So, I invented a way of getting food to bottom-dwellers..

Mike_Noren · Post by **Mike_Noren** » 02 Sep 2006, 14:42

...and it worked well enough that I thought maybe others would be interested in it:

http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/Proteinbomb_en.htm

Enjoy, hopefully someone might find it useful.

bronzefry · Post by **bronzefry** » 02 Sep 2006, 16:44

Mike,
I really like your web site. The information is useful. That conditioning recipe is good. I also like your Artemia method. It's difficult to get the baby shrimp out so that you can safely wash them off. I lost a batch of fry once because I didn't wash off the baby brine shrimp correctly.

I went back to frozen. I'll try your method next. Thanks for sharing!

Amanda

pleco_breeder · Post by **pleco_breeder** » 03 Sep 2006, 10:55

Hello,

I agree. A lot of useful info on the site. I do have a question though. I do not speak Swedish, but would like to get at least a rundown of the deviations of http://web.telia.com/~u15708380/Hp_100.html from your method. I only reference it because it was linked from the page. I've been planning on setting up a central system for blackwater species for some time now, and your method seems to be both effective and easier than anything I've thought of to date.

Also, to anyone in the US, anybody know of a source for low humic peat???

Larry Vires

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 03 Sep 2006, 15:44

I use a gold plated coffee filter to strain out my brine shrimp. I do the separation process of settling the water and the shrimp twice harvested the entore batch twice the cleaned shrimp are kept in their own areated salt water container where I can harvest through out the day just pure shrimp and rinse the collected shrimp in freshwater prior to feeding. The shrimp holding tank is fed a pinch of brewers yeast and VitaChem is added to their holding tank. I hatch one new batch each day. This method acheives enriched brine shrimp and only having to deal with egg shells once.

Mike_Noren · Post by **Mike_Noren** » 04 Sep 2006, 00:25

pleco_breeder wrote:I do not speak Swedish, but would like to get at least a rundown of the deviations of http://web.telia.com/~u15708380/Hp_100.html from your method.

Of course.
He, like me, cut slabs of peat from these 'peat blocks', but unlike me he didn't just use it on the bottom, but also clad the walls with it. Quite a bit is about the methods he used to fasten the peat to the walls (he settled on plastic supports & silicon glue). I simply let the peat acidify & color the water freely, while he took a more controlled approach, and washed the peat with caustic soda to neutralize the peat and remove most of the tannins (the color), then used hydrochloric acid to balance the pH to about 5.

He had his aquarium running for four years, and in that time got spontaneous reproduction of cardinal tetras.

His experiences are much like mine: over time the peat does give off lots of fine-particulate 'dust' which clogs filters; plants root so firmly in it that they can not easily be removed without disrupting the peat; and the peat can not be easily cleaned like sand can.

One difference is that he says he had a bit of a problem with filamentous algae; I never saw any algae in my aquarium.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 04 Sep 2006, 03:03

Mike,
Sounds like my experiment glueing dark cork panels to the inside walls. Blackwater,lots of filter clogging particles but, alas no breeding cardinals for me.
Larry

So, I invented a way of getting food to bottom-dwellers..

So, I invented a way of getting food to bottom-dwellers..

Baby brine shrimp

Peat wall