best size of tank for RCS shrimp?

[Fish4Fun]

If I go any bigger than a 10g I would probably just end up housing them with the kribs in a 40 breeder.... but I like a good setup for just them.... any ideas on what size? undergravel heater or normal heater? power filter or sponge? lighting? substrate? etc.

[Bananariot]

10 gallon would be fine. The bigger the tank, the more stable the params.....but Cherry shrimp are hardy as heck so you should be fine in any size really. I like a 10 because it enables more space to do what you like.

No need for heater unless your water drops below like 65, shrimp actually don't like high heat.

Sponge filter is nice because it doesn't suck up the shrimplets and it provides a place for biofilm for the shrimp to much on. You could buy a small sponge prefilter for a power filter intake like a fluval edge prefilter or you can buy a stainless steel prefilter, they're sold in swap and shop or power sellers thread.
Just remember whatever filter you use, get a prefilter to prevent baby shrimps from being sucked in

Lighting can be anything honestly, like I said these shrimp are tough cookies so anything is fine...... florescent are a good option if you want to grow plants.

Substrate can be anything......sand, gravel, nothing.....lol.

If you get into more exotic shrimps like CRS and Sulawesi, it would be good to invest in buffering substrates to get them into an ideal pH.

But for cherries......they're tanks.....in shrimp terms anyways.

[Kunsthure]

10g is good. Lots of breeders use 20L. Liam (Mordalphus) has a DIY UGF he puts in his tanks. I was told that UGFs in anything under 20g is pointless. I don't like sponge filters, I think they're unsightly, take up too much room and don't move enough water. I have two AC 20s on my 13g (same footprint as a 10g, just a tad taller). I used the sponge from an AC 50, cut it in half and slid it over the intakes. The more water you move the cleaner the water.

I just caught the part about the kribs. They will devour your shrimp.

You can use any old substrate for RCS. No point in investing in those expensive buffering substrates that last a year or so then need to be replaced.

I have a stock 15w T8 fixture I bought at Petsmart over my 13g. It grew crypts, anubias, java fern, water wisteria and mosses great. No need to go T5HO or anything crazy like that. The shrimp don't care and it'll just add heat to your tank.

As for the heater, it's up for debate around here just what temps RCS like. I had/have heaters in the tanks they've been in and they did just fine. It depends on the ambient temp of your house and what equipment you've got going on. My house temp is 74 but without a fan my 13g is 76-77 and I was told it's because HOBs can heat the water some.

Find Epicfish, he sells RCS for $1 each and I've heard they're really nice.

-Lisa

[smokaah]

I have a 30 with RCS and some others as well.

[acitydweller]

Get the largest tank you can afford (space, cost wise).

This rule of thumb pretty much holds true for most aquarium livestock.

[plamski]

10 or 15 long is perfect.20 long if you will go lather one with CRS,tigers etc.

[Kunsthure]

Bigger is always better as long as you have the room. Bigger tanks are easier to keep stable and if something does go wrong, you've got more room for error. Like in my 75g, if one of the small tetras died and I didn't see it, no biggie, the tank is so big that the ammonia spike is almost negligible. But dead fish in my 13g cause big problems with ammonia.

-Lisa

[Soothing Shrimp]

You know, most people say bigger, but 10g is just the right size so far for my CHERRIES to thrive. I have had probs to figure out in my 55g that I never had in my 10gs.

Also, bigger means more expensive in set-up, etc.

Now cards may be different. I don't have experience with them yet.

[Kunsthure]

When I mean "bigger" I don't mean something crazy like anything over 20-25g. I see 55g shrimp-only tanks as a waste of a tank, but that's just me. If I had to choose between a 10g and a 20L, I'd go for the 20L.

-Lisa