Jump to content

Which substrate

keego

By keego
in Shrimp Tank Setup

 Share

Recommended Posts

keego Shrimp Lover

keego

Posted
Posted

I was planning on using Fluval Stratum in all my tanks to house cherries. However my LFS advised against it based on it will limit further expansion to keep other shrimp???????????? The substrate they recommend has a pH of around 5.6. I understand people keep both cherries & crystals together to increase tank/shrimp volume.

As I'm only planning to keep cherries, I hoping SKF member could provide suggestions on which substrate to uses.

Thanks in advances.

Keego

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aquathumb Shrimp Breeder

Aquathumb

Posted
Posted

Of all my tanks that have cherries in them, the one with Fluval Stratum breeds the slowest. I dont like it at all. My other tanks just used inert substrate. I recommend Tahitian Moon Sand for a nice fine black sand that will not effect your water parameters. If you are only planing on keeping cherries then I would not use a buffering substrate. Cherries do best at 7-7.5.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Squiggle Shrimp Guru

Squiggle

Posted
Posted

+1 for the Tahitian moon sand, if you use the GH/KH+ if will buff the ph to about 7.3-7.5 & if you use Stratum with that it will fight the minerals to buff the ph down, definitely something inert will work the best. :encouragement:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • HOF Member
ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

Posted
  • HOF Member
Posted

I actually have had very good success with my cherries in tanks with Fluval stratum, also inert gravels and my Chocolates never stopped breeding in the low ph of BeniBachi. I have been using Fluval for about 6 months so can't say how long it will last before it goes muddy. I haven't noticed any difference in the different substrates so I tend to think an inert substrate ( gravel or sand) is adequate for Cherries. I just like the look of the Fluval Stratum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
keego Shrimp Lover

keego

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks all,

@Aquathumb, just checked it out, lot cheaper toooooooooo, what was the white one you had your choc's in & are you happy with it?????

@Squiggle, makes sense using an inert substrata with Bee shrimp minerals,

@ Ineke, I too like the look of Fluval Stratum, but like you setting up 10 tanks, I can save over $300, which can uses to buy more shrimp

Thanks guys

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aquathumb Shrimp Breeder

Aquathumb

Posted
Posted
@Aquathumb' date=' just checked it out, lot cheaper toooooooooo, what was the white one you had your choc's in & are you happy with it?????[/quote']

The white sand was from a pet shop, I think it was pet city, sold as reptile sand, I think the brand was reptile one and no I'm not happy with it. lol. It gets dirty to fast have to clean it daily to keep it nice so I have replaced it with a light sandstone coloured propergating sand from Bunnings (takes agest to wash out the clay but only $7 a bag). But I'm only using lighter coloured substrate as a test for my dark chocs, mainly to identify the ones that have a blue base. All my other tanks have a dark substrate and it really brings out the colours of cherries. Eco-complete is another dark, inert substrate to check out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
KiwiBigD Shrimp Breeder

KiwiBigD

Posted
Posted

I've also used a Cichlid substrate that came in both a small and medium size gravel. Ph was great but plants didn't do as well in a Ph of 7.4, just something to bear in mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
keego Shrimp Lover

keego

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I've also used a Cichlid substrate that came in both a small and medium size gravel. Ph was great but plants didn't do as well in a Ph of 7.4' date=' just something to bear in mind.[/quote']

Hi KiwiBigD, , what about moss with it, do you add shrimp minerals??

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
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Join Our Community!

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

  • Must Read SKF Articles

    Shrimp Disease and Treatment
    Tibee, Taitbee, Pinto, Mischling, F1, F2

  • Tropical Fish Forum
    Discus Breeding Guide
    Discus Disease and Treatment Guide

  • Posts

    • ngoomie
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By ngoomie · Posted

      Alright, I've done a bit more research on gentian violet's cancer-causing potential but I haven't yet done research on malachite green's to compare. But from reading the California propositon 65 document about GV (North Americans incl. some Canadians will recognize this as the law that causes some products they buy to be labelled with "known to the state of California to cause cancer", including the exact product I bought) it seems that the risk of cancer is related to internal use, either injection or ingestion. Speaking of ingestion, I think GV bans mainly relate to its use in treating fish/shrimp/etc. which are intended for human consumption, because of the above. And in countries where GV isn't banned for this purpose, it does seem to get used on various species of shrimp without causing any issue for the shrimp themselves (at least enough so for shrimp farming purposes). See the following: In February, the FDA Began Rejecting Imported Shrimp for Gentian Violet and Chloramphenicol (2022 article by Southern Shrimp Alliance) FDA Starts New Calendar Year by Refusing Antibiotic-Contaminated Shrimp from Three BAP-Certified Indian Processors and Adding a BAP-Certified Vietnamese Processor to Import Alert (2024 article by Southern Shrimp Alliance) Southern Shrimp Alliance and some other organizations have tons of other articles in this vein, but I'd be here for a while and would end up writing an absolutely massive post if I were to link every instance I found of articles mentioning shrimp shipments with gentian violet and/or leucogentian violet registering as contaminants. That being said, I know shrimp farmed for consumption and dwarf shrimp are often somewhat distantly related (in fact, the one time a shrimp's species name is listed that I can see, it's the prawn sp. Macrobrachium rosenbergii, who at best occupies the same infraorder as Neocaridina davidi but nothing nearer), but this at least gives a slightly better way of guessing whether it will be safe for aquarium dwarf shrimp or not than my bladder snail anecdote from the OP.
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      I would hazard a guess that perhaps those eggs were unfertilized and thereby unviable? Did the eggs change colour, usually yellow to grey as the yolks used up, or any eyes in the eggs. Is your water ok, using RO remineralised and the parameters in range, as I have heard others say that if the water isn't good it can 'force' a molt? How is it going overall, do you have a good size colony in the tank, you may have reached 'maximum occupancy' as a tank can only support so many occupants.
    • beanbag
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By beanbag · Posted

      Hello folks,  The current problem I am having is that my Taiwan bee shrimp are molting before all their eggs have hatched.  Often the shrimp keep the eggs for 40+ days.  During that time, they lose about half or so, either due to dropping or duds or whatever.  Shortly before molting they look to have about a dozen left, and then they molt with about half a dozen eggs still on the shell.  Then the other shirmp will come and eat the shell.  These last few times, I have been getting around 0-3 surviving babies per batch.  I figure I can make the eggs hatch faster by raising the water temperature more (currently around 68F, which is already a few degrees higher than I used to keep it) or make the shrimp grow slower by feeding them less (protein).  Currently I feed Shrimp King complete every other day, and also a small dab of Shrimp Fit alternating days.  Maybe I can start alternating with more vegetable food like mulberry?  or just decrease the amount of food?
    • ngoomie
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By ngoomie · Posted

      Yeah, cancer risk was a thing I'd seen mentioned a lot when looking into gentian violet briefly. I kinda just figured it might only be as bad as the cancer risk of malachite green as well, but maybe I should look into it more. I've been doing a pretty good job of not getting it on my skin and also avoiding dunking my unprotected hands into the tank water while treating my fish at least, though. Maybe I'll just not use it once I'm done this course of medication anyways, because I know a store I can sometimes get to that's pretty distant carries both malachite green and methylene blue, and in pretty large quantities.
    • jayc
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By jayc · Posted

      Can't help you with Gentian Violet, sorry. It is banned in Australia violet for potential toxicity, and even possible cancer risks. I thought it was banned in Canada as well. At least, you now know why there isn't much info on gentian violet medication and it's use. But keep an eye on the snails after a week. If it affects the snails, it might not kill them immediately. So keep checking for up to a week. Much safer options out there. No point risking your own life over unsafe products.
×
×
  • Create New...