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Hello all, I am new to this forum and new to keeping Cardinia shrimp. I have successfully kept RCS (Neos) in the past but would like to explore the Cardinia world. While I have not locked down the type of cardinia, I really like how the lower grades of blue bolts look. I currently have 30cm Low Iron glass Cube tank. Before I go ahead and invest the things needed to support the 30cm cube tank with cardinia, I wanted to ask the first question on whether a 30cm tank (about 27litres) would be a good starting tank for a beginner/lowkey setup. Thank you very much in advance.

I started Taiwan Bees in a 15L tank (12L actual shrimp tank), so was under 30cm and had no problems. As JayC says RO water remineralised is important with Caridina shrimp. They are a lot more sensitive than neocaridina. The 'problem' with a small tank as I found out, is that if it works you will soon be over-run with shrimps as I had about 100 in about 3 months or so, from putting about 10 adult shrimp in the tank. It may be worth thinking about a different tank from the start as it will save a lot of work/time/money in the long run? If you do think about a change of tank I would go with one which has more horizontal space than height, as shrimps spend most time wandering at the bottom of the tank so the height is unnecessary and a bit of a waste when the same capacity can give you more base area. Looking forward to hearing how t all goes. Simon

ADA can last much more than 2 years if you use RO or even rain water and remineralise it with those Calcium/Magnesium mixes. I have ADA tanks that buffered for 5 years. 2-3cm might be too much for a 30cm tank. It might buffer pH too low. Start with no more than 2cm (maybe even 1.5cm), then check pH after cycling is complete. It's easier to add more substrate than to remove it. Yes, change it out completely. Perfect time for a complete tank clean and overhaul (except the filter). But as I mentioned, ADA will last a few years without the need for changing. The tank should bounce back relatively quickly if you don't clean or change the filter and media. Keep the filter running and recirculating into a bucket of old tank water to keep the bacteria alive while you clean out the tank and swap substrate. Of course, you have to remove all the shrimp in the tank first.

Hi @joemjd9, Welcome to SKFA. A 30cm tank is ok for starting out with a small population, but of course a 60cm tank would be even better. You will still be fine with a 30cm tank. Just take care with cycling the tank before adding any shrimp, and give them a consistent environment (ie. Water parameters). Get a good quality plant substrate and that will help keep pH and GH consistent. Any other questions, just ask .