# Setting up an OEBT tank



## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Do you have other shrimp or ever had shrimp. The reason I ask is that OEBT's, at least around here, go for like $20 a piece and I'd hate to see someone kill them all off just learning about shrimp and getting a tank setup for them. I think most start with cherries or something easy first and go from there to the more delicate and harder breeds.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

I haven't kept any at home, but I've set up and maintained RCS and tiger shrimp tanks at work with little difficulty.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Forgot OEBT means two different shrimp I'm referring to Blue tigers with orange eyes.


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## youjettisonme (Dec 24, 2010)

zachary908 said:


> Forgot OEBT means two different shrimp I'm referring to Blue tigers with orange eyes.


That is correct. Those are OEBT. Orange Eye *Black *Tigers aren't called OEBT because that would be too confusing, and they are the rarer version. 

Also, the commenter is correct. OEBT are about as difficult to keep as low grade CRS/CBS. Definitely make sure that your parameters are up to snuff.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

I'm aware they are a little more difficult to keep than RCS and normal tigers. And I assumed these guys were the next step up. 

Anyway... I'd like to give them a shot. 

I'd kinda like some input on caring for these guys. parameters etc. I know they like a low ph and low temp, but I don't know a ton more than that.

Anyone that has experience with breeding these care to chime in?


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## EKLiu (Jan 14, 2010)

I have several low tech tanks of OEBTs and I find them easy to care for. All my tanks have Flourite black sand as substrate. I am just using tap water and I only do small water changes or just add water as needed. They seem very hardy and I rarely check the water parameters. Temperature is key, they die if it gets too hot. I keep my tanks around 74 or lower. Last summer I started with 13 of them (after killing my first batch of 6) and now I have several hundred.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Thanks for the advice, EKLiu. I always though they were fairly hardy as long as you keep the temp down. What do you use to keep the temperature below 74? Or is that just room temp.

Any other advice is welcome!

Keep it coming, guys.

Also if anyone knows good places to purchase them let me know.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Anyone else?

Come on, I know tons of people on TPT keep OEBT shrimp!


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## jasonpatterson (Apr 15, 2011)

If room temperature gets warm for long periods, you want to keep the top open. If that isn't enough to keep the temperature down, a small clip on fan blowing across the top will give you 3 or 4 degrees through additional evaporation. Beyond that you're looking at a chiller. Some people try to use frozen pop bottles and the like, but that's more of an emergency measure than a long term solution.

As far as buying them goes, you can't beat the swap and shop here on the site. If nobody is offering them at the moment you can try a Want To Buy thread as well, you'll likely get a response in a day or two at most.


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## disvegas (Aug 16, 2008)

I don't experience any difference between oebt, rcs,blue pearl or cherry as far as raising concerns. I always use room temp at around 76 and sometimes up to 78 and they are doing just great. my ph is quite high too at about 7.8. so imho oebts are very hardy and easy to take care of so long as you keep your water clean.
My setup is very much similar of you are planning to do. sponge filters, mosses and no heaters. I now have several tanks strictly for oebts and some have gravels only while others have aquasoil and homemade soil for substrates. 
I would say give your tank good cycling and you are good to go.

disvegas,


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Thanks, Disvegas! This is the kind of information I wanted. Out of curiosity do you ever sell your OEBTs? And if you do what is your usual price? I'll be looking in to some in the future. Need to get everything ready first.


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## disvegas (Aug 16, 2008)

I sell them periodically to thin out my colony and will have avail by the end of this month. I opt not to give price since this thread is not about selling.

disvegas,



zachary908 said:


> Thanks, Disvegas! This is the kind of information I wanted. Out of curiosity do you ever sell your OEBTs? And if you do what is your usual price? I'll be looking in to some in the future. Need to get everything ready first.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Thanks, Disvegas. You may be getting a PM from me when I'm ready.

Thanks for all of your help.


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## ohbaby714 (Feb 23, 2011)

Disvegas is absolutly right. I got some of his OEBT from his last sale and all of the still doing great.
I kept mine around the same temp (76-78) in a 5.5 g.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Great, sounds like I won't have to mess with temps too much then. I'm guessing if everything is stable they will breed. Probably pick up a tank tomorrow.


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## sampster5000 (Oct 30, 2010)

I got some of disvegas' blue tigers in the past. His experience gives me hope for keeping any shrimp. I agree that water cleanliness is the most important thing.


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## tnt808 (May 6, 2011)

I have heard they won't do so well in warmer water, but I have had mine in 76-78 degree water and they are okay. I have about 4 berried at the moment.


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## disvegas (Aug 16, 2008)

whatever you do with ur water, just make sure to age it at least overnite before filling/refilling. by doing so you will eliminate most of the problems.

disvegas,



zachary908 said:


> Great, sounds like I won't have to mess with temps too much then. I'm guessing if everything is stable they will breed. Probably pick up a tank tomorrow.


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## gowfan05 (Feb 16, 2010)

disvegas said:


> whatever you do with ur water, just make sure to age it at least overnite before filling/refilling. by doing so you will eliminate most of the problems.
> 
> disvegas,


 
what do you mean by "just make sure to age IT overnite"??? I'm curious bcs I've never done this technique before, but if it decreases the chances of my OEBTs from dying then I will start doing this.


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## metallicanick78 (Apr 26, 2011)

let your water sit out in an open container for a day before you add it to your tanks. lots of "bad stuff" disapates or breaks down.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

I'll make sure to do that, however I doubt there is much bad stuff in the water I will be using. Never hurts to be careful though!


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## Bahugo (Apr 18, 2011)

zachary908 said:


> I'll make sure to do that, however I doubt there is much bad stuff in the water I will be using. Never hurts to be careful though!


I would imagine you can probably get RO water from work for a few pennies a gallon you should be fine. Do you know what type of filter your going to be using? You could probably seed it from your large tank (you have a canister don't you?) just throw a spare sponge from the canister in your filter or some ceramic discs.


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## disvegas (Aug 16, 2008)

get a container to hold ur tap water and put in an airstone to move the water. simple as that. u can have filter and it helps but I don't think it's a must. r.o. water for shrimps? I am not a fan of it simply because r.o doesn't necessarily contain (got stripped off) calcium and magnesium that shrimps require to harden their shells.

disvegas, 



gowfan05 said:


> what do you mean by "just make sure to age IT overnite"??? I'm curious bcs I've never done this technique before, but if it decreases the chances of my OEBTs from dying then I will start doing this.


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## PC1 (May 21, 2010)

Zach I wouldnt worry about it. If you can handle cherries you can handle these. I keep mine in with my Sakura and treat them the same and they are thriving.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Bahugo said:


> I would imagine you can probably get RO water from work for a few pennies a gallon you should be fine. Do you know what type of filter your going to be using? You could probably seed it from your large tank (you have a canister don't you?) just throw a spare sponge from the canister in your filter or some ceramic discs.


I can probably get RO water for free. :hihi: I was planning on using a sponge filter, but I was looking at a tank at work today... might get it, it has a built in filter, and I can just put a sponge on the intake.. I can probably get that tank for less than $20 

I have a sump in my 75, so I can always float some of my bio balls in the new tank, or just cut a piece of my filter pad off.... better yet... I could fill the new tank with tank water.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

PC1 said:


> Zach I wouldnt worry about it. If you can handle cherries you can handle these. I keep mine in with my Sakura and treat them the same and they are thriving.


Thanks, PC1 sounds like this should be pretty easy. I'll pick a tank up tomorrow, and start getting everything ready!


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

disvegas said:


> get a container to hold ur tap water and put in an airstone to move the water. simple as that. u can have filter and it helps but I don't think it's a must. r.o. water for shrimps? I am not a fan of it simply because r.o doesn't necessarily contain (got stripped off) calcium and magnesium that shrimps require to harden their shells.
> 
> disvegas,


My water at home (well water) Comes out with a ph close to 9... I'm sure the TDS is way up there as well. Is there a good way to add calcium and magnesium to a tank? What about MgSO4 for magnesium.. and a good food for calcium?


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

What kind of substrate do you guys recommend? Or does it really matter?


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

1. Just adding water from an old tank doesnt cycle the new tank. Very few good bacteria will be in the water column unless you disturb the substrate a lot. So deffinately transfer some old media.

2. You can re-add the good stuff to RO water by using some known good products. I personally use fluval shrimp mineral suppliment. Using RO water + this is the only way to be sure whats in your tank water.

3. As for subtrate its really a matter of personal choice. I love fluval shrimp stratum (lol I sound like a sales rep for fluval) in my shrimp tanks because it does a good job of buffering the waters PH. It also doesnt release (from what I can tell) ammonia unlike the ADA stuff. However the ADA substrate, I think does a better buffering job and is great for plants.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

GDP said:


> 1. Just adding water from an old tank doesnt cycle the new tank. Very few good bacteria will be in the water column unless you disturb the substrate a lot. So deffinately transfer some old media.
> 
> 2. You can re-add the good stuff to RO water by using some known good products. I personally use fluval shrimp mineral suppliment. Using RO water + this is the only way to be sure whats in your tank water.
> 
> 3. As for subtrate its really a matter of personal choice. I love fluval shrimp stratum (lol I sound like a sales rep for fluval) in my shrimp tanks because it does a good job of buffering the waters PH. It also doesnt release (from what I can tell) ammonia unlike the ADA stuff. However the ADA substrate, I think does a better buffering job and is great for plants.


Oh, I will most definitely add media as well.. I meant I might add some tank water in addition to some old filter media.

Great, I'll look into that mineral supplement!

I was thinking about ordering some Stratum, but I wasn't really sure if it would be worth it if I am already going to be using RO water. Does it have any benefits other than the PH buffering abilities?


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

zachary908 said:


> Oh, I will most definitely add media as well.. I meant I might add some tank water in addition to some old filter media.
> 
> Great, I'll look into that mineral supplement!
> 
> I was thinking about ordering some Stratum, but I wasn't really sure if it would be worth it if I am already going to be using RO water. Does it have any benefits other than the PH buffering abilities?


A lot of people say it looks great. Its a nice dark subsrate. It would also seem to me its great for growing good bacteria because its porous. But I cant verify if thats true or not.


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## PC1 (May 21, 2010)

I can back the ammonia statement. I completely switched 2 of my tanks from gravel to stratum while they were full. 1 has yellows and the other Sakura & OEBT not 1 single loss. I gently put the stratum in and it made the tank cloudy but I think removing my substrate made more of a mess. A couple of water changes to help relieve all the crap I stirred up to be safe and viola. lol. It's nice and dark to.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Great, sounds like I will be going with the shrimp stratum, I was looking into that already, so it is good to know people have had good experiences with it. Another question since Stratum is a light subsrate how much of it will you need compared to something like Eco-complete. How far will one of the 8 pound bags go?


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

One 8.8lb bag is enough for a 10G. So you can use that as a refernce for your tank size and how much you will need. FYI that one 8.8lb bag in a 10G will be about 2 inches deep.


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## PC1 (May 21, 2010)

An 8 lb will do a 10 g fine. That pet place has 4.4 lb bags for $9 making 8.8 $18 I didnt do a whole lot of searching but it was the cheapest I saw. Plus if you order $50 shipping is free. So if you need more stuff its a steal. 3 4.4lb bags gave me just about 2.5" on a 20 tall.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Awesome, thanks guys! Sounds like an 8.8 lb bag will be plenty for the tank I plan to get. So, I looked up that Fluval shrimp mineral supplement, and I got a little confused...

From what I understand it raises your KH/GH. What is the optimum level of these for breeding OEBT's, and how much of this supplement will I need to use per gallon?


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## PC1 (May 21, 2010)

I have not used it but I'm positive it will be in the directions. RO water has no KH/GH so raising it with this is ok. Add what it says, use the stratum and your levels will be cool


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

There are instructions on the bottle but its kinda confusing. Its main purpose is to raise GH, not KH. It also has other good stuff like calcium as well. Your best bet is to add 1/4 of a cap full a day until you get to the prefered GH level of OEBTs. Thats IF you use pure RO. If you plan to do 50-50 with tap water then you wont need the suppliment.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

The dosage instructions are.. Shake well before using. Dose to maintain dGH of 3 to 6 (50 to 100mg/L). 5 mL will increase approx. 0.6 dGH or 10 ppm of CaCO3.

The problem I ahve with these instructions is that it doesn't tell you how much water to 5ml of product. Also it raises the dGH by 0.6... What should my target be?

Sorry I'm asking so much questions. PC1, GDP , you guys have been a great help!


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Hmm I'll mix up 50/50 of my well water to RO and run some tests on it and see what it turns out to be. If it looks good then I will do that instead of straight RO... If not I suppose I'll use the supplement... but it seems like a bit of a hassle compared to just using a 50/50 RO well mix


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

zachary908 said:


> Hmm I'll mix up 50/50 of my well water to RO and run some tests on it and see what it turns out to be. If it looks good then I will do that instead of straight RO... If not I suppose I'll use the supplement... but it seems like a bit of a hassle compared to just using a 50/50 RO well mix


 
I would say the 50/50 mix should work out great for you. And yes its a pain in the ass to use the mineral stuff. I rarely use it myself.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

I sure hope so, it sure seems like it will simplify the whole water thing! What GH and Kh do you find works best for breeding purposes?


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## dhgyello04 (Jul 11, 2008)

I use straight RO water and add 1.875 ml of the fluval mineral supplement per 1 gallon on water changes. I use RO water only during the week for any top off due to an open top tank. That's the gist of it and they are popping babies out left and right. The OEBT's love it.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Thanks,dhgyello04! Do you happen to know what that brings your GH to?


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Set the tank up yesterday... Still need the stratum though!


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Any further discussion should be in My OEBT Journal

Mods, feel free to close this thread.


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