Sage Advice for Noobie Shrimp Keepers

[Loumeer]

I use purigen in my RES tank and my upcoming shrimp tank. For 29 gallons you dont need more than 100mL, which comes in a bag that can be bleached and regenerated.

In my RES tank I use 250mL but you need to buy a bag separately. At first I used a regular media bag and filled it with Purigen. This turned out terrible so I would recommend that you buy their bag called "The Bag" which is 180 microns.

I would also recommend that when you buy purigen you buy 2x of whatever you want. This makes it really easy to just swap them out when you clean out the filter and regenerate the other. The extra one needs to be kept moist after use in the fridge or else the purigen balls will crack and break if they dry out. Also, there are some de-chlorinators that will mess with purgen if they have a "slime coating". Stick with Prime and you should be fine.

[pejerrey]

How long does purigen lasts before it needs to be reconditioned?
How would you exactly treat a used 100ml Baggie? Pure chlorine? 50/50 h20/chloro? Let it sit overnight?
I have searched forums but I can't really find much info.

[GeToChKn]

Originally Posted by pejerrey

How long does purigen lasts before it needs to be reconditioned?
How would you exactly treat a used 100ml Baggie? Pure chlorine? 50/50 h20/chloro? Let it sit overnight?
I have searched forums but I can't really find much info.

It lasts weeks, months, depends on how much it gets used and how much crap it has to remove from your water.

To recharge, some bleach, water, let it sit till it's not brown anymore. Rinse with water, let sit in water and dose to hell with prime till it doesn't smell like bleach, rinse again to be sure, put it back in.

Exact amount of bleach, water, etc are on Seachem's site.

[babydragons]

This is great! As a newbie I learned so much in five minutes. It's great that its all collected into one spot. I know I have a few simple things to change in the next week! Thank you!!!

[Jadenlea]

hahaha. You added Pictures Jettison. Nice

[GEM 35shrimps]

Very clear and useful.
When I start my first CRS they are not good information like this.

[ony]

Is this just for more delicate/line bred shrimps or a general guide? I haven't had deaths apart from when adding new shrimp to the tank but I do the same maintenance for the shrimp as I do for my fish.

I only came on here to find out a bit about breeding them and now I feel like a shrimp abuser

[Soothing Shrimp]

To come here to learn shows you want to know more, which makes a responsible person.

Cherry shrimp are the tanks of the shrimp world and can live through a lot. Although "ideal" set ups are often meant for higher priced shrimp, there's no harm in doing this for lower priced shrimp as well.

But as stated, lots of people don't spend the big dollars for set-ups on neos like they do cards. In fact, I'm one of the very few that actually bought an RO system just for my neos. LOL It's not required by any means, though.

[youjettisonme]

Originally Posted by ony

Is this just for more delicate/line bred shrimps or a general guide? I haven't had deaths apart from when adding new shrimp to the tank but I do the same maintenance for the shrimp as I do for my fish.

I only came on here to find out a bit about breeding them and now I feel like a shrimp abuser

No way, you're fine. If you are not having deaths, and the shrimp are at least occasionally breeding, then you're great. I have a 90p full of pea puffers, tetras and cherries. I dose EI, pump up the CO2, and only use tap. It really depends on what you're trying to accomplish. The thread is geared mostly toward caridinas, but some of the advice may also be used for neos of course since it still applies.

[Mike Hawk]

Very nice, easy to read with a lot of great information. Should be a sticky so anyone looking to get into shrimp has quick access to great info.

[Kunsthure]

Can I add something else? If you're on a budget, don't want to buy fancy substrate, or don't want to deal with RO/DI to get the ideal parameters, try aging and aerating your tap water as mentioned above. It was suggested to me and I found out that my 7.8 pH, 6 GH and 4 KH tap water turns into 6.4 pH, 4 GH and 0-1 KH water when aerated and aged. You may have the ideal parameters for caridina and just don't know it.

-Lisa

[pejerrey]

All of the shrimp Jedis have slightly different was to do it. But one thing is 100% in common, they all shoot for stable parameters. I think this one was my big lesson. To make sure my set up wouldn't be swinging parameters in any way, and that i was able to be "hands off" for the longest time without having to mess with the tank, did I get that right?

About aging tap water, in most places now days they have a mix of chlorine(evaporates) and chloride(doesn't evaporate), therefore you have to use prime anyways, right?

[Kunsthure]

Yup, I always use Prime. I have confirmed with my DPU that they use chloramine (a mix of ammonia and chlorine) in our water so I have to use it. And I would still use it after aging the water because the ammonia won't dissipate.

-Lisa

[youjettisonme]

I will add both of the last two posts to the original as they make good points. Aging and aerating tap water can go a long way toward helping your ph and not just removing the nefarious TDS. But, as pejerrey mentions, it won't get out everything. You still need Prime. As long as my RO/DI is still reading zero, I don't need Prime though, a TDS raiser.

Another good point to make about Prime is that most people overuse it. Just a tiny bit of Prime goes a long, long way. I use 10 drops per 5 gallons in my tap water fish tank, and even that may be too much.

[Kunsthure]

Can you recommend a handheld TDS monitor?

-Lisa