Do you QT fish for newly cycled tank?

[new2betas]

hhmmmmm.....so I may go with panda cories and some cherry shrimp. I don't even know if my lfs has the cherry shrimp, I know I have seen the ghost shrimp though. Are the cherries more hardy? I have seen the pandas though. Thanks!!

Also --- If the pandas are in the same tank at the lfs do I just buy one and QT it or can I buy around three and QT them together (in a 2 gallon)?

[SpeedEuphoria]

Cherry shrimp are more hardy, they also breed in fresh water easily(have been called cockroaches of the aquarium). Ghost shrimp do not breed in FW(well maybe one variation, so not likely). Cherry shrimp give birth to live shrimp not eggs thats why its easy to feed the babies and they have a much better chance of surviving then eggs/larva. I'm getting some RCS donated from a great member on here for just the price of shipping. At 1st shrimp didnt seem too exciting to me, but after having some ghost shrimp, they deff are exciting to watch(sometimes hard to spot). I would like a 10gallon with just cherry shrimp and prob will if I upgrade to a 20G in the future. I've never seen them at my LFS but they say they do get them from time to time, I was considering getting 10 from aquabid but got a better offer. Also since the breed and the babies are very small I'm sure some will get eaten, also when you buy them they are normally very young b/c they handle stress better. So make sure they have good hiding spots, Java moss is normally shipped with them and should help. I have 2(that I can find) less than 1wk old fry currently that are hiding in it. In the future to control population I plan to remove some hiding spots so that more young get eaten. It is sad when some baby gets eaten, but I dont have the room for everyone, so natures way of survival of the fittest works for me.

I dont see a prob with getting 3 corries in the 2 gallon for QT, heck people put goldfish in a 1G bowl, I had one for over a year like that when I was young(parents didnt know any better either). Just keep up on water changes

When deciding to skip the pandas for mine I also took into consideration that the shrimp and corries are both bottom feeders, I didnt want them to fight for food. I can tell you that the ghost shrimp would hold there own against adult guppies, they would not let go of the food even when being pestered by the guppies, they would just try to swim away. So you may want to ask others about corries and shrimp, I dont think it will be as much as an issues as I first thought.

[Purrbox]

Originally Posted by new2betas

I do like the dwarf cories also...but my lfs doesn't carry them. Could I ask them to get some or should I order some online.

Are the cherries more hardy? I have seen the pandas though. Thanks!!

If the pandas are in the same tank at the lfs do I just buy one and QT it or can I buy around three and QT them together (in a 2 gallon)?

I would ask your LFS to try to order them in. They do seem to be easier to get at certain times of the year, so don't be surprised if you have to wait awhile. If you're going to order fish online, I find it's best to find some other people locally to go in on a group order. This makes the shipping much more affordable. I've been in a couple of group plant orders and one group fish order through my local fish club, and they've all been great experiances.

Cherry Red Shrimp are probably the hardiest FW shrimp out there and is also very easy to breed. Basically if they're happy and healthy they're breeding. The easiest way to get ahold of them is through the boards. Lots of us keep a colonly and then sell off extras when things get a bit crowded. Expect to pay about $1.25 per shrimp plus shipping when buying from a hobbiest (a little over $20 for a dozen). Unless you're lucky enough to find some for the price of shipping like SpeedEuphoria. I personally wouldn't spend more than $25 for a dozen shipped from a hobbiest. If packaged properly they are fine being shipped Priority. At your LFS you can expect to pay $3.50-$5.00 each.

I'd probably go ahead and get 3 cories at once and be prepared to do water changes if necessary. As long as they are under an 1" when you get them, they should be fine short term in the smaller quarters. They really do better in groups, and if you could add a second batch of 3 down the road they'll thank you for it.

[new2betas]

Joy - how many CRS should I try to get for a 10 gallon tank? And, if they breed alot will my tank get overrun with them? I will try posting in the classifieds here to see if anyone wants to get rid of any also....thanks, as always, for the suggestions!

[Purrbox]

I started my 10 gallon colony with a dozen shrimp, though you could get by with a half dozen in a pinch. Since you'll have other fish in there with them, it'll be awhile before they need to be thinned, though depending on how much of a taste your Betta and Cories have for the shrimp they may never need to be thinned. The critical stage will be while the shrimp are getting established, if they don't have enough cover they could end up being an expensive snack.

[new2betas]

Originally Posted by Purrbox

I started my 10 gallon colony with a dozen shrimp, though you could get by with a half dozen in a pinch. Since you'll have other fish in there with them, it'll be awhile before they need to be thinned, though depending on how much of a taste your Betta and Cories have for the shrimp they may never need to be thinned. The critical stage will be while the shrimp are getting established, if they don't have enough cover they could end up being an expensive snack.

I think I have enough cover for them. I have a small cave a few plants and some java moss on the way.....so I will look at a dozen. Also, they wouldn't also need to be QT'd would they? I will take updated pics soon and post them.

[Purrbox]

QT shouldn't be necessary for shrimp. The most important thing is to ensure that they are going into a stable and established aquarium, since they are much more sensitive to spikes in Ammonia and Nitrites than most fish.

[new2betas]

Originally Posted by Purrbox

QT shouldn't be necessary for shrimp. The most important thing is to ensure that they are going into a stable and established aquarium, since they are much more sensitive to spikes in Ammonia and Nitrites than most fish.

Will do, Joy. I just checked my levels again and ammonia is still around a .25 and the same with the nitrites .25. When will they hit 0??? I am also going to post a new updated picture of my tank in the pix section.

[SpeedEuphoria]

Yeah the Cherry shrimp are expensive unless you find a deal. No QT necessary as shrimp issues dont affect fish AFAIK.

Also try not to confuse CRS(Chrystal red shrimp) with RCS(red cherry shrimp), as they are different

As far as how many, 6 or 10 should be good to start, people that bred them in 10G shrimp only setups report 100-150 shrimp in a 10G. Some say they kind of regulate there population somewhat by not breeding as much when there are lots of them. I think in a community tank removing hiding places should work good to keep the population down if needed, at least I hope. I just saw 5 guppy fry hiding in one small bunch of java moss in my tank, so in the future I may have to remove all this javamoss from my tank if the population gets out of hand

[kimo]

Try to find some naja grass (guppy grass). That is even better than Java moss for RCS.


Always quaranteen new arrivals at least 3 weeks. They may look healthy in the store but the next adjustment will be to your water. Sometimes they don't adjust that fast and need help. If they are carrying an internal parasite you have plenty of time to treat and not spread it to your main aquarium.