Jump to content

Question on shrimp substrate

guntash

By guntash
in Shrimp Tank Setup

 Share

Recommended Posts

guntash Be nice I'm new here

guntash

Posted
Posted

Hi

I am looking at setting up another shrimp tank, perhaps a nano. It would be great to be able to have the option of at least two different types of shrimp in there which won't interbreed. I understand different shrimp require different water parameters. Not sure at this stage if I should set it up for cherries (using an inert substrate) or set it up for shrimp which require more acidic parameters / lower PH and go with the new black earth premium? Will cherries still thrive in a lower PH environment if I go with the black earth? If not and I stick with the cherries, what is the best inert substrate to use? I have heard some shrimp keepers use Black diamond quartz gravel or Tahitian moon sand? Any other brands I should consider? Thanks for your help guys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
michael Shrimp Breeder

michael

Posted
Posted

Set it up for Crystals that way u can keep either or both. I had inert gravel but changed it all over as I can breed better quality Cherries at a lower pH. When the pH is is higher it's harder to pick the best shrimp to breed as they all look nice. Lower it and any that stay the colour u want are the ones to breed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BlueBolts Shrimp Guru

BlueBolts

Posted
Posted

I agree, getting a tank's PH around 6.3-6.7 would give you the ability to keep the neocaridina and cardina species....doubling + up on a tank's shrimp variety slows down MTS...OR does it accelerates it . LOL

Cherries will eventually adapt to the lower PH, they may not be breeding a such a prolific rate, but as mentioned at last you're able to keep the CRS's etc.. In the same tank.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
guntash Be nice I'm new here

guntash

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Has anyone used black earth premium substrate before? Not sure if I should go with that or another one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wraithie Shrimp Breeder

Wraithie

Posted
Posted

I have BEP in my scape tank (the cherries are very happy in there, and they never get fed even). I dont test the parameters as i chose it more aimed towards plants.

The generally accepted 'gold standard' for shrimp substrate at the moment is the Benibachi soil which a lot of forum members use.

I also have the fluval shrimp soil as well as inert in different tanks.

Both of the first two products are available from our sponsors :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
guntash Be nice I'm new here

guntash

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks. I have heard good reports about Benibachi too, but also that some users of Benibachi have quite a low PH (in the 5's), which I don't really want. Is that true? Is it also true that planted tanks don't do as well with Benibachi? I was also wondering if it leaks ammonia?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bunnybom Shrimp Keeper

Bunnybom

Posted
Posted

I reset my 3ft tank with Black Earth Premium soil and Benibachi powder soil 2 weeks ago.

I used R/O water to fill my tank and also as change water.

On second day WP was pH 7.2 GH 7 NH3.NH4 1.25ppm NO3 a little bit.

Then again on 5th day pH6.3 GH9 and second grade level of ammonia and NO3.

I havent check the WP for a week so not sure how it changed.

Seems like either of the soil is producing ammonia, just not sure which one is.

Also my cherries are dying one by one due failure in molting because of high GH level.

Ps. Im suspecting API water parameter testers(NO3, NH3.NH4) might be faulty as those gave me 0 reading while Tetra products gave me a bits of each. In which i think is more reliable 'cause it doesn't make sense that there non nitrate nitrite and ammonia during water cycling.

Need a investigation on this!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hyzenthlay Shrimp Keeper

Hyzenthlay

Posted
Posted

I've used black earth premium on both my shrimp tanks and I'm happy with it. Doesn't buffer quite as much as I've heard some of the others do once it has settled down. Just keep an eye on the ph when you are cycling the tank as if the water has no buffer it can get too low for the bacteria.

My large tank (the longest established) now stays around ph 6.5 Gh 6 Kh 0.

In my experience the black earth releases very little to no ammonia by itself. Definitely not enough to cycle a tank. I used bottled ammonia to cycle mine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
guntash Be nice I'm new here

guntash

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks. I have an established existing tank, but just want to change the substrate in it. What is the best way to do this? I will use the existing filter media with good bacteria to seed the new tank, but will I need to let it run a full cycle (like a brand new tank) to be ready?

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

    • sdlTBfanUK
      Finally set up the 30L Shrimp Tank

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      Time for another update! The PH this morning is 6 and KH 0-1 (you can't measure zero obviously). I plan to check everything tomorrow and then a water change on satuday. At the moment the TDS is 190 which should drop to 170 after a water change and then 150ish after the following/next weeks water change. Last time I checked GH it was 6, but again I will do ALL the tests tomorrow. I had to resort to using a PH/KH- product (AQUACID) to get to where these parameters are now but as the water I use has PH6, GH0 and KH0 I assume/hope I won't need to use that from here on, but will see if the parameters stay stable for the next week and have a PH alert disc in the tank which should indicate any significant change. I don't like using these sort of products as a general rule and wouldn't if there were any shrimps in situ and that product has raised the TDS at about .5TDS per drop. I may well order some blue bolts towards the end of next week (the road to the house will be closed for a month from 3rd June so it is next week or wait another 6 weeks) and see how that goes. I plan to drip acclimate them overnight this time so as to not rush that as it shouldn't get cold indoors overnight anyway this time of year. This all depends on the tank parameters staying stable for the next week (aside from the mentioned TDS adjustments with the water changes), though the GH  may drop a tiny bit with using just RO to reduce the TDS but that is fine, and even could be a bonus. I did manage to find some nice floating plant that I had before (good old ebay), and will try and get a photo of that at some point to attach, Azolla red I think it is called? Anyway, keeping my fingers crossed for now but all appears to be going well at this point! Snails seem to be doing well at least.   
    • beanbag
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By beanbag · Posted

      That shrimp itself survived the molt just fine, but left about half dozen eggs still in the shell. I haven't measured KH in a really long time, but assume it is zero since I don't have any rocks besides a few small pieces of lava rock.  Maybe you have unwanted rocks in your tank?  My tank is the "long" style which I really like because I have a HMF on one end, and a pump outlet spout that shoots water all the way to the other end.  I have no idea how many shimp it can support because I don't really understand waste management in a tank.  Shrimp poop eventually turns into mulm, but then what?
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Hydra

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      As at time of this post the SL Aqua is available from this UK website, https://gbeeshrimp.co.uk/product/z1/
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Hydra & Planaria shrimp safe removal.

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      Just in case someone may be looking for the SL Aqua it is available from this UK website at time of this post, https://gbeeshrimp.co.uk/product/z1/  
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      Thats a great photo, beautiful blue bolt, I hope it survived the molt without dropping the eggs! I think I can just about see some black dots (eyes) on the central egg but can't be 100% sure. I used to (and plan to again) do weekly water change of 10-15% but if you do too large or quick (not drip in new water) that would likely trigger a molt. What KH are they in, my new setup is sitting at (and refusing to budge) KH 3 and PH 7.5 so I may have to settle for neocaridina shrimp this time as opposed to the caridina I want, though not looking/deciding just yet, give the tank a bit more of a run in! Tap water here starts at kH 14, tds 320, when filtered goes to KH 0 and PH 6 but when put in the tank keeps going to KH3 and PH 7.5 despite 3 x 50% water changes???? You may be at 'maximum capacity' with only 20L tank especially if the tank is a cube type rather than shallow type?
×
×
  • Create New...