Starter shrimp kit?

N

NickD

AC Members
May 2, 2008
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Maryland, USA
This is for you shrimp breeders (msjinkzd) out there. Today my 6 year old daughter saw msjinkzd's crystal shrimp pictures and immediately waned some. After I explained to her why we could get those for our existing tanks she decided she'd like to have a new tank just for shrimp. That's sounds like a great idea to me since I already have MTS. I'm talking about the syndrome, not the snails though I do have those also. We still need to convince mommy.

So assuming we're able to talk mommy into it, I'm thinking a 5 gal. My daughter wants the crystals (she had to choose one of the most expensive kind). I have some cherry reds in one of my existing tanks. I have a few questions.

1. Are the crystals as prolific as the cherry reds in terms of breeding?
2. Are there any tank kits that you would recommend for this project?
3. Do these shrimp need a heater?

Thanks.

EDIT: I thought the crystals and red cherry were both the same genus. I find that they are different genus. Does that mean they can not interbreed?
 
1. I don't know never having kept CRS.
2. No need for a "Kit", Tank, heater, filter with sponge over intake, light, done.
3. Yes.

Bump for others.

They can't interbreed. RCS are Neocardina.
 
1. Are the crystals as prolific as the cherry reds in terms of breeding? That depends, they are much more particular about temp, ph, etc than the neocaridina. Its taken me a long time to feel confident in my CRS project and I am just now starting to see real results.
2. Are there any tank kits that you would recommend for this project?I honestly think the bigger the better as the higher volume of water works in your favor for stability of parameters. These shrimp prefer softer waters with mid-6 pH and cooler waters of 70 or so. I have mine in a 30g. I have read of lots of people having success with them in smaller tanks, my preference is for larger.
3. Do these shrimp need a heater?most likely no, i have a heater in my tank for hte winter months because my tanks are in a basement.
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What is your source water pH? I have to use peat to treat my water to soften it down to 7 from 8. This is still well on the high range for keeping these shrimp and is probably the reason I don't have them coming out of my eyeballs like I do the neocaridina. They can be housed with cherry shrimp, or other neocaridina, but they have different preferences for parameters with the neocaridina liking slightly warmer water and doing well in slightly harder water than the caridina shrimp. Many have done it successfully with this being said. One way that many accomplish the parameters desirable for these shrimp is to use ADA aquasoil as the substrate. This will help to lower the pH. I have read that the soil can cause ammonia swings initially, so beware of that. I hope that this helps and tell your daughter she has great taste!!
 
msjinkzd said:
What is your source water pH? I have to use peat to treat my water to soften it down to 7 from 8.
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I've never tested the pH my source water. But in my tanks the pH ranges from 7.2 to 7.8.

So they don't breed as readily as the cherries? Well maybe I can talk her into the cherries or maybe some yellows. Part of my plan is to breed them in the shrimp tank and release them in my other tanks as they grow. You may recall that I'm having trouble keeping and breeding them in my main tanks.

Do shrimp need a calcium supplement? I'm assuming their shells are calcium based.
 
they do not need calcium supplementation. I don't think you would have a very successful time with crystals without altering the chemistry of your water. I would try and convince her to try a different neocaridina. They are much more forgiving and breed readily.
 
OK. I told my 6 year old that we probably shouldn't get crystals but get red or yellow neos instead. And she said "OK". So that's one obstacle crossed. The wife hasn't said no to the idea but she's less than thrilled at the idea of having another tank in the house. Her main objection is that I already spend too much time taking care of the two I already have. I'm still on the fence about doing this. So if I decide to get another tank, it will have to be something low maintenance.

My goal is simply to maintain a breeding colony of shrimp for myself. I'm not interested in breeding for sale. If the tanks gets too full of shrimp I'll simply transfer some to my other tanks in which they'll likely get eaten. Some will survive and that's cool too.

So here are my new questions.

  1. Besides the red cherry and yellow, what other color neocaridinas are commonly available? I know I can only keep one color variety if I want to maintain the color.
  2. What is the "optimal" temperature for the neocaridinas?
  3. Is the colony population self limiting? Do they stop breeding when it gets too crowded?
  4. Fish: I'd like to have a few (2 or 3) small fish in the tank also. What fish, if any, would be compatible? Male endlers or galaxy rasboras? Something that won't decimate the shrimp population.
  5. Tank Size: 5 or 10 gallon? Besides the obvious "bigger is better" and "10 gallons holds more shrimp", are there any other pros or cons to either size? I'm thinking things like equipment/consumables availability, maintenance, etc.
  6. Filter: HOB or sponge or something else?
  7. Snails: What type of snail, if any, can I keep in there which won't breed too much?
 
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So here are my new questions.

  1. Besides the red cherry and yellow, what other color neocaridinas are commonly available? I know I can only keep one color variety if I want to maintain the color. There are snowball, blue pearl, yellow, cherry, wild types, and some greenish.
  2. What is the "optimal" temperature for the neocaridinas? I keep their tanks mid 70s
  3. Is the colony population self limiting? Do they stop breeding when it gets too crowded? Nope
  4. Fish: I'd like to have a few (2 or 3) small fish in the tank also. What fish, if any, would be compatible? Male endlers or galaxy rasboras? Something that won't decimate the shrimp population. Either of those will likely work. I have mine with pygmy cories as well. If the tanks has some planting, the shrimp will likely do fine with such small fish although some juvies may be eaten by endlers/tetras.
  5. Tank Size: 5 or 10 gallon? Besides the obvious "bigger is better" and 10 gallons holds more shrimp, are there any other pros or cons to either size? I'm thinking things like equipment availability, maintenance, etc. 10g is definately better. more dilution so potentially more stable parameters, more space for growing out, 10g tanks are usually cheaper and you have more filtration options.
  6. Filter: HOB or sponge or something else? Sponge is fine for a shrimp only tank. If you are going to add fish, I would go with an aquaclear filter and put a sponge or media bag over the intake.
  7. Snails: What type of snail, if any, can I keep in there which won't breed too much?
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  1. You could put a nerite (algae eating species that lays eggs in fw, but the eggs will not hatch) or an apple snail (if 10g tank, they require about 2.5g of space per adult snail). Apple snails are sex-specific and reach about golf-ball sized. They lay their eggs above the water line in grape like clusters that are easy to remove. Hope this helps!
 
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