Newbie with Red Cherry Shrimps, need help asap!

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boobiebutt

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Jul 5, 2008
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Okay, aplogize first for the long posting which I seem to make a habit of doing. =|

But first off, my girlfriend surprised me me with a bag full of cherry shrimps for my Valentines day present! =)

I have NEVER raised any shrimp/inverts and do not have any experience what so ever besides raising 2X bettas each in their own 2.5 gal. I do have an empty 10 gallon I was saving to be a community or invert tank so I plan to use that. I also have a new Eheim 2213 filter I bought for the 10 gallon and have yet to use and a spare sponge I can attach over the intake. Is that filter too strong for a RCS tank? I've never used it so I'm unsure of how strong the filter really is.

Please aid me with any for me information about Red Cherry Shrimps temp/what to feed them/substrate/ anything at all.

Another issue I need help tackling is the cycling process. Both my betta fish have cases of fin rot and 1 tank is being medicated at the moment and the second is not medicated yet but im testing which medicine works since the second betta's condition is no where near as bad as the first one. My girlfriend keeps insisting me that my tanks are not cycled cause I do 1-2 40-50% water changes weekly. I have done water tests and the ammonia/nitrites do not increase (results posted here http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179142). So I'm not sure if I acutally have a source to jump start the cycling process. Suggestions anyone?

I'm going to keep the shrimp in the shipping bag in my betta tank to keep it at a decent temperature until tomorrow morning when I gather more information to do anything.
 

inkyjenn

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Jun 15, 2008
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1) what kind of a test kit do you have? if you have strips, GET RID OF THEM. they are basically worthless. get a liquid test kit. API makes one that works well and is readily available. also, what kind of filtration are you running on the betta tanks?

2) the cycling process will take time. be patient. it can take weeks to get a tank to fully cycle. ive never had to go beyond 2 weeks to see my tank fully cycled, but thats only my experience. some people have had to wait 4+ weeks.

3) the 10 gallon will make a wonderful shrimp community home. they will begin breeding very soon if well taken care of. once the betta tanks are cycled, you can borrow some media from betta tank filters to seed the filter for the shrimp tank. sponge filters work really well for shrimp tanks. they are cheap and gentle enough that the shrimp wont get sucked into the works and destroyed. please keep reading up and asking questions. were here to help
 

leeser28

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Jan 4, 2009
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If you're not sure that a tank is fully cycled, don't put the shrimp in. They are very sensitive to small amounts of ammonia and nitrite. I lost 9 of my 10 red cherries this past week - and still am not sure why. Either the 2 gallon tank was not fully cycled (although I thought it was) or there was something in the water when I did last Sunday's water change -- I had had them for about 6 days. I know the stock was good and healthy, and the one that survived is doing well in a 20 gal.

I really don't have any good suggestions except maybe see if the place where she got them would take them back and give you credit towards another batch when your 10 gallon is cycled.

Also, the tanks that you're cycling - they have fish in them?
 

Kashta

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Jun 24, 2008
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If you don't have an established (fully cycled) tank already, you don't have anywhere to put the shrimp. They are very sensitive to high levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. They're not going to survive being housed in a tank that's still cycling. Very sorry.. there's just no helpful answer here given your circumstances.
 

boobiebutt

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Jul 5, 2008
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1) what kind of a test kit do you have? if you have strips, GET RID OF THEM. they are basically worthless. get a liquid test kit. API makes one that works well and is readily available. also, what kind of filtration are you running on the betta tanks?

2) the cycling process will take time. be patient. it can take weeks to get a tank to fully cycle. ive never had to go beyond 2 weeks to see my tank fully cycled, but thats only my experience. some people have had to wait 4+ weeks.

3) the 10 gallon will make a wonderful shrimp community home. they will begin breeding very soon if well taken care of. once the betta tanks are cycled, you can borrow some media from betta tank filters to seed the filter for the shrimp tank. sponge filters work really well for shrimp tanks. they are cheap and gentle enough that the shrimp wont get sucked into the works and destroyed. please keep reading up and asking questions. were here to help
1) I do have a liquid test kit. My test results are own in the forum link I provided in my first post. I'm running a Red Sea Nano Filter that is rated for 3-5 gallons in each of my 2.5 gallon tanks.

2) It has been months since I have purchased the betta's/tanks/equipment and began the fish cycle.

3) Well I don't want to go out and drop more money on a filter if I do not need to. I already have a new 2213 filter I originally bought for the 10 gallon but never used yet and I planned to put a sponge over the filter intake. I'm just wondering if that canister filter is too strong for raising inverts.

If you're not sure that a tank is fully cycled, don't put the shrimp in. They are very sensitive to small amounts of ammonia and nitrite. I lost 9 of my 10 red cherries this past week - and still am not sure why. Either the 2 gallon tank was not fully cycled (although I thought it was) or there was something in the water when I did last Sunday's water change -- I had had them for about 6 days. I know the stock was good and healthy, and the one that survived is doing well in a 20 gal.

I really don't have any good suggestions except maybe see if the place where she got them would take them back and give you credit towards another batch when your 10 gallon is cycled.

Also, the tanks that you're cycling - they have fish in them?
I'm currently not cycling any tanks. I have 2X bettas in 2X 2.5 gallons that I believe are cycled, but the gf insist it isn't and theire is no build up due to my frequent water changes. But the test results posted in the forum link in my first post has shown no increase or ammonia/nitrites over a period of 4-5 days I believe. But it is only 1 betta fish in the 2.5 so I'm not sure if the ammonia build up would be slow or fast since the amount of water is so small.

The 10 gallon is empty and has not been cycled yet.

If you don't have an established (fully cycled) tank already, you don't have anywhere to put the shrimp. They are very sensitive to high levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. They're not going to survive being housed in a tank that's still cycling. Very sorry.. there's just no helpful answer here given your circumstances.
I'm not sure if the betta tanks are cycled or not. I have had the betta fish in individual 2.5 gallons for MONTHS (at least 2-3 months) and I did 1X 40-50% water changes once a week until the fin rot came and I increased water changes to 2X 40-50% water changes twice a week.

Can't return, she ordered it online. X_X
 
Last edited:

missmeliss

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Aug 18, 2008
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ok the Bettas with fin rot are worrying me... you need to have them both on medication - either Bettafix or Macaryn 2... and do 50% water changes daily for the one who isnt medicated until you can get him on one of the 2 i listed above... as for the shrimp - i would start up the tank with the filter in it (with the cover over the intake) so you can see how strong of a current there is and take a little bit of the gravel from the betta tank (before medicating the one who currently isnt) to get the bacteria going... i would definately get the liquid test kit- i have had a tank that i tested with strips fail horribly and crash lol needless to say i was not too thrilled... you may have to wait up to a week or so before youre tank cycles... i would cut the water changes down to 15% every other day unless your levels or Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia are above 0 in which case i would continue at 25-50% depending on how high they are.

good luck!
 

leeser28

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I went to your link. Have you tested since January? I was thinking that you planned to set up your 10 gal and put the shrimp in there.
 

leeser28

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... as for the shrimp - i would start up the tank with the filter in it (with the cover over the intake) so you can see how strong of a current there is and take a little bit of the gravel from the betta tank (before medicating the one who currently isnt) to get the bacteria going... i would definately get the liquid test kit- i have had a tank that i tested with strips fail horribly and crash lol needless to say i was not too thrilled... you may have to wait up to a week or so before youre tank cycles... i would cut the water changes down to 15% every other day unless your levels or Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia are above 0 in which case i would continue at 25-50% depending on how high they are.

good luck!
It sounds like your suggesting a "shrimp in" cycle -- I really don;t think the red cherries will survive this.
 

missmeliss

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as a note to my post - live plants (which shrimp need anyway) will help cycle the tank a little bit more rapidly...
 

missmeliss

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oops lol no i dont want the shrimp in lol i was going to suggest buying the liquid "good" bacteria but i dont know if the LFS carries it and if they do it has to be stored correctly or it isnt effective
 
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