Red Cherry Shrimp tank Set-up!

[RnLGG]

So I'm going to be making a stand for my 34g long tank soon, hopefully starting this weekend. I'm going to move everything from my 10g over to my new 34g, and I'd still like to have something in the 10g when I'm able to set it up again, so I instantly thought Red Cherry Shrimp!
Amano shrimp were the first aquatic pets I had when I started fish keeping, I've always loved shrimp.
So I was wondering what I would need for the Red Cherry Shrimp!
When I have the stand made for the bigger tank and have it all set up and running, I'm going to hopefully be able to start the 10g again.
the tank would have new gravel (I heard black gravel makes the shrimp more colorful!)
and new water, but would I need to cycle the tank as long if the bacteria only needs to build up in the gravel? I have a aquaclear 20 filter that is in the 10g right now.
I'd like to have the shrimp breed, so I need a heater right? I'm going to put a net over the intake for the filter as well.
I'm going to put java moss and java fern into the tank too.
So if you have any suggestions on what I can do, it'll be a great help!

 

[mfdrookie516]

I'd say sand would be better, but gravel is fine. Lots of plants, needs to be very heavily planted to give them plenty of hiding spots. no heater necessary unless your room temp gets below 60 degrees. shouldnt even need to worry about covering the intake for the filter unless its just massively oversized for the tank

 

[RnLGG]

I'd say sand would be better, but gravel is fine. Lots of plants, needs to be very heavily planted to give them plenty of hiding spots. no heater necessary unless your room temp gets below 60 degrees. shouldnt even need to worry about covering the intake for the filter unless its just massively oversized for the tank

Okay, that's good about the heater, because I would have needed to buy one! Getting sand seems good, or finer gravel if I can't find it.
About the intake, before when I got white cloud minnows when they were pretty small, a few ended up in the filter, but they were fine when the got bigger. I'm worried about the shrimp fry getting sucked into the filter, not the adults.
Thank you for the quick reply!

 

[7Enigma]

I'm going to have to disagree with mfdrookie516 on just about everything.

Definately want to cover the intake. Even better than netting is to get another foam insert for the Aquaclear 20. They sell them in packs of 3 for like $2. Cut a slit in the side to the middle and jam the foam onto the intake. You've just converted your Aquaclear to a pseudo-sponge filter. No chance of sucking up shrimp and more importantly you'll see them climbing all over the foam feeding off the debris and microflora that builds up.

IMO a heater is also a necessity for shrimp. The possible temp fluctuations for (relatively) fragile creatures just isn't worth it. From my understanding (check out petshrimp.com) the warmer the temps the faster they breed and mature as well so seeing as how you're interested in that I'd keep the tank in tropical range.

I'd recommend against plants. Or low numbers of slow growers (anubias, java fern, java moss). Shrimp feed off the microflora/fauna in a tank. These same microbes feed off of the ammonia produced by the shrimp. Having large numbers of plants competes for the ammonia and you can have shrimp starving in a heavily planted tank and not even know it. Most people with shrimp only tanks only rarely have to actually feed them, the bulk of their food is naturally produced in the tank.

I'd also not go with sand. Shrimp breeders typically go with a leaf litter substrate (think the ground of a forest). As mentioned above the food they eat grows on surfaces, and a favorite is the naturally decaying leaves from certain trees.

Plants also can become problematic if you suddenly have them die off and rot in the tank. If you're not dosing ferts and not feeding much they can become nutrient deficient and cause ammonia issues that can quickly wipe out your tank. I'd stay away from them.

If I was setting up this tank as my own I'd go with a leaf litter substrate (oak leaves soaked in water for a couple days/weeks seem to be preferred as they decay slowly), some gnarly driftwood to give places for the shrimp to hide and explore, and that's it.

HTH, and please check out that website I mentioned as the members are very helpful.

 

[RnLGG]

I'm going to have to disagree with mfdrookie516 on just about everything.

Definately want to cover the intake. Even better than netting is to get another foam insert for the Aquaclear 20. They sell them in packs of 3 for like $2. Cut a slit in the side to the middle and jam the foam onto the intake. You've just converted your Aquaclear to a pseudo-sponge filter. No chance of sucking up shrimp and more importantly you'll see them climbing all over the foam feeding off the debris and microflora that builds up.

IMO a heater is also a necessity for shrimp. The possible temp fluctuations for (relatively) fragile creatures just isn't worth it. From my understanding (check out petshrimp.com) the warmer the temps the faster they breed and mature as well so seeing as how you're interested in that I'd keep the tank in tropical range.

I'd recommend against plants. Or low numbers of slow growers (anubias, java fern, java moss). Shrimp feed off the microflora/fauna in a tank. These same microbes feed off of the ammonia produced by the shrimp. Having large numbers of plants competes for the ammonia and you can have shrimp starving in a heavily planted tank and not even know it. Most people with shrimp only tanks only rarely have to actually feed them, the bulk of their food is naturally produced in the tank.

I'd also not go with sand. Shrimp breeders typically go with a leaf litter substrate (think the ground of a forest). As mentioned above the food they eat grows on surfaces, and a favorite is the naturally decaying leaves from certain trees.

Plants also can become problematic if you suddenly have them die off and rot in the tank. If you're not dosing ferts and not feeding much they can become nutrient deficient and cause ammonia issues that can quickly wipe out your tank. I'd stay away from them.

If I was setting up this tank as my own I'd go with a leaf litter substrate (oak leaves soaked in water for a couple days/weeks seem to be preferred as they decay slowly), some gnarly driftwood to give places for the shrimp to hide and explore, and that's it.

HTH, and please check out that website I mentioned as the members are very helpful.

Thanks!
Hopefully I can set this tank up in the future, probably won't be for a few months though, I'm going to be working on the 34g as soon as I get it running.

 

[Aquarium1]

I disagree about not keeping plants. RCS eat algae. Many people keep them in planted tanks all the time. Algae even grows on plants. Also if you don't have enough algae you can feed them blanched zucchini. I think you can continue to use your gravel as well, unless you wanted to get pool filter sand, which is another option, but gravel is fine. If you keep plants make sure you provide the right requirements for those plants. It'd probably be best to stay with low to low/medium light plants with easy growth demands. Here's a good site Cherry Red Shrimp, Neocaridina denticulata sinensis Profile, with care, maintenance requirements and breeding information for your tropical fish "a planted
tank is higly reccomended".

 

[lake_tuna]

Here are what you need to do:

1. get a heater and set it higher than 75F
2. cover filter intake with stocking (use rubber band to hold it)
3. get some plants, or moss at the least
4. feed them a tiny bit regularly if not enough algae is present in tank (i.e. tank not established)
5. watch the shrimp settle and wait for babies

 

[7Enigma]

RCS are omnivores. That means they eat both plant and animal matter. Algae unless your tank is completely dark is going to grow regardless of whether you have plants or not. The fauna (animal matter) will be reduced, however, when you have plants present as they feed on the same ammonia that the plants do. Seriously go check out that website I mentioned. Those guys are the pros at keeping and BREEDING shrimp. The site creator, Mustafa, is credited with bringing and breeding many species of shrimp that were never in the US prior. I'd listen to his and the other members on there that keep large varieties of breeding colonies (just look at some of their sig's).

Also RCS are probably the most hardy shrimp next to maybe Amano. So they will survive in less than ideal conditions but not thrive to the level of "rabbits" that so many people describe them as being.

The natural habitats of these shrimp are nothing like what a planted tank looks like. The plants are nice if you have them in a mixed tank containing fish that would eat them, but it's not ideal.

HTH

 

[Aquarium1]

"The Red Cherry Shrimp is an Omnivore.* They are decent algae eaters and if sufficient algae is not present foods intended for aquarium fish and invertebrates can be used to supplement their diet.* Another great supplement is blanched (boiled until soft) vegetables"
Cherry Shrimp - TheShrimpFarm.com

they usually eat algae which will grow whether you have plants or not. If they don't have algae they'll eat fish food and blanched vegetables. Biofilm grows on almost anything as well.

 

[lake_tuna]

I agree, you don't need plants, but the tank looks just so much better with them. Driftwood is nice, too.

 

[RnLGG]

Okay, thanks for all the comments guys! I'm looking forward to setting up this tank in the future!