For all you shrimpers
Discuss anything aquarium related here, including inhabitants, decor and issues.
Google is your friend.
Feel free to ask questions but know that there are a lot of resources out there that could answer your question a lot faster and accurately than /an/.
Make sure to include these things in your post before asking because we can't help you if we don't have the full picture:
-tank size
-parameters
-any and all inhabitants + how long you've had them
Links:
>How to cycle your tank:
http://pastebin.com/x4WnB0Ah (embed) (embed) (embed)
>General aquarium care sheets - http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/
>Livestock and plants for sale - http://www.liveaquaria.com/
>FUCKING GOOGLE - http://www.google.com
>>2033365
I stopped housing water pets, because I'm bad at mimicking their environment, but I do have some snails. I don't need any suggestions. I'm just bumping this thread.
THE /aq/ THREAD WILL ALWAYS BE SUPERIOR REBELLIOUS FIEND
>>2033365
This is my harmless tidepooler. Absolutely no regrets about getting a crayfish, they're dead easy to take care of and have way more interesting behaviors than fish.
>>2033455
We get it. You are really far up on the autism scale.
>>2033460
He looks adorable and tasty.
>>2033470
It's actually a lady crayfish, I know since she tried fruitlessly to lay some eggs in that cave behind her. But when she inevitably dies in a year or two and I get another one, I'm probably going to name it "Dinner" or "Food". Opportunities for dark food based humor abound.
>>2033478
When you say dark food do you mean the meat or the nature of the joke?
Bumping this thread
>Get some RCS
>Tell family members about them
>"Are you going to eat them?"
>If they die, you can always just eat them!"
Every. Single. One of them wants me to eat my shrimp...
Why do I even bother?
>>2033861
Aren't the shrimp small?
>>2033365
I have a male red crayfish that I caught some time ago and was feeding several things but not crab specific (most of it was human food). A week ago I bought a pack of ring pellets for crustaceans and it seems he didn't eat any of them ever. Is that normal? Did I "spoil" him to much?
Also, is there a way to make spinach leaves sink so the crayfish can eat them?
>>2033894
Yes, they're pretty nasty too.
>>2033917
>is there a way to make spinach leaves sink so the crayfish can eat them?
Tweezers.
>>2033894
They seem perfect for those $0.25 ramen cups.
>>2033928
They're smaller than that, and they're literally filled with shit
>>2033933
I thought all shrimp were pooopmongers
>>2033917
>is there a way to make spinach leaves sink so the crayfish can eat them?
veggie clip
>>2033917
The ones I've had could be a bit picky about veggie-based stuff, but they always pounce on meaty foods.
>Also, is there a way to make spinach leaves sink so the crayfish can eat them?
Fork, paperclip, veggie clip, plant weights, microwave it in a cup of water.
>>2033933
>they're literally filled with shit
Uh, what do you think supermarket shrimp are filled with?
>>2033923
>>2033938
>>2033987
Thanks for the advice, I've tried the paperclips for now but I'll try to get veggie clips when I'm able to.
>The ones I've had could be a bit picky about veggie-based stuff, but they always pounce on meaty foods.
Mine doesn't seem to be that picky about veggies I tried with spinach, rapini and peas and it eats most of it (although it is true that when he sees something meaty it will go for it with more enthusiasm).
But he won't eat his crab food, not sure if because he doesn't like it or because he doesn't see them.
>Get RCS over 6 months ago
>They breed within the first few weeks
>Never breed again
>>2033365
Saw one baby in my tank. Feelsgoodman. Never been able to kept them before this
>>2034294
not enough food maybe
>>2034570
That is some sweet carpeting anon! What plant and how long did it take?
And have fun with the babies, once they're comfortable breeding oh boy do they breed.
>>2034294
>not enough food
>not enough calcium
>current too fast
>not enough bushy plants/caves to hide in
Is there a good way to set up a self-cleaning ecosystem in a tank? I don't intend on putting fish or anything in it, only plants and algae. I'm wanting to have microorganisms like rotifers and tardigrades.
I knew a biologist who had something similar set up once.
So one of my housemates turned off the heating last night and I lost 10 shrimp.
Why don't heaters work like they're supposed to though? I have 2 aquariums and neither of the heaters work as I would imagine them too.
In my mind a heater should work by turning on till the tank is at the required temp, then turn off. Instead I have to set the temp on the heater to 27 just to maintain 22. And the temp of the room has a much greater effect on overall tank temp.
So yeah, whatever you do don't put this in your tank.
It causes ammonia and nitrite spikes.
>>2035243
Why do you let them think they're allowed to turn off your heater?
>>2035077
Its babytears. About 2-3 months if you don't fuck up like I did. Took me 5 months for this despite the 3 major fuckups.
Really? Happy to hear that. Theyre comfortable enough to roam around the tank with fishies
>>2035261
They turned off the house heating which seems to have a greater effect on tank temps than my heater. My room gets to about 16-18 degrees at night without the heating on and my aquarium heater won't maintain 25 for sone reason despite being set to 27
>>2035263
Oh, well, yeah. The lower the surrounding temperature, the greater the amount of heat lost per hour. My room goes down to about 18 degrees during winter, and my tank goes from 25 degrees to 21 as a result. Fortunately my fish and shrimp can handle that.
What you can do is buy a heater for a bigger tank size. The more watts, the more heat it can produce, to compensate for heat lost to the surroundings.
>>2035265
RCS should be able to handle 21C but doesn't the constant rise and fall in temp kill them?
>>2035266
They'll be able to handle some of it, but yeah, excessive swings will kill them. Mammals heat themselves and control their own metabolism, cold blooded animals base their metabolism on their surroundings.
seriously what the fuck is killing my shrimps?
At first I thought it was the temperature due to my housemates shutting off the heating but I've lost 3 more (for a total of 13) since I started heating the tank back up to 24c.
They act really weird they just seem stunted and stupified on their sides, you poke them a little and they might move very slowly away.
I've even done a 50% water change to counter any ammonia from the dead ones.
>>2035290
DO NOT do a huge water change.
EVER
The difference of temperature is what will fuck them even more.. Are there any sign of planaria or any other worms inside? Any plants inside? What the fuck did you do before this
>>2035265
I think it'd be a better idea to get a second, smaller heater. Heaters tend to get stuck in the on position when they stop working, and having a small heater get stuck in the on position will be a lot less likely to cook your tank inhabitants before you can get to it in time. Though, with shrimp it might not matter as much, since they're more sensitive to temperature fluctuations than fish and might just die anyway. I don't know, something to think about at least.
>>2035292
There's loads of moss in the tank. There's the odd planaria.
My shrimp didn't die until a few days ago after a water change on Thursday. I then did some trimming on Sunday and did two water changes in the morning and evening to remove trimmings. Then this morning I had 9 dead shrimps so I did a water change in case there was an ammonia spoke and now 3 are dead
>>2035243
>Why don't heaters work like they're supposed to though?
Mine works just fine to be quite candid, kin. One thing to make sure is that there's water actively flowing across your heater, because otherwise your heater will just heat up surrounding water and then turn itself off, while the rest of the tank water stays relatively cooler. In my case my filter outtake is positioned right above the heater.
That said, the temperature outside of my tank has gotta be more around 20-22C at any given time, with the heater set to 78F (~25C) so maybe my heater just doesn't have to work hard enough.
>In my mind a heater should work by turning on till the tank is at the required temp, then turn off.
Yeah I agree. Which heater(s) do you have?
>>2035290
I had this same problem. I had a nano shrimp tank, everything about it was legit, I tailored the entire tank to maximum shrimp enjoyment. Little dudes never bred and they would be found dead at random intervals for no discernible reason.
I got fed up and transferred them to a community tank, thinking the rest would die off or get picked off by predators, a few months later now there's like 50 of the fuckers and I can't even keep count.
I even later found three of them swimming around in my canister filter at one point. It's like they thrive when conditions are the shittiest. I'm starting to think the worst thing you can do is try to micromanage an RCS tank and chase after "ideal" water params and do frequent water changes.
Came home to 3 more dead shrimp. I've angled the water outflow at the heater now and placed it horizontal and not even attempt to make it look nice and the tank is maintaining 25c which is high, but good for breeding.
I've gone from 30+ to 14 in the space of 2 days. Of that 14 I only have 4 saddled females.
I fear of lost the entire colony.
>>2035540
Also dunno if anyone knows the reason but looking at the corpses it looks like they were mid molt when they died.
There's a female in the tank that doesn't look long for this world as she's being very sluggish that has part of it's shell hanging off.
Is there a decent guide for making a shrimp tank? I've looked around a bit and only found super complicated or super basic ones.
Obvi a begineer one that is as close to idiot proof as possible
>>2035594
>How's your water hardness?
Never tested it
>Do you add iodine?
Nope
>>2035600
>lots of plants
>cycle tank
>fine substrate
>feed them literally anything
>>2033365
The fuck happened to this thread though.
>During this entire 20+ RCS holocaust not a single amano has died
Why amanos so stronk?
>>2035562
Assuming the water parameters are finally stable, how often are you feeding them, and what are you feeding?
Their diet makes a massive difference between barely existing in a tank to fucking and breeding like a bunch of rabbit sluts
>>2035903
It was solely made for shitposting and should not be bumped.
>>2035998
Too late now, RCS general is going to be a thing for always.
>>2035998
No it wasn't. Rcs will now be a thing forever and ever. Just gotta come up with a better OP
>>2035995
Used to feed half an algae wafer ever 3 days but they weren't breeding so bought some special protein rich shrimp food. Started giving 1 pellet per day per shrimp as recommended on the tin. 35 for 35 shrimp. Then they started dying
1. Shrimp and Heating
If you have a tank around ten gallons and larger, then by all means buy a heater, set it to whatever you'd like it to be, put it in an area of adequate water flow, and enjoy your shrimp keeping.
However, if you are keeping them in a smaller tank with traditionally less expensive equipment and a generally slower turnover for filtered water, then DO NOT BOTHER BUYING A HEATER. The reason I say this is because many, many, many shrimp keepers use open lidded setups keeping plants (and shrimp, which love their oxygenated water.) There is often a high amount of gas and energy exchange which, without a heater, will normalize the tank's temperature to the surrounding area. This is why cold things heat up and hot things cool down. Thermometers work on the premise that they heat up the surrounding area to meet the standard that you set. In slower moving tanks, however, this usually means that you have a hot patch that forms around the heater that will travel in measurable waves through the tank before it cools down and the heater turns on again.
If you'd like to see it in action, take a kitchen thermometer and wipe it down with alcohol. Test near the heater while it's off and then the furthest corner. Then, the next time it is on, test again. You may notice that a) your thermometer goes much higher than you expect to heat the average tropical tank to 24 C (76 F), sometimes exceeding 28 C (83 F).
This is absolutely fine for closed aquariums or those housing less sensitive creatures than shrimp. However, you can imagine why neocaridina do not appreciate this. I guarantee you that as long as your temperatures do not get into the fifties, your shrimp will be fine.
Room temperature in most homes with some form of temperature management is well within comfortable ranges for shrimp. Notable exceptions would places that average well above eighty degrees indoors, in which case you'd have to implement a costly cooling system.
Skip the heater on a tiny tank.
>>2036051
Room temp may be in "acceptable ranges" if it stayed consistent but it's going to yo yo up and down with the day and night since most people turn their heating off at night.
I want mine to stay at 25. Without a heater it would drop to 20 at night
>>2036051
2. Shrimp and Water Changes
Large water changes are not only harmless, but useful in promoting breeding and activity. Think of it as if a ton of rain comes and flushes the entire system out. There's nothing in a stale water column itself that is necessary for the shrimp, but there is plenty in fresh water that they NEED. Trace minerals that help them build shells are quickly absorbed by their competition - hundreds of tiny crustaceans and probably twice as many snails as you have shrimp.
They danger that large water changes pose is a classical one that is more about technique than any particular chemistry. If water changes are done slowly and over a wide area, much like rain (or a hose let rest on a plate hint hint), then the effects on the system are negligible.
But if a ton of water is introduced at once or a slow stream is allowed to disrupt the substrate, you will knock loose particulates that quickly foul the water and cause nutrient spikes that burn and suffocate your shrimp. Because of this, it is better to moderate this danger with smaller water changes interspersed between large ones, but even then, one should not rely on small changes alone, lest they eat away at their own schedules.
The "temperature swing" is also easily accounted for. If you have no heater plugged in, then simply let your untreated water sit out the day before you plan to do the water change. The reasoning is simple - both will normalize at room temperature.
However, if you do not have RODI water available and use a tap source, then understand that water treatments sometimes only last for a few hours - the chloramine found in tapwater is often only neutralized by a chemical compound that allows for the nitrogen-fixing bacteria in your tank's filter, substrate, and decorations to break it down. If the treated water is not introduced the system before this happens, then the bond degrades, returning the chloramine and other harmful chemicals to their original state.
>>2036055
Natural ecosystems do not stay in at one particular temperature. There is always a swing in temperature in nature from day to night, from cloudy to sunny weather - the change itself is not dangerous, but necessary for proper metabolism in many creatures, it is the rate of change that proves fatal. If left alone, the tank full of shrimp will survive the night comfortably as the rate of cooling and heating in a 5 gal. tank is well within their threshold.
>>2036055
Also, shrimp do not suddenly die in 20 C water.
That is not unlike the temperature of a Spring night.
>>2036051
>>2036056
3. Shrimp and Feeding
Let's talk about food.
We know that protein is important for proper "muscle" growth, and we know that plant foods are important for a healthy and vibrant shell.
In a mature and well-cycled tank (let's assume we're talking about a six to eight month old tank that's seen PLENTY of waste and water changes), you will more likely than not have snails, planaria, and more microscopic crustaceans and worms than you will ever be able to physically count. The microorganisms are what your shrimp are always looking for. They're not interested in the decaying branch itself, per se, but the tiny things that live in its tiny nooks and crannies.
This is an important part of their diet - you must begin to factor this into your care and nurture the growth of ecosystem itself. Your shrimp know more about being shrimp than you do, so give them the canvas and let them work.
The mistake comes in believing that they will solely survive on these creatures and that specific feeding is not a necessary thing to watch out for. While this may be true in larger tanks where they can pick up food dropped by larger animals, the microorganisms the shrimp feed on are decomposers. If there is nothing to decompose, then their numbers drop quickly, and the shrimp soon follow.
This means feeding less, more often. Two days of spirulina or veggies and one day off strikes a fair balance of cleanliness and food, and you will notice larger and more active shrimp.
>>2036051
>>2036056
>>2036073
4. Shrimp and Breeding
Why anyone would ever want to breed shrimp is beyond me. They are curious, busy-body things that fill entire tanks of moss with babies at a prolific rate.
For example, a few species of neocaridina are unique among others in that their young are born fully capable of surviving freshwater conditions and do not rely on brackish environments. Coupled with the fact that a saddled female will release signaling hormones after EVERY shed means that, unfortunately, a slow, fairly clean home aquarium is perhaps the best environment for a mother shrimp to bear young.
If one were to wisely wish against shrimplets, avoid feeding on a schedule and in sufficient quantities. While resources are scare, shrimp will often avoid the energy necessary to breed alongside with fewer actual opportunities, since lady shrimp will molt less.
Shrimp are also summer breeders. With the advent of technology and subsequent lamp lighting, we have foolishly allowed ourselves to give the shrimp the longer days necessary to set the mood. Immediately throw a blanket over your tank and replace all modern fixtures with candles.
Finally, by all means, avoid large water changes. These will encourage the shrimp to molt and activates their lustful drive to gather in strange and obscene orgies. While one would imagine that a water change would help in removing the dozens of despicable swimming shrimplets, it actually fuels their growth. If you plan on using the water for your plants are afraid that you may have accidentally removed a few of your shrimp pests from their containment tank, let the water and mulm settle, search thoroughly with a flashlight and gently transfer them back into the tank with their kin to avoid contamination of the rest of the world.
>>2036081
>guide on how to stop shrimp breeding.
Who would write this?
Why are my shrimp still fucking dying?
I just came home from work to find another dead one.
Tank is now at a constant 24-25c so no cold to kill them
Did a water change so no ammonia or nitrates
Stopped feeding them ammonia producing food
Positioned the heater next right on the filter outflow so temp is consistent
Reduced the flow a little so they're not getting pushed around the tank
Added more filter media to increase filtration
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
>>2036051
>>2036056
>>2036073
>>2036081
This advice is useless because the guy admits himself that he doesn't want his shrimp to breed.
Without a heater you're tank will never reach 25-26 degree and your shrimp wont breed. Unless you actually keep your house that warm in which case you must be a millionaire with a heating bill that high.
>>2036220
You're pretty much 99% retarded if you can't recognize satire.
He gives you excellent tips on how to breed them in the same post.
>>2036220
>shrimp won't breed unless the water is 25- 26 C
Your inexperience and naivete is showing, Anon.
>>2036230
Well mine wont breed at 23c. The last time they bred was summer when the tank was warmer.
>>2036235
In all honesty, how long have you had them?
Were the sexually active adults?
I have found that older shrimp not only acclimate less successfully to new water conditions, but also breed less. Those that do also tend to have fewer shrimplets survive.
However, those shrimplets in turn will breed much like the parents did in their previous tank without issue. You may also want to look into the amount of dissolved solids - your GH.
A high GH will often either make eggs too difficult to hatch from or outright sterilize them once fertilized. It also makes it difficult for shrimp to molt. GH can rise because of too few water changes in a planted tank or too many unfinished stones in the tank.
>>2036238
About 6 months.They bred once a few weeks into getting them then never again.
>>2036268
Wait for the young ones to mature completely, it may take a bit longer in colder water, and watch the breeding resume.
Sexually mature shrimp do not fare well with massive changes in water parameters - they will not die from being introduced from one clean tank to another, but they are hardwired after a certain age to expect certain water conditions during breeding season.
>>2036056
can you link me to info about chloramines return to chloramines after being treated? I have never heard of this
What's the lower limit for the night temp shrimp will thrive at? And what are acceptable variance across the day? I'm interested in trying this heater-less method. As I've heard people say that heaters mess up their breeding.
I've set my phone logging data temps tonight but I'd guess right away it may dip to 18-19c during the night and heat up to about 22-24 in the day.
>>2036279
You are correct. In my hurry I mistakenly typed in chloramines when I meant ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites found in water sources.
As far as I know, no freshwater bacteria present in aquariums can successfully metabolize chlorine and chloramines.
>>2036283
50 F is the point of no return for most dwarf shrimp.
Finally found a thread about dwarf shrimps!!
>>2036291
ok good. honestly I think those products that claim to neutralize ammonia and nitrites work very well. I'm surprised they are not pushed more than they are. I see more advertisements for mystery magical good bacteria than for nitrite neutralizers
>>2036435
>I'm surprised they are not pushed more than they are
They only work for a day or two at a time and they usually eat up the oxygen in the water, so there are a lot of caveats to using them. They're useful in particular situations if you know what you're doing, though.
how often you guys clean your sponge filter?
>>2036571
When it gets to the point where the flow is reduced. I just squeeze it out a few times in the bucket with old tank water
Babby crayfish!
How do I make it so an air filter doesn't constantly go PLOP PLOP PLOP PLOP as the bubbles break the surface?
I bought an air filter to replace my pump filter but it's so loud it's just unusable.
>>2036612
I have hornwort and duckweed at the top of my tank. It does a good job of muffling the bubbles.
Alternatively, if your filter is big enough, you could shove an airstone in the bottom to break up the bubbles.
Would sand or gravel be a better substrate for an RCS only tank?
I'm planning on setting up a planted 5 gallon tank just for my rcs.
>>2036627
What do the plants that you are using prefer?
>>2036629
Not 100% sure yet.
Definitely some kind of moss.
Maybe an anubias nana and java ferns
Might try the Walstad method if I remember...
>>2036631
Anubias and ferns do not necessarily appreciate being planted. Save yourself the effort - go with them both as they are excellent energy-efficient plants - and strap them onto some prepared wood or stones!
The substrate then should be a simple choice of gravel size that suits the tank and the amount of cleaning you intend to do.
>>2036633
They do fine as long as you don't cover the rhizomes.
I have about a dozen babby java ferns floating around in my main tank, and want to use them in something else.
I'll definitely try to find some cool driftwood at the lake next time I'm there.
>>2036627
can u make a better picture of this?
>>2036673
I just googled "aquarium sand and gravel".
Thinking of trying to build an ultimate low tech 5 gallon for RCS.
No filter: Walstad method instead
No Heater: Only room temperature
No Tank lights: Just a desk lap over the tank with a white spectrum bulb
Think it will work?
>>2036682
One thing I wondered though, why do Walstad tanks always have dirty or cloudy water?
>>2036686
The soil leaks tannins into the water.
>>2036709
Does it ever stop?
>>2036682
This tank will need to be very well cycled. You will also need somewhat stronger lighting. Look into a lamp capable of using growing lights.
The reason I say this is because high oxygen levels are very important for a healthy shrimp colony. Without a filter to encourage gas exchange, then your plants will pretty viciously tear through the CO2 in your tank, then the O2, and so on and so forth, which can actually swing the PH of the water back and forth.
>>2036760
What?
No, you want low light for a low-tech planted tank. There'll be slow growth, but it'll be more stable with a ton of metabolizing plants than whatever the fuck you're suggesting.
Don't kill anon's shrimp.
So it seems the shrimp holocaust hasn't ended in my tank yet. And 2 died while I was at work.
I really have no idea what's wrong with them. There's no ammonia or nitrites in the tank. The tank is well heater.
Even the ones that are alive are slow and sluggish and wont eat.
>>2036936
Did you get all your shrimp from the same place?
>>2036612
As a general rule of thumb, the more "holes" for the air bubbles to escape through the less noise, but this only works the smaller the holes are. So, depending on your exact set up, you could take a very thin sponge, stick it through with a fine needle until it's swizz cheese, then cram that in there.
>>2036941
Yes all from some guy on craigslist, why?
I've pretty much given up on them, they all look like they're dying. They'll get thrown into my community tank to live or get eaten I don't care.
I'm stripping down my shrimp tank and starting again at the weekend with 20 more shrimp from another guy of craigslist.
What;s the slowest most gentle, smallest filter I can get for a 4 gallon nano?
Everything I've tried creates too much flow. Bought a nano powerhead filter but that's too fast. Tried an airdriven filter but that is still too fast and violent for my tank. (And noisy)
I'm wondering if it would be better to go filterless and do a water change every week and hope that a week of bioload wont discourage them from breeding. Because at the moment the flow of the water is certainly stopping them breeding.
So I managed to snap a pic of this shrimp dying.
Their shell splits apart like this then they start to swim around like they're stupified crashing into things and swimming upside down. A few hours later they'll be dead.
>>2037022
Also i'll add that not a single amano has died in that tank. Whatever is making the RCS die on mass doesn't effect amnos at all it seems.
>>2036982
Are you absolutely sure it's the water flow?
Buy an air pump and a weighted sponge filter - these usually sit on the bottom of tanks and have flow gentle enough for a betta.
>>2037022
Too much food or shells are too hard.
Your shrimp are either going too quickly between molts and their shells split and kill them, or the shells are too hard and they are not able to complete their molts, and it becomes a layered clusterfuck.
>>2037026
>Too much food
This is a thing with shrimps?
Could them trying to molt too much too quickly also fuck them up? I've had to do a lot of water changes recently.
2 water changes in 2 days at the weekend as I was trimming moss. 1 water change 1 day later to prevent ammonia buildup from a few that died. And then I did another waterchange yesterday as I had to lower the water level of the tank to make it light enough to carry. They've tried to molt every time the water is changed.
>>2037034
Too much protein makes them look like the average Wal-Mart shopper. That is an incomplete shell you got right there.
>>2037046
Hmm well I did recently switch them to a new type of protein rich food that is designed to make them grow more (It's even called "Grow formula")
But I did that so they would breed more and if feeding them this food caused them to die how could the company still be in business?
Also the food was recommended by a professional breeder.
>>2037047
How long have you had them?
They were probably not 100% sexually mature.
It takes about six months minimum for most shrimp to get ready to breed.
The food isn't killing them, maybe it is the frequency or the amount that you feed them?
>>2037049
About 8 months but they have done 1 round of breeding and the new shrimp have not been around for 6 months.
>>2036982
Watch all of this guy's videos, then cobble together something customized specifically for your tank.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrLYm-ZDGLw
>>2037034
>every time I change water they die!
>guess I should change more water
>why do they keep dying!?
>>2037078
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EzObDTkwQk
They're dead :(
>>2037095
Damn, that sucks. Those poor fish.
>>2036627
Shrimp are more interesting to watch on sand because you can see them pick up the grains and sift through them, and sand doesn't allow food to fall into the cracks and dirty the water. Substrate type won't matter much for moss, Java fern, and Anubias.
>>2036682
>No Tank lights: Just a desk lap over the tank with a white spectrum bulb
That would be a tank light, then.
Do marimo, crypts, water lettuce, emersed lucky bamboo, and/or emersed Spathiphyllum. They could live with indirect sunlight from a window. Floating and emersed plants will do a better job of keeping the water clean and oxygenated
Hello,
I know you are talking about fresh water shrimp. But I was wondering if any of you have had any experience with marine pistol shrimp that are symbiotic with gobies?
I kept marine aquariums for about 10+ years in the 90s but never knew about this combination until recently.
Picture:
Tiger Pistol Shrimp - Alpheus bellulus
Randall's Prawn Goby - Amblyeleotris randalli
<PALS FOR LIFE>
>>2037272
LMAO, why do fish have the best facial expressions ever?
So I managed to find a tiny silent airpump and small airfilter at my lfs. Do no noisy pump or bubbles popping.
The flow rate doesn't seem very high though. Just a gentle trickle. Or is flow rate nit important for air filters?
The small powered filter you see in the middle is what I've been using but it's Wat too powerful for shrimplets.
As a gentle rule how fast will my new filter cycle? Can I take the old filter out in a week?
>>2037368
Forgot pic
>>2037368
Yes. The flow rate is fine.
Just squeeze the dirty filter into the new one's sponges the next time you clean, but one week is probably not enough.
>>2037022
Add iodine supplements
>>2037022
Probably not enough stress coat.
>>2037505
What will that do?
>>2038747
They need it for moulting. A lack of iodine leads to moulting issues.
Same with calcium, but most people have enough of them already.
Driving an hour to pick up some RCS today.
Buying for £1 each and they look like they might be higher grade than Cherry.
>>2036979
>They'll get thrown into my community tank to live or get eaten I don't care.
Do it. My hunch is that you'll see a turnaround.
Also, in my experience, they're pretty good at evading predators. They can dart away from attacks pretty nimbly. Unless your predators' mouths are wider than the shrimp...
Your problem is that you're trying too damn hard. I've been there, and my shrimp just kept dying.
Put them in a community tank that has hiding spots, forget they're there, and they'll be pregnant in no time.
I know I'm on some superstitious, anecdotal bullshit. But I've had other people corroborate my experience.
>>2038576
Is stress coat something you should periodically add to a tank?
>>2038772
Since when does Stress Coat have iodine?
Well I picked up my cherry shrimp, just drip acclimating them now. I hope mine get as red as the ones he photographed. They're pretty much see-through at the moment.
>Out of 15 RCS only 2 females
I wonder if the seller planned this. Multiple males are fucking worthless.
>>2038794
Look like black cherry hehe
Is it safe to order shrimp online in the middle of the winter? I've never ordered any living stuff before, and neither of the stores in my town carry them
>>2037272
I have shrimp and goby. Makes hills in my sand and likes to bury my corals that are on the sand bed. usually hides in his tunnel most of the time not worth it in my opinion unless youre doing a species specific tank or wont have anything on the sand. also the clicking from them shooting can be loud if the tank is in your bedroom
>>2039211
They'll will most likely freeze into a solid icecube.
Thinking of setting up a tank based on a Thai river.
Has anyone successfully bred Thai micro crabs yet? Or should i just go for RCS as a place-holder species?
>>2039692
Thai Micro crabs are expensive and wont breed. Go with shrimp
If you see a female RCS that was saddled yesterday but isn't saddled today. Does it mean that the eggs have been fertilised and deposited on the underside of the abdomen but just haven't grown large enough to be seen?
>>2039692
A few people have bred them, but it's uncommon. They go through a larval stage that's difficult to raise and need an "orienting light" (moonlight).
I say go for it. Neos are also from Thailand, so you could do them in the same tank. They won't bother each other.
>>2039731
Every time I've seen them they're $3-4, no more expensive than non-red Neos.
>>2039797
Are they? I thought almost all Neos were from Taiwan?
>>2036175
>anon's shrimp committing sudoku at a rapid rate
>anon has no idea why
Welcome to the Pacific Theatre, 1942.
>>2039692
Speaking of crabs. Anyone keep any fiddler, gold, soap, or red crabs here? Or is it only meme shrimp?
Is she berried?
>>2039990
>Taiwan
That's right. Whoops.
>>2040053
I've had micro crabs.
>>2040075
Yep.
>>2039777
She was a noob and dropped them somewhere in the tank. They will never hatch and will be eaten by other shrimp and snails.
Is there any fresh water fish that I can put in a ten gallon that are edible when they grow too big for their tank? I know that's a weird question, but I want a tank with a couple easy fish in it that I can harvest later when they grow too big instead of getting a bigger tank. I don't think goldfish are good eats but I could be wrong.
>>2040340
it's really not healthy to eat fish that have spent years marinating in their own waste.
>>2040348
>Marinating in their own waste
Isn't that why you're not supposed to be a shit owner and keep their tank clean and give them a proper diet?
>>2039797
>Every time I've seen them they're $3-4, no more expensive than non-red Neos
No one smart buys Neos from petstores though. They get them off craigs list for 50c ea
>>2040247
Better ring all your previous sexual partners then lad.
I'm still fucking pissed that out of 15 RCS I bought I was only given 2 females.
Can I even get a colony going with 2 females?
Has anyone here successfully bred Amano shrimp?
Next time mine is berried I'm going to try raising the lavae in an unheated plastic tub at room temp.
Hopefully it works.
Looking to start a freshwater nano tank. Do you have any recommended species ? Inverts only please, very found of crustacean. I saw thai micro crabs, are they good ?
>>2040520
If you don't mind only keeping one thing in there look at CPO they are dwarf crayfish. But if you house them with anything else they will eat it.
They are fun to watch and will aggressively go after food you hold in tweezers
>>2040340
>that I can harvest later when they grow too big
"Too big" for a 10 gallon tank is 3-4", which isn't worth cleaning the fish to eat it.
>>2040358
Yes, but there's no way you could possibly keep a 10 gallon tank anywhere near as clean as a lake or river.
>>2040369
Depends on where you live and what colors you're looking for.
And only the red ones are 50¢.
>>2040371
It'd be just as strong as a colony with only two males. It's just going to take longer.
>>2040370
>the cheapest joke
lol so funneh m80
>>2040375
I've read accounts of it. Usually they only get three to five shrimp that actually live to adulthood.
>>2040520
What's "nano"? 5 gallons?
Dwarf shrimp are the obvious ones.
CPOs will attempt to catch and kill anything small that gets near them, but the catch is that they're too slow and clumsy to actually catch much of anything. Mine never bothered my nerite, and if you have a thriving population of shrimp, I can't imagine a CPO causing too much harm.
Cajun dwarf crayfish are supposed to be a lot more friendly, but they're harder to find and lack the bright colors.
Thai micro crabs are really neat when they come out and you can see them, they spend most of their time hiding. There was a six month period where the only time I saw mine was when I broke down the tank to clean it. If you have a lot of really dense growth and really dim lighting, you might see them hiding in the plants.
Nerite snails would also be a good one. I'm particularly fond of the horned bumblebee nerites. Watching their mouths scrape against the glass is entertaining.
People aren't usually fond of ramshorn, pond, bladder, or Malaysian trumpet snails, but if you like them, there's no reason not to get some. Ramshorns come in pink, blue, and spotted, if you're into that. As long as you're conservative about feeding, their populations should stay manageable.
>>2040551
>They are fun to watch and will aggressively go after food you hold in tweezers
Can confirm.
>>2040623
>Does a freshwater, fully underwater hermit crab exist ?
Unfortunately no. The only other crab like that that I can think of is panther crabs, but even for those it's still recommended to have a place for them to come out of the water. I'm also not sure whether or not they would play nicely with other inhabitants.
Vid is an old one of my micro crabs (it was taken with an old camera phone, so the quality is bad). They'd come out like that during the day rarely, but if I used the light on my phone to look into the tank at night I could usually see them in the open. The six month period of not seeing him was after I moved him into a different tank, so I might have just spooked him.
>>2040671
Nice crab !
Would micro crabs, snails, CPO and some shrimps work, or would the CPO destroy everything ?
>>2040706
CPOs are little monsters. I attempted keeping one with shrimps and he wrecked them.
Man this general is hitting me hard. I just committed mass genocide by nerve gassing all my Crustaceans and worms (bad and good in my reef tank) to deal with a really bad coral parasite problem.
Yesterday evening I treated my reef tank with bayer insecticide, and interceptor de-wormer to deal with a case of really bad coral (acropora) red bugs infesting a few colonies. They are an ecto parasite that lives on the skin of staghorn corals and are basically a type of micro/copopod shrimp
The tried to save as many of my symbiotic coral crabs but I could only get two. Every single one of them died. This morning all the hitch hiker amphapods were twitching and convulsing out on the rocks. All of the bristle worms came out of their burrows and are dead on the bottom, some of them are way larger then I expected.
My pepermint shrimp was on his back convulsing last night but this morning he was right side up and moving. Hopefully he'll pull through.
The bayer basically kills anything higher then corals, fish and gastropods, leaving snails and clams unaffected.
>>2040726
As callous as it sounds, I didn't really have many crabs in my tank and there really wasn't a high dollar value. At least the treated corals look good, if a bit sterile. No more red bugs.
>>2040726
since your pods are all that keep dyno, cyano and diatoms under control, you effectively nuked your tank.
if you don't fix that you're going to have problems very soon.
>>2040730
There isn't really much to fix other then do W/C's and let things return to a normal balance without excessive fuckery.
As it stands nutrient levels po4 and nitrates are low but will likey rise with a die off. I siphoned most of the dead worms and pods out. The copopod population however doesn't look like it has been affected which is a good thing since they honestly do much of the work.
For the treatment to work you need wait at least 3 days before doing a water change.
>>2040734
this is bascily the chemical I used. Interceptor works too but it's more effective as dip then treating the entire tank.
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imidacloprid#Toxicology
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qp3NK0AhuE
hair algae outbreak in my shrimp tank
what do
>>2040883
Let the shrimp eat it?
>>2040901
they dont.
>>204090
starve them
>>2040706
>>2040722
My CPO was in with an Amano shrimp and a nerite and she never hurt them. Different crays might have individual personalities, and males might be more aggressive than females. In general, I'd say CPOs are okay with larger snails, not okay with micro crabs (the crabs are pretty much useless as far as defending themselves), okay with Amano shrimp, and a gamble with dwarf shrimp. YMMV. There are a couple listings for the Cajun crays on eBay (kind of pricey, though); they might work better, but I don't have personal experience with them.
>>2040883
Gradually reduce the amount of lighting per day (so the plants don't go into shock) to the bare minimum that the individual plant species in your tank can survive off of. Then tape/drape something over your aquarium so the inside has as little contact with outside light as possible.
After that, it's just a waiting game to see if your plants can outlast the algae as they all starve to death.
Once the algae is all gone, gradually increase the hours of light per day, but monitor the tank closely, if the algae starts to come back, stop, or even cut back a little bit, and keep that as the norm from then on.
>Alpha female has become pale. Saddle is massive and bright red, abdomen has swollen but no eggs deposited there yet, just wants to be left alone.
Is she fertilised?
>>2041566
Sounds more like she's getting ready to molt.
>Female dropped her eggs
FUCKING NOOB
>>2041891
Teen moms, I swear. Right?
Can ghost shrimp share a tank with cherries or are they too territorial?
>>2042277
It could be done, but it would be better not to. Ghost shrimp are more aggressive and have a habit of hoarding food. They also have little claws on the ends of their front limbs.
>>2042283
Well fuck, I was hoping to get a little diversity going
>>2042287
You can do one Neocaridina and one Caridina, like tiger or bumblebee shrimp. Every once in a while you can also find things like Pinocchio shrimp, which afaik wouldn't be an issue.
Or you can just say fuck it and go full Skittles.
Last year I setup a 20gal freshwater tank, incandescant lighting, with a whole lot of java moss and duckweed and some pots and stuff and I put a bunch of RCS (about 12) plus a bunch of ramshorn snails (quickly turned to dozens). Everything in the aq was from previous aquariums and the water was cycled and all the stuff, eveyone in there lived happily but the RCS never ever reproduced. At the beginning some of the females were or got berried but I witnessed no babies and after a few months no pregnancies happened. And there were males in there too, was about 6/6. most of the shrimp died off on very distant instances, along the months. At some point when there were still about half left alive I added some orange ones, proquinqua something. All those shrimps died after numerous months. Now only one lone big male lives among my dwarf pufferfishes. Always wondered why the RCS never reproduced, that was the initial intent. :(
Why is their so much misinfo about RCS out there?
I've seen several guides that say never to house RCS below 25c or they wont breed but a shit ton of people keep them at 20-22 and they breed.
So, I have some nice looking shrimp turning up in my cull tank. It's a 10gal overfull of various plants.
What's the easiest way to sift them out? I tried shaking the floating plants in a small bucket, but that wasn't as effective as I'd like.
>>2044265
Isn't culling a meme?
>>2044267
Ok then, pretend I said ugly skrimp refuge instead.
How do I give my shrimps more calcium? I just had one die after molting and now I'm concerned
>>2044308
Feed them expensive meme foods
Om non nom
>>2044308
Coral sand, or a cuttlefish bone.
Iodine deficiency can cause moulting issues too.
>>2044400
how do you give them iodine?
>>2044612
not him, but in reef tanks we give either an iodine supplement or a general reef supplement which also contains molybdenum and calcium which are necessary for molting.
both are available at your local fish store.
>>2044646
>both are available at your local fish store.
should add to that...
look in the reef supplement section of the store. By the marine salt.
>>2033365
So my guppies had fry. What's the best way to ensure survival? I already placed sphagnum moss on surface and two small plants for fry to hide.
I have temp set at82 and watching them
I still have my 55 gallon tank from when I was a kid in my basement I was thinking about getting a peacock shrimp but don't really have more then $500 to throw towards the project do you guys think that's enough to get started?
>>2044866
there's nothing wrong with additives.
Will RCS be ok with the same water params as CRS?
I bought a few CRS yesterday to throw into my RCS tank, I want to eventually start a CRS tank but I want to experiment first to see if they're hard to keep.
I was going to get some RO water today from my LFS and some soft slightly acidic remineriliser to create the conditions that CRS like.
Whole tank is kept at 21-23 degrees without a heater btw
>Use Indian almond leaves with CRS the tannins will make the water more acidic and soften it which CRS like!
Ok but now I can't see my shrimp...
>1 golden bee shrimp berried
>tons and tons of blue rili shrimp babies
>all in a shitty 5 gallon storage container with only leaf litter as substrate
>two blue rilis are still berried
I guess I just got lucky.
> go to lfs
> ask how much RO water is
> £2.50 per litre
Hope CRS like tap water!
>>2044987
>Just tested tap water
GH=5
DK=2
Guess I don't need RO water then
So I obtained a report from my local water supply.
Is this good for shrimp
So I literally bought a tank and got some shrimp because of this thread, and I guess they're doing pretty well because there are already baby shrimplets swimming around and two more are full of eggs. I don't know anything about babby shrimps, how do I even feed them?
I never asked for this, I'm not ready to be a mother
>>2045329
Is there a shit ton of java moss and or plants in there? If so, they will be fine. They graze on all of the microbial shit growing on plants and in algae.
If you really want to increase their chance of surviving, then take some of the moss out of the water, take the sponge out of your filter, gently squeeze some of the goop out onto the moss, spread it around the moss with your fingers, then put everything back.
There's a reason why you always hear about shrimp climbing into filters to feed in there until they grow so large they become stuck, but they don't even give a fuck.
>>2044876
not that, i just want to leave it in the tank and forget about it
>>2044867
Yeah that should be enough get going
but there is going to be additional costs. as the tank goes along.
>>2040053
I had a female fiddler crab in my freshwater tank. I rescued her from wal mart.
I didnt know they were brackish.
She lasted a while till she escaped and the cat chewed her legs off.
My gf cried. She loved Ahtea the crab.
