Just out of curiosity.. i was wondering how many RCS will comfortably live in a medium planted 10 gallon tank? my LFS is willing to trade plants for shrimp so i was wondering how many can i keep before i need to thin out my herd so to speak. thanks in advance!!
How many RCS in my 10 gallon??
- Thread starter stephenpence
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i'm not looking for an exact number.. like i would be able to count 100 RCS.. but am i looking at 50? 150? how many makes an RCS tank TOOOOO full? when you can't see your substrate anymore??? (i thought i'd demonstrate how clueless i really am...)
I heard somewhere it's 10 per gallon. Don't remember where so I don't know how accurate it is. I would just watch them and if you get deaths or high nitrates sell some. But for the most part a 10 gallon tank is pretty big in RCS talk.
The main thing though is the footprint since they don't swim very often.
The main thing though is the footprint since they don't swim very often.
Msjinkzed is one of the better people to answer that... They are supposedly one of the easier breeds to keep, and they will breed w/o much work.
How many are they offering? They are not as expensive as the Crystal Red's, and ~$1-2 each on aquabid.
How many are they offering? They are not as expensive as the Crystal Red's, and ~$1-2 each on aquabid.
Start with 15-20 and see what happens. If you are good at keeping them you'll have 100 before you know it.
If not, they will drop dead on you, so why risk more than you need to?
With a species that breeds this quickly and readily in proper conditions, you really want to start out light. If you start out with a high bioload, they're just going to overpopulate faster than you can handle it and cause problems. I would start with 25 MAX and go from there.
If not, they will drop dead on you, so why risk more than you need to?
With a species that breeds this quickly and readily in proper conditions, you really want to start out light. If you start out with a high bioload, they're just going to overpopulate faster than you can handle it and cause problems. I would start with 25 MAX and go from there.
Oh wait, do you already have shrimp and want to trade them in for plants? or do you have plants and want to trade them in for shrimp?
If you already have them, do you want to keep a maximum possible population before you start thinning? When they're all over the place- thin it out. The answer is probably somewhere between 150-300, but who knows for sure. Once I had 40 or so and the colony was breeding regularly, I stopped counting. Its going to have a lot to do with how you care for it. A tank with light feeding, fast growing plants and weekly 50% water changes of 50% will probably support tripple the number of shrimp than a tank with twice a month 20% changes.
If you already have them, do you want to keep a maximum possible population before you start thinning? When they're all over the place- thin it out. The answer is probably somewhere between 150-300, but who knows for sure. Once I had 40 or so and the colony was breeding regularly, I stopped counting. Its going to have a lot to do with how you care for it. A tank with light feeding, fast growing plants and weekly 50% water changes of 50% will probably support tripple the number of shrimp than a tank with twice a month 20% changes.
man i've gotta work on my posting skills. the LFS is wanting the RCS.. i'm just starting my colony and have 20 strong in the tank now. i'm hoping to see some little guys swimmin around soon. I just only want to trade my excess shrimps off when they start overpopulating and get some sweet plants in the process.. The gal at the LFS sells them for $6/each so yeah.. i won't be buying any from her any time soon. she takes 50% on trade in value though so it's a win win. does 10 shrimp/gallon sound reasonable to everyone? i'm looking forward to adding some Blue Tigers in there soon.. it's gonna be a wicked shrimp haven...
sounds perfect... i would wait until you get a nice breeding colony working.. from 20->125... and cull.
Then start sending the LFS some.
Then start sending the LFS some.
it's like you read my mind turbo! yeah i'm getting myself into the habit of 2-25% per week of 25% tap and 75% RO.. so far it seems like they are responding well. the plants haven't quite filled in but i figure.. neither has the colony haha.. they're probably about on par with eachother. pretty exciting tho.. RDTigger were you referencing females with your numbers? or size of the whole colony?
You can easily house 100 in a 10 gal tank.
More than 150 ish, and I'd start to thin them out a bit.
I have done so without issues.
More than 150 ish, and I'd start to thin them out a bit.
I have done so without issues.