Blue Pearl Shrimp Breeding Tank Help

bluebomber

bluebomber

AC Members
Jan 4, 2011
71
0
6
Northern Virginia
Hi,

I currently have a 20 gallon set up with some fish and Blue Pearl Shrimp.
I only have 5 BPS, and I would like more so I set up a 5 gallon tank to transfer them to so the can breed.
Right now it is still in the cycling phase with a Whisper filter, and no substrate/gravel.

What should I do to make this a great breeder tank?
I have a sponge filter on the way (in the mail) that I will use instead of the Whisper so the babies won't get sucked up.
Should I add gravel, and plants? Maybe PVC tubes as well?
How many shrimp should be in the tank? 1 female and 1 male, or all my shrimp at once (3 female and 2 male)?

Thanks in advance or your help.
 
One word.
PLANTS!
put some shrimp safe plant substrate in the bottom or gravel and put some moss in there. That gives the shrimp cover making them more comfortable and lets biofilm develop for them to eat.
I would put all the shrimp in so they don't get eaten by the shrimp and so they feel more comfortable.
 
+1 for plants! Pearlweed is my favorite. Grows rampantly in my shrimp tank as both ground cover and with some height. The shrimp are ALWAYS amongst them. Also any type of moss is appreciated. Marimo (algae) balls are great too, my shrimp munch and hang out on those all the time.

I would suggest mixing a plant substrate with fluval stratum substrate. As long as your water isnt liquid rock like mine is, the fluval stratum will help keep the parameters stable and in the ideal ranges. It also has a much larger surface area than it appears, which will help with creating enough biofilm for shrimp to munch on.

Lastly I would recommend using an indian almond leaf. This will turn the water slightly yellow-brown, but it will help with the parameters and keeping a slightly acidic water which shrimp love. There are always at least a few shrimp munching on the leaves I have in my tank.

Shrimp have a very low bioload, so once your tank is cycled and has had time for biofilm to develop, a 5 gallon tank can house around 50 or so shrimps, though I like to keep around 20 in my 6 gallon just so they dont look too crowded. They dont seem to mind the crowding though.
 
put them all in there. the more you start off with the faster they will start breeding.

Lastly I would recommend using an indian almond leaf. This will turn the water slightly yellow-brown, but it will help with the parameters and keeping a slightly acidic water which shrimp love. There are always at least a few shrimp munching on the leaves I have in my tank.
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they are fine in any water i breed a ton of them in my tap water witch is hard and high ph. the leaf would be good for the micro organisms that will be on it as it breaks down.
 
Mgamer20o0 said:
they are fine in any water i breed a ton of them in my tap water witch is hard and high ph.
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Ah! You're lucky then, or your water isnt as hard and alkaline as some! My water is very hard and very high pH and I cant get a single cherry to berry up. I've been mixing with distilled, but my tap must have some killer buffers, cause I cant get the pH below 8.2. They're all very healthy, havent lost a shrimp in months, but no breeding is going on. And yes, I'm positive I have both genders.
 
vwill279 said:
The explanation for the suggestion was with it. I'm assuming a person can test their own water and make the decision as to whether or not they would need/want to follow it.
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Why don't you purchase filtered water from someplace like walmart? They sell cheap filtered water. Once you've got your pH carbonates etc... in range then all you need do is maintain it.

BTW, the tannins you introduce to your water can build up over time. While good for Discus, it's not so good for most shrimp.
 
pixl8r said:
Why don't you purchase filtered water from someplace like walmart? They sell cheap filtered water. Once you've got your pH carbonates etc... in range then all you need do is maintain it.

BTW, the tannins you introduce to your water can build up over time. While good for Discus, it's not so good for most shrimp.
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I mix with distilled every water change, and I do them frequently enough that the tannins dont build up (20% twice weekly). pH has been dropping, but very, very slowly. Which is fine with me, fast changes can cause problems. My test tonight was around 8, which is an improvement.
 
To the OP as far as breeding and maintaining a 5g breeding tank for shrimp, the sponge filter is a great start. You def want to put some kind of moss like java or something in there. Baby shrimp LOVE to hide in moss and feed off of the little micro goodies in it. From what I have always understood, blue pearls are just fine in a pretty wide range of water so I doubt you need to try and make your water softer. My main advice would be to make sure you are fully cycled, and you might want to throw something with a higher bioload in that won't mess with the shrimp to maintain the cycle. Mystery snails would be good for a 5g I think. They are poop machines and will keep the bioload high enough to maintain a good cycle, and won't try to eat or mess with the shirmp. I wouldn't recommend more than one for that sized tank though. I would def recommend as many plants as you are willing to put in. That not only helps maintain water params in a small tank, but the shrimp will love it. Good luck with your blue pearls. Being of the cherry shrimp variety, you don't need that many males and females to start a good colony. They breed fast and plentiful. =)
 
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