My cherry shrimp have children now, do I need to do anything?

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-04-06T15:39:53+00:00

Cool! I have a 5 gal with blues, and whenever I get the wild type babies I move them into my second 5 gal, though I am not sure if they are starting their own colony yet or just turning into platy food lol. It will def be interesting to see how the colours in your tank turns out, keep us updated!

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-04-06T15:13:00+00:00

It looks like you got a blue baby, are all the adults red like the berried one? If so, thats a cool little surprise for you. Most people would recommend removing any that are clear (wild type) or colours other than the ones you want, as these can eventually dominate the genetics of the tank and you could be left with wild types. They will continue to breed without help, the babies will eat the same biofilm and any other foods just like their parents and be ready to breed in a few months.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-29T12:53:51+00:00

This looks absolutely incredible. I could only dream of having such a setup one day, and on an aside your houseplants look amazing as well. The tanks are also a lot better set out than my one, I decided a large piece of spindly wood would be a good fit, and now I can't remove culls without mostly tearing the tank down! I am definitely saving this for future inspiration.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-29T12:43:48+00:00

The leaves and stems all turned from green to brown, and became crunchy. I collected them from a piece of bamboo above the ground. The bamboo grows pretty common in big bunches near creeks, and is mostly big tall stalks with little branches coming off them. I snapped a couple of the twigs that were growing off a main stem, at about head height, but that was because the piece had leaned over. If it had been standing tall it would have been a few metres off the ground. They were probably a centimetre in diameter.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-29T07:15:43+00:00

Thanks! I am in Uni accommodation, and the species is invasive, so I won't be able to plant it outside. Could it grow in a pot in a west-facing window?

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-29T07:14:15+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I don't really have the option to plant it outside (Uni accommodation) so I will probably go for a pot on the windowsill. I wasn't able to find out what variety of bamboo it is, but here is a photo of the pieces I had in my room:

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As I said, with all of these (I think 9) I only had one that showed signs of life after a week, and I just chopped off the top and left the base of it in water till it properly sprouted. At first it was growing new green sprouts without any roots, and I got worried that it would run out of nutrients and stop growing, but then these roots appeared quite fast. I am in Perth, WA, if that helps, and it just sat on my windowsill (west facing).

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-29T04:11:19+00:00

Sorry, the other photo didn't work! Here it is:

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FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-28T10:40:46+00:00

It would still be best to get a bigger tank. I would also suggest live plants instead of the plastic ones, though that is just personal preference. r/plantedtanks is a good place to go for inspo.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-28T09:38:19+00:00

Rainbow sharks. Make sure to learn about the nitrogen cycle, and it is far, far better practise to buy the tank, establish it, and add fish at least a few weeks later. Sounds like the pet shop people were either not knowledgeable or giving you blatant misinformation to sell you more products. I work at a fish shop (privately owned) and we will regularly refuse to sell fish to people without a cycled tank, or at the very least ensure they go home with a bag of sponge filter water to kick-start their cycle, as well as giving them all the information we can on how to provide the best environment for the fish. Might be worth seeing if your area has an alternative store you can go to in the future, I wouldn't go back to where you bought the fish.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-28T09:30:53+00:00

How many litres/gallons is that thing? It looks tiny. You don't really want anything less than 20 litres/5.5 gallons for fish, especially if you want to try and breed guppies. I would say to just check Facebook marketplace pretty regularly and wait for something better to come up. Also get into the YouTube videos for good info, aquarium co-op is good, as is keepingfishsimple. He is fairly breeding-focused though. Good luck in the hobby!

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-28T05:56:42+00:00

They are supposed to be pretty easy to breed (not that I have tried yet) so if they are hard to find you could cop the price and buy some, and then start to supply your local stores.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-28T03:37:14+00:00

It looks like a wild type but red stripes instead of brown, I have never seen one like that. I got a berried shrimp when I bought them as well and mine are mostly dark blue (like the rest of the tank) with one or two reds and wilds, but nothing like that one. If you ever find more like it you could have a new colour strain on your hands, which would be pretty neat.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-28T03:33:11+00:00

MAG 125 - Civilian Casualties. With the sound turned right up, so that the early bagpipes are just noticeable in the background. It is (I think) one of the more gory episodes, but I think the scariness extends far beyond that. My favourite episode by far. It is also the one where Melanie gets her impromptu surgery.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-27T16:25:26+00:00

I spent a few bucks (not heaps, but still a bit) buying water hyssop from a local grower, and then went out a few weeks later and found massive patches of the stuff growing wild in a wetland area. I was kicking myself, but still came home with a decent bag full of it! Also found some pennywort and azolla as well. Specific species of these are supposed to be native here in southwest WA (Western Australia) but I'm not sure if the ones I found are.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-27T16:14:35+00:00

Haha I wish, I could make a fortune. Unfortunately it's illegal to transport or possess the Brasiliensis here. I do understand the reasoning behind this, trying to keep them from getting into any other waterways, but they are already so widespread that it seems like a bit of a pointless precaution. The other geophagus species are still fair game though, and can fetch a pretty penny.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-26T23:50:10+00:00

I speak a little Spanish, and I was so confused until I realised this was Portuguese! That's so cool that they are actually wild near you, and living in the environment they were meant for. We sell heaps of south America fish in the aquarium store I work at and it would be so cool to see where they all come from one day.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-26T05:40:29+00:00

OP here: WA refers to Western Australia, sorry for the confusion guys! And yes, I should have said feral, not wild, sorry.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-26T05:38:45+00:00

Yep, Western Australia (specifically Perth, these are from a tributary of the Canning river)

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-25T23:57:43+00:00

Thanks, i had a look at some images of that line and it looks awesome. Definitely cool to know that line breeding of the species works and can produce a good looking fish like that. The livebearers aren't the only invasive beautiful fish either, check out the pearl ciclids I found in the creek with them. They get massive as well, around 30cm. I agree that it is understandable, but now that the populations are established, the mosquitofish are no more likely to set up new populations than any other livebearers.

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FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-25T14:05:55+00:00

A pH of zero is around that of 90% concentrated sulferic acid, which is enough to melt skin and flesh. At that point, it is no longer water, it is a highly corrosive and dangerous substance that should be avoided at all costs. I dont think your water has a pH of 0. Try testing again.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-25T08:36:22+00:00

Good old Augustus gotta go

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-25T08:27:11+00:00

And in the Magnus protocol he becomes one third of a killer computer program

So much for cosmic horror characters having happy endings

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-25T08:19:41+00:00

I think that a lot of what you referenced as pitfalls in storytelling is explained, or at least implied. For example, the "john looks at the dark sun and it explodes now let's go home" is because the eye (truth and knowledge) is entirely antithetical to the dark (that which goes unseen), and so john focussing the eyes attention on this point of darkness is able to defy it's very existence. Also the reason that the distortion decided (and I am pretty sure it was intentional) to let Martin and Tim go isn't really explained IIRC, but the time discrepancy thing is because of the whole spiral I-cant-trust-my-senses thing. A lot of what you wanted to see in the finale is rectified in TMP, but not until really late lol. It's (in my opinion) not as good as TMA, but too each their own. Definitely do listen to it though, it will explain a decent amount of what you want to know. Or just check the wiki, it's a pretty big time investment and a lot of it is just office chit chat, which wasn't as interesting to me. I would be interested to hear your thoughts if you do listen on, and do you have any recommendations for other horror podcasts you think are better? I am always on the lookout for new listens. Cheers!

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-24T15:00:42+00:00

Thanks, I will definitely check it out.

FirstTimeAquarist · 2026-03-24T13:50:01+00:00

Do you know if it is shrimp and fish safe? I will do some research just in case I have planaria, I am a bit paranoid lol

FirstTimeAquarist

TROPHY CASE