# So i got talked into shrimp today



## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

so instead of trying to breed rams or angels in my 38 gallon im going to do a planted shrimp colony. i got 6 cherry from a friend for free and 3 females have eggs already.

any suggestions for plants in the tank that shrimp like? i was told moss balls, java moss, and some sort of leaves?

ill try to take pics but my substrate make it VERY hard to see them.


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## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

Congrats on ur new shrimp! 
In my cherry tank I have moss balls and lotsa different types of mosses, but ive had all sorts of plants and they seem to like them all  one good thing to have is a breeding tube or cave or just somewhere dark they can hide, i have this little roman house ornament which is kinda cheezy looking hehehe but I covered it with moss and the shrimp can go inside where its totally dark, i notice the females will dissappear into there when theyre close to having the babies-so they must like it  
I have some riccia in my tanks too and i find babies hidden in it alot


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

whats a good substrate i can pick up at big als. unfortunatly i cat get to a "better" store because of where i am in barrie and dont really wanna travel a hour to toronto for substrate. Do i need the special plant enriched substrate for mosses and such?


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Pick up Fluval Stratum for shrimps in the Red bag...you will need 2 of the big ones for a 38 gallon. This soil is great for shrimps as it keeps the PH down at around 6.6. My shrimps love picking over it so it must have something in the soil they like to eat.

Plants should be mosses of any kind, java, xmas, taiwan, floating plants can be dwarf lettuce, frogbit, hornwort, pennywort, hygrofilia, baby tears. 
Java ferns are good too and look nice planted...some wisteria or water sprite (something feathery looking) that they can crawl all over and hang out on, and a piece of driftwood...preferably with some holes in it.

They will crawl inside when they are berried to get away from the bothersome males  Couple of pond stones to set it off, a sponge filter on one side and Hang on the back on the other and you are all set!

Shrimp Heaven.
Here's a pic of my planted 30 gallon with shrimps, snails and crays in it.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

my suggestion would be eco-complete mixed or not mixed with regular gravel. that black gravel will boost your shrimps' colour not to mention it's an amazing planting substrate. I also recommend adding at least 20 more cherry shrimp, otherwise you just will never see them.


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

yeah, they were just kinda a free gift from a friend, but i do wanna get into it, i will end up getting more once i get a good substrate and some plants in it.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

4rdguy said:


> yeah, they were just kinda a free gift from a friend, but i do wanna get into it, i will end up getting more once i get a good substrate and some plants in it.


good luck! this hobby is one dimension more interesting than keeping fish, and at the same time little more challenging. Just hit us up with questions if you ever need advice. I have to admit Barrie is quite far...all the good stuff is in Tdot.  keep in mind don't get too technical into things and end up forgetting to enjoy what you're keeping.

p.s. I like how you started out with a nice large tank, most people go the wrong way with starting out with a tiny tank (i.e. me), and end up upgrading constantly. This size is sufficient for any shrimp colony. Eventually you would likely mix two genus' of shrimp that won't interbreed and colour up the tank.


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

Are ghost shrimp compatible with them or will they crossbreed? Cause I know the BA up here has some ghost Shrimps. 


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

nope...they're a complete different infra-order...will not interbreed with any freshwater "dwarf” shrimp. In fact, they don't reproduce adult-like shrimplets, but utilize a larval stage. Most importantly, they're predators (will eat your other shrimp) and are used mainly as feeders for larger fish such as Arowanas..


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

So the big ALS up here didn't have the ecocomplete from what I saw. And only had the plant fluval statnum green bag. Will that work? 

Edit: got some at the local pjs pets. 

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## Rmwbrown (Jan 22, 2009)

I'm not really a shrimp specialist like some of the others that have posted previously in this thread, but i really wouldn't sweat it too much. if we are talking about Red Cherry Shrimp, they are essentially the Cretaceous equivalent of Guppies. They will breed in nearly anything, anywhere, anytime. Nor are they sensitive like some of the others that require a specialized substrate, matched water parameters, feeding regime or mineral rocks. Plants + algae wafers + black gravel indubitably = tons of bright red RCS.


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

yeah, ive been talking to my buddy today, i think im heading towards putting in some Cherries, some yellows, some CRS and some Blue Tigers. How many do you think i could put in there?

i got my fluval base and put some rocks and slate in that i had laying around. now i just need to let it cycle some since i changed the substrate. then im going to start planting it maybe middle to end of this week.

looking at doing a bunch of moss balls, a bunch of java moss, Dwarf Hairgrass, then some taller plants in the back of the tank, maybe some "Corkscrew" Val, Whorly Rotala, and some Elodea.

heres some pics of the 5 i have now. one died when i put them into the breeder basket in my 125 gallon.

this girl is berried


















and here is the tank so far. im going to put mossballs in the drilled openings on the rocks so it can hopefully grow over them. The gap between the slate is about an inch so they can get in there and hide if they want


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## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

Looking good so far! Lotsa good spots for shrimps to hang out!
You wouldnt want to mix cherries and yellows as they will crossbreed, same with crs and tigers-they will cross breed. Plus crs typically like very low ph as well ... Basically you would only want to keep a Neocaridina with a Caridina to keep they from cross breeding, and you would want the shrimps to like the same tank parameters.... As someone already mentioned cherries can be very hardy and will breed like mad if theyre happy  Check out this chart: http://www.planetinverts.com/Will These Shrimp Interbreed.html


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Beijing08 said:


> good luck! this hobby is one dimension more interesting than keeping fish, and at the same time little more challenging. Just hit us up with questions if you ever need advice. I have to admit Barrie is quite far...all the good stuff is in Tdot.  keep in mind don't get too technical into things and end up forgetting to enjoy what you're keeping.
> 
> p.s. I like how you started out with a nice large tank, most people go the wrong way with starting out with a tiny tank (i.e. me), and end up upgrading constantly. This size is sufficient for any shrimp colony. Eventually you would likely mix two genus' of shrimp that won't interbreed and colour up the tank.


Wow, very nice! I think I just got a new shrimp goal to work towards!


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

Well I think then for this tank I will just go cherrys with crs. And see how i do with them. Maybe I'll have to get another 30 gallon for yellows and blue tigers. lol. I think soon enough I'll have a Shrimp subdivision up and running. Lol. 


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

dude, it's not cheap to get all the set-ups, go one at a time. The least thing you want is to rush everything and watch them die. Keep in mind, all of us here have killed many many shrimps in the past haha..so don't be discouraged by deaths.


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

yeah true true. i think im gonna calm it down a bit, i got Shrimp Tank Syndrome  lol Is anyone here selling RCS or CRS?

EDIT - here is a pic of the tank this morning after its cleared up.


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## Beijing08 (Jul 19, 2010)

only change I'd make is to add another inch of substrate if you were to keep crystal reds..for cherries it's fine. it will also help the plants root better. good luck sir!


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

What kind of rocks are those with the holes? They look like Tufla rocks which will raise your Ph.


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

i think im gonna end up taking those out anyways. i was at big als at lunch today and scored a very nice peice of malasian wood that i think will be my tanks centre piece. i might put the granite tower on top of the slate on the right and put the wood peice on the left.


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

That is a nice piece of wood!


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

i know eh! best 22 bucks i spent yet on my tanks i think


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

heres an updated pic. all 5 of my RCS went directly for the rock caves. lol


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

4rdguy said:


> heres an updated pic. all 5 of my RCS went directly for the rock caves. lol


that's a huge tank for 5 RCS, lol


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

solarz said:


> that's a huge tank for 5 RCS, lol


Well that's just for now. I got them for free from a friend. I'm looking at getting 40 this weekend depending on my paycheque. Lol.

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## ShrimpieLove (Apr 26, 2010)

ya that wood looks really nice, great shape


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## 4rdguy (Nov 27, 2010)

So a quick question. I'm getting an algae buildup on the glass of the tank. Can a pleco be put in with them or will the pleco eat them? If not a pleco what can I put in there ? 


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

4rdguy said:


> So a quick question. I'm getting an algae buildup on the glass of the tank. Can a pleco be put in with them or will the pleco eat them? If not a pleco what can I put in there ?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


shrimps love to eat algae, so you don't need to add any fish in there.


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

You can put Otos in with them.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*plecos*

i have albino plecos in with mine and also i have assassins snails in there ,no probs. they love those algae wafers .


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## Stephen (May 6, 2011)

Any updates?


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## CrystalMethShrimp (Apr 27, 2010)

Great look tank. Your shrimps will love it in there.

As for the algae, the more the better. If you look at some breeders tanks all side except for the front viewing pane is covered in green. They are a food source and suck up nitrates. Just use a glass scarper to clean the front. 


Goodluck, show us the pic when you get the new shrimps.


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