novice

[sdleigh]

Im a complete novice at shrimp, and starting to research on keeping them. I have read the new setup guide on here, and just want some direction of what to look into reading and getting, to setup a very small shrimp tank? i have: a 11ltr(3usgal) tank (13Lx6.5Wx8H")... whats the ideal amount of shrimp for this size (1 or 2 or what??? lol), small25w heater, an option of a Fluval 1plus filter pump, AquaOne HOB filter, or a small air filter...which would you suggest i use? i know your going to say air filter, so ill have to buy another airpump, no problemo. my tap water stands at 7.3ph and around 8~12 gh 6~10 kh. what shrimp thrive in these conditions (or what would i have to change to to get the cons just right)?

Substrate i have spare are: Play sand, Crushed coral (will raise ph), gravel. i would like to use playsand as i love the look of it.

Live plants i was thinking large-ish amount of Christmas moss/Java Moss and maybe 1 small plant, i dont want to use a co2 canister, would the previous be ok without one, what would you suggest?

Thanks for any replies i get

 

[FF MkII]

i would use the HOB personally, less space in the tank. you could get away with a few shrimp i guess. play sand would be good but dont have it deep unless you intend to turn it over.

 

[bigbird]

remember with 11liters, once you use sand, rocks etc, the actual amount of water will be around 9liters. In my view not enough, I prefer min 20liters . Use HOB , heater the smallest. Also realise when you do a water change, that temp and water should be roughly the same, as shrimp are very temp fussy. I would place in there 4shirmp, that should be fine. cheers jk :thumbup:

 

[sdleigh]

Nice one, cheers guys, what kind of shrimp woupd suit my water conditions as they are? So i k.ow what ro read up on. Cheers again

 

[bigbird]

i would try crystal red shrimp ( CRS ) they are nice as a beginner.
Look at the web page http://www.planetinverts.com/ this will tell you most stuff. cheers jk :thumbup:

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I'd agree with the other posters, but I would start with Red Cherry Shrimps, they are a bit more forgiving of high temperatures than Crystal Red Shrimps, and a bit cheaper to buy. If you have a HOB, put a sponge on the intake as sponges are a great grazing site for shrimps. I'd also add some snails, I use MTS and Red Ramshorns, I'm pretty sure that shrimps do better in tanks with snails. I feed mine a very small amount of flake or pellet food, but I make sure they always have a small piece of courgette, melon skin, cooked carrot etc. to have a go at.

I'd start with about 10 shrimps to make sure you get males and females. Shrimp numbers will rise fairly quickly, but you can sell them or feed them to your fish, cichlids love them.

cheers Darrel

 

[sdleigh]

Can i really have as many as 10 in such a small tank? Im not after swlling them, or farming them just want a small tank as abit extra eye-candy to my bns and malawis

 

[Doodles]

Cherry shrimp are fairly small, 10 would be fine although they breed very readily. They eat veg, mine esp like deshelled peas plus you can get shrimp food for them

 

[Mooo]

Congrats on your desision to keep shrimp, They are fascinating critters.
Get Cherry Shrimp, easier for a noob,
I think, once your shrimp begin to populate that tank, it will fast become too small..I think 20L is the bare minimum..:yes:
Most certainly have a sponge on any intake as the baby shrimps will go into the filter...
I would have an air driven sponge filter also...
Oh and one more thing, don't use anything with copper in it, Copper = dead shrimp..

 

[sdleigh]

I havent given up on this and still really wanting shrimp, im getting a bigger tank shortly about 20ltrs and got another question.

ok Im going with an air diven sponge filter and want to cycle it in my malawi tank over a period of a couple of weeks and then use this, with water from the tank, to create a small Red Cherry Shimp tank.

my PH in my Malawi Tank is 8.1, will this harm the shrimp i will be putting in? (will it shock them or anything?)

The PH will eventually lower over time to around 7.2 (my tap water level) as there will be no ocean rock or coral sand in the shrimp tank like my Main, and water changes will dilute it back down.

Or should i just cycle it brand new and take longer to add my Shrimp i so desperately want to keep

Thanks all

 

[jessonthenet]

cherry shrimp should be able to handle 8.1 but it will shock the shrimp if you get them from someone who keeps them at 7.0.

Can't see why you can't cycle the sponge in your malawi tank as I thought it would cycle quicker in higher ph and then use treated tap water and drip acclimatise your shrimp before adding so not to give them a sudden shock when adding to their new tank.

The bigger the tank the more shrimp breed and the higher the temp too, just let you know that. 20 litres is fine and the smaller tank wont be too small as they seem to breed less in a smaller space.

 

[sdleigh]

thanks for that, so you reckon i could cycle my filter in my malawi tank and just add to a treated water (water not from my malawi tank)? will this have any ill affects on the bacteria in the filter? surely some tank water would have to be brough over wouldnt it? i have no clue

i do want a bigger tank, the 10ltr one i have is just a spare i had laying around

and temp will be around 24 to 26 and thats my general room temperature, although i know shrip better sat at around 22?

 

[jessonthenet]

Tank water hardly had bacteria in only the filter media or decor, substrate etc does but most is in the filter media. You don't need the water and as far as I know higher ph speeds up the bacteria and so does higher temps.

If you know what ph the shrimp you want to buy are kept it is easier but you should always introduce stuff gradually as a precaution. If you plan to drop the ph to tap water anyway then yo may as well start with tap water.

Shrimp can handle higher temps they just breed quicker and die quicker. Room temp is fine I keep some at 24 and a small tank at room temp my heater is set at 20c and never comes on.

 

[sdleigh]

Thanks again that will get me well on my way

 

[sdleigh]

Finally got my shrimp tank up and running!!!! YEY!!! So happy looks great ill be adding pictures later when I get home. However, what's best to feed them? I have aglea wafers, catfish sinking pellets and kingbritish pleco tablets, tetra prima, tetra mini flakes, then I have frozen blood worm, daphine and malawi mix. That's what I have in. What would be best to feed them out of that lot? Or is there anything else I could do with getting? I read a calcium suppliment?? What's best to get and how do I get them to take it? Thanks peoples in advance

 

[jessonthenet]

algae wafers are best but any really . I wouldn't bother with the flakes or frozen/live foods. They will eat it but not necessary. You wont need calcium if your water has minerals in it already. Cherry shrimp are pretty hardy so no special care needed.

 

[sdleigh]

Thanks for that, i put in a broken wafer and a couple of pellets, and they seem to be eating them. Here are a couple of pics of my new tank and little buddys, enjoy

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I think your filter should be fine, cycling the sponge in the Malawi tank was a really good idea, for the reasons Jess suggested. Try some dead leaves for the shrimps, they really like them to browse on, once they've been in the tank for a while. Dead (brown) Oak or Beech leaves are good and you can collect them now.

You will need some other plants in the tank soon, both the ones in the photo are terrestrial plants that will slowly die in the tank, looks like a Chlorophytum or Dracaena and Syngonium. If you pot them into some potting compost they are fine as house plants.

It really p*ss's me off that they still sell these for aquariums, it is a real con-job. List and some pictures here of ones to look out for: <http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/297782-a-survey-of-non-aquatic-plants/>

I've got easy low light plants - moss, java fern, Hygrophila corymbosa, Cabomba caroliniana, Anubias and Cryptocoryne in with mine, most plants will do, but I'd definiterly have some moss.

cheers Darrel

 

[Mooo]

You have done a great job aquascaping, well done..shrimp look happy, they eat pretty much anything really, only two things to watch out for with Cherrys is your nitrAte levels, they drop like flies if it rises too high...& the temp should no higher than 25...I actually cooked my first batch lol

 

[Mooo]

You have done a great job aquascaping :clap: well done..
Your shrimp look happy, they eat pretty much anything really, only two things to watch out for with Cherrys is your nitrAte levels, they drop like flies if it rises too high...& the temp should no higher than 25...I actually cooked my first batch lol