# Guide for Cherry Shrimps



## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Hi, i want to build a cherry shrimp tank, either 5G or 10G max, and want to make aquascaping similar to what AlexPatRascu is doing for his crs. I may also want to put ghost shrimps and amino shrimps, dont know compatibility yet. I want to do it as cheaply as possible, and easily as possible with making nice aquascaping with java moss / fern driftwood, thus no CRS, only plain cheapest and hardiest shrimp to start with, as I have no experience, and want to take smaller steps. I do have an Aquaclear 20, and a sponge prefilter, as well as a Marina filter i saw in the CRS 101 thread, so i could one or the other, or both, depending on final outcome. I want to put tap water, not R/O water, that's why i need hardy shrimps. The guide CRS 101 in this forum seems nice, how much do i deviate for the red chery shrimps to make it as cheap as possible, yet beautifull? Also, any guide/website/tips you can give so I start reading this next project of mine. I wont start doing the tank right away, in a few months only, but need to prepare early and keep my eyes open for equipment i need and where to buy them, as well as the shrimps. Also, are snails ok with shrimps, if so, which ones? I may decide to try to put 4 guppies in there, but only short experiment with carefull eye, to see how things go, as they would go back to 75g tank at the slightest problem or if there are babies around. The tank may be open top, not sure yet as i dont have the aquarium yet. Is play sand or black sand ok, or does one absolutely need the fluval shrimp type sand?

Thanks in advance.


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## Alexpatrascu (Jun 13, 2010)

Well, welcome into the shrimp keeping hobby buddy.

Good to see you've done some homework, even if you start with RCS.

Now back to some of your questions....

Gost shrimps are not recommended with smaller darf shrimps as they can/will attack/eat them.

Amano shrimps grow way bigger than RCS and the RCS will get bullied.

About the filters...you can use one or both....I suggest both, this way you'll have good water movement at the surface of the tank(a good think in this kinda weather)....and you'll have a working(cycled) filter in case one of them brakes....and you have more space for biological iltration(media).

Snail, are good in a shrimp tank and you can go with anything small(MTS, Spiky nerite, ramshorn, etc...)

No fish, even for testing...they WILL eat the RCS babies !!!

If the tank is gonna be opened make sure the waterline is at least one inch down from the top of the tank as the RSC are known to be climbers.

The soil....go for the black sand, it'll make the RCS color pop...and the plants you're gonna put in your tank don't need anything special.

There is no need for shrimp soil if you planning on keeping just RCS, stick with black sand.

PS: I'm glad you got inspired by my tank....the small "trees" that I have in my tankl are roots from some small dead trees.

Good luck with your project and don't hesiatate to ask if you have any question.

Keep us posted.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Hey Alex,

Thanks for the responses. I am glad i dont need to buy the shrimp sand, as i had bought some expensive florite sand already, and not doing much with it now as my main 75g tank has playsand anyways, so this is a good saver.

Few questions for you guys:
- Where is the cheapest place to buy the rcs? I guess i need 10 as a minimum right? Where is cheapest place for ghost shrimp, and how much are they (i wont mix them, dont worry, i want some for my large tank). Same for the Amino shrimps, though i may mix the ghost and amino, if that is ok.
- The aquarium wont be facing a window, buy direct sunlight will be partially facing it for a few hours per day. This be ok?
- Can i get by with a 5G, and if so, how many shrimps can i have in there? Or do i need to have 10G as a minimum. I want them to breed if possible.
- Any sites i can check out how to keep these RCS? I dont know if there is a special procedure for breeding and what to watch for (if it ever happens to me anyways)
- Do the RCS swim as nicely and often as your CRS? I couldnt believe how often and nicely they were swiming and moving all the time in your tank video.
- I dont want to use special water, just tap water with Prime, that be ok right?
- Actually, not sure if I should go ghost shrimp or red chery yet on the small tank, i am guessing the ghost shrimp breed as easily too and are easy to take care of, as the red chery?
- You used normal wood from your background, did you do anything special to it so that it doesnt float, and any special cleaning?

Regards


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## Ricky (Aug 13, 2009)

zfarsh said:


> Hey Alex,
> 
> Thanks for the responses. I am glad i dont need to buy the shrimp sand, as i had bought some expensive florite sand already, and not doing much with it now as my main 75g tank has playsand anyways, so this is a good saver.
> 
> ...


1. Cheapest place is right here on this forum. Look for members who breed and sell cherry shrimps in the Buy, sell & trade. They are usually inexpensive. As for ghost shrimps and Amanos, usually a LFS would have it. I know Lucky's aquarium in market village carry them often.

2. Direct sunlight on the tank for a couple of hours won't be a problem at all. There will be green algae growth on the walls of your tanks. Your cherry shrimps will appreciate it and feed on it.

3. You will see them mostly scavenging more so than flying around. They tend to fly around a lot when they mate.

4. Tap water in Toronto is fine. I don't do anything special to buff the water when i do weekly water changes for my crystal shrimps.

5. Cherry shrimps are hardy and prolific breeders under right conditions. Here's a link that provides more indepth details. 
http://www.planetinverts.com/Red Cherry Shrimp.html


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

thanks for the responses. Is yellow shrimp same as red cherry shrimp, except the color? Are they compatible?


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## Alexpatrascu (Jun 13, 2010)

zfarsh said:


> thanks for the responses. Is yellow shrimp same as red cherry shrimp, except the color? Are they compatible?


Yes, they're both Neocaridina....if you keep them in the same tank they'll crossbreed and you'll get ugly offsprings !!!

Back to your questions....I suggest you look for RCS on Kijiji and on this forum....sometimes you can find cheaper RCS on Kijiji then here.

About the direct sunlight...what Ricky said.

A 5 gal is OK but I suggest you go with a 10-20 gal....the bigger, the better.

planetinverts.com is a very good start, you'll find lots of article on keeping RCS and other dwarf shrimps.

I have no experience with ghosts but I think they're not as easy to keep/breed as RCS....nothing beats these red devils...they'll grow in rain water......

About the wood...I got in from my "backyard".....I boiled it for 3 days(a few hours each day) and I scrubbed it in between boiling....I kept it in a bucket of water and it finally sunk.

You can also put it in the oven for some time at 200F.....look up on google: cleaning driftwood.

Anything else you wanna know, just ask.


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## ThaChingster (Feb 25, 2011)

Alexpatrascu said:


> I have no experience with ghosts but I think they're not as easy to keep/breed as RCS.


That is correct, ghost and amano shrimps both do not release their young as small versions of themselves. The babies first start off as larvae, and the owner actually needs saltwater to grow these larvae until they're bigger and can be raised in fresh water


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## Alexpatrascu (Jun 13, 2010)

ThaChingster said:


> That is correct, ghost and amano shrimps both do not release their young as small versions of themselves. The babies first start off as larvae, and the owner actually needs saltwater to grow these larvae until they're bigger and can be raised in fresh water


Well, there you have it.....thanks Jerry.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

ok, thanks again guys. I have decided no ghost shrimp as they are too aggressive. I will probably go with Red Cherry (or yellow) shrimps to go in 10G tank i am buying from someone in the forums at 20$ with light fixture, seems in excellent condition. I may mix in some Amino shrimp as well, or start putting them in my 75 gallon tank to see how it goes. Is it ok to mix Amano Shrimps and Bamboo Shrimps? Or Bamboo Shrimps in the 10g tank with the Red Cherry Shrimps. I know the bamboo shrimp is much larger (2-3"), but i think i saw it was very peacefull.


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## Alexpatrascu (Jun 13, 2010)

Just a suggestion.....why don't you go for Fire reds ?!?

They are a little more expensive but they look WAYYYY better....watch out though, some people still try to sell them for 9-10$.....I got mine(Montreal) for 3.99$/pcs and I got 6pcs/21.99$ from a local shop.

Here are some PFR/RCS ads on kijiji:
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-livestock-for-sale-pet-shrimp-W0QQAdIdZ300310391
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-to-give-or-donate-Plecos-Cherry-Shrimps-W0QQAdIdZ304524074
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-liv...-Vinegar-Eels-Cherry-Shrim-W0QQAdIdZ302212984


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Hey Alex, thanks for the links on people selling the shrimps, needed that. Not sure about the red fire shrimp, this is the first time i see them. They are more red, and less yellow in them i guess? You live in Montreal? I used to live their my whole life, just came to GTA about 3 years ago.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Question on Aquarium design: 

1) How come no one is doing a Java Moss walls for their shrimp tanks?
2) I am buying a 10g tank with lid on it, is that bad? Should i remove the top and light that comes with it, and put my own light, which i can mount bellow a shelf that is about about 5 - 10ines above the top of the tank?
3) So I really dont need shrimp specific substrate, a pH of 7.6 from tap water is fine?
4) Can rocks found make water higher pH, and if so, is it ok to have a pH of 8 for RCS, Amano, and Bamboo Shrimp?
5) Buying some amano and bamboo shrimp, i want the EASY way to acclimidate them into new tank, how do i do it, i dont have 5 hours to wait.

thanks


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## Alexpatrascu (Jun 13, 2010)

The best moss wall is done with xmas moss...the java one doesn't look good.
If the tank comes with a lid it's OK, no need to remove it.
RCS do great in pH 7.6
You can add rocks that you found in your back yard, those are prolly safe.
There is an easier/faster way to aclimate shrimps but do keep in mind that ALL shrimps, no matter how tough they are, need a slow aclimation...so:
- you take the bag in which you received/bought the shrimps
- you put it in your tank for 30 min so the temp from the bag will be the same as your tank
- you pour the content of the bag in a small bucket/container
- you take a small coffee cup and you add a little water from your tank every 10 min
- you do this till you have in the bucket three times the amount of the water that was in the bag.
- you scoop out the shrimps
- you put them in your tank
- or you put them in your frying pan *optional*


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

haha, put them in frying pan  thanks bro.

ok, i hope xmas moss are low light too. I will start searching for them, i dont have this type of moss.

On the lid, wont it lower the amount of oxygen?


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## ThaChingster (Feb 25, 2011)

Alexpatrascu said:


> You can add rocks that you found in your back yard, those are prolly safe.
> There is an easier/faster way to aclimate shrimps but do keep in mind that ALL shrimps, no matter how tough they are, need a slow aclimation...so:


I have have to respectfully disagree with these two points. 
First off, there are many rocks that release limestone that raises the pH of the water dramatically; OP you can pour vinegar on the rocks, and if you hear sizzling, the rocks are bad.

For the second point, there is a form of acclimation called bomb acclimation. If the water in your tank is better than the water in the shrimp's bag, why do you need to acclimate? For example, if you had a homeless person suddenly move into a 5 million dollar mansion, he won't die right? He will flourish, so to speak. So if you know your water is good quality, you can perform a 25-50% water change and just equalize temperature by putting the bag in your tank's water for a few minutes, and just dropping the shrimp in.


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## ThaChingster (Feb 25, 2011)

zfarsh said:


> On the lid, wont it lower the amount of oxygen?


Shrimp don't need a lot of oxygen. As long as you have some surface agitation, and maybe a bubbler, you'll be okay


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Hey ThaChingster, thanks for your inputs, will know for next time. I had done a slow custom acclimatization where i add bits of tank water, then tap water for a long time every couple of minutes, but gonna try the bomb technique next time.

That said, i realised that i was on the last treatment of my main 75G tank with Prazy Pond Plus (the 5th and last), and read this might be bad for shrimps, though snails are un-affected, so i put them in a 5 gallon pale untill the 4-5 days treatment/effects are over, will do a water change, then add them. I really really like these amano shrimps, so cute, and my wood shrimp is very large, like 3 inches. I have a little marine tank filter in there, and had put some tank water in there before the prazy, so hopefully some bacterias there till i do the switch over.

Does anyone do Moss Walls in their shrimp tanks, or is this not really advantegeous cause of christmas moss needing more light and shrimps can maybe get cought/hide in the back of the wall? I might consider getting a backwall similar to what alex has done, or maybe just a black wallpaper, though i dont know if it will be good, black wallpaper with black sand? Anyone doing this?


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

I had my cherries in my crystal tank for awhile before I moved them over. After moving them all over, I found 2 small babies that must have hatched in there before I moved them over, so I left them and figured I would get them when they were bigger. One day during some pruning I found both of them and scooped them quickly. Being so small I didn't want to try and transfer to a container and drip, so I figured I'd just plunk them in the bigger tank with all the cherries and hope they did well. They both did well and I saw both of them a little while ago today and this was 2 weeks ago I did this.

The crystal tank is 6.4pH, 72c, the cherry tank is 7.6pH, 76c. Plop and drop worked fine for them from such a big extreme. Everything I've read though is that juvi's handle new tanks and things like that better.

On that note also, I cleaned my filter on the crystal tank and found 2 tigers and a crystal in the bottom of the filter still alive hanging out eating all kinds of goodies that got sucked into the filter. lol.


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## Alexpatrascu (Jun 13, 2010)

ThaChingster said:


> I have have to respectfully disagree with these two points.
> First off, there are many rocks that release limestone that raises the pH of the water dramatically; OP you can pour vinegar on the rocks, and if you hear sizzling, the rocks are bad.
> 
> For the second point, there is a form of acclimation called bomb acclimation. If the water in your tank is better than the water in the shrimp's bag, why do you need to acclimate? For example, if you had a homeless person suddenly move into a 5 million dollar mansion, he won't die right? He will flourish, so to speak. So if you know your water is good quality, you can perform a 25-50% water change and just equalize temperature by putting the bag in your tank's water for a few minutes, and just dropping the shrimp in.


Well Jerry, you ARE right on the first one, I should've added the vinegar testing, but I DO have to disagree with you on the second one.

You can't compare this situation with a "homeless in a 5 mil $ mansion"...we're talking about aclimating some shrimps that come from a tank with specific water specs(which is prolly what they're used to/good conditions as they're not dead) to your tank water which is a tolly new environment for them.

Like Jay was saying, it's like taking a person living at sea level and drop him on the tip of a mountain and expect to "feel at home" !!!

When I received my RCS I did the easy method with the coffee cup so....just go whit whatever you think will work for you.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

can someone pls show me some picture comparison between the red cherry shrimp and the red fire shrimp, i am not finding much on to compare the two. If you can even take a video and post the difference, that would be great.


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## arc (Mar 11, 2010)

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/foru...-Grading-system-of-Cherry-to-Fire-Red-Shrimps

Note that as some Fire reds age, their colours get more solid and intense.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

wow, thanks Arc, that's a great link.

By the way, if i get say 4 male and 6 female (not sure what is best numbers of each) of the red fire shrimps, will they give a mix of red chery shrimps and fire red, and other grades, or will they all be red fire. Need to know as i dont want to invest too much in it and maybe get less of them if it is not too worth it, as i really have 1 tank at the moment i can use.


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## arc (Mar 11, 2010)

That ratio is fine, they have a very high survival rate for babies so within 2 months you will have a sizable population. 

The grade of the shrimp shouldn't be a problem if you start out with good stock but there is always going to be the odd lower grade shrimp. On the flip side, there will be the odd shrimp that has amazing colour. Look in the Sales section of the Forum for really well priced Fire Reds or check out Frank's Aquarium as I remember he was selling Painted Fire Reds.


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## J-Ye (Mar 15, 2009)

I started a colony with 6 shrimps (4 female 2 male, 1 female died in a week) about 2 months ago obtained from a fellow GTAA member here. My tank is a 5.5 gallon with black flourite substrate, java moss on rocks and driftwoods, and a HOB filter with a sponge pre-filter. 10-15% waterchange every week, heater set to 77F, but temps can does reach 86F+ due to summer heat and lack of AC in my place. To bring the water temp down very hot days, freeze bottle waters and let it float in the water.

Right now, I have about 50 shrimps in my tank. Newborns are always crawling around. 1 month after introduction, my females started to get berried. I feed them blanched lettuce & spinach, flakes, algae and ocassionaly peas. I am not sure the name of the algae, but I am growing them in a plastic container with few rocks and leaving it outside exposed to direct sunlight. When ready, I just collect the algae covered rocks and drop them in the tank. My shrimps goes apeshit for the algae. Here are some pictures of my shrimps. 

I have some thats are almost big enough for sale. At the moment, they are roughly 1 cm, unsexed. PM me if your interested.



First pic is one of my females. 2nd is 1 male and 2 female munching on flakes. 3rd is the colony feeding on the algae that I've been growing.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

wow, thanks for your post J-Ye, very inspiring for me.


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## sujeev87 (Oct 17, 2010)

how long does it take for a rcs to fully colour up? What size will they start to colour up? Do males show less colour than females?


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

where can i get these double sponge pre-filters that i saw in the crs sticky thread?


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

zfarsh said:


> where can i get these double sponge pre-filters that i saw in the crs sticky thread?


They are Hagan brand, big al's carries them, aquainspirations.


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## Alexpatrascu (Jun 13, 2010)

zfarsh said:


> where can i get these double sponge pre-filters that i saw in the crs sticky thread?


I got mine from eBay for ~4$.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

can you show me the seller, or what do you call this filter anyways.

By the way, i couldtn see the filter at Big Al's Oakville, and dont remember seing it at Scarborough either. Will ask if they have it at Mississauga unless i find it at on ebay for way cheaper


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

zfarsh said:


> can you show me the seller, or what do you call this filter anyways.
> 
> By the way, i couldtn see the filter at Big Al's Oakville, and dont remember seing it at Scarborough either. Will ask if they have it at Mississauga unless i find it at on ebay for way cheaper


I just typed in sponge filter on Ebay, and the first page was 90% that style you're looking for.

Since the big al's pet site is being redone, they're not listed on their but they have them at the Hamilton store all the time.

They look like this http://www.amazon.com/Hagen-A902-Do...?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1314639303&sr=1-1


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

hey thank, yea you are right, the first one is coming from China, its like less than 3$ with shipping included. Just not sure how good it will be, thats all, the price is so low i am begining to question it .


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

zfarsh said:


> hey thank, yea you are right, the first one is coming from China, its like less than 3$ with shipping included. Just not sure how good it will be, thats all, the price is so low i am begining to question it .


Electronics from there, like a 32GB memory card for $3 shipped, I'm a bit sceptical over. Something that is a sponge and a piece of plastic and more than likely made at the same factory as the Hagen ones anyways, I wouldn't worry as much about. Look at the no-name canister filters on the market, sun-sun, jebo and the others. They are made at the same factories as marineland, eheim, fluval, etc, and some even use half the same parts. They can't make them with the name brand or exactly the same, but you're already making plastic tubes and sponges, make some no-name ones anyways.


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## J-Ye (Mar 15, 2009)

sujeev87 said:


> how long does it take for a rcs to fully colour up? What size will they start to colour up? Do males show less colour than females?


My babies start to colour within a week. They are fully coloured when they reach adult at about 1 inch. Females have greater colour intensity than males.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

ok, so I have a 2.5 gallon tank, with some terestrial plants which have their roots in my tank (Cyperus Umbrella), and some java moss / java fern, with a driftwood. Currently, i have 2 Amano Shrimps, 2 Nerite Snails, and MTS, and the amonia / nitrite is 0 after 3 days, eventhough i put some alga wafers for them. There is no filter, but there is a air stone in there.

That said, i want to eventually turn this into a red chery shrimp tank, and have like 6- 10 of them. Will i really need a sponge filter?


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

zfarsh said:


> ok, so I have a 2.5 gallon tank, with some terestrial plants which have their roots in my tank (Cyperus Umbrella), and some java moss / java fern, with a driftwood. Currently, i have 2 Amano Shrimps, 2 Nerite Snails, and MTS, and the amonia / nitrite is 0 after 3 days, eventhough i put some alga wafers for them. There is no filter, but there is a air stone in there.
> 
> That said, i want to eventually turn this into a red chery shrimp tank, and have like 6- 10 of them. Will i really need a sponge filter?


You won't need a sponge filter, unless your population grows in the next while into a substantial shrimp colony. Then, you should consider something just to polish up the water. Mind you, RCS reproduce extremely quickly.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

ok thanks.

Now, what should i feed the adult, and what should i feed the baby shrimp, and can the same food be used for both. I would like to know both the commercial type foods, and the organic vegetables way. Also, same question but for Amano Shrimps.


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