Hey, new here, so please excuse formatting issues.

I've had a colony of blue dreams, black roses, and carbon rilis for over a year now. I tried CBS/CRS mischlings for a while back, they we're fine for the first little bit, but I added in some nice Cholla for them and everything in the tank died within 2 hours, even pest snails.

It's been a while since that tragedy, and I want to make use of my water parameters and the salty shrimp gH+ I still have.

Down to business:

I don't plan on using RO. Tap water varies throughout the year, but I can get between 20-40 TDS year round with a simple filter, otherwise it's between 30-55.

kH: 0/1

gH: 3

TDS: 20-60

pH: 6.4-6.6

Water report states less than 0.0003 lead, copper, etc.

So, a few questions, sorry it took so long to get there, lol:

1.) How do these shrimp survive with 0kH? Don't they need some to build their shells?

2.) I kinda want to jump all the way to blue bolts and pintos, probably filterless (done this many many times, including with my wild bettas), do I need an air stone?

3.) Planning on a planted tank, should I go for ADA Amazona? I'm worried about plummeting my pH, I've had issues with pH swings in the past due to no/low kH.

4.) Do you think I could pull off keeping them with just tap water and salty shrimp? Should I go back to some mischlings or just CBS/CRS again? It's been a few months since I had any Caridina aside from Amanos.

5 hours ago, Rtessy said:

1.) How do these shrimp survive with 0kH? Don't they need some to build their shells?

2.) I kinda want to jump all the way to blue bolts and pintos, probably filterless (done this many many times, including with my wild bettas), do I need an air stone?

3.) Planning on a planted tank, should I go for ADA Amazona? I'm worried about plummeting my pH, I've had issues with pH swings in the past due to no/low kH.

4.) Do you think I could pull off keeping them with just tap water and salty shrimp? Should I go back to some mischlings or just CBS/CRS again? It's been a few months since I had any Caridina aside from Amanos.

1) KH at 0 is not an issue. The Calcium & Magnesium required for shell development is measured in GH. KH measures predominantly carbonates, that impact water parameters like pH. So you need to maintain GH rather than KH. 

2) an airstone is strictly not necessary, especially with a low population. But there are added benefits to an airstone. It helps break the water surface tension to allow greater oxygen transfer. The more oxygen you have in the water the healthier the shrimp are going to be. The airstone helps prevent scum from developing on the surface of the water as well. I suggest you add something that will break the water surface ... an air stone or a filter outlet.

3) ADA is a very good plant substrate. But there are also many choices equally as good if not better. Brand availability depends on your location. Add your location in your profile, so we can help with suggestions based on your location. I personally use CAL Labs Black Earth Premium, which i find better than ADA. Less ammonia, doesn't get soft as fast, and is cleaner with no debris like ADA can have. 

4) You have really good tapwater by the looks of it. It's so low in TDS. Great for tanks. It doesn't beat RO or rainwater, but you can certainly be successful breeding shrimps and fish in your tap water and salty shrimp. Which salty shrimp version you use depends on which type of shrimp you decide on keeping. Use Salty Shrimp GH/KH+ for Neo Caridinas like cherries and for Tigers. Use Salty Shrimp GH+ for CRS/Taiwan Bees .

19 minutes ago, jayc said:

1) KH at 0 is not an issue. The Calcium & Magnesium required for shell development is measured in GH. KH measures predominantly carbonates, that impact water parameters like pH. So you need to maintain GH rather than KH. 

2) an airstone is strictly not necessary, especially with a low population. But there are added benefits to an airstone. It helps break the water surface tension to allow greater oxygen transfer. The more oxygen you have in the water the healthier the shrimp are going to be. The airstone helps prevent scum from developing on the surface of the water as well. I suggest you add something that will break the water surface ... an air stone or a filter outlet.

3) ADA is a very good plant substrate. But there are also many choices equally as good if not better. Brand availability depends on your location. Add your location in your profile, so we can help with suggestions based on your location. I personally use CAL Labs Black Earth Premium, which i find better than ADA. Less ammonia, doesn't get soft as fast, and is cleaner with no debris like ADA can have. 

4) You have really good tapwater by the looks of it. It's so low in TDS. Great for tanks. It doesn't beat RO or rainwater, but you can certainly be successful breeding shrimps and fish in your tap water and salty shrimp. Which salty shrimp version you use depends on which type of shrimp you decide on keeping. Use Salty Shrimp GH/KH+ for Neo Caridinas like cherries and for Tigers. Use Salty Shrimp GH+ for CRS/Taiwan Bees .

Thanks man!!

Yeah, I really love my tap water, makes breeding wild bettas a breeze. That's why I was leaning more towards shrimp that would thrive in those conditions.

I still have a large amount of salty shrimp gH+ left, since I only had those poor mischlings for a few weeks.

And thanks for explaining everything. Do you think I'd have a good chance of keeping blue bolts and such alive?

3 minutes ago, Rtessy said:

Do you think I'd have a good chance of keeping blue bolts and such alive?

Yep, I reckon you could. RO + Salty Shrimp GH+ is still going to be better, but your tapwater is pretty good. I'm sure it's great to drink as well.

Just make sure you cycle the new tank properly BEFORE adding any shrimp. But that journey is for another thread.

Start up a post when you get going and people can give you tips as you build and cycle the new tank.

 

1 hour ago, jayc said:

Yep, I reckon you could. RO + Salty Shrimp GH+ is still going to be better, but your tapwater is pretty good. I'm sure it's great to drink as well.

Just make sure you cycle the new tank properly BEFORE adding any shrimp. But that journey is for another thread.

Start up a post when you get going and people can give you tips as you build and cycle the new tank.

 

Awesome, thanks man! And no worries, I know how to cycle a filterless tank ?

Always a good reminder though, I see that mistake way too often. It's at least a month away, since the tank I was planning on using turned into a QT, lol. 

14 minutes ago, Rtessy said:

I was planning on using turned into a QT, lol. 

LoL! Every time I set up a quarantine tank, I have have used it to permanently house something.

I do that too !