# Shrimp Mineral Supplement Questions



## Dovaz (Aug 22, 2014)

Okay first off I have to say the shrimp hobby is becoming a quite a stress, as more and more research is done, more and more info is found that I'm unsure about... Sometimes I just wanna give up.

Any way, Is shrimp mineral supplement required? Is it only for people who RO there water? Should I RO my water? Can/should it be used in normal water that has only been dechlorinated? *Sigh* I'm still in my research stage and it is quite confusing at times...
Thanks 
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Dovaz


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## MNtank (Apr 28, 2014)

I'm a newbie to shrimp myself, but some general advice I can give is: One of the main keys to keeping shrimp is to match your water parameters with the ideal range for the type of shrimp that you are keeping, and to keep the parameters stable. 

The use of various mineral supplements depends on 1) the requirements of the shrimp you are keeping and 2) the parameters of the water you intend to use in your tank.

My advice would be to look around in the inverts subforum here & also some of the shrimp specific websites or forums. See what type of shrimp interest you & research their requirements.

RO water is not always required, but many use it so they can more carefully controll kH, gH, pH, TDS, etc...

Hopes this helps point you in the right direction


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

while RO is not required it is HEAVILY recommended. This is because this will ensure you are giving yourself the best starting point. 
but questions to ask yourself before that is which shrimp are you interested in, what size tank are you looking at, start with the basics. you can have plenty of success with a simple 10G tank and sponge filters.
dont get caught up trying to have all the gadgets and expensive filters. start slow, learn about water, keep it simple.


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## sewoeno (Apr 12, 2014)

bostoneric said:


> while RO is not required it is HEAVILY recommended. This is because this will ensure you are giving yourself the best starting point.
> but questions to ask yourself before that is which shrimp are you interested in, what size tank are you looking at, start with the basics. you can have plenty of success with a simple 10G tank and sponge filters.
> dont get caught up trying to have all the gadgets and expensive filters. start slow, learn about water, keep it simple.


this! i didn't do it with r/o at first and wasted a TON of money and lost dozens of shrimp. its better off doing it right from the start. you'll end up spending less over the long run and be happy about it. i suggest r/o with salty shrimp gh+, there are less expensive sponge filters on ebay but most small fish stores will have them also. i can't stress enough to just do it right from the beginning. i wish i would have.


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## Dovaz (Aug 22, 2014)

All I wanted was a planted 5, or 10 gal for some red cherry shrimp, I also wanted to create a nice aquascape, but now... There is sooo much out there info wise. I would like to do what is best for the shrimp, but with the filter the tank and R/O system, its not bustin my budget at all, its just too much info, and I cant keep track of what to do. I like to do everything at the max potential, having everything top notch, I created a plan but the info load has blown it. I think its better if I just quit, it'll save some shrimp.


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

you can get RO water at most grocery stores now usually about $1 for 5G at those machines.


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## Nuthatch (Jun 18, 2014)

So what I'm hearing is that basically shrimp won't live & thrive in tap water. Period. 
I guess I'm another person who will never have shrimp.


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

Nuthatch said:


> So what I'm hearing is that basically shrimp won't live & thrive in tap water. Period.
> I guess I'm another person who will never have shrimp.


Not true, many shrimp can live and thrive in tap water, you just have to find a shrimp that will go good with your tap water. Start by looking at cherry shrimp or yellow shrimp.


Dovaz said:


> All I wanted was a planted 5, or 10 gal for some red cherry shrimp, I also wanted to create a nice aquascape, but now... There is sooo much out there info wise. I would like to do what is best for the shrimp, but with the filter the tank and R/O system, its not bustin my budget at all, its just too much info, and I cant keep track of what to do. I like to do everything at the max potential, having everything top notch, I created a plan but the info load has blown it. I think its better if I just quit, it'll save some shrimp.


 There is a lot of info out there, start simple, get some cherry shrimp or yellow shrimp they are very forgiving. Test your water source and make minor adjustments where necessary. Shrimp need stability over everything else. As long as your water parameters are within range of what they like and they stay like that, you have nothing to worry about. All of us old dogs started out with little to no knowledge.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

I have the RCS and I stopped using the RO water. But I find that you need to keep down the nitrates for them. They breed more when I don't keep the nitrates up to 
10-20 like the planted tank suggested level. They just simply breed more if it's less than that. I have had very small fish in their tanks also. But this is where those nitrates come from. I didn't think that a fish as small as a Least Killi fish would hurt but didn't take into consideration their breeding.


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## Dovaz (Aug 22, 2014)

Everyone here has helped an inspired me so much, I think I'm gonna give this a shot, here's my game plan for CRS:
Tank is planned to be something in the range of a 5-10g.

Plants will all be low light easy beginners, but I do plan on having a lot of them.

Filtration will be both a double sponge filter and an aqua clear, with a sponge pre-filter to lower the amount of shrimplits getting sucked up.

Substrate is going to be Eco-complete, and I'll throw in some plant fert now and then.

Water changes are planned to be done every week with close to 25% water changed.

Water will come from my tap ( I live in Wisconsin so it should be fairly good ) and I only plan to treat it by dechlorinating the water. 

Feeding will take place in the morning and once in the afternoon, I will test around with this to see what works best, and I'm well aware not to over feed as nitrate levels may rise.

Now I still don't completely understand GH and KH but I am getting to know ph a bit better. I also plan to get a test kit and I'm hoping the water will be fine on its own but I will adjust it accordingly.

Lighting will be a simple aquarium plant light.

What do you guys think? Should I get an RO system? What else should be added to the plan? Feed back would be much appreciated!!!


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

Dovaz said:


> Substrate is going to be Eco-complete, and I'll throw in some plant fert now and then.
> 
> Water changes are planned to be done every week with close to 25% water changed.
> 
> ...


skip the ferts not needed and adds another possible issue to your tank.
25% is too much each week. you want stability. thats a huge amount of water for a small tank. you will be changing the parameters with that much water.
test you tap water. test if different days at different times. this is one of the problems with tap water. even though it might be ok today, tomorrow it could be completely different. thats one of the reasons RO is recommended. RO is pretty easy to source cheaply and since you plan on doing a small tank a 5G jug will go a long way.


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

bostoneric said:


> skip the ferts not needed and adds another possible issue to your tank.
> 25% is too much each week. you want stability. thats a huge amount of water for a small tank. you will be changing the parameters with that much water.
> test you tap water. test if different days at different times. this is one of the problems with tap water. even though it might be ok today, tomorrow it could be completely different. thats one of the reasons RO is recommended. RO is pretty easy to source cheaply and since you plan on doing a small tank a 5G jug will go a long way.


+1 the only time I've ever had shrimp die was from a large water change. I only do a water change when I absolutely have too, no more than 10%. RO is good to have, especially for top off's from evaporation. Here's what I did before I bought an RO system, I bought distilled water from the grocery store, once I found out that I could run a successful shrimp tank I spent the money on an RO system. Original poster: here's a thread with good info, http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=176557


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## water-kitties (Mar 19, 2013)

sewoeno said:


> this! i didn't do it with r/o at first and wasted a TON of money and lost dozens of shrimp. its better off doing it right from the start. you'll end up spending less over the long run and be happy about it. i suggest r/o with salty shrimp gh+, there are less expensive sponge filters on ebay but most small fish stores will have them also. i can't stress enough to just do it right from the beginning. i wish i would have.


Woah, it's like your echoing past me. Listen to everyone because many people have found out things the hard way for you already!

In my opinion for me what was key to success:

-neos? sand, beeshrimp? Just buy the small bag of aquasoil for a 5g. You won't want to but just do it! Give it time to 100% cycle properly, be patient. 

-RO water + GOOD for shrimp re-mineralizer (salty shrimp :thumbsup: it will last you forever)

-moss, moss, more moss, mossy moss

-Personally, just don't add ferts or additives of any other sort. You'll be fine without them for a while. If you really want to try them at least wait until you're sure your tank is successful so you're not scratching your head wondering what trashed your tank.


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## Dovaz (Aug 22, 2014)

Thanks guys! Getting all these recommendations of RO water could you guys go further in depth? Can you recommend some things I need? Do I need an RO system or is there something else? More info is much appreciated.
Thanks!
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Dovaz


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

RO system is nice to have but if you have a store near you (Walmart) they have a water machine that you can buy water by the gallon. I get my drinking water that way. I purchased two 5 gallon jugs and I fill them up weekly at $.37 a gallon. I've measured the TDS of that water and it's always <10. I'd use it in a shrimp tank without hesitation. I've never checked the other parameters though since I don't use it in my tanks. I use city tap water. I've never had an issue keeping cherries in tap water. If you use RO water, you need a quality remineralizer. Something like Kent's RO Right or Salty Shrimp. It adds the minerals back into the water than RO strips out. You need that for the shrimp. You really should get a TDS meter too. They are cheap. You can get them from the FS here, ebay, or Amazon for less than $20. Cherries are easy. Don't stress too much about them. Set up the tank, let it cycle...throw some moss/plants in there and get some shrimp. Unless something is really bad with your water, they will almost take care of themselves. Feed them a couple times a week, keep an eye on the TDS and do small water changes as needed and you're good to go.


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## clo1_2000 (Jul 5, 2014)

I've always done weekly 10% water changes on my 4g and 8g. Is this too frequent? I do top off with RO.


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## ch3fb0yrdee (Oct 2, 2008)

clo1_2000 said:


> I've always done weekly 10% water changes on my 4g and 8g. Is this too frequent? I do top off with RO.



Nope. It's perfectly fine. I dose ferts and co2 and I also do 10% weekly and 30-40% monthly. Shrimps never looked healthier.


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