# Shrimps tank without substrate



## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

I have seen a lot on pictures, and on youtube. These shrimps tanks have no substrate. Do you keep them without substrate? What's the advantage or disadvantage?

Thanks.


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

prob easier to see baby shrimp and water change/cleaning


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## PinoyBoy (Mar 14, 2008)

I'm guessing to cut down on cleaning and cost. Most of vids I saw about shrimps are about mass/commercial breeding programs. Also probably large holding tanks for middlemen/sellers.


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## Moe (Jan 22, 2004)

IMO substrate is important in a shrimp tank, more surface area for bacteria.


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## moosenart (Feb 18, 2012)

+1 on bacteria.


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

I was just reading some obscure Japanese blog badly translated by google about someone doing this and they said they change water every day in the tank with no substrate. It was an experiment they were doing and found that was the only way to compensate was fresh wc's everyday.

Mostly I think it's for holding shrimp for transfer, to separate babies right after birth, etc. Even in my breeder box, I took substrate from the tank, a few pieces of lava rock, moss, etc and put it in.


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## joon (Jul 17, 2004)

i wanted to ask about this too

dont they lose their color if they were kept in no sbus tank???

i had nice group of fire red - > moved them to glass bottom tank -> they lost their color - > moved back to shrimp sub tank - > they dont get their full color back

so i never put my shrimp glass bottom tank again lol just my opinion


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

joon said:


> i wanted to ask about this too
> 
> dont they lose their color if they were kept in no sbus tank???
> 
> ...


They won't color up as well unless you paint the back and sides of your tank black. Then they'll color up just as if you had dark substrate.


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## ykh (Jul 21, 2006)

IMO, I've kept and bred most of my shrimps in bare bottom tanks and I don't see any problem with it.


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## Alpha Pro Breeders (Jan 26, 2010)

ykh said:


> IMO, I've kept and bred most of my shrimps in bare bottom tanks and I don't see any problem with it.


I've also bred quite a few shrimp in bare bottom tanks (about 25% of them) with no problems at all. Makes it very easy to keep clean.
I always keep a lot of driftwood and moss and a few large sponge filters so their is plenty of bacteria for them. I don't scrape the algae of the bottom so the shrimp always have something to feed on.


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