Jump to content

First time shrimp keeper


TheKeeper

Recommended Posts

So I currently have a 6 gallon planted tank that has been set up and running for 3 weeks. Im about to purchase my red cherry shrimp to put in this tank. There is plenty of algae in the tank for them to eat, so food should be fine for the beginning correct? Plus it is heavily planted meaning there is plenty of organic matter to be consumed at all times, so they shouldn't really need to be fed ever? Also i see that drip acclimation is best for getting them used to there new home. If i did this till the tank is half empty for provided them with as close conditions as possible without emptying the tank. Am i good to just refill the tank afterward or from now on when i do water changes do they all need to be dripped in? Also is it true that adding calcium to the tank is beneficial for the shrimp to molt?

Im a pretty experienced fish keeper, just haven't ever had with shrimp so I dont want to kill all these expensive shrimps due to lack on knowledge. Any more knowledge or advice that can be given to me is high encouraged, even if it seems simple. 

Some specs of the tank, tanks does have a filter, that has small openings that could suck up baby shrimp. Its a small filter and has algae growth on the openings so it really does reduce the flow a bit, where i dont see it becoming a  huge issue. The tank is co2 injected, but thats pretty nailed down so nuking them with co2 is highly unlikely. The tank has a soil bottom capped with coarse sand. The vast majority of the bottom of the tank is carpeted with plants but they still have a way to go. There is no lid on the top of the tank. The tank does have some natural river stones in it with the brown algae growth on them. And a lot of the plants have the white "bugger" algae growing on them or around them. The tank receives about 10 hours of light a day. I know i put a lot of un-important information here, but maybe a pro will see a problem here and be able to inform me so I can correct it. Thanks for your time and consideration in advance!!!!

Regards

-The Keeper

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, TheKeeper said:

Am i good to just refill the tank afterward or from now on when i do water changes do they all need to be dripped in?

You can refill the tank normally, as long as, the water being added is matched to the tank - pH, TDS and temperature wise.

Otherwise, dripping water back into the tank is a good practice. 

Normal weekly water changes only needs to be 10%, as shrimps are not heavy waste generators.

As with fish keeping, the most important thing to do is to get the initial cycling of the tank done properly. 

 

6 hours ago, TheKeeper said:

Plus it is heavily planted meaning there is plenty of organic matter to be consumed at all times, so they shouldn't really need to be fed ever?

You will still need to feed them. The shrimps don't eat healthy plants, so you can't count the plants as food. A varied diet is good for the shrimps. The occasional frozen blood worms for them is a good source of protein. Blanched veges and leaves are also great. Sometimes I drop in flowers from Nasturtiums and Roses that I have in the garden. This is on top of bought processed shrimp foods. 

 

6 hours ago, TheKeeper said:

Also is it true that adding calcium to the tank is beneficial for the shrimp to molt?

Yes.

If you didn't constantly add Calcium & Magnesium, the levels will drop and cause problems down the track. 

If you use RO or rainwater, adding Ca & Mg is a must. That's why shrimp keepers use remineralising mixes at each water change. Which ties in to the first point above about matching water parameters. 

 

6 hours ago, TheKeeper said:

Some specs of the tank, tanks does have a filter, that has small openings that could suck up baby shrimp.

That will need to be addressed. Block those off with sponge or stainless steel mesh.

 

With regards to tools, get yourself a TDS meter, if you don't already have one. This will help measure TDS and gives you an idea of Calcium & Magnesium levels. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What should TDS be? I do already have one, also with the top of the tank being open, the shrimp wont escape right? Thanks for all the info!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, TheKeeper said:

What should TDS be?

Around 200. When it gets to 250, you know it's time for a water change.

Shrimps can be escape artists. They climb out where the filter pipes come in / out. Just make sure the waterline is an inch or two below the top.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

@jayc

Are remineralizers products the only way to increase tds without changes to pH? As in salty shrimp reminderalizers. 

Im under the assumption that crushed corals can increase tds as well as increase pH

 

Thanks ! 

Edited by Seattleshrimp
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Join Our Community!

    Register today, ask questions and share your shrimp and fish tank experiences with us!

  • Must Read SKF Articles

  • Posts

    • sdlTBfanUK
      Good to have an update and good to hear you are getting shrimplets, so hopefully your colony will continue and you may not get to the point where you have to cull some to stop over population. These type of shrimp only live 12 - 18 months so the adult deaths may be natural? If you have the time I would do weekly 25% water changes, adding the new water via a drip system and do some vacuuming clean of the substrate each week, even if only a different bit each week! See if that helps in a few months and if it does then stick with that regime? It should help reduce any build-ups that may be occuring!
    • beanbag
      Hello again, much belated update: The tank still has "cycles" of 1-2 month "good streaks" where everybody seems to be doing well, and then a bad streak where the short antenna problem shows up again, and a shrimp dies once every few days.  I am not sure what causes things to go bad, but usually over the course of a few days I will start to see more shrimp quietly standing on the HMF filter, and so I know something is wrong.  Since I am not "doing anything" besides the regular 1-2 week water changes, I just assume that something bad is building up.  Here's a list of things that I've tried that are supposed to be "can't hurt" but didn't prevent the problem either: Dose every other day with Shrimp Fit (very small dose, and the shrimp seem to like it) Sotching Oxydator Seachem Purigen to keep the nitrates lower Keeping the pH below 5.5 with peat Things that I don't do often, so could possibly "reset" the tank back to a good streak, are gravel vac and plant trim, so maybe time to try those again. One other problem I used to have was that sometimes a shrimp would suddenly stop eating with a full or partially full digestive tract that doesn't clear out, and then the shrimp will die within a few days.  I suspected it was one of the foods in my rotation - Shrimp Nature Infection, which contains a bunch of herbal plant things.  I've had this in my food rotation for a few years now and generally didn't seem to cause problems, but I removed it from the rotation anyway.  I don't have a lot of adult Golden Bees at this point so I can't really tell if it worked or not. Overall the tank is not too bad - during the good streaks occasionally a shrimp will get berried and hatch babies with a 33-50% survival rate.  So while there are fewer adults now, there are also a bunch of babies roaming around.  I guess this tank will stagger on, but I really do need to take the time to start up a new tank.  (or figure out the problem)
    • jayc
      If that is the offspring, then the parents are unlikely to be PRL. I tend to agree with you. There are very few PRLs in Australia. And any that claim to be needs to show proof. PRL genes have to start as PRL. CRS that breed true after x generations doesn't turn it into a PRL. Neither can a Taiwan bee shrimp turn into a PRL despite how ever many generations. I've never seen a PRL with that sort of red colour. I have on Red Wines and Red Shadows - Taiwan bee shrimps. So somewhere down the line one of your shrimp might have been mixed with Taiwan bees and is no longer PRL. It just tanks one shrimp to mess up the genes of a whole colony. 
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Sorry, missed this one somehow! The PRL look fantastic and the odd ones look part PRL and part Red wine/Red shadow in the colour. They are still very beautiful but ideally should be seperated to help keep the PRL clean if you can do that.  Nice clear photos!
    • GtWalker97
      Hi SKF!   So I bought some PRL (or at least they were sold as such. These claims are dubious in Australia as people don't know much about the genetics, nor do they care as long as they can make a quick buck). After 8 generations of breeding true, I'm having around 1 in 200 throw a much darker red. They almost look like Red Shadows, but I don't know too much about those types of hybrid. Can anyone help with ID'ing the gene?   TIA (First 2 pics are the weird throws, second photo is their siblings and the last photo is the parents)
×
×
  • Create New...