# New to shrimp keeping



## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

If you are just starting out, consider getting cherry or other neocaridinas since they are hardier and more forgiving in less then ideal water parameters. Crystals will sooner die before you realize something is off with the water.

The water will have to be remineralized. The fluval mineral supplement is readily available or you can pick any from one of the vendors here. I use shirakura ca+.

Get a water test kit for ph, ammonia, nitrates, gh, kh. If your source water is perfect for the shrimp you keep, any substrate can be used. To show off the shrimp, darker substrate might contrast better. Checkout substrate source.com. There's a chart on there for reference. Crystals require lower ph to thrive so many folks rely on the substrate to buffer a lower ph. Naturally, this doesn't last forever and will require replacement over time. Ph test would confirm this.

Shrimp are scavengers so they Will eat most things including their own. Consider providing a mixed diet with protien and calcium every other day. Start off with moss and look for low to medium light plant as they would require less maintenance and demands for fertilizers and light. 

Try to start off easy and go from there. Shrimp don't need a high tech setup and many of us keep them in unfiltered bowls just fine. Good luck


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## Zenzu (Mar 23, 2012)

+1 on Neos. Save your money for shrimp when you know later on that you can keep em with out them dying.

+1 on the test kits as you need to make sure you keep your water stable and within the limits of the shrimp you will ne keeping.


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## Bananariot (Feb 28, 2012)

I would avoid fluval filters and go with eheim. I never had good experiences with fluval canisters, same with other ppl. Also eheim comes with a spraybar


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## moosenart (Feb 18, 2012)

Get some PFR'S. They are cool looking Neos.


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## shrimpkeeper (Jun 17, 2012)

Can I use any aquarium pH adjuster to calibrate the pH? 

And if I want to buy my own RO/DI unit, which specific one should I get that is economical and effective?

Which Eheim canister filter should I get?

Thanks, guys!


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

RO unit http://www.purewaterclub.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=333

That's the one I got and am very happy with it. It takes around 3hrs for a 5 gallon bucket for me, but keep in mind we have very low water pressure here.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Before purchasing from any RO/DI supplier, it's a good idea to do things like check with the BBB and search vendor reviews on other sites. I'm only mentioning this because there are some fraudsters out there on the RO/DI unit front. If you're new to them, just do a bit of research first.

You can get amazing units for $150 or less from all sorts of places.

That said - there are a couple forum sponsors that sell RO/DI units. And there are tons of other suppliers with great customer service like Bulk Reef Supply.


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## shrimpkeeper (Jun 17, 2012)

Ok, thanks Jake for the heads up. I'm checking out one of the forum sponsors.


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## shrimpkeeper (Jun 17, 2012)

So I'm thinking of getting either this:

http://www.aquasafecanada.com/store/aquarium-reverse-osmosis-systems/aquarium-ii-r-oi-system-combo

But, it says it raises the pH very high, so I'm not sure.

Or this:

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/75-gpd-ro-di-5-stage-standard-system.html


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## shrimpkeeper (Jun 17, 2012)

And what kind of lighting should I get? I'm hoping to grow easy-to-care-for plants.


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

I would get low to start if I'm going for cardinias. Less nutrient and co2 needed for the plants. 

If you are going for neocardinia then whatever, high light dosed and gassed tank is ok as long as is around ph 7+ and 5-6dGh. Neos are bomb proof, although first you have to breed them to see if you can go for cardinias, IMO.

I will copy and paste my fellow sbaapster post about shrimp keeping, Jetti really did a great job in this post.

Please read and enjoy!



youjettisonme said:


> All the advice is already here, but the "I lost another shrimp today" threads are never going to stop. The most common complaints are:
> 
> 1) Bacteria infection - How do you diagnose or remedy?
> 2) Molting issues - Is your GH (general hardness) too low?
> ...


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## shrimpkeeper (Jun 17, 2012)

Ok, thanks! That was really helpful. So to lower the pH, I can just use mineral supplements like Fluval Mineral?


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

No, ph Is not GH. You can adjust GH with fluval mineral.

Ph HAS to be a constant and not "adjusted" .

Its determined usually by your buffering substrate and a bit by your water source. Do not try to adjust ph with buffers.

Keeping shrimp is about adding the least stuff to your water. 

If your tank is 7.8 ph for example then keep neos and some tigers like OEBTs but not good for CRS or CBS etc. If you really want species that need lower ph then change your substrate for a buffering one like Aquasoil. That
Is ok.


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## eco (Feb 23, 2012)

Wow jerrey! That some great info you put together!


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

eco said:


> Wow jerrey! That some great info you put together!


You mean youjettisonme, he wrote that long post I quoted.


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## shrimpkeeper (Jun 17, 2012)

But the Mosura pH down is ok?


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

Mosura products are made for shrimp. 

Unstable parameters that need to be adjusted are not the best. 

I think mosura ph down is meant to be added to new water for water changes in order to match your tank parameters, but im not sure. I'm thinking to use mosura ph down myself to bring the tap water ph down from 8.5 to 6.5 but I wouldn't use it to modify my tank ph, that would be unstable.

First, before adding stuff to the tap water I must look for a simpler solution. I will "age" the water overnight to see if that brings the ph down. I use "prime" water conditioner.


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## shrimpkeeper (Jun 17, 2012)

If I use RO/DI water, then I don't have to use prime or any other water conditioners right?

What size stainless steel pre-filter should I buy for the Fluval 206? And where can I get it?

I'm changing the 11.4 gal to this 10 gal:

http://www.adgshop.com/Cube_Glass_45_X_27_X_30cm_p/140-8512.htm

So what light should I use for the 10 gal? I plan on keeping easy-to-care-for plants.


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

If your RO/DI water is ZERO TDS then don't, otherwise a drop of PRIME per gallon won't hurt. Just peace of mind.

Also RO/DI will usually be lower ph, under 7 sure I think. Then no need for adjustments.

In regards to light I'm not sure what to answer, ask Hoppy. Sorry.


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## shrimpkeeper (Jun 17, 2012)

Ok, thanks!


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## aznrice247 (Feb 1, 2012)

hahaha, hey ShrimpKeeper I sounded Just like you on Shrimp now forums. Bold just like me, to start with CRS. I had 6 CRS but they all died out within 2 months. Then i switched to cherries after getting over it, my 5gal tank is full of them now. They breed like crazy!

I'll give you tips from my experience.

1. Don't rush the cycling, it'll bite you back in the ass later. I wouldn't use anything to speed it up other than established filters/sponge filters.

2. make sure you drip acclimate the shrimps for 30 mins - 1 hr before putting them into the tank. *some people do it for 2hrs.

3. avoid copper foods, I yelled at my dad for putting in fish flakes before *contained copper sulfate*

4. Don't trust the plants from your LFS *if your getting the shrimps from there* I just threw my plants in after acclimating guess what i found in my tank... PLANERIAAAA!* those things are a pain to get rid of. You needa use flubendazole to clean your tank. If anything throw those plants another tank or container and check if they'res any... if so either you can toss or treat that tank if you really want those plants.

5. If it aint broken don't fix it. CRS's are sensitive to change's in water.

6. Food... I feed em Tetra Color bits, Hikari Shrimp cuisine, and sometimes a piece of boil spinach or a small slice of a mango. My cherries like this too. But I heard that Jake's homemade food is amazing. check it out here

http://plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=170774

7.Good luck and have fun with them, and welcome to shrimp keeping.


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## Borikuan (Jun 4, 2012)

That was some very good reading, thanks.


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## trueblu8 (Mar 3, 2012)

Yes very good reading, especially the post by youjettisonme. 

I also need to get the ph down in my crs tank. In my ignorance I was using tap water for changes and topping off. No wonder my crs babies have such a low survival rate. My tap water is very hard and has a high ph. So if using any type of ph down or acid buffer is not recommended I am just going to use RO/DI or ditilled water from now on. I'll also look into throwing a bag of peat in my aquaclear filter and a couple more indian almond leaves into the tank. That should help lower the ph slowly and safely.


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

Whatever you do make sure you do it for stable parameters, for what ive read from breeders parameter "swings" what they don't like, specially shrimplets.

As for tap, I use tap for my "every 4-6 month" small water change and I top off with DI water only.
My tap is 35-40 TDS and DI is 0 TDS.


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## trueblu8 (Mar 3, 2012)

Well there's a berried shrimp in there now. But I've got to do something because I believe the shrimplets low survival rate is due to the hardness of my water and the high ph. No more tap water from here on out.


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## Kunsthure (Aug 2, 2010)

Do you have plenty of moss? They make baby food for shrimp. Jake (somewhatshocked) carries it at a great price compared to the imported stuff. But I've also read you can just powderize fish food and sprinkle it in the moss for the babies. 

-Lisa


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## trueblu8 (Mar 3, 2012)

Thanks Lisa. I will look Jake up. I do have some now. But I've been meaning to get more. Actually it's on my list of things to do. Lol.

Now if I can just find some Aura Blue shrimp.


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## Shrim'n (Feb 27, 2013)

whats the ideal KH, GH, and nitrate levels one should look to keep for TB's?


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## mjbn (Dec 14, 2011)

Check out some of these sites for recommended params:
http://shrimpery.com/shrimps
http://shrimpkeeping.com/water-params/


I would say go with RODI water, use a clean mineral like Shirakura Ca+ or Salty Shrimp GH+. Many sellers on this forum sell these products and they last a while.


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