Setting Up A Rcs Tank

[rolo0151]

Hi,

I currently have a small RCS tank on my desk at work that is thriving. When I set the tank up I used a filter with mature media in it, put new gravel in, planted it the checked the levels across 2 days. I forget the exact levels but they were in line with my x2 established tanks. I then added 15 RCS. Within a few days I lost 7 shrimp. This then stopped. several months have now passed & have yet to lose anymore.

I have just acquired another tank & i am looking to setup a crystal red shrimp tank.
These are going to cost quite a bit more than the RCS so I want to avoid losing any this time.
I have just cleaned & setup the tank with a filter that has mature media in it. As with the last tank I will monitor the levels daily & only add the shrimp once I am satisfied the tank is cycled.
Any advice greatly appreciated

 

[fm1978]

A fully cycled tank is preferred for shrimp, as you've probably already worked out. They're very sensitive to poor water conditions. Ammonia and Nitrate in any concentration is bad.

Crystal reds, depending on what grade you go for will appreciate lots of hiding places like mosses, plants a maybe ceramic tubes. Do not put anything in there that has been treated with any copper based anti snail stuff. All of the Tropica 1 2 grow range is perfect as they are totally shrimp safe!

Slightly acidic is best with temp range between 17 - 23 degrees.

 

[ech0o]

FIRSTLY,  your mature media is dieing every minute that it sits without a source of ammonia.  When you took it from your established tank, the source of ammonia was the animals within that tank.  Now it sits in an empty tank, so you will need to add a source of ammonia, or pure ammonia itself, in order to keep the bacteria living and reproducing.
 
As fm1978 mentioned, they do thrive in slightly lower temperatures than the RCS.  Not sure what killed off the cherries that you put into the tank, but what I would do is transfer a handful of the cherry shrimp into your new tank, along with mature media of some sort, and let everything settle with those in there, as they are cheap.  This way you can be sure there is no ammonia/nitrite and the bioload will be established for the filter.   
 
What I am betting killed most of the cherry shrimp on your first shrimp tank is acclimation.  These shrimp NEED to be carefully acclimated, especially the CRS, as they are sensitive to changing water conditions.  The best suggested method is the drip method, using airline to siphon water from your tank into a holding container with the new shrimp/water, tieing a knot in the airline so that it only allows a couple drips a second.  

 

[rolo0151]

Could cherries breed with crystal reds?

 

[Lillefishy]

No, cherrys won't breed with the crystals.
There's a very helpful chart here on what shrimp can be kept together without interbreeding
http/www.planetinverts.com/Will%20These%20Shrimp%20Interbreed.html

 

[rolo0151]

No, cherrys won't breed with the crystals.
There's a very helpful chart here on what shrimp can be kept together without interbreeding
http/www.planetinverts.com/Will%20These%20Shrimp%20Interbreed.html

Many thanks