wanna start a shrimp tank

[Darren88]

Hi i wanted to start a shrimp tank and was just wondering what kind of setup i need for a good colony

[fshkpr4evr]

I was in PJ's W.E.M. on Saturday and noticed they had a really cool freshwater shrimp 'desktop' aquarium set up. It looked like there were about 20-30 shrimp spanning over 5 varieties. My readings on shrimp indicate that they require a lot of hiding spots, a filter with a small grid on the intake, and a pH ranging from 6.5 to 7.6. They are omnivores so it would be good to include some hardy live plants such as java moss or moss balls.

I believe Fluval just launched a bunch of new "Ebi" products designed for freshwater crustaceans, so you may want to check that out at your LFS.

Hope this helps.

[Jayba]

Shrimp are fairly easy. 5 or 10 gallon tank setup and away you go. There a ton of good people to use as resources on AA. Jvision usually has a ton of plants to get you started, and I believe corrosionjerry has a bunch of shrimp starters on the livestock list. Right now.

Blue ram in Calgary keeps her shrimp in tap water and they breed often. So o feel that the ph is what they are accustomed to. Just be careful if you are planning to add fish to the setup. As shrimps are great snacks.

[Blue Ram]

I saw the new Fluval Nano Shrimp Habitat set up at Tanks a Lot on the weekend. It holds almost six gallons, comes with substrate, a cool built-in background, top, light, etc. Very very nice. For the more expensive species of shrimp, I would recommend a ten gallon so you have a better chance of keeping your water stable.

[Marty]

I saw those Fluval Ebi tanks for shrimp at Pisces. They are very cool! It's on my short list of things to get...

Everything you need is in the box. Just add the shrimp and water!

[jvision]

I started with Cherry Shrimp a few years back in an unheated 10gal. I had 10 tiny red shrimp and in a few months I was up to about 100. My shrimp tanks often get so full of shrimp that they form a layer over the entire bottom!

My Cherries and Greens breed readily in tap water - I do 50% weekly WCs, feed well, and that's about it.

[Vallisneria]

I started with Cherry Shrimp a few years back in an unheated 10gal. I had 10 tiny red shrimp and in a few months I was up to about 100. My shrimp tanks often get so full of shrimp that they form a layer over the entire bottom!

My Cherries and Greens breed readily in tap water - I do 50% weekly WCs, feed well, and that's about it.

I agree. I got 10 cherries off jason a few years ago. I put them in a 10g and in a few months had dozens. Since then i've bred thousands with barely any work.

Its when you want to try the fancier Crystal shrimp or any of the weirder colors besides green/cherry. They are a bit harder and depending on where you buy them from, need a lower pH then regular tap. But there are a few people on AA now selling locally raised CRS used to city tap water.

Shrimp are one of my favorite things :thumbs: They are a great addition to most tanks but beware of tankmates as pretty much anything will eat or try to eat them.

Good luck

[Woland]

I kept cherry in 10L(3g) plastic box with custom airlift filter(foam rubber + ceramic cylinders) and java moss. Nothing more. Water hardness was 25+ dGH (it was not in here) and PH in range 7-8. And they spawned like crazy.

[Darren88]

so a 5 gallon tank no heater needed how about a filter

[jvision]

A filter is always a good idea, IMO, for the biofiltration. My 10 gal CS tank has a small HOB with a couple scrubbies jammed in it, it works great.

[Pamelajo]

I use a sponge filter in mine.