Rock or wood as hardscape

[Don]

Hi.

 

I'm setting up a shrimptank for the first time. I read somewhere that shrimp prefer rock, but I was thinking to use wood. Is rock a must?

[NoGi]

No it isn’t. Wood is fine just make sure it’s aquarium safe.

[jayc]

1 hour ago, Don said:

I read somewhere that shrimp prefer rock

That's absolutely not true. Most rocks will give off carbonates which can alter water parameters. Cause great pain in keeping the right conditions for shrimp. If given the choice, avoid rocks, if you don't want to constantly  be adjusting water parameters.

However, if you are keeping Sulawesi shrimp, then the opposite is true, since Sulawesi shrimp prefer high pH. Then rocks are almost a must have to maintain the high carbonates for a high pH.

Driftwood on the other hand will leach tannins and natural acids which help reduce pH and maintain the conditions shrimp prefer.

[Madmerv]

Hi @Don

Welcome to SKFA.

As @jayc was saying different shrimp require different water conditions. As a general rule the ornamental shrimp we keep in aquariums Prefer a neutral or lower PH. That is a PH of around 7 (neutral) and down to 5.5 (acidic). Most rocks, especially in Australia, are alkaline and will raise the waters natural PH, over time. This can be a problem if your shrimp require a low PH environment.

There are still plenty of shrimp that will tolerate and even do well in a higher PH. Australian natives and cherrie shrimp are a couple that come to mind but i really depends on what water parameters they were raised in to start with.

If you get a bit more specific and say what type of shrimp you are talking about then i'm sure somebody can give you clear advise on what will and will not be good as a hardscape.