GH/KH/TDS readings for neocaridini davidi var. orange

[travellife]

I have a group of 18 shrimpettes that were born in my jarrarium which is roughly 1-1/2 gallons and planted with Anubias, Java Moss, Wisteria & Ludwigia.  The babies are 3-1/2 months old.  The water is not heated nor filtered, I have Aquasolum substrate and top off with Prime treated water as needed.

The TDS is 88, the KH is 35.8ppm, the GH is 53.7ppm.  Nitrite/Nitrate/Ammonia are 0 every time I test, the regular pH is 7.6, high pH is 7.4

I'm worried about the KH/GH, shouldn't it be a lot higher?  So far I haven't seen any failed molts and hope to keep it that way.  I'm looking at purchasing SL Aqua Blue Wizard to remineralize.  It looks like an easy product for a newbie such as myself.  Should I buy some organic spinach in the meantime and prepare that for them to help with their calcium/magnesium?  So far I've only fed them Marineland Color Enhancing Flakes which they love. 

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[Zoidburg]

Most people can't even get their shrimp to survive in those parameters, so you must be doing something right if they are reproducing and growing!

It's recommend to keep a dGH of about 6-8 (107-143ppm) for cherry shrimp with the possibility of them being able to adapt to higher GH.

 

I believe someone on this forum did mention about keeping cherry shrimp in low KH and GH and their colony is thriving. It's pretty much out of the norm, but definitely possible!

 

If you notice any deaths due to molting issues (aka split shell along the back, going from left to right), and you see more than one, definitely increase the GH!

 

If you want to use SL-Aqua, choose Red Wizard instead. It's meant for Neos in mind (aka higher TDS than Blue Wizard). You could actually probably get away with the Blue Wizard if you wanted.

[travellife]

Thank you for your feedback and I'll look into ordering the Red Wizard instead of the Blue Wizard. I'm concerned about the GH/KH readings because, although the shrimp were born in the vase, it was due to my purchase of an adult berried shrimp that was added to the vase when I started it up. She and one other adult shrimp were my only purchases. She released the babies and unfortunately both adults ended up not making it, even though they were not having molting problems. I've been worried ever since about the shrimpettes. The one thing I keep reading about is consistency which is what they have had. But, if the GH/KH aren't what they should be am I taking too big a risk attempting to adjust the water hardness with something like the SL-Aqua product? Maybe a more natural approach is better, feeding spinach, adding mineral balls?

travellife

[jayc]

SL Aqua Red wizard also has a higher GH. So that will solve your low GH problem.

If you want to do it naturally and slowly, add a bit of crushed coral or shell grit. And since you only have a 1gal vase, a very small amount is needed. In fact you can probably get away with have an egg shell crush in a mortar and pestle. Add the crushed egg shell into your vase to increase GH.

 

[Zoidburg]

Mineral balls wouldn't really dissolve fast enough to make a difference. Since this is such a small vase, I wouldn't even recommend using crushed coral. Well, not a big fan of crushed coral because it could add too much to the water, causing water changes to result in big changes in KH, GH and TDS.

If you had a bucket of water with crushed coral in it, and you mixed that to a desired GH and TDS, I would find this a more acceptable approach, because in that way you can better adjust the water parameters.

 

When doing water changes to increase the GH of a tank, you would want to treat the new water first with Prime and then the Red Wizard to the desired GH and TDS. You may need to go as far as using a syringe to treat new water as a little can go a long way. Once you have gotten the new water to the desired levels, perform a 5-10% water change once or twice a week and drip the water back in.

[travellife]

I like the idea of going slow with the additives.  I have a small syringe that I use for measuring the Prime and will use the same approach with the Red Wizard.  I just noticed that it raises the GH and pH and baking soda is recommended for raising the KH.  Is that a concern since my pH is already a bit high at 7.6 regular with the API kit? 

[jayc]

I don't think you need to adjust your KH at all.

[travellife]

Hi jayc - if I use the Red Wizard to increase the GH which in turn also increases the pH won't I end up with a situation where my pH is driven too high?

travellife

[Zoidburg]

With cherry shrimp, honestly, don't be worried about high pH! They do fine in higher pH no problems! Actually, the KH is more likely to raise your pH up higher than GH would.

 

It's also quite possible to have various water parameters but the same pH levels. My tap typically comes out 3 KH and GH with a pH of 7.4 to 7.6, using the API test kit. Raise the GH up to 7, give or take, the KH might even go up a little, still get the same pH results.

[jayc]

@travellife, are you using the SL aqua remineraliser with RO or rain water? 

 

 

[travellife]

Jayc - haven't ordered the SL-Aqua yet, wanted to run all this info by you shrimp pros first. I currently use tap water treated with Prime the end result being the water parameters in my original post. I'm hoping I can use the same procedure and simply add the mineralizer to increase the GH/KH/TDS.

Zoidburg - thanks for that explanation. I'll shoot for raising the GH to 7 and focus on that parameter for now. I like to keep things simple.

I bought some organic spinach from TJ's today but read a couple of incidents about people buying grocery store organics and then losing shrimp. Think I'll go with some specialty shrimp food instead when I order the Red Wizard. These shrimp are a pricier hobby than tropical fish but I think they're worth it.

travellife

[jayc]

@travellife

Don't worry about it too much as long as you can keep pH relatively stable at around 7.4.

Unless you are willing to convert to using RO or rain water.

The small vase is hampering you from being able to do much about it. If it was bigger, you could try adding drift wood or plant substrate to reduce the pH.