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ineke

By ineke
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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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Hi,

I've seen a lot of you use soil which is the small round black balls can you please tell me which one that is. I like the look and if I decided to go for Crystals would that be a good one

Cheers

Ineke

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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Thanks MickeyG I keep thinking I want Crystals but the more I look into it The more I think I can't afford it!!!!!

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mickeyG Shrimp Lover

mickeyG

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Hehe its abit like that, if you was a local I'd have a free bag for you!!! You don't need ro for crs cbs but once you get into higher grades its best, I know a few members who use prime treated aged tap water with great success.

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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Damn that would have been great!!! I have had a few PM's that say just give them a go which I'm tempted to do but I don't want to be cruel and give the shrimp a slow death. That is my main concern . Our pura tap will have its yearly new filters put in on Tuesday and that goes through a carbon filter as well. I tried to buy some culls from a seller here in Adelaide but when he saw my water parameters he wouldn't sell which is fair enough. But if I get the right soil to buffer the ph and use my puratap water which even now when the filter needs changing comes out at 211 TDS -just checked it . Decisions decisions!!!!

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Squiggle Shrimp Guru

Squiggle

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I've kept A-S grade CRS in just normal tap water without any problems, this was before I got a TDS pen, all I did was add some mineral balls, a small Bee Shrimp mineral rock & 10% WC once a week, the lower grades are as easy as cherries if you keep the WP stable :encouragement:

image-74_zpsa6de8007.jpg

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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Haha that's a yes in any shrimpers eyes haha

After reading Squiggles comment I think it might be

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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I've kept A-S grade CRS in just normal tap water without any problems' date=' this was before I got a TDS pen, all I did was add some mineral balls, a small Bee Shrimp mineral rock & 10% WC once a week, the lower grades are as easy as cherries if you keep the WP stable :encouragement:

[img']http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a580/Betta_lover/image-74_zpsa6de8007.jpg

I like the sound of that Squiggle both the keeping of the CRS and the knowledge of the hole!!!! Question though why would the lower grades be any easier?

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Squiggle Shrimp Guru

Squiggle

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From what I'm lead to believe & correct me if I'm wrong, the more you selectively breed for the specific traits(i.e. the higher the grade) the more fragile the shrimp become & the more susceptible to fluctuations in WP they become. :encouragement:

image-74_zps2c471377.jpg

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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From what I'm lead to believe & correct me if I'm wrong' date=' the more you selectively breed for the specific traits(i.e. the higher the grade) the more fragile the shrimp become & the more susceptible to fluctuations in WP they become. :encouragement:

[img']http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a580/Betta_lover/image-74_zps2c471377.jpg

Yes that makes sense as that is the way with any pure breed lines if there is a limited gene pool. At least I can say my water parameters are stable well I'm not sure about the TDS as thats the first time I have used the pen

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Jess Shrimp Breeder

Jess

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I think the substrate you are talking about is ADA Amazonia, and from what I understand it is meant to be good with CRS/CBS :)

I was the same as you when I first thought about getting CRS. My water parameters didn't seem quite right and I don't have a RO filter or a chiller, so I was worried about the poor shrimp suffering in the wrong conditions. Ultimately though, I decided to give it a go and bought 4 CRS and 4 CBS. One CRS died within the first couple of days (I cried) because I kept her in a breeder box which I think stressed her too much. It has now been about 5 months and I believe that the rest are still alive, although I never seem to see more than one or two at a time up the front of the tank.

I keep them in my community tank with a combination of pool filter sand and Seachem Flourite for substrate, and use only tapwater treated with Prime. They've shown no interest in breeding, though, so I know something isn't right. The nitrates keep creeping up, so I have a suspicion it might be that >.>

Pretty much, if I were you I would buy a few and have a go :)

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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Hi Jess ,

i been told by quite a few people now to give it a go with some low grade shrimp and I think I am going to give it a go. While my WP are not good they are stable and that seems to be the key. I think I would cry too if I thought I had caused a new shrimp to die . Now I have to find someone with some culls that they will sell to me. I tried someone here in Adelaide but he thought my water was just not good enough so declined to sell which is fair enough. I have now done a 50% water change with demineralised water which has brought the TDS down and I'm sure I can adjust the ph with the shrimp soil. Gosh 4 months ago I didn't even know about WP 's LOL I will try and get some soil or use ph down to get that sorted and I'm not worried if they don't breed I just like the colours

cheers

ineke

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Magikarp Shrimp Keeper

Magikarp

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http://www.shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/showthread.php/68-What-are-your-Successful-parameters?p=337&viewfull=1#post337

I don't think CRS are as fragile as they're made out to be (A grades anyway). I bought 30 A grades to start with with forgot to test for nitrates before I added them, nitrates were through the roof and I ended up doing like 30% WC twice a day for a week with tap water+prime. Now I think my soil has lost its buffering after like 4 months and is sitting at pH 7.5 and they're breeding. I haven't lost one yet (knock on wood). Stability is definitely key.

Also IME I wouldn't use pH down because if you have a rock or something in your tank buffering up then the pH would go down for a couple hours and then back up. Shrimp soil is the way to go for ease.

Give it a go, you'll learn faster and obsess more haha

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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http://www.shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/showthread.php/68-What-are-your-Successful-parameters?p=337&viewfull=1#post337

I don't think CRS are as fragile as they're made out to be (A grades anyway). I bought 30 A grades to start with with forgot to test for nitrates before I added them' date= nitrates were through the roof and I ended up doing like 30% WC twice a day for a week with tap water+prime. Now I think my soil has lost its buffering after like 4 months and is sitting at pH 7.5 and they're breeding. I haven't lost one yet (knock on wood). Stability is definitely key.

Also IME I wouldn't use pH down because if you have a rock or something in your tank buffering up then the pH would go down for a couple hours and then back up. Shrimp soil is the way to go for ease.

Give it a go, you'll learn faster and obsess more haha

I have got them now and will have to wait a while before I can afford the soil. I got an RO system instead and been banned from spending more money for a while but that's next on my list.

cheers

ineke

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