Shrimp Colony

[cassharper]

So I've kept shrimp forever in my planted tanks as a clean-up crew (currenty don't have any though) and have decided to set up a shrimp only colony. I have some questions before I get started, and after that I am going to post pics as I go.

It will only be a 10g holding about 20-25 neocaridina sp. I am going low tech in this one as the plants will just be a medium for "goodies" for the shrimp to grow on. Gravel substrate and slower growers like anubias sp, java moss, java fern, and maybe a few vals. (I love putting hygro in all my tanks, but don't want any fast growers so I am sticking away from it). 2.3 wpg of fluorescent will be going over it.

Should I put in a heater? I know they will tolerate quite a variety of temps (I will only have a few killis in there to get it going, then take them out when shrimp are added) and the room stays at about... well room temperature. I would like to get away from that energy sucker if I can.

Filtration. Sponge or power? I know of people that do both separately and together. I have an extra AC 20 and some sponge filters lying around. If I go with power I will sponge over the intake and cut down on the flow.

For food I am going to be letting them eat what grows, dry out some echinodorus leaves, re-soak them and put them in the tank, and occasionally feed a few quality flakes (I have heard the second works very well).

Now that you have the basics, let the massive conversation begin! (If i wanted traffic I probably shouldn't have posted this in the invert forum!). I will take suggestions, questions, and anything else you can think of!

 

[r3d]

some neon tetras would look good in that tank

only real suggestion ive got for you because im a noob hah but your idea sounds great and i cant wait to see some pictures when youve got it set up

 

[cassharper]

I can think of some cool fish to go in it, but I am going to try and ween it into a fishless colony.

Keep em comin!

My other question is what dH, kH, or pH should I keep the tank at? For simplicity purposes the tank will be fed with RO water that has been reconstituted with SeaChem's Equilibrium. I know they like slightly soft to moderately hard, but IYO what does that constitute in degrees?

P.S. First pics coming soon (warning, they are lame!)

 

[msjinkzd]

Neocaridina are SUPER easy to keep. As long as the temp of the tank from your ambient room temps is over 72, you do not need a heater. A sponge filter is fine, I use AC filters in alot of my invert tanks as it makes it easy to seed new filters when I start another one. The plants and feeding sound fine. Algae wafers are also ok to feed them. I would use a dark substrate for neocaridina as it really helps their colors pop. Be forewarned, 20 cherry shrimp or other neocaridina can quickly become hundreds in a few months of them reaching sexual maturity. As for ph, hardness, etc, cherry shrimp will do well in a very wide range of conditions, but seem to do best with slightly harder water. My tanks with neocaridina have a pH of 7.6 and a hardness of 7/142.3. Many people have them thrive in softer conditions, but that is my tap and they are reproducing like mad with fantastic coloration. I feed hikari crab cuisine as well as the occasional veggie to them in addition to oak leaf litter and the infusoria found on the plants. I made moss walls for my cherry tank as it gave them good hiding places and spots to graze, but visibility was still good for viewing the shrimp. Hope this helps.

 

[WyldFya]

Your setup is fine, time for some shrimp! I personally use NLS grow. I'd run a sponge filter myself, but a powerfilter will work as well.

 

[cassharper]

You're just telling me it's time for some shrimp so I'll order some from you! No worries, you'll be the first person I talk to.

 

[MDK500]

What species of shrimp are you getting?