 2

K) After 8 months, the Bee2 PRL had ballooned from 10 to more than 50, with many berried mamas. 

L) Just dropped by AC this evening and got some alder cones. the assistant was kind-enulf to spare me some frogbits. Dropped 4 Alder cones into my 2 feet tank and the PH dropped from 6.1 to 5.9. The PRL seemed to love them. 

Sep 15
M) Is a joy looking at them feasting.

Dec 15
N) The 2 feet tank is buzzing with PRL.

Jan 16

Feb 16 (Selective Breeding)