# How many RCS in a 5 gallon



## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

So I'm starting a five gallon tank and am wondering how big the Colony can get before I either upgrade or (try to) sell some to one of my LFS. I'm probably going to start with 5-6 or them, 50/50 male to female. Also how long will it be before it reaches max. capacity? Thanks so much for any info on this topic!


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

no max capacity, like 2000 or something maybe. more than you can breed lol, how long? about a year or two maybe.


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## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

Ha, I dont think 2000 could physically fit in a 5 gallon😄 No doubt an overload of ammonia for the bacteria Colony


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

If you are considering upgrading, why not just start with a 10 gallon instead? Or, if you have the space for it, a 20 long?


Start with 10 shrimp, mostly females (with 2-3 males), if you can pick out the sex, and when you get to 100+, you can start selling or trading them.. Be sure to add new blood every ones in a while to keep the health of the colony strong.


Someone did mention having around 2,000 shrimp in a 10 gallon tank... so it's quite possible to have *A LOT*!


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## Yukiharu (May 3, 2014)

I agree if you can start with a 10 gallon that would be ideal. It's big enough to keep fluctuations from affecting your colony and most chain stores have them at $10 for their $1/gallon sale.


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## Turningdizzy (Apr 5, 2014)

I recently moved a cherry colony from a 10g to a 38g. It took several weeks of trapping and netting. I took a census as I was going. In the end, I moved 459 cherries. It only looked like about a hundred were in the tank. So, a lot can hang out in a 5g as long as you keep the water clean. Seriously though, cherries are lovers, be best to get at least a 10g.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

Zoidburg said:


> Someone did mention having around 2,000 shrimp in a 10 gallon tank... so it's quite possible to have *A LOT*!


 hehe > never know am I right lol!


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## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

Well, it's kinda a little late to upgrade to a 10 gallon now😁 I have just bumped up my water kh and gh to about 200ppm each. If anyone knows what degree those translate to it would be helpful. I am really excited to start my Colony and as soon as my ammonia and nitrite spike decreases I am going straight to my LFS and getting some! Thanks for so much info!


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

pour your water into the other tank? and filter, etc...


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## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

What about the old 5 gallon once I've done that. I really just want to make an attempt before I dive in completely u know


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## Aqua99 (Jan 6, 2017)

landonnap said:


> Well, it's kinda a little late to upgrade to a 10 gallon now😁 I have just bumped up my water kh and gh to about 200ppm each. If anyone knows what degree those translate to it would be helpful. I am really excited to start my Colony and as soon as my ammonia and nitrite spike decreases I am going straight to my LFS and getting some! Thanks for so much info!


12 GH and 11+ KH

Pond and Aquarium Calculators


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## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

Aqua99 said:


> 12 GH and 11+ KH
> 
> Pond and Aquarium Calculators


Thanks, is that a good level for Cherry Shrimp? I think it should be good as long as I keep dosing baking soda and equilibrium every pwc


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

Neither one need to be that high. Better to target a KH of around 2-3 (35-54 ppm) and a Gh of 6-8 (107 to 150 ish). Keep an eye on TDS, too, with a TDS meter.


You would have better success at a good attempt starting with a 10 gallon tank. You can easily move everything from a 5 to a 10, as already mentioned.

If you wanted to dive right in, you would have multiple 10 gallon tanks, and some tanks would have buffering substrate in them and you'd be using RO water for those tanks, with remineralizer!


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## ustabefast (Jan 24, 2017)

I also see no need to alter the water unless it's very low tds. Your kh and gh do not have to be that high. What are your untreated parameters?


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## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

Should I lower the kh and gh or will it be fine. I'm not quite sure my parents would let me upgrade anyways😁 My water parameters are gh 12 kh 11 chlorine 0 ammonia 4 ppm( mid cycle). nitrite 5ppm nitrate 10-20 ppm ph 7.6 ish. Any changes for Neocaridina? Thanks!

Bump: Also does seachem equilibrium or baking soda have anything that I should be worried about for shrimp?

Bump: Those are my treated parameters btw


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## natemcnutty (May 26, 2016)

landonnap said:


> Should I lower the kh and gh or will it be fine. I'm not quite sure my parents would let me upgrade anyways😁 My water parameters are gh 12 kh 11 chlorine 0 ammonia 4 ppm( mid cycle). nitrite 5ppm nitrate 10-20 ppm ph 7.6 ish. Any changes for Neocaridina? Thanks!
> 
> Bump: Also does seachem equilibrium or baking soda have anything that I should be worried about for shrimp?
> 
> Bump: Those are my treated parameters btw


Stop adding baking soda unless you literally have 0 KH (then just add a very tiny amount to get just enough KH to buffer pH swings). As for GH, shoot for 7-8 dGH (125 - 143 ppm) which should save you a bit of money on equilibrium.

Equilibrium or similar remineralizers are very important for providing enough calcium and magnesium for both shrimp and plants. Each type of shrimp prefers specific ranges of GH, and usually Cherries are kept in that 6-9 dGH range though many keep them in even harder water. It's really the calcium content that is important for molting, and it's hard to know how much of your GH is calcium unless you are adding it yourself 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


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## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

Ok, thanks, I think they will be good in gh and kh 11-12 and if they aren't thriving then I will do a water change to get it down a little. As for calcium on the equilibrium bottle it says the percent which is the percent of total gh. My plants will use up some of it too probably if it needs to be lowered


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

if you can afford it, and I know this is highly not suggested but for me it works like a charm. I use distilled water in my shrimp tanks, and I have more than 200 shrimp in each tank (not including culls)


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## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

Do u supplement w any minerals? Or just plain water? I can access this easily if you can convince me to change my water, what r the steps to prepping it for the tank?


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

landonnap said:


> Do u supplement w any minerals? Or just plain water? I can access this easily if you can convince me to change my water, what r the steps to prepping it for the tank?


 I use Flat Distilled water, I don't add anything but fertz to my tanks, and fish. lol! 
Steps:
Make sure water is room temp. (just keep it inside anywhere)
Take the top off
Pour gently into hand which should be inside the tank
Done
smile and look at your shrimp running around randomly.
In one of my tanks with shrimp, im experimenting with my well water. Which has extremely Hard Water and consists of a High PH. So far So Good!


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## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

Lol, I might try that if my water doesn't work out, have you ever had any problems with molting tho? I'm thinking that Low minerals would have that problem


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

landonnap said:


> Lol, I might try that if my water doesn't work out, have you ever had any problems with molting tho? I'm thinking that Low minerals would have that problem


 nope, molts go like butter. Ive had some of my shrimp for about a year now  started with just six now like I said im up to 200 cherrys (that are actually red, in both tanks) not including the culls


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## natemcnutty (May 26, 2016)

BettaBettas said:


> I use Flat Distilled water, I don't add anything but fertz to my tanks, and fish. lol!
> Steps:
> Make sure water is room temp. (just keep it inside anywhere)
> Take the top off
> ...


Sadly, not good advice for shrimp or for plants. Shrimp and plants need calcium in the water for proper development. Straight distilled water has no nutrients, so remineralizers would be needed to make it suitable for shrimp.

Unless you are considering GH booster fertz, your plants are probably struggling due to calcium deficiencies, and there is no way shrimp are molting properly without calcium.


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

What are the parameters of your untreated water?


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

@Zoidburg I don't use gh/kh tests, the PH is 7.8 (or over) imagine the water is hard. 
My shrimp have been thriving, don't think its a problem. reason I gave the advice  im sure there's some gap just cause



natemcnutty said:


> Sadly, not good advice for shrimp or for plants. Shrimp and plants need calcium in the water for proper development. Straight distilled water has no nutrients, so remineralizers would be needed to make it suitable for shrimp.
> 
> Unless you are considering GH booster fertz, your plants are probably struggling due to calcium deficiencies, and there is no way shrimp are molting properly without calcium.


 nah I don't think they are struggling, more like pearling 24/7 and thriving to much. Note the ludwigia "rubin" is not red. Working on adjusting my potassium to see if it works, with lower lvls.


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

I've seen the pH straight out of my tap water around 7.5, and it's soft! It's usually about 7.2 and higher anyway... and RO water can fluctuate a whole lot more! It *should* be neutral, but I've seen some crazy pH readings from various water!


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

two words!
Well water  In Arkansas! hometown of rocks!


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

Just saying not everyone is as lucky as you! LOL


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

Zoidburg said:


> Just saying not everyone is as lucky as you! LOL


 I never saw why people are so hesitant of distilled water.


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

BettaBettas said:


> I never saw why people are so hesitant of distilled water.


If distilled water is clean water, i.e. no GH, KH and very low TDS, then it's not healthy for plants, inverts and some fish species. If you remineralize it, then it's okay! If you use it for water top offs, that's fine, too! But by itself, it can harmful, depending on the situation.



Much like the oxygen we breath. We typically inhale 21% oxygen from the atmosphere, but if we were to consume 100% oxygen, it could be harmful to us.

Is it harmful to breathe 100-percent oxygen? | HowStuffWorks



Water without calcium means that inverts can't grow a nice, thick shell, which means that when they molt, they'll die. They wont have enough minerals to molt properly and get stuck.



But it's important even for fish. Soft water species kept in hard water may be more prone to kidney failure than those kept within correct parameters.

FWHardness
Total Solids (TSS and TDS) in the Freshwater Aquarium - Tropical Fish Keeping - Aquarium fish care and resources
The Soft Water Aquarium: Risks and Benefits


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

im still in the clear, got them good molts and have a shrimp (moma shrimp) that is almost six months old now. I know that's not that old but hey, they are non stop breeding while im non stop culling  hard life.
Anyway thanks for the reply zoidburg guess for people who need those links can read them im to lazy today.


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## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

What's a good color variety that breeds true or same colors because I really don't want to cull and don't have room to house culls. I don't like the neon yellows even though I've heard they breed true so those aren't really an option. I prefer darker colors with unique designs rather than the lighter colors. Any opinions or info would be very helpful. Thanks!


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

cull means kill
"a selective slaughter of wild animals." 
but I know what you mean: get some king kongs, or black pandas. be prepared to spend hundreds of dollars


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

landonnap said:


> What's a good color variety that breeds true or same colors because I really don't want to cull and don't have room to house culls. I don't like the neon yellows even though I've heard they breed true so those aren't really an option. I prefer darker colors with unique designs rather than the lighter colors. Any opinions or info would be very helpful. Thanks!


What about tigers? There are many tiger colors that you can keep and they typically breed true! King Kongs of any color are also nice! Albeit pricier. Most can be kept in Neocaridina parameters, just on the lower end and with cooler temperatures. Only special thing about them is a higher protein diet as compared to Neos.


Otherwise, you are looking at Crystal and Taiwan Bees and mixes there-of... and these you want to get into specific parameters, ideally with a buffering substrate, RO/DI water and a remineralizer geared towards them.



As far as culls go, you could always consider selling or trading them! A lot of people would be happy to buy culls at a cheap price!




BettaBettas said:


> cull means kill
> "a selective slaughter of wild animals."
> but I know what you mean: get some king kongs, or black pandas. be prepared to spend hundreds of dollars



Cull doesn't mean *only* to kill....


Cull | Define Cull at Dictionary.com



> *verb* (used with object)
> 1. to choose; select; pick.
> 2. to gather the choice things or parts from.
> 3. to collect; gather; pluck.
> ...


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

Zoidburg said:


> What about tigers? There are many tiger colors that you can keep and they typically breed true! King Kongs of any color are also nice! Albeit pricier. Most can be kept in Neocaridina parameters, just on the lower end and with cooler temperatures. Only special thing about them is a higher protein diet as compared to Neos.
> 
> 
> Otherwise, you are looking at Crystal and Taiwan Bees and mixes there-of... and these you want to get into specific parameters, ideally with a buffering substrate, RO/DI water and a remineralizer geared towards them.
> ...


Urban dictionary
jk jk. 
Cull means shrimp death to me... lol, but sad. but true :wink2:


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## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

Ok, I think I might just pick some cool colors like blue dream and fire red and blue/red Rili and whatever happens I will just sell them or give them away once I get too many.

Bump: Also I did a test and my ammonia is down to 1-.5 but my nitrites have skyrocketed like 5+ ppm and so have my nitrates at 180ppm what should I do now?


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

Blue Dream x Bloody Mary can result in some Blue & Red shrimp. Don't know about Blue Dream x FR. Blue Velvets, if you get the right strain, mix just fine with Red Rili. Some low grade Blue Dreams are sold as Blue Velvets though...


As far as the cycle, you can either do a pwc or just leave it and wait until the ammonia is down to zero before performing a 100% wc. I've seen varying degrees of suggestions here.


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## landonnap (Mar 31, 2017)

Ok, when I said fire red I just mean very red, so bloody Mary's would work out and blue. Thanks


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