I want a second tank. Maybe shrimp?

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EvanWells

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 24, 2015
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Hello, I have a good sized freshwater tank that I love. Im thinking of buying or building a smaller tank for the other room. I want something unique. Can someone tell me what my options are. I don't know anything about shrimp. Would they be a good bet? And if so, can someone tell me everything i'd need. Thanks in advance! This website is solely responsible for the happiness of my fish. Much love and respect!
-Evan
 
No pressure, yeah? Depends on the shrimp, really. How small are you thinking and how many are you planning? I aim for 8 stable per gallon (juveniles beyond this number will be removed and taken up the street to LFS) for neocaridina, I've read 10-12 elsewhere but I prefer to go conservative. Caridina get a little bit larger, I wouldn't go more than 6/gal.

Any way you slice it, my firm kit consists of heater to keep things at 78, air either by stone or filter aeration but mind the turbulence, natural pH lowering items like alder cones, Indian almond leaves and cholla wood which all shrimp seem to adore to play on until they're soft enough to eat unless you have naturally low pH water, gh/kh testing kit so you can avoid molting issues-I keep limestone in my tank to help there. TDS is also fairly important and the meters aren't hard to find. I keep Marimo moss balls for them to nibble and Java/Christmas moss for them to feel safe enough to breed in. I have a Whisper filter I put the foot of a new, rinsed stocking on to keep anyone from being impeller bait. Dietary needs are pretty basic, algae + calcium.

If you're going HMF, you won't need to consider either air or filter safety precautions provided you have a minimum 30ppi foam which is dense enough to keep fry out, but lets a good flow through. Swiss Tropicals is the only supplier I've found in the USA for Poret foam, which isn't chemically treated to be flame retardant. Fancy Shrimp on YouTube has a video for DIY, his is a relatively small tank specifically set up for shrimp.

Specifics on chemistry will vary slightly by what shrimp you decide to go with. I'm sure you'll have greater success in getting a shopping list once you've decided ?


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No pressure, yeah? Depends on the shrimp, really. How small are you thinking and how many are you planning? I aim for 8 stable per gallon (juveniles beyond this number will be removed and taken up the street to LFS) for neocaridina, I've read 10-12 elsewhere but I prefer to go conservative. Caridina get a little bit larger, I wouldn't go more than 6/gal.

Any way you slice it, my firm kit consists of heater to keep things at 78, air either by stone or filter aeration but mind the turbulence, natural pH lowering items like alder cones, Indian almond leaves and cholla wood which all shrimp seem to adore to play on until they're soft enough to eat unless you have naturally low pH water, gh/kh testing kit so you can avoid molting issues-I keep limestone in my tank to help there. TDS is also fairly important and the meters aren't hard to find. I keep Marimo moss balls for them to nibble and Java/Christmas moss for them to feel safe enough to breed in. I have a Whisper filter I put the foot of a new, rinsed stocking on to keep anyone from being impeller bait. Dietary needs are pretty basic, algae + calcium.

If you're going HMF, you won't need to consider either air or filter safety precautions provided you have a minimum 30ppi foam which is dense enough to keep fry out, but lets a good flow through. Swiss Tropicals is the only supplier I've found in the USA for Poret foam, which isn't chemically treated to be flame retardant. Fancy Shrimp on YouTube has a video for DIY, his is a relatively small tank specifically set up for shrimp.

Specifics on chemistry will vary slightly by what shrimp you decide to go with. I'm sure you'll have greater success in getting a shopping list once you've decided ?


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I am thinking of about a 20G tank. Or a 29/30g Long. I have a perfect place for a tank around that size. I know literally nothing about keeping shrimp. I have a tropical community tank and that's all I know. lol
 
I kept a community tank a while back before things went all willy nilly for me. I had a second, smaller tank for a few more aggressive fish. There are examples of pretty much everything on the forums here, never mind the rest of the Internet. Maybe take the time to peruse before deciding. Could be fun to scape an otherwise empty tank, then decide what to put in it.


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You should consider starting out with Red Cherry Shrimp. (RCS)

If you want cheap Shrimp look at Ghost Shrimp.

RCS will breed and are very colorful. They do best with Otos or Celestial Pearl Danios. Most fish will eat or harass them.

Just search Cherry Shrimp here or Google. Tons of articles.


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ImageUploadedByTapatalk1446533234.695404.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1446533288.072987.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1446533313.833439.jpg

My 10g Shrimp jungle. It's a work in progress. I had up to 100 RCS in there starting with 15 Shrimp. Adding fish reduced Shrimplet survival.


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View attachment 280094View attachment 280095View attachment 280096

My 10g Shrimp jungle. It's a work in progress. I had up to 100 RCS in there starting with 15 Shrimp. Adding fish reduced Shrimplet survival.


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There it is - a shrimp jungle. Ideal habit at for shrimp, more so if your also have fish.
I have RCS, don't ask how many - hundreds. Started with 20 After a few false starts with only 5 at a time. Over 70 tetras can't even keep the numbers down. I even keep them in the QT, which means I can't medicate (sounds daft) but since then all fish quarantine without problems and fatten up on the babies. Excellent condition with a safe home grown live food source.
ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1446592556.812836.jpg
My QT with shrimp
ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1446592628.080387.jpg
My QT with shrine and cardinals.


Sent from my iPad in West Yorkshire, U.K.
 
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