Coverting 20gal to a shrimp tank.

[Bdonaldson]

Need help with a proper Setup for shrimp. My 20gal is heavily planted. I added some shrimp but they have been hiding since i put them in there. I have a couple of rocks in there and just added dwarf hair grass last week before I put the shrimp in.

Later i found out that shrimp do not like bright lights so I downgraded my light from a finnex ray to a regular light. Is there anything else I should be doing? I may have to remove some of the plants due to the lighting downgrade. What do you all think?

I moved the few fish I had in there over to my 125 and now i only have 2 cory cats and 2 Chinese algae eaters other than the shrimp. I will upload some picks later. When I get home.

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

Well first thing, I know that the CAE's can get super aggressive so the shrimp might just be hiding from them, lol. since you only have fish in there that graze the substrate as shrimp do, the shrimp might be intimidated by them since they are a lot bigger than them and they might be hurting the shrimp, I am not sure. Just an idea. Also, what is the water parameters? What type of shrimp?

 

[Bdonaldson]

Here is a picture of the tank.

 

[Bdonaldson]

Well first thing, I know that the CAE's can get super aggressive so the shrimp might just be hiding from them, lol. since you only have fish in there that graze the substrate as shrimp do, the shrimp might be intimidated by them since they are a lot bigger than them and they might be hurting the shrimp, I am not sure. Just an idea. Also, what is the water parameters? What type of shrimp?

I can try putting my Cory's and the CAE's in another tank and see if the shrimp make an appearance. They are baby orange eye blue tigers. They are between 1/4" to 1/2" in size.

I will test the parameters tomorrow and post results. I am also doing pressurized co2. And since I re did the scape and cleaned it prior to putting in the shrimp it has been very cloudy. Can't seem to get it to clear up.

Thanks so much for the advise I really do appreciate it.

 

[Waam]

Here is a picture of the tank.




View attachment 171082

Is it just me, or does your water look extremely cloudy..? How often do you do water changes?

 

[Bdonaldson]

Is it just me, or does your water look extremely cloudy..? How often do you do water changes?

No it's not just you, It is very cloudy. I cleaned it last weekend before I put the shrimp in. I did a 35% water change twice only because there was a lot of stuff stirred up out of substrate when I vacuumed it. Now I can't seem to get it clear. I am not sure what I can put in there to clear it up with the co2 running.

 

[Waam]

No it's not just you, It is very cloudy. I cleaned it last weekend before I put the shrimp in. I did a 35% water change twice only because there was a lot of stuff stirred up out of substrate when I vacuumed it. Now I can't seem to get it clear. I am not sure what I can put in there to clear it up with the co2 running.

Have any activated carbon? I did roughly the same amount of water change as you in the past and it caused a bacterial bloom, but the carbon cleared it right up.

 

[Bdonaldson]

Have any activated carbon? I did roughly the same amount of water change as you in the past and it caused a bacterial bloom, but the carbon cleared it right up.

Ok I will try that today and let you know. Thanks so much for your help it is greatly appreciated.

 

[Bdonaldson]

Here are my test result:

Ammonia - 0
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
GH (Total hardness) - 75 soft
KH (Alkalinity) - 80 moderate
PH - 6.2

Do I need to make an adjustment?

 

[Berylla]

What temps? Shrimp like cooler water too. Most fish will prey on shrimp, so they are a no no for shrimp tanks except for cories, and bristlenose plecos, and nerite snails.

 

[Bdonaldson]

What temps? Shrimp like cooler water too. Most fish will prey on shrimp, so they are a no no for shrimp tanks except for cories, and bristlenose plecos, and nerite snails.

Temp is 78. The only fish I have in there is 1 Cory and two Chinese algae eaters which I am going to take out as soon as I can find them. Ordered some nerite snails but they are on back order. I will need to get a bristlenose pleco.

 

[Berylla]

I would only have 1 bristlenose in this small tank. They are a very high bioload and aggressive to their species. Although most advise buying 6 corycats, I would advise only 2 in your tank since you are buying a pleco. If they are the same species of cory, they will keep each other company well enough. I have two living in a 10 gallon for 3 years now.

 

[Bdonaldson]

I would only have 1 bristlenose in this small tank. They are a very high bioload and aggressive to their species. Although most advise buying 6 corycats, I would advise only 2 in your tank since you are buying a pleco. If they are the same species of cory, they will keep each other company well enough. I have two living in a 10 gallon for 3 years now.

Ok thanks. I have a snail problem in this tank. Would it be ok to put assassin snails in there or would they eat the shrimp?

 

[Berylla]

My guess that they are predatory and meat eaters and your shrimp, esp. babies.

 

[DragonFish71]

I would only have 1 bristlenose in this small tank. They are a very high bioload and aggressive to their species. Although most advise buying 6 corycats, I would advise only 2 in your tank since you are buying a pleco. If they are the same species of cory, they will keep each other company well enough. I have two living in a 10 gallon for 3 years now.

Bristlenose are actually the better pleco species for a shrimp tank. They stay smaller, the bio-load isn't as bad, and they are really only aggressive when spawning/raising fry or when another critter enters their territory.

I have an albino BN in a 20 long with shrimp and nano fish, he minds his own business.

 

[tiger terror]

I keep assassin snails in my shrimp tanks as I have a hefty mts population for them to feed on...have no issues with them affecting the shrimp population...

 

[Bdonaldson]

Any other way besides assassin snails to get rid of bad snails.

 

[Bdonaldson]

I keep assassin snails in my shrimp tanks as I have a hefty mts population for them to feed on...have no issues with them affecting the shrimp population...

Thanks good to know. Ignore last post we must have been posting at the same time.

 

[tiger terror]

Thanks good to know. Ignore last post we must have been posting at the same time.

Your welcome...keep in mind that this based on my experience with the setups I have currently running(3+yrs)...others within the forum may have varied experiences...

 

[Bdonaldson]

Your welcome...keep in mind that this based on my experience with the setups I have currently running(3+yrs)...others within the forum may have varied experiences...

Ok I will keep that in mind.