New to Crystal Red Shrimp!

[RevLine]

This is Nori =] my first CRS. Went to the LFS to pick up some but this was the only one left. Supposedly they'll be getting them again on Monday. They were out of hardness test kits so I'm trying my luck with 25% tap (very hard, pH 7.5) and 75% RO water without using remineralizer.
The tank's pH is 7.2 at 74F in an unheated, filtered rimless with no top (Would putting a cover on top keep temperature more stable in the tank? Because it drops 1-2 degrees at night). If I can successfully keep her during the weekend I'll definitely get a few more!

 

[TheresaM]

Good luck, I haven't been bold enough to try them yet!

 

[RevLine]

Theresa, with the amount of care and detail I see in your tanks it should be no problem for you! in general their temp range is slightly lower, acidic to around neutral pH and some intricate stuff with GH and TDS but it's much easier to manage with RO.

They really are beautiful to look at in person!

 

[TheresaM]

Theresa, with the amount of care and detail I see in your tanks it should be no problem for you! in general their temp range is slightly lower, acidic to around neutral pH and some intricate stuff with GH and TDS but it's much easier to manage with RO.

They really are beautiful to look at in person!

Thanks! I'll see how it goes with my tigers before getting more adventurous.

Looking forward to updates on yours though, they really are pretty shrimp!

 

[RevLine]

2 days later and she's doing fine. Actively picking at stuff in the plants.

Did some research on grading and apparently this one's an SS class with a "no entry" sign pattern (hinomaru) on her back. Higher grades mean more sensitive shrimp but I feel like this is holding up in my water conditions pretty well. Excited to get more in a few days!

the real test won't be until a month or two down the road whether they breed or not.

 

[TheresaM]

How many do you have now?

Do you use any supplements with your shrimp (alder cones, IAL, mineral balls, etc)?

I definitely want to get more tigers, such interesting colors and markings!

 

[RevLine]

still only 1. i sold my mix of 10 cherry/rili shrimp, still kept the 2 micro crabs though. the store said they won't have another crs batch until maybe monday. as for supplements, i only use indian almond leaves. just keeping my water parameters as stable as possible.

 

[TheresaM]

still only 1. i sold my mix of 10 cherry/rili shrimp, still kept the 2 micro crabs though. the store said they won't have another crs batch until maybe monday. as for supplements, i only use indian almond leaves. just keeping my water parameters as stable as possible.

Why did you decide to sell the rcs?

 

[RevLine]

Why did you decide to sell the rcs?

i mean they were healthy and everything, but i'm changing my water parameters to better suit crs. i've learned that crs prefer softer, more acidic water while cherries prefer harder, alkaline water. plus working with small tanks <2.5g, if they do start breeding i can't support a mixed species colony of more than 30 shrimp without changing the water very frequently due to bioload.

i've actually had an initial interest in CRS, but opted to raise cherries first to learn how to take care of dwarf shrimp.

 

[RevLine]

Just got a shipment of 8+ today. Supposedly S-SS grades of different sizes. a lot of them have the patterns but their colors or nearly clear/pinkish. Almost no solid white. this is normal right? due to shipping stress? They'll color up once i acclimate them to my tank?


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[TheresaM]

Don't know about CRS but I've had RCS go from almost clear to full, strong color in a very short amount of time.

 

[RevLine]

Ah. Thank you, Theresa, that's very reassuring!

 

[TheresaM]

Hope that's all it is. Make sure you post some pics!

 

[RevLine]

Here's the original Nori with her new friends. And some are twice as big as her! She became extremely active once I added the new tank mates. Almost like she was overjoyed that she wasn't alone anymore and climbed on quite a few of them and rode their backs.

The younger newcomers colored up very well, some getting brilliant white like the one on the right. Most of the bigger ones are still getting comfortable.


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[TheresaM]

Nice! Glad to see/hear that they're settling in well