Another Nano Tank. This Time Shrimp

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Alexp08

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Well I just got a 2 gallon tank. I believe the dimensions are 12x6x8in. It had a small filter, heater, and led light. I will have flourite black sand substrate. I just bought 4 moss balls and some dwarf sag grass. May add other/different plants later, but thats what im starting with. My question is about the shrimp.

First, how many can I get
Second, i never knew that there were so many different kinds, red, green, blue, black, yellow, ghost..etc. well are any easier to care for or more hardy?
Third, will they breed? Will any breed more often than the other, will they cross breed?
Lastly, food! Do they eat the moss/algae or is there shrimp food?

Thanks! !
 
Red Cherry Shrimp definately do breed !!!  I'm not sure on how much cross-breeding will occur (someone else may be able to help on this question) or how quickly some of the other shrimp breed (some require brackish water for their young if I am not mistaken, whilst others are happy in fresh water).
 
As for food, it depends on how many you have.  Moss / algae is fine for a few, but if they breed (or you want them to have variety) then other food may be needed.  My RCS are happy on remnants (or even large pieces of) fish flake food, carrots (pre-boiled, or from a tin and then washed in tap water), or fish food pellets that sink to the bottom. 
 
Neocaridina shrimp will interbreed with other neocaridina types, but not with caridina types.
I've been told by a shrimp breeder that if there are less than 20 shrimp they should be able to scavenge from the tank if it's mature. More than that and they actively need to be fed.
You'll have to investigate what requirements each type of shrimp needs as some are quite specific and other are a bit more liberal.
The main ranges for consideration are pH, temperature, TDS, nitrate levels - it's not just about what they can tolerate but what they can thrive and breed in.
There are many dedicated shrimp sites around the web, it might be worth paying them a visit and see what they recommend.
One I find very useful is planetinvert.com
 
Hi Alex
 
Strictly speaking, your 2 gallon is still a little small even for shrimp (4 gal+ is better - I'll get back to that...), however, I'm glad you've decided on shrimp rather than squeezing any sort of fish in there...
 
There certainly are a few different kinds of shrimp, although, all the colour variations you mention are probably all just the same species. Cherry shrimp, neocaridina come in a huge variety of colours and even those colours have variations of themselves, for example, there are several grades of the red cherry alone.
 
Anyway, all cherry shrimp (neocaradina) will breed together. However, don't get too excited, you can't mix a red and a blue to get purple! :)
 
You must bear in mind that shrimp are far more sensitive to water conditions than most fish and this is where the size of the tank becomes an issue. It's not really about the available space they have it's more to do with the fact that very small tanks can be affected by spikes in ammonia/nitrite/nitrate etc much more dramatically than larger tanks. If that happens it can spell disaster for your shrimp as all of those parameters need to be 0 all the time, which can be difficult to do. Nitrate in particular is hard to keep down.
 
Even although they're marketed as being very easy to keep, I've found great difficulty in keeping cherries, of all colours, alive. Even in an established tank with all the correct tools etc... My personal favourite are the crystal and tawianbee varieties.
 
Anyway, back to the question...you could maybe start with 5/6 of the cherry type in your tank but please try to cycle it fully and let it mature before you add them. It will help an awful lot in the long run as this contributes to good grazing material and negates the need to actually add much food at all. As well as the other liquid testing things, you'll also need to get hold of a TDS meter and perhaps remineralising salts.
 
Well what is a TDS meter? And from looking at that site, my best bet is RCS or their yellow counterparts. Ill prob by both and do 3 and 3 in this tank
 

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