Thinking Of Making A Shrimp Tank...

[challdog]

okay...
thinking about starting up a freshwater shrimp tank.
thinking of Cherries, bumblebee's, and crystal.

1. how much space, for how many shrimps...?
2. can i mix shrimp species? (have a few bumbles, and a few cherries, and a few crystals...)
3. do they need filtration?
4. do they need a heater?
5. what do i do if i have to go away for a few weeks?

I also need some general info / how-to's
anything's appreciated

PS
money is very short... ive seen some cheap tanks, but they're about 5 litres... hence question 1/2

cheers guys,
iain

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Hi,

All of those shrimp species stay relatively small, so, obviously tje bigger the better in terms of size, but probably 10 gallon would be great.. If not you could have say a 5 gallon but the smaller the harder to keep the water balanced, shrimps are sensitive to nitrates, plus im not sure you could provide a nice environment in a tank that size.

You can mix, but i cant remember if some species will breed together, which can mean you get rubbish looking fry. Bumblebees amd crystal will interbreed but you get a sort of brown looking batch of fry...

Filtration is needed, at least a sponge filter, something with a small intake. Heater also recommended, although crystals need cooler water i think.

Your shrimp should be fine for a couple weeks, so long as they have something to scavenge on

 

[Caprichoso]

okay...
thinking about starting up a freshwater shrimp tank.
thinking of Cherries, bumblebee's, and crystal.

1. how much space, for how many shrimps...?
2. can i mix shrimp species? (have a few bumbles, and a few cherries, and a few crystals...)
3. do they need filtration?
4. do they need a heater?
5. what do i do if i have to go away for a few weeks?

I also need some general info / how-to's
anything's appreciated

PS
money is very short... ive seen some cheap tanks, but they're about 5 litres... hence question 1/2

cheers guys,
iain

The Bee and Crystal Reds will breed. This is a good thing if you mix Golden Bee(it's a white shrimp) with Crystal Red because the Golden Bee will give more white to the Crystal Red's making a more higher grade shrimp. A word of caution, these shrimp are much more sensitive than Cherry shrimp. If you want them to breed, they will do best at a pH of 7.0. They need to have VERY clean water. Water change 50% each week. Feed high quality food with NO COPPER in it. I feed mine Hikari Crab Cuisine and blanched zucchini. Feed small amounts. Temp should be no warmer than 74F if you want them to breed. You can have a sponge filter, you don't need a power filter. Sponge filters are good because they only require an air pump to make them work and the shrimp can feed off the bacteria that builds up on the sponge. If you go away for weeks, then someone has to take care of them. You can't just leave them without doing the water changes. Cherry shrimp are less demanding. You don't need a heater as long as the tank is in a place where the temp will remain stable. Fluctuating temp is hard on shrimp, especially CRS and Bee shrimp. Another caution is setting up a new tank and putting shrimp in. They prefer an established tank with no chance of ammonia or nitrite spikes. This will kill them faster than a shake of a lambs tail.

One more thing, put drift wood and lots of java moss and some hornwort in the tank, the shrimps love it!!