RO water for cherry shrimp breeding tank?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Prometheus

Prometheus

Candiru
MFK Member
Jun 9, 2008
477
0
46
Earth
i want to start breeding cherry shrimp. im worried though cause iv never been able to keep ghost shrimp alive for more that a few months. i can keep fish alive for a while - well i got into this hobby about a year and half to two years ago and the betta i started out with is still alive and its rare if i have any other fish die - so i know im not incompetent. i know copper can kill shrimp and i read a post by another MFKer about how he cant use regular water from his tap cause the copper piping would kill his sting rays. well, if copper form that can kill rays maybe it can kill shrimp. its a bit overboard to buy an RO filter just for shrimp, but i really want to breed these guys, so whatever. any thoughts on this? what should i be aware of here? anybody got a sure fire way of breeding these guys? :D
 
You don't need ro water for cherry shrimp. Tap water is fine. Cover your intake or use a sponge filter. A planted tank is always nice as they graze on infusoria. Dark substrate makes their colors pop more. Driftwood is nice too. They do well in a wide range of ph (6-8 or so, with in the mid 7's being ideal). They breed quite readily when fed a balanced diet. I feed a mix of hikari crab cuisine, ken's catfish pellets, and fresh veggies. Overfeeding is the biggest risk. Its not surprising your ghost shrimp don't do well as they are often overcrowded and very stressed from shipping.
 
thanks. i like the planted tank idea. thats what i was planning on actually. black sand, thanks for the tip. its a bit expensive bit i can manage. it will be a major project so a little extra money up front shouldnt be a problem. sponge filter, gotchya, i was going to get a micro filter and cut an aquarium sponge to fit over the intake. ill probably start with 5 shrimp and wait and see what happens. if they were to die in the first few months id have to trouble shoot and start over, but with only 5 shrimp (at $6 a shrimp) my losses wouldnt be that bad, though i hope everything works out fine. thanks for the advice.
 
Best of luck with the project. I like to use mosses, anubias, crypts, and ferns in my shrimp tanks.
 
mosses and ferns are on the list. iv never grown those others, thought id also put duckweed in there. ill have to look into anubias and crypts. thought id take a little piece of one of my moneyworts - which is covered in algea - and put it on top to let them graze on that.
 
Anubias are really lovely and great in low light. You anchor them to wood or decoration similar to ferns. Crypts are also low light but get planted in the substrate.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom