# CRS tank routines.



## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

I have a list here of my methods of maintaining a crs tank.

For Water change
-30% R/O per week using drip method. A technique I learned from a member on here. My crs used to stop moving after a w/c even though the temp was the same and the gh was of by 1-2. Now they never stop feeding in my tank.
-Mosura mineral plus is added with the w/c instead of adding tap water. 

Feeding
-feed bloodworms once per week
-feed Raw organic spinach once per week (I find that blanching will kill the nutrients so I use the same steps as I would with Almond leaves by keeping them in a container with tank water and let it sit in the sun for a few days)
-Hikuri Algea wafers/Mosura Excel on alternating days.

These are my personnal methods, some are correct and some may not be. In either case feel free to contribute any methods of your own or any corrections you may see.


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## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

So you never use tap water?


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## arinsi (Mar 14, 2010)

wow this can really help beginners like me
im planning on some crs too


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

good stuff. Though I never used R/O and my high grades are berried one after another. I guess it depends on the substrate as well.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

- Same here, I use tap water only.
- Use oak leaves instead of almond leaves. Why pay for something when it's freely available for me to pick up in my local park. (as long as it's pesticide free, and the last I check it's ban in Toronto)
- Shirakura Mineral Powder instead of Mosura mineral.
- I also have a mineral rock sitting in my tank. So the Shirakura mineral wasn't really necessary.
- I feed Shirakura shrimp food but find that is missing something. So on the look out for other varieties.
- I used feed bloodworms and whiteworms in the old days, but my whiteworm culture died.

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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

GuppyLove said:


> So you never use tap water?


I used to use tap water, but I find with using R/O water I can maintain the ph at exactly 6.4 any higher and my shrimps stop moving. When they stop moving that's an indication to me that they don't like the water para and IME it's the most common way to kill your shrimps unless you readjust the para.

I've found that the cheapest way to get r/o is to pay a $10 deposit at walmart which gets you a 18.9L water tower jug. Then refill at the Culligan water stations by the rows of cashiers. Only $3 per refill and with my 6 gallon it lasts me a month.


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

arinsi said:


> wow this can really help beginners like me
> im planning on some crs too


CRS is easy to keep if you put 98% of your focus on the water.

-Using drip method during water changes helped me tremendously
-watch their behavior, if the majority stops feeding it means your water para is off
-try your best to keep 
6.2-6.6 ph and temp as close to 22 degrees as possible.

btw zebra where did you get your mineral rock from?


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## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

Zebrapl3co said:


> - Same here, I use tap water only.
> - Use oak leaves instead of almond leaves. Why pay for something when it's freely available for me to pick up in my local park. (as long as it's pesticide free, and the last I check it's ban in Toronto)
> - Shirakura Mineral Powder instead of Mosura mineral.
> - I also have a mineral rock sitting in my tank. So the Shirakura mineral wasn't really necessary.
> ...


What does mineral powder or mineral rock do for the shrimps? And is it only used in low ph/softwater setups, or is it beneficial for all setups?

What did you find was missing from the shirakura food?


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

I have a 10G with 6 SS CRS, I do a few things differently;
I use Indian Almond Leaves instead of RO or Oak leaves. I have two 3G buckets which I fill up with conditioned tap water and an Indian Almond Leaf and let sit for at least one night before I use it.

I do a water change schedule of 1/2G one day, 1/4G the next, then repeat.

Feeding schedule:
Monday - 1/4 Algae Wafer
Tuesday - HBH Lobster and Crab Bites
Wednesday - Freeze-dried Bloodworms (rehydrated)
Thursday - Hikari Shrimp Cuisine
Friday - Starve day (they eat the leaf)
Saturday - 1/2 Algae Wafer (I usually take some of it out after 3 hours)
Sunday - HBH Lobster and Crab Bites

My temperature is 21C, it's usually 22 or 23 in the summer. I'm using akadama, I'm looking to get that Fluval stratum soon though, I'm debating on whether or not I want to upgrade my 10G shrimp tank to a 32G.

I think we use the same drip method;
- Drip water in, usually 1/2G at a time and then let it sit for half an hour to an hour before adding more

I've had my CRS since the end of September/early October and they seem to be doing fine. 

I've wanted to use green water for a while, but since I'm using a 10G, it may change the parameters too dramatically and they seem to be happy with the food that I give them.

Btw CrystalMethShrimp, do you have any V-bands or tiger tooths for sale? I remember that you had some many months ago.


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## arinsi (Mar 14, 2010)

CrystalMethShrimp said:


> I've found that the cheapest way to get r/o is to pay a $10 deposit at walmart which gets you a 18.9L water tower jug. Then refill at the Culligan water stations by the rows of cashiers. Only $3 per refill and with my 6 gallon it lasts me a month.


this is actually great for smaller tanks
awesome advice

then for beginners do u guys recommend a smaller tank because of less funds or a bigger tank?
if so what sizes


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

CrystalMethShrimp said:


> ... btw zebra where did you get your mineral rock from?


I got mine ship from (shit I forgot) Malaysian/Phillipine:
http://aqmagic.com/store/product_in...r&cName=crystal-red-shrimp-shrimp-accessories
Ooo, it's on sale.

You have to be very patient with them. My last order took 2 months to get here. And it's not their fault, it Canada custom ... you know, white powder gets their attention.



GuppyLove said:


> What does mineral powder or mineral rock do for the shrimps? And is it only used in low ph/softwater setups, or is it beneficial for all setups?
> 
> What did you find was missing from the shirakura food?


See link from above. But don't believe everything they said though. It's not going to give your CRS more white or red colour. It will keep their shell healthy and moult properly. That's important during water change and when you introduce new shrimp. They usually molt and you would want the new shell to develop properly.
I favour the rock over the powder. One main reason is that it will disolve when you add to the tank, but once the water colomn becomes saturated, it will stop disolving. So from that point on, it will only disolve when I make water change and automatically stops when the water becomes saturated again. This is heck of a lot better than the crushed egg shells and liquid calcium I used to add because I can never gauge accurately if it's too much or too little.

As for the shirkura food, I find that they are missing some fatty stuff, hence why they have another line of food that promotes breeding (hint hint).



arinsi said:


> this is actually great for smaller tanks
> awesome advice
> 
> then for beginners do u guys recommend a smaller tank because of less funds or a bigger tank?
> if so what sizes


If you are starting with only 1 kind of shrimp. Start with a 5G.

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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

Has anyone tried putting a cuttlebone into their aquarium?


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

CrystalMethShrimp said:


> I've found that the cheapest way to get r/o is to pay a $10 deposit at walmart which gets you a 18.9L water tower jug. Then refill at the Culligan water stations by the rows of cashiers. Only $3 per refill and with my 6 gallon it lasts me a month.


BTW, have you used a TDS meter to see what the purity of the RO is? Often those grocery store RO macines aren't serviced properly, so you're actually just getting glorified tap water.


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

CrystalMethShrimp said:


> I used to use tap water, but I find with using R/O water I can maintain the ph at exactly 6.4 any higher and my shrimps stop moving. When they stop moving that's an indication to me that they don't like the water para and IME it's the most common way to kill your shrimps unless you readjust the para.
> 
> I've found that the cheapest way to get r/o is to pay a $10 deposit at walmart which gets you a 18.9L water tower jug. Then refill at the Culligan water stations by the rows of cashiers. Only $3 per refill and with my 6 gallon it lasts me a month.


what do you mean stop moving?? if it is not moving so its dead anyways.


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

camboy012406 said:


> what do you mean stop moving?? if it is not moving so its dead anyways.


Haha, no no their not dead they just stand still and stop feeding. That's an indication to me that their uncomfortable with their water para. Or if they are hiding more then scavenging and the ones you do see are not feeding it should also tell you the same thing. That they are uncomfortable and trying to adjust to the new water para. At this point I'll be frantically checking my water and either notice my temp is 26 instead of 22, or the ph is 6.8 instead of 6.4. Evey body's colony will be a little different as they have all adapted to the specific water para we have chosen for them. The key i believe is to maintain that consistency, and know your optimal water condition. That is the water para you see your shrimps happily swimming around and feeding in. Aim for those para each and every w/c.


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

Zebrapl3co said:


> I got mine ship from (shit I forgot) Malaysian/Phillipine:
> http://aqmagic.com/store/product_in...r&cName=crystal-red-shrimp-shrimp-accessories
> Ooo, it's on sale.
> 
> ...


If shirakura food is lacking would the ADA red bee food be sufficient? 
I've also noticed alot of members on this board use H&H crab food which has alot of similar ingredients like the expensive ADA red bee food.

with Mineral rock most people use Mosura or Shirakura which effects the gh of the water. If my gh is 3-4 from the R/O water what should I bump that number up to with the mineral supplement? 6-8gh? btw thanks for the link I just bought some.


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

ameekplec. said:


> BTW, have you used a TDS meter to see what the purity of the RO is? Often those grocery store RO macines aren't serviced properly, so you're actually just getting glorified tap water.


Unfortunately, I don't have a TDS meter for the R/O water I buy from the water stations. What I do is bring my ph test kit and 9/10 times I'll get a reading of around 6.2-6.4ph. I can't speak for all water stations but the Culligan brand has 6 step filtration. 1 sponge. 2 finer sponge. 3 charcoal. 4 R/O rubber membrane. 5 Charcoal. 6 UV light.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

CrystalMethShrimp said:


> If shirakura food is lacking would the ADA red bee food be sufficient?
> I've also noticed alot of members on this board use H&H crab food which has alot of similar ingredients like the expensive ADA red bee food.
> 
> with Mineral rock most people use Mosura or Shirakura which effects the gh of the water. If my gh is 3-4 from the R/O water what should I bump that number up to with the mineral supplement? 6-8gh? btw thanks for the link I just bought some.


Don't get me wrong, the Shirakura food is a really good daily supplement. It's cheaper than the other brands and it doesn't poison my baby shrimplette. I am just being picky that it's missing some fat/high protiens which should help promotes breeding.
I haven't tried the ADA or the Morura brand so I don't know.

As for the mineral rock. To be honest, after I cycle my tank, I never did test the gH of my CRS tank. What I wanted in my tank was the calcium from the mineral rock. If your R/O water has a low gH, you might want to becareful. I suspect a gH shock can kill a shrimp; although that could have been a TDS shock, these two kind of goes together.
I am not sure what kind of mineral supplement you're dosing. Do you mean the mineral rock or the mineral powder?

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## arinsi (Mar 14, 2010)

im planning on taking care of crs in my 50g when my plants spread out
but i dont know what grade and amount i should start with
i was thinking of s grade
i understand that the higher the grade the harder to keep

i dont have r/o
i dont use ferts
i have peat
i have specialized shrimp food ada/sera/this one asian brand that has 3 types that have red/black/white packaging
also have bloodworms

is there any additional routines for starting a colony i need to know
im also planning to keep around 5 horned nerite snails and around 15 otocinclus in the tank


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## dp12345 (Sep 12, 2010)

what is a drip method?

thanks
dp


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## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

dp12345 said:


> what is a drip method?
> 
> thanks
> dp


Look here: How to acclimatize shrimps to your shrimp tank


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

arinsi said:


> im planning on taking care of crs in my 50g when my plants spread out
> but i dont know what grade and amount i should start with
> i was thinking of s grade
> i understand that the higher the grade the harder to keep
> ...


You should be fine as long as your anal with your water changes.
Also the exclusion of the otoccinclus would be iny our best interest.

btw do you need to feed baby food if your tank has a minimal population?


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## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

I went looking for this thread cause there was some great info in it! Next week
I am getting some crs to put in my 5 gal which has fluval substrate ph 6.4-6.6, kh 0-1, and gh 5
I am thinking of getting some RO water for water changes, and have some questions!
1. Which to use, RO or distilled? Darkblade explained the difference between the two, now im curious which is better for shrimps
2. How do I make a mix of tap water and RO? Or will it be better to use straight RO with some mineral supplement added ? 
3. At my current parameters, should the gh or kh be higher? I think the gh might be ok but I was concerned about the kh-when I tested it with my api test kit the tube was supposed to change color but the kh is so low it stayed the same color on the first drop.... 

Thanks for reading  just want my crs to be ultra happy


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## RoryM (May 7, 2010)

Any of you shrimp guys/gals ever try kens fish food? I bought 8oz portions from someone on plantedtank and the shrimp go apeshit for it. There were 4 pieces of veggie sticks w/ calcium and two shirakura tossed in simultaneously and the shirakura was only touched by the ottos. Any of you make your own food besides tossing spinach in the tanks.


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

ShrimpieLove said:


> I went looking for this thread cause there was some great info in it! Next week
> I am getting some crs to put in my 5 gal which has fluval substrate ph 6.4-6.6, kh 0-1, and gh 5
> I am thinking of getting some RO water for water changes, and have some questions!
> 1. Which to use, RO or distilled? Darkblade explained the difference between the two, now im curious which is better for shrimps
> ...


Let me put it this way guppy love I've had alot of experience in what NOT to do with keeping shrimps and for the first 2/3 of having them I've lost over 40 (no kidding) 40! crs. To answer you first, avoid distilled as it's expensive. If you have a small tank I'd buy a 18.9L water jug and fill it at super markets which only charge $2.99 for R/O water. But be sure to being your ph tester as some never change their filters and R/O water should have a ph of 6.0-6.4 no higher. If you use R.O water your kh and gh will always be stable.

That being said, for the past 4 months I've not had a single death and at this moment I have 4-5 berried females out of 30 high grade shrimp I brought in from Japan.

These I find are essential to keeping them alive:
1)Stable water
2)Stable water
3)Stable water!! What I mean by that is your water changes. In the past I took out 50% water and dumped in 50%. A Huge NO NO i've come to learn.
The GH and Kh and Ph all change suddenly on a weekly basis and it harms their health.

For water changes heres what I do exactly.
1)Do a GH and PH test to tank (Gh should be 4-6 and KH 1-2 and ph 6.4-6.8) 2)Take out 50% of water. 
3)In a bucket I add R/O water with a gh of 2-3 and ph 6-6.4 (I avoid tap now) then add liquid mineral. 
4)Use "drip method" over the course of 5-8 hours and refill the tank (the filter is off the entire time). 
5) Do another water test to ensure your around the same water parameter before your water change. Then turn on filter

I honestly believe this is a HUMUNGUS factor is keeping them alive and letting them breed.

Factors that also help alot:

1) Reduce feeding to every other day and in small amount. 
2) ADA substrate/Fluval Substrate.
3) Co2 lowers the ph an addtional 0.4ph for me and help plants grow to remove more no3.
4) Leave the water alone as much as you can.
5) Lots of plants for 2 crucial purpose 1)They clean the water and remove NO3
2)Hiding places help them breed and molt without stress

There are more factors to take into considerations but these are the mains one to FOCUS and pay attention to, especially and I cannot stress enough to beginners, water stability!!


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## Flazky (Jan 9, 2010)

what products do you use to increase KH and GH? I was looking at mosura mineral plus but dunno where to get it in the GTA


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

Flazky said:


> what products do you use to increase KH and GH? I was looking at mosura mineral plus but dunno where to get it in the GTA


ebay. thats what i use and it works.


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## Flazky (Jan 9, 2010)

ebay dont got em. Does frank's carry it?


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

Oh actually you can buy it anywhere now.
Fluval has a mineral supplement witht he new EBI line.


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## RoryM (May 7, 2010)

Your local saltwater store will have a nice selection of gh and kh solutions. I find the "shrimp" stuff is waaay over priced atm as shrimp are the new thing in aquaria here in north america.


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## Flazky (Jan 9, 2010)

so african cichlid condition would work fine?


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

Flazky said:


> so african cichlid condition would work fine?


Yes a breeder told me it's the best one to use


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