Calcium For Cherry Shrimp

[scotty]

i have been getting a few deaths of my cherry shrimp,this seems to be soon after moulting.my water is very soft,ph of 6.2.would it be better to add a calcium supplement as i have heard this helps with moulting and if so what should i add and how much?

cheers

scott

 

[mike455555]

posting for interest as iv had afew deaths to

 

[snazy]

Yeah, the water is too soft for the cherrys. Not sure what is the best approach as you don't want the Ph to go up way too much but there are shrimp specific additives like for example the one in the link below:

http/www.southernoakaquatics.com/product/Mineral-Plus-Ultra-Mosura-Shrimp-Supplement/default.aspx

 

[SombreroBanana]

Go to a pet store, and buy some cuttlebone, which can be found in the bird section (it's for birds to sharpen their beaks). It's highly porous, and basically just pure calcium. It's also very soft, so just cut off a chunk and put it in your tank. Approximately a 1" x 3" per 20 gallons seems to work for me. It dissolves in the water and puts a ton of calcium which shrimp and snails can use. Mystery snail breeders use it because it's cheap and does its job.

 

[Baccus]

I would just be a bit careful about adding cuttlefish to fresh water tanks, they are a salt water creature and could eventually add a lot of salt to a tank, especially since salt wont evaporate away.

Generally a good shrimp food will provide suitable amounts of necessary micro nutrients that shrimp will need to develop and shed its shell as well as improve overall shrimp colour and aid in breeding. Since my loaches do such a good job of eating my snails I leave the empty snail shells in my tanks for the shrimp to then utilise the calcium stored in the snail shells. If you dont have helpful loaches like me but can get hold of some pest snails and are willing to kill them by drying them out and having ants or something similar clean away the body, you could still add spent snail shells to the tank. Another option could be to get cleaned shells from a petshop (they often have them for hermit crab homes), and get non decorated shells and add them to the tank. You can also get mineral blocks for tanks but I am weary of using these as they also often contain cooper, and cooper is no friend of shrimp.

Adjusting pH is a tricky and at times risky business.