Building and using my HMF Filtered Shrimptank

By now all the preperations were done:

Buying stuff for the tank & planning
Building the filter and outflow
Testing the tank & filter
Running for 1 week to test for any flaws and allow toxics to dissolve
Running for 1 week again with plants inside to allow the filter bacteria to start working

So.. It's Shrimptime!

I had already made up my mind on the Shortlist of Shrimps:

Bee-shrimp (Caridina cf. cantonensis)
Crystal Red (Caridina cf. cantonensis 'Crystal Red')
Red Bee (Caridina cf. cantonensis 'Red Bee')
Red Fire Shrimp (Neocaridina heteropoda)

Given my criteria (no heating & low maintenance) I decided to go for the Red Fire Shrimp. It's said to be a real shrimp for starters -- Yes I am a complete noob at shrimps. As a noob I have no interest in buying expensive shrimps that die in no-time due to my bad shrimpkeeping capabilities. I found that these shrimps can be found both in pet shops -- all 4 species can be found at superb local pet store heems.nl, but come with a price -- but also at breeders all over the country that offer more generous prices.

I found a semi-professional breeder at marktplaats.nl, the Dutch equivalent of ebay. She made me a good offer for only €10,- for 'about' 10 shrimps. She was really nice and I ended up with about 20 shrimps of varying sizes and (unfortunately) also varying shades of red.

I also bought some food at her 'attic-store' for €5,-. The food consists of tabs that sink. There's a red color and a green color, I presume with slightly different ingredients. I use one every week and alternate colors. The food smells like typical rabbit food to me...is that strange?

I took the shrimps home in a small plastic tray provided by the lady. She included some plastic foil for the shrimps to hold onto on the road. I honestly believe it works for them to keep their stress levels normal. They were all clumped onto the piece of foil when we got home.

I introduced the shrimp to the aquarium slowly and the same day they were happily walking, swimming and foraging around!!! It really is great fun to look at and these little animals are absolutely fascinating!!

Pictures: