Vallisneria Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Just wondering how people like to keep their shrimp. This is more for the people breeding shrimp or shrimp only tanks, not so much for the people that keep shrimp in with their fish. Do you keep them in a barebottom tank or with some type of substrate, and if so which kind? I've always kept my breeding tanks barebottom as I like to be able to see the shrimp, especially babies and I find it easier to keep clean. I tried using a think layer of smaller gravel and found it to be harder to keep the tank as clean. I also tried black sand before and that was even harder to keep clean without sucking up the sand. So now I just keep them barebottom with tons of plants and some pieces of driftwood. They breed like rabbits so I don't think not having a substrate is doing too much damage. Only draw back to barebottom is the shrimp can sometimes be washed out looking but they brighten right up when added to another tank. I'm about to start another shrimp tank and it got me thinking again about this topic and I wondered if I should try gravel again. So just wondering about how you guys keep your shrimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) never bothered to pay the extrra $ for that amazonia stuff...so I am using 50/50 fluorite black sand/black gravel. For plants now have HC, hairgrass and a small strand of glosso. It was a dedicated shrimp tank and after this rebuild will be dedicated again. I like the dark substrates as it brings out the colors quite well. Give gravel a go! Suggest black MUahhhhh Edited March 20, 2012 by ckmullin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremoose Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 In my dedicated RCS tank I have gravel at the bottom. Although, I never really thought it through considering the gravel is an earthy brown color that totally hides the shrimp *slaps forehead* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I know gravel or sand looks better and makes the shrimp look better but is there any reason to use it for breeding purposes? LIke I have my barebottom shrimp breeding tanks and then I have my regular tanks with substrates that I do add my shrimp to also. But is there any benefit to having a substrate in a breeding tank? Does anyone think bare bottoms can stress the shrimp out? Even though in my own experince I haven't noticed that to be true. Has anyone bred the fancier varieties with different substrates and noticed a difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caprichoso Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I use peat gravel and I find that the shrimp have an easier time foraging for food on it as they are able to move the small granules around and search under them. The dark colour also makes the shrimp colours pop more. The one drawback is of coarse cleaning it although with this particular substrate you're not supposed to vacuum it anyway as it breaks down easily. I think I would opt for black sand next time although my shrimp are breeding like crazy with this substrate and it allows for the baby shrimplet to find food easier and to also hide amongst the peat pellets. I personally would always use some sort of substrate for shrimp or at the very least, leaf litter of some sort. To each their own though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprucegruve Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 at the moment i am only keeping easy species of shimp(red cherry,yellow,green,lowgrade CBS,and lowgrade CRS) in the past i had fancyer shrimp(SS CBS)but one of 15 died,i got worried and sold them quickly. i used to use just playground sand with great success,each tank was heavily planted with the same plants(random moss's,najas grass,hornwort,and dwarf chain sword) now i use 50%black florite sand on the bottom and 50% playground sand on top,just to give the plants a lil boost. although i have always added a small amount of ferts every 2 weeks in my shrimp tanks. i have never used gravel in shrimp tanks because i feed alot of different powder foods to my shrimp,i believe it would all just fall thought the gravel and dirty the water. i have always done a 25%-50% water change on my shrimp tanks each week,i get the water to the right hardness and ph before it is added to the tank...just thought i would add that.....frank in bc is very adamant about that. i have spoken to frank in the past,he suggests using ADA products,because some lower ph,and they are dark so it shows off the colors of bright shrimp better. i have never personally wanted to try a bare bottom shrimp tank because i think i would suck up alot of baby shimp siphoning the bottom every week. anyways thats my experience with shimps so far,hope it helps. steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 i have never personally wanted to try a bare bottom shrimp tank because i think i would suck up alot of baby shimp siphoning the bottom every week. See I find its easier to not suck up the babies when its barebottom. I can quickly suckup any debris off the bottom and can see where the shrimp are all all times so they don't get to close to the tube. Trying one of the ADA products that lower the ph might be something I"d try in the future. Might make it easier to keep some of the more delicate species that aren't really suited for our tap. I've never had a problem with the shrimp, especially fry, finding food in a barebottom. Usually a nice layer of algae grows on the bottom and they forage off that. I also don't keep the tanks barren. There is lots of driftwood, coconut caves and the tank is pretty much filled with elodea, java ferns and naja. Its just easier to keep the bottom clean and see all the shrimp and babies. Maybe this time I might try a thin layer of fine gravel(Sil #9) again and see if I notice any difference. Can't hurt to experiment again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremoose Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I feel I should add that my iwagumi tank has the Fluval Shrimp Stratum substrate which has dropped the PH to a really steady 6.6 (great for Tiger Shrimp/CRS/CBS) but have experienced fairly significant losses of my Tiger Shrimp despite what appears to be pristine water conditions. The RCS in the tank are thriving and I just noticed one of my females is berried for the first time in the tank, I'll report back on survival rate with this substrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I know gravel or sand looks better and makes the shrimp look better but is there any reason to use it for breeding purposes? LIke I have my barebottom shrimp breeding tanks and then I have my regular tanks with substrates that I do add my shrimp to also. But is there any benefit to having a substrate in a breeding tank? Does anyone think bare bottoms can stress the shrimp out? Even though in my own experince I haven't noticed that to be true. Has anyone bred the fancier varieties with different substrates and noticed a difference? More areas for the little ones to hide with gravels. All the little nooks and crannys from a gravel substrate I found helps the little guys. These guys can pick clean leaves rocks etc...I've had no problem with bits of food getting left behind. What would you prefer, a flat parking lot to give for a field of ups and downs. Think of shrimp in their natural habitat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I feel I should add that my iwagumi tank has the Fluval Shrimp Stratum substrate which has dropped the PH to a really steady 6.6 (great for Tiger Shrimp/CRS/CBS) but have experienced fairly significant losses of my Tiger Shrimp despite what appears to be pristine water conditions. The RCS in the tank are thriving and I just noticed one of my females is berried for the first time in the tank, I'll report back on survival rate with this substrate. Thanks for the comments about the Fluval shrimp substrate. I'd be interested to hear how you like it down the road. Might be something to try if I decide to give CRS/CBS shrimp another try. I"m not a fan of having to mess with the water(mixing RO, peat, etc) so that might be an easier option to bring the water levels down to happy shrimp levels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quetzalcoatl Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I shouldn't be posting here because I keep my cherry shrimp with fish :P my substrate is white sand, and the shrimp usually hang out on the rocks and drift wood of the tank. However, I would like to breed them and I have no clue how to do it. One time I tried to separate shrimp on a small 10 gallon tank. After months, nothing happened. No babies How can you guys breed them? my females are big and bright red, almost 2 year old, and never have produced a baby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Cherries should just breed by themselves if you have males and females. I literally just added 10 shrimp to a 10g, with a little filter and added tap water. It didn't even have a heater. Within a few months I had dozens. Just make sure you have males and females and a place where the babies can hide and feed. The males are smaller and aren't very red, usually clear with a little red streaking. The females are the big bright red ones. Also make sure there are no fish that might eat the babies. If you did all that then I'm not sure why yours didn't produce babies. I"ve kept hundreds of them over the years and never had them not breed, even in the worst conditions. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 If you want the colors to pop against a dark background, but don't want a substrate, then just paint the outside of the tank. In some breeding tanks that I know will be bare bottom, I'll paint, the back sides and bottom black. Put a nice bright T5HO on the tank and the colors of the plants and shrimp will really pop out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprucegruve Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) ah good idea jvision ^^ val, im just really clumsy so even in perfect conditions i would still suck up some shrimp every week, but i find in my sand tanks all the poop and garbage still settles into certant parts of the tank so it is quite easy to clean Edited March 20, 2012 by Sprucegruve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I have substrate in all my shrimp tanks, I mostly use Red Sea Flora Base. I've used fluval Shrimp Stratum in the past and it was okay but a little light for my liking. I'll be using one of the ADA substrates in any new tanks I set up but I may partition the tank so the front will be bare bottom. If my water was the right conditions without substrate, I probably wouldn't use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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