Shrimp PH

[RedRed]

Hello all,
I'm an old guy who used to do aquariums years ago. I saw an ECO Sphere with small shrimp and got me thinking I'd like to try my hand at keeping some shrimp. I've been cycling a Fluval Spec 2 for 3 weeks with some plants, java moss and a java fern. Ammonia, nitrates & nitrites are all zero but pH is in the 7.6 range which I think is high. I have found some Sunset shrimp, look like Orange or Tangerine shrimp and like Tiger and somewhat iridescent types. I'm guessing I could keep 6 or 8 of the Sunset and maybe 4 or 6 of a Tiger. Can anyone tell me if a 7.6 pH is too high for these types and if the tank has cycled enough and if now is a good time to introduce anything to the tank if I get the right pH level.
Any input is appreciated.
Thanks,
RedRed

 

[binbin9]

Thats within acceptable ranges. Just dont expect to breed them they need brackish water to breed. The young go through a larvae stage. You're better off with some cherries.

PH Range: 6.5 –8
Temperature range: 71 – 76 F.
Hardness Range: 6-15 GH
Life Span: 1 – 2 years
Size: 2-3 cm
Diet: Omnivore
Habitat: Fully Aquatic

 

[pbmax]

Indeed; neocaridina heteropoda (red cherry shrimp, yellow shrimp, etc.) is probably the best place to start with shrimp and they'll thrive in nearly any water conditions (though they prefer a PH above 7).

Red Cherry Shrimp are cheap, hardy, relatively easy to get, and beautiful. They're a higher-order shrimp which means that the young hatch into tiny versions of the adults and don't require saltwater for a larval stage.

 

[binbin9]

pbmax you seem to know your shrimp. =)

What are you currently raising?

 

[pbmax]

Thanks I've tried many varieties, but I've only found prolonged success with a few.

I currently keep:

Red Cherries (Breeding in 4 tanks)
Yellows (Dwindling... )
Malawa (Breeding in 3 tanks - they never stop!)
1 singapore wood shrimp (this thing is indestructible)

I've kept with decent success in the past:

Blue Pearl / Snowball

Shrimp I've failed utterly with:

Crystal Red
Red and Green Babaulti

I also have a successful dwarf cajun crayfish colony.

My yellows live with a ton of celestial pearl danios and least killifish, so that could explain why they're not breeding like they used to. They thrived for a long time, but now they don't breed much anymore and so their numbers have dropped way back.

I tried raising CRS in 50% RO water and I even bred them successfully, but then they all died out. I breed RCS in that tank now without issue and infrequent water changes using a walstad type approach (heavily planted, no fertz added, aquasoil amazonia 2).

I'd like to try blue pearls again, or maybe the fancy new blue n. heteropoda someday, but my tanks are jammed at the moment. I just don't have the patience for hard-to-keep shrimp and I hate throwing money down the toilet when they all die.

 

[binbin9]

Sweet I'm having some success wit hthe blue pearls and golden bees.

Were you able to figure out why the CRS didnt breed for you? PH? Subtrate? Mineral Content?

 

[pbmax]

Excellent! Blue pearls are gorgeous Here's a photo of one of mine from way back:

The CRS did, in fact, breed. They just died out right after doing so. And nope, I never figured it out... I'm on soft well water with a PH of about 7.6 - 8 depending on when I measure it. dGH is 3, dKH is 4, both very soft for well water. The tank was pretty small - 3g picotope, which probably didn't help. I'm guessing I had a PH crash or something like that, especially since I was using nearly unbuffered water at the time (50% RO) to keep the PH down. I don't monitor TDS, so that's certainly a possibility. I certainly wasn't slacking on water changes. Aquasoil is generally supposed to be fantastic for CRS, at least from what I've read - helps pull the PH down, though that may have been my downfall.

I need to break down one of my 10g tanks with malawa in it and start over at some point. Gotta re-home all the male endlers in there first

I have some dwarf frogs that are thriving off of all the malawa in another 10g - earning their keep for once. When I was mixing malawa and RCS in the same tank the malawa literally out-competed the RCS until all I had left were a few females. I had to buy more to repopulate the species (that was a couple of years back).

 

[binbin9]

I think the CRS prefer to live in the 6 to 6.5 range although it's not unheard of for them to thrive in 7.0 PH

The TDS is also a big issue anything over 200 will cause them to be sluggish and have molting problems. I got my reader off amazon for under $15 and it changed my whole outlook on my water conditions. I thought I had clean water until the reader told me other wise. Since then I've been obsessed with maing sure my tank waters are crystal clear with proper ph GH and KH.

Our waters up here are pretty soft out of the tap but the PH hovers about 7.4-7.8 i think.

As of now i have them in Fluval Stratum with RO water mixed with tap and reconstituted with NACC to bring the GH up to 4-5. 4.4lb bag is like $15. I also use 3 filters in a 15 gallon tank to keep the water clean. 2 sponges and 1 HOB. I'm also cycling a new tank with ADA aquasoil to prep for some future taiwan bees.

You can also use peat or CO2 to help lower the PH. I've invented a drip filter to control nitrates and PH, GH, TDS and KH. You may see it on aquabid within a year or so =).

 

[pbmax]

Yeah, I read the same about CRS - which is why I was mixing my tap with RO. That definitely brought the PH down. Honestly, I don't remember what it was about the time of the crash. They all went pretty quickly and I just punted after that. I have a TDS meter... I'm just not willing to do all the work required to keep it that low! That's why I like Neos - easy, for the most part. They don't seem to care.

I use swiss tropicals poret cube filters in most of my tanks now and a couple of smaller sponges.

I've used CO2 in the past with a PH controller, but my I believe my regulator went and drained the tank. Ever since then I've just done without... didn't seem to be worth the extra effort.

All my tanks are pretty heavily planted; nitrates aren't a problem for me. I do add seachem alkaline buffer to a number of my tanks to prevent PH crashing, which really just means I'm over-feeding those tanks. That doesn't do the TDS any favors, I'm sure.

It sounds like you're doing everything right! I hope you continue to do well.

 

[binbin9]

LOL - it can be time consuming for sure. I forget how long I'm in the freezing garage until I look at the clock.

The doing it right thing is definitely from making toooo many mistakes. and then slowing down to make sure I dont repeat them. I'm not trying to reinvent anything just making sure I follow recipes of others that have had success.

Keep us updated on your Blue Pearls when you get them.

Cheers!

 

[binbin9]

this is the golden bee releasing babies.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CGhN1oJd8es?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[pbmax]

Very cool

 

[Gizmo]

RedRed - Just to be sure; are you feeding the cycle with any ammonia? If bacteria don't have an ammonia source, they will never colonize your tank.

I only ask because you still have zero readings across the board after 2 weeks, which seems odd to me for a cycling tank. I've always used raw seafood as an ammonia source and have had cycled tanks between 10-14 days after setting up the tank.

 

[pbmax]

Floating plants are fantastic for cycling. Not only do they typically come with a decent amount of ammonia-processing bacteria on them, they also directly take up ammonia. I put frogbit or water lettuce into every new tank I start up and I've never had a cycling problem. That said, since this is a new tank, it's a good idea to monitor it, but plants always help a cycle.