What shrimp can I support with my water? (warning: LONG)

T

Tay690

Addicted to Loaches
Feb 5, 2009
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Hi there,
I'm thinking of starting a 20g long strictly shrimp or invert tank and I had a few questions I want answered so I can start my planning...so here goes

1. I have a 15g tank I currently have guppies in and plan on moving them to another 29g tank and leaving the 15g for snails specifically

Are snails and shrimp ok in the same tanks? or will the shrimp eat the snail eggs if and when they find them?

2. The water I have comes out of the tap as follows:
pH 7.5
hardness around 220
ammo nil
nitrate nil

What can those parameters support in terms of shrimp species?

3. I really have my heart set on CRS because I absolutely love their colour...I know you need a slightly acidic pH and moderately soft water (which I do not have out of the tap sadly)

Is there anything I can do to constantly keep the water in the tank at these specifications? (example: substrate, plants...maybe half RO half tap water?)

4. Is aquasoil an absolute must with a shrimp / planted tank? When the soil runs out of its nutrients what are my alternatives?

I want to do this properly from start to finish so the more info you can provide or even ideas to help me achieve this goal is greatly appreciated

The types of plants I will start with are already in my 55g and are:

Java Fern
Java Moss
Rotala
Hornwort
Taiwan Moss

(all pretty low light req low fert req plants...easy to do...easy to start with...suggested by you lovely people and thanks again for the suggestions...I'm really loving the fern and moss combo)

Thanks in advance,
Taylor
 
I was also wondering if this is possible or just someone trying to sell their shrimp to anyone that will take them

It says they are adapted to "Toronto water...no needs to adjust pH, GH etc

http://www.pricenetwork.ca/ddeal/Crystal_red_shrimps_package-264602.html

Is that at all possible? ...what I understand from it is I won't have to worry about my pH being 7.5 out of the tap??? I won't have to worry about my water being too hard???

What do you think?
 
1) The shrimp will be fine with the snails and won't bother the eggs. What type of snails are you thinking about? Sometimes if shrimp populations get too high the shrimp will over groom the snails and bother them. This can cause some snails to close up then starve. It almost happened to a brigg of mine until I moved her to a different tank.
2) For hard water species there are several options. Cherry shrimp are a great species that breed pretty easily. Malawa shrimp are also an option as are Caridina babaulti species. The Malawa shrimp are also an option as are Caridina babaulti come in many different colors.
3) Sometimes it can work out with CRS in higher Ph and harder water. But they may not breed as well. You could soften your water but then you run the risk of your snails getting shell damage. I was the same way when I started but I stuck with hard water species and I'm pretty happy with them. I can keep a variety o shrimp and snails without having to change my water parameters.
4) Absolutely not. You can use just about anything. I have flourite with a layer of black gravel in my invert tank.

It is possible that the breeder has taken the time to get the shrimp to adjust to the water parameters. I know around here many people keep and breed fish that are soft water species in our super hard liquid rock. So you could look into getting some of those.
 
I'll share my personal experience with you.
Your tap water is fine for any Neocaridina species, and the Malawa shrimp that were mentioned.
As far as any Caridina species (which includes the CRS) my tap water is about the same but a little softer. (TDS around 120) I started with a "C" grade CRS but had limited success. Birth rates were very low, maybe 3-5 survivors per batch. When I moved up to the S grade I never had any surviving young. The whole tank slowely died off after a year or so.
Once I bit the bullet and purchased the ADA soil I now have a very successful group of Bee shrimp, and soon will be giving the higher grade CRS another whirl.
 
Thanks for the solid input
much appreciated

The snails I keep are for feeding my clown loaches specifically
Red Ramshorn
Pond Snails
MTS

I have no problem seperating the shrimp and snail tank...I was just wondering if I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone and keep the 20g long for a GBR pair

But I guess the GBR will have to wait

So I guess the best solution for me (if they're not breeding often) will be RO / Tap mixture and try to keep them at that high pH

The Aquasoil Amazonia looks good for getting me in that range I need...but then I would change the water once a month or whatever and bump it back up and shock the shrimp

I'll keep researching in the mean time
 
Tay690 said:
The Aquasoil Amazonia looks good for getting me in that range I need...but then I would change the water once a month or whatever and bump it back up and shock the shrimp

I'll keep researching in the mean time
Click to expand...

Nope, not at all. You would change 10-20% every week or two (depends on number of shrimp per gallon, or plant needs) with a 50/50 mix of tap and RO. You wouldn't shock the shrimp at all.
 
Would it be better for me to start the tank with 1/2 RO / 1/2 Tap water and keep it like that forever?

or can I get away with trying to use my normal tap water...and if breeding isn't successful start using RO / tap mix? (With the shrimp that are supposedly bred and adjusted to Toronto tap water)

Will the big change in TDS cause issues if I just switch to half RO / half tap water?

or is it the same case as removing salt from a FW tank...Slow gradual change say over the course of a month to half RO / half Tap?

So say 1 week I would add 25% RO / 75% tap
next week 30% RO / 70% tap etc

In regards to the aquasoil amazonia...I'm worried that say my pH in the tank should drop to around 6.5

my tap water comes out at pH 7.5...if I were to dump 20% water with a pH of 7.5 into my tank with 80% of the water at 6.5ph

Would that cause enough of a swing to shock the sensitive shrimpies?

Edit: I forgot to say Thank you for your fast response...this is my last question I swear lol
 
I think it really depends on what grade CRS you start out with. Some of the lower grades may do fine with your water and any substrate.

The higher grade CRS are much more expensive, and more sensitive to there water paremeters. I am speaking to the success I had with, and without ADA. If your going to spend a good buck for a higher grade CRS then it will be worth your while to get the tank right, and water stable before spending your money.

On another note, ADA tanks take a lot longer than most to cycle.
 
If I were to go the ADA aquasoil route...I will still need to let the tank mature for a couple months before adding shrimpies right?

When the aquasoil runs out of nutrients ... am I forced to dose seachem products?

What does everyone else do when the Aquasoil runs out of nutrients for the plants? tear the tank apart and add fresh Aquasoil? or just dose ferts? or let nature do its thing?

From what I've been reading...Shrimp seem to do much better with Aquasoil in the tank...why I don't know

But I think this is the route I want to take initially
 
If I were to go the ADA aquasoil route...I will still need to let the tank mature for a couple months before adding shrimpies right?

Yes. at least

When the aquasoil runs out of nutrients ... am I forced to dose seachem products?

Can't answer that one as I'm only a year into this soil.

What does everyone else do when the Aquasoil runs out of nutrients for the plants? tear the tank apart and add fresh Aquasoil? or just dose ferts? or let nature do its thing?

I'm thinking about just swapping out some with new from another cycled tank. Of course if your shrimp don't do well it's not an issue. In the long run it's a problem quite frankly I'm looking forward to! :thumbsup:

From what I've been reading...Shrimp seem to do much better with Aquasoil in the tank...why I don't know.

Not all shrimp....soft water, low PH shrimp...IE high grade CRS, and it's because the soil helps buffer the water and keep the PH stable, and low.
 
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