Jump to content

Shrimp sand vs gravel


bailey88

Recommended Posts

Other than the obvious of helping buffer the ph and price differance what are the pros and cons to both because I have noticed the more and more i get into this hobby everyone seems to be using shrimp sand where as I just use gravel I don't seem to have any dramas with using gravel... Also what else can be used to buffer ph preferably natural remedies not too keen on dosing my tanks with chemicals up until now I have only ever used driftwood cheets brendon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's largely depending on your water source. If it's hard and pH is high, then buffering it will be difficult. You can soften your water with Indian Almond leaves which may lower pH around 0.5 to 1.

I had gravel when I first started, and it was just too much work trying to keep a stable pH and stability is the key in shrimp keeping. After resetting the tank with benibachi soil, I've had nothing but stable pH of 5.8-6.0

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah already on to the IAL's found them when i first started keeping shrimp bout a yr ago water doesn't seem to be too bad here in mackay Ive heard of peat moss to assist in the buffering process .. I must be doing something right tho because I don't get any ph spikes nor ammonia nitrites and nitrates

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it really depends on the type of shrimp you keep. I've had Cherries with gravel and had no problems at all, but with more sensitive species I think the gravel is better as it will maintain better parameters and keep them more stable.

And I mean, c'mon. Shrimp Sand just looks so cool and pro ? lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sure there are pros and cons for using either inert gravel or the shrimp soils.

I keep Cherries and CRS and prefer to use inert gravels (Just personal preferance).

* Both shrimp species are breeding extremely well

* My water is PH 7 straight from the tap, and I've never had problems maintaining stable water conditions

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think if your pH is higher from the tap like mine is (7.8pH), then shrimp specific substrate helps. Cherry shrimp thrive with inert gravel, but I think you will find CRS/CBS and the rarer varieties like softer acidic water.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have my cherries with sand/gravel and they are doing great! Cherries thrive better in PH of 7+ so the Shrimp substrates are not so good for them buffering wise. Though, the shrimp substrates have alot of surface area which is a mini feeding ground for the shrimps.

CRS and similar are probably better off with a shrimp substrate. Especially if your water is higher than PH 7.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i think shrimp soil just looks real nice LOL:triumphant:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all your replies guys another quick question though how often does the sand need to be replaced

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh ok then I guess I was told something wrong then I was told that shrimp sand needed t be replaced every 6 months ???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok that makes sense to me now thanks for clearing that up loach think I'm going to get shrimp sand for my new set-ups what's some good links for shrimp substrates other then boss aquaria I'd like to see what's out there first before making a final descison unless someone tells me what's best lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bossaquaria should be selling ADA Aquasoils very soon aswell. Just with the aquasoils, you need to cycle them as they create a huge Ammonia spike. The spike is notvas bad with aquasoil malaya & africana but amazonia goes crazy! Benibachi should have a tiny little spike but is just like shrimpsand if not better :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll have to see if Any of the 3 LFS here stock any of this I haven't ever seen any ada only the fluval shrimp sand we are a bit behind in this town :beaten:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been running Up Aqua shrimp sand for 9 months or so now and it's still very solid and buffering perfectly. No signs of breakdowns or any ill effects at all. Still works and looks as well as the day I put it in.

You can get it on eBay or from online stores. Exotic Aquatic may be able to ship it to you also.

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

    • beanbag
      Update to say that after a few gravel vacs, front wall scrub, moss / floating plant trim, that the condition seems to have improved.  My current theory is that it is due to waste / debris management, where "stuff" like that brown mulm accumulates in the substrate and behind the HMF filters.  Maybe some tanks can somehow deal with it, but mine can't.  Also another experienced shrimper suggested that maybe those "shell bugs" don't just live on the shrimps but also in this debris.  Maybe this is the reason some tanks fail due to "old tank syndrome" where all they need is a good gravel vac? Also, I am guessing that plant trim helps too because now more of the nutrients and light go into growing algae instead of more plants? Well anyway for this tank I will try weekly water change and monthly gravel vac / plant trim.  For my next tank, I'm thinking of something like an under-gravel system where this mulm can fall down and I vac it out.
    • 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!
×
×
  • Create New...