# Setting up Sulawesi Tank



## kevinli1021 (Sep 9, 2010)

I am relatively new to aquascaping and the hobby entirely. So far I have created one highly planted aquarium and is in the process of establishing a Sulawesi tank. Please provide feedback on how to improve the Sulawesi shrimp tank (specifically cardinal dennerli). I realize that cardinal shrimp live in a stoney natural habitat with few plants at best but I want to preserve the iwagumi look so I gave it a shot with weeping moss and phoenix moss. Water parameters have yet to be tested since I am still adding more rocks 

Added a new photo of my current Sulawesi tank after making many changes to it!


----------



## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

They look very nice


----------



## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Sulawesi tanks are usually very sparse looking. Plants don't really come into it at all. If I had to suggest something similar it would be like a pleco tank...mostly sand/coarse gravel like crushed coral and rocks that look like caves, built up from the bottom.

Sulawesi like to hang under rocks to hide so if you don't have something like that they will probably not be content. 

You need a sponge filter for biofilm for them to pick off too. PH is above 8 although Ive heard of them being kept now at lower PH but they like heated water, so temp is 82F+

I kept mine for 18 months in a 10 gallon tank with crushed coral for substrate, lava rocks and slate layered like a main condo on the one side, and some single rocks made into a cave structure on the other with lots of room in between. I kept the sponge at the back as well as a HOB for added filtration as water quality is key to their survival. Temp was 86F and PH was 8.2 because of the crushed coral.

Mine wouldn't eat regular shrimp food either as they were constantly picking over the rocks for biofilm (why your tank needs to run for about a month) I tried them with every type of shrimp food, but it always got left so I tried algae wafers....same thing. 

Finally in desperation I dropped in a piece of moss thinking that maybe they'd find something on it to eat, and unbeknown to me a baby Yellow neo was in the moss. I noticed it sitting on a rock and the cardinals were coming out to look at it, so when I fed the neo, the cardinals figured out that it was getting food and started to eat....mostly algae wafers though.

Now you get specific food for Sulawesi shrimps.

I also got a few Tylomenia Yellow footed snails for their tank as I read on the Web that they have a symbiotic relationship with these snails....(someone said they eat the snail poop) don't know if that's true or not, but once the snails were in the tank I saw the cardinals a lot more often...maybe they just felt safe.

You might want to drop BigDaddyO a pm about how he keeps his Sulawesi tank as he has successfully bred them recently and would be the best person to give you new advice on how to keep them alive, and set up your tank.

It would be a shame to go ahead with your nice new idea only to find out its not suitable for these shrimps which need different living conditions than any other shrimps.

Good Luck.


----------



## kevinli1021 (Sep 9, 2010)

I contacted bigdaddyo and I checked out his thread. Very informative indeed. I think the only way to preserve my iwagumi theme is to really add more hardscape. I also added another half pound of crushed coral in the tank and to ensure that I have the correct parameters I purchased some Salty Shrimp Sulawesi mineral 8.5 . Does anyone know if it is necessary to add an airline to the tank to dissolve more O2? Also does the cardinal dennerli have any preference in water movement? In terms of food what have people tried? So far I have mixed suggestions: some say spirulina powder + crab mix; spinach + algae wafers? I was planning to put in a sponge wall at the back and cover it with some java moss to give a better surface for biofilm to develop.


----------



## 10G (Sep 15, 2013)

Ur java fern is looking nice, #lush


----------

