# My new CRS tank



## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

After trying my luck with some CRS's in a little 5 gallon tank, I am now moving on to bigger (6 gallons lol) and better things! This is a 1 cubic foot starfire tank. Drilled in the bottom and I am using an Eheim Professionel II filter. I used Fluval planted tank substrate (figured it would be good for the shrimp and the plants) and made a little "river" of white gravel from the dollar store. One big piece of driftwood to cover the intake and outlet of the filter. Nice and clean looking with no equipment in the tank. 

Now I'll need to find a source of some higher grade CRS's than what I have. This tank is too nice for the B/C's!


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

Ohhh, I like the look of this.

It makes my starfire cube look grungy. haha. 

Tie some moss on that driftwood! =)

And I prefer S grades!


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

nice! and welcome to the shrimp world

that filter is like half the volume of the tank lol..u might as well use a sump.


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## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

Very nice setup! I like your light too


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

Kerohime said:


> Ohhh, I like the look of this.
> 
> It makes my starfire cube look grungy. haha.
> 
> ...


The moss is coming... As soon as I can get my hands on some that I like. London is really limited for this stuff unfortunately.

I too like S grade... I also like the No Entry's.

Do you have pics of your cube on here?


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

Beijing08 said:


> nice! and welcome to the shrimp world
> 
> that filter is like half the volume of the tank lol..u might as well use a sump.


Thank you! Shrimp sure are amazing little creatures!

Yeah, the filter is definitely overkill but I like being able to use all the different types of media. Plus I had it kicking around.

I was debating whether or not to put the HC in because of the CO2 issue ... I think I'll get a little tank or even the Fluval system... Provided that is ok with the CRS's.


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

ShrimpieLove said:


> Very nice setup! I like your light too


lol thanks... The light is a temporary desk lamp though. I am building my own light for this that will accept an E27 base LED bulb. I'll post pic's of this when I finish it.


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

The only pic of my cube i have up is the one where my cat is drinking out of it. lol

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24124


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

That's really funny. I never thought of the cat when I set this up where it is. The cat will be doing the same thing for sure! Hmmmm... Maybe I'll have to get a glass lid! I really didn't want to do that though.

I like the idea of using a piece of glass from a picture frame from the dollar store that someone suggested in your thread! I might have to go see if they have them that big there. 

What did you end up doing?


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

Well I added my current CRS's and CBS's to the tank last weekend. They are all doing good and loving the new luxurious home. 

Here are a few shots of them. 

I was told the CBS are S grade and the CRS were B/C grade. Is this accurate or are the CRS higher than B/C?


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

I'm not too sure about the grading myself, but you bought them berried already? 

wow, I'm still waiting for mine to get berried and its already been like 1 and a half months. D=

Very nice clean looking tank though! =)


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

I bought these about 2 months ago. They were in a little 5 gallon tank. They were not berried when I got them. Now, two of the CRS are berried and one of the CBS is berried. I don't know if I will get babies this time around but it's still exciting to watch!

Thanks for the compliment. I need to find a small CO2 tank to get that HC growing into a nice little carpet 



Kerohime said:


> I'm not too sure about the grading myself, but you bought them berried already?
> 
> wow, I'm still waiting for mine to get berried and its already been like 1 and a half months. D=
> 
> Very nice clean looking tank though! =)


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Sinerviz said:


> I was told the CBS are S grade and the CRS were B/C grade. Is this accurate or are the CRS higher than B/C?


CRS & CBS, they all have their own individual grading

C
B
A
S
SS
SS+
SSS
SSS+


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

Yes... but I am asking about my CRS that I posted pictures of. I was told they were B/C grade and I paid for B/C grade (not much) but I feel (going by the guide on Planet Inverts) that they are higher than that... looking for the opinions of people more familiar with shrimp than myself.



bigfishy said:


> CRS & CBS, they all have their own individual grading
> 
> C
> B
> ...


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

Your CBS is an s

Your berried crs is b grade, not c for sure

And I can't see the other 2 crs well enough to tell

You can have a/s/s+ off springs by introducing a male with good white coverage. His white genes will cover up the females


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

Ok awesome! Thanks.

Perhaps I will remove any lower grade males and add a bunch of higher grade males and females.

Will the CBS's breed with the CRS's? Should I remove them?



CrystalMethShrimp said:


> Your CBS is an s
> 
> Your berried crs is b grade, not c for sure
> 
> ...


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

Yeah they will interbreed....

If you remember high school genetics its basically like this:

The black is dominant and the red is recessive. Although some people claim that you can have brown and white babies if they cross...

http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23252&page=2


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

*I got babies!*

I noticed today that there are approx. 20 (or more) babies scooting around! This is really cool. They are all reds like the momma...

Really hard to photograph but I'm going to do my best to get some shots with my camera on manual focus. I really wish I had a nice DSLR now!


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

Congrats! Isnt it wonderful? haha

I have only been able to identify 4 or 5 at a time though. :s
They are really hard for me to see... I hope there are actually more hiding around, it is a 20 gallon planted tank though... with light/reddish substrate. 

*sigh*


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

Oh wow, that would make it tough. I am lucky in that there aren't that many places for these guys to hide... just some HC that is starting to grow out and one big piece of driftwood (big considering the size of the tank). When did you first start noticing yours? Today is the first day for me and this is the first batch of baby crs's ever for me. I look forward to seeing them grow up.

I am using a PinPoint PH controller to monitor the PH. So far it hovers around 6.48... goes as low as 6.44 and as high as 6.52 throughout the day. I assume this slight move in PH is okay?

Some Pictures:


























Kerohime said:


> Congrats! Isnt it wonderful? haha
> 
> I have only been able to identify 4 or 5 at a time though. :s
> They are really hard for me to see... I hope there are actually more hiding around, it is a 20 gallon planted tank though... with light/reddish substrate.
> ...


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

Hehehe those are so cute!
and the pH looks good.  
Have you tested your general hardness? Its good to provide minerals so the babies can molt every few days now that they are growing so much in the beginning.


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

Yeah my GH doesn't really change. I have been doing quite frequent water changes with RO water and that is basically ZERO GH. Should I be doing half RO and half tap water to leave in some of the minerals etc. from the tap water?


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

Yeah you definitely want to maintain the minerals in your water. You can use RO water and add minerals yourself, or half and half RO water and Tap should be ok to, your pH is low enough it should be fine. Just try to age the tap water you use a bit, I put a drop of prime into a bucket and aerate the water for 2 days or so. But I only do water changes every other week... But my tanks are 15g and 20g. I also put mineral rocks and use Mosura old sea mud during my water changes, but I'm not sure those things are essential. I just happened to come across alot of products lol.


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

So I was counting today and at one given time I counted 22 babies. All CRS babies. Parameters are the same but my temp went up to 78 at one point... Now I can't seem to get below 76. My house is 72.

Also, I found one baby that at first looked clear but as it grows slightly, it is looking slightly blue!! Is this normal from a CRS momma?


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

Really? Nobody has had the same experiences??


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## Kerohime (Jan 10, 2011)

I havent noticed the blue part. 

But I do notice they are less transparent now... like more white and more red. 

Try not to go over 26C. And to be honest, after I realized I have now around 15 berried females I turned the heat down to around 22C. The breeding seems to be stressing out my males alot. I think the colder the better for longivity, as well as higher dissolved oxygen.


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

The blue one has no red and no white... Just a light blue shrimp. But there are only crystal red mommas in there which I find strange.

I'd like to keep the temp that low. But my problem is how to get it that low... If it is naturally at 24, a I forced to get a chiller? Is my canister heating the water? What does everyone do to control low temps?



Kerohime said:


> I havent noticed the blue part.
> 
> But I do notice they are less transparent now... like more white and more red.
> 
> Try not to go over 26C. And to be honest, after I realized I have now around 15 berried females I turned the heat down to around 22C. The breeding seems to be stressing out my males alot. I think the colder the better for longivity, as well as higher dissolved oxygen.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

Sinerviz said:


> The blue one has no red and no white... Just a light blue shrimp. But there are only crystal red mommas in there which I find strange.
> 
> I'd like to keep the temp that low. But my problem is how to get it that low... If it is naturally at 24, a I forced to get a chiller? Is my canister heating the water? What does everyone do to control low temps?


Post a picture man. Seems like youve won the jackpot. We could have a blue bolt in the house. Genetic mutation.


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## Sinerviz (Apr 2, 2011)

I'll try to get a picture when I'm home this weekend. I don't have a really good camera though so it's tough to get a good shot of the tiny babies...


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