what color substrate for CRS

tennesseemom

tennesseemom

Shrimp Herder
Nov 16, 2007
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Nashville, TN
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I'm going to set up my extra 10 gallon for plants and cherry shrimp. What color sand or gravel is best to see them? would they prefer sand or gravel? I have been to petshrimp, and I believe they said that leaf litter is best, but I'd really like something on the bottom, then add the few leaves every once and a while as suggested on the forums here.
 
Gravel, and black contrats the best. But get dull gravel not the shrap stuff, and make sure no copper is in it. Also you can put leaf litter over it but leaf litter erodes.
 
Their colors seem to be brighter with a darker substrate. The oak leaf litter does break down over time, but its easy to maintain.
 
What exactly is "leaf litter" anyway? I don't have any oak trees around, we do have maple an poplar, hickory and redcedar. Can it be any hardwood, brown leaf? do you crumble it up? Maybe its something my pleco in my other tank would like too?
 
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The oak leaves work best because they are more leathery in texture and hold up longer. I leave the leaves whole and prep then like you would driftwood (a good long boil). You must be careful to collect only dead, fallen leaves that have not been exposed to pesticides or fertilizers. The shrimp feed on the leaves and the microorganisms that grow on them. The leaves also release mild tannins into the water. They can be a pain in the butt to get to stay still in the tank, but the fish/inverts really like them.
 
tennesseemom said:
ok great! thanks for the info!
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For CRS, you'll want darker color substrate to enhance their colors. ADA Aquasoil Amazonia works well because it also buffers the pH at about 6.5, perfect for them. Make sure you test your water for ammonia when you first start using the Aquasoil, it usually causes an ammonia spike for 1-3 weeks.
 
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