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30 Gallon Shrimp Tank

16K views 160 replies 15 participants last post by  Discusluv 
#1 · (Edited)
I am setting up this journal to ( along with documenting my journey into shrimp-keeping), hopefully, help other newcomers to shrimp-keeping.

As its been said, when you are learning, there are no "stupid questions"- only learning opportunities; so, you will find in this journal many examples of "learning opportunities". :smile2:



My preliminary questions began in the attached thread. I asked a whole lotta questions and gotta whole lotta help from the many wonderful members on this site. You may want to look back at this thread if you are new to shrimp and need some basic questions answered about how to start.

https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/88-shrimp-other-invertebrates/1293321-wild-shrimp.html


30 gallon tank - nothing fancy/

low-tech w/ low-light plants ( the usual: anubias, java fern, crypts, juncus, flame moss)


Hardscape: primarily driftwood/ some rock
Substrate: Caribsea Crystal River
Filter: Fluvel 206


Water Parameters:

Ph- 7.4
TDS 115
GH 5/KH 3


Temperature: 72 degrees



Livestock:



20 Wild Form Neocaridina Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi), Tank-Bred
10 Zebra Babaulti Shrimp (Caridina cf. babaulti "Zebra"), Tank-Bred

4 Otocinclus



Please forgive the ugly background- that will be remedied shortly. :|

Shrimp comes tomorrow!!

 
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#18 ·
I have been fascinated watching the shrimp today. They have been busy... I haven't noticed them go for the food yet; mainly staying on plants. I think Ill take it out.
Just pulled some yellow squash from the garden, so Ill try feeding that later.

I am going to try going to the nursery tomorrow to find some spinach and stinging nettle plants to start in a window. .



I ordered some Malaysian Mulberry Leaves from Tannin Aquatics for the shrimp.

I also ordered some of these items. Any of these work for shrimp? If not, Ill put in my other tanks.
I know that these would have to be added slowly and minimally. But, thought they may provide good surface area for bio-film growth.
Indian Casuarina Cones https://tanninaquatics.com/products/indian-casuarina-cones
Banana Stem Pieces
 
#19 ·
It's probably a good idea to wait 2-3 days before feeding. Give them time to settle in. Once they know what's in the tank for them to eat, they'll begin to be more adventurous. Your tank has tons of great surface area, though, so it could take them even longer.

Just about any leaf litter will work well. I honestly can't believe people are charging high prices like that but to each their own. They'll definitely work well for you if you treat them before putting them in the tank. Shrimp will devour them.

Do you have any trees on your property or any that friends/relatives have that are pesticide-free? Worth checking into to see what you can find. A ziplock bag of leaf litter would last you ages.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I have a large maple tree, several white birches, and an ash tree in my yard. Ill have to ask my relatives what they have.

There are also fruit trees in my yard- didn't think of that: lemon, mandarin, pineapple guava, plum pomegranate



I will definitely treat anything to a boil and a rinse in water before in goes into the tank.

Ill skip the feedings for a couple days, thank you for letting me know..
 
#21 ·
It sounds like you have been doing well so far. Feeding shrimp is a little counterintuitive if you are coming from fish since it is typical to feed fish 2x a day but shrimp are more likely 3x a week. Generally better to underfeed than overfeed.

The shrimp you have are all fairly hardy, so you won't need to worry terribly about an exact kh/gh. Consistency will be more important. Everyone I know locally who keeps shrimp just uses dechlorinated tap water. Depending on the quality of your tap water, remineralized RO is probably not needed. The tank looks great, I am sure you will do fine with your research and prior experience.
 
#22 ·
Yeah, there's probably so much for those shrimp to snack on in 30 gallons of mature aquarium that supplemental feeding isn't even being noticed. That will change as their numbers grow and they whittle away at the biofilm. Glad you're enjoying them!

I bought Catapatta leaves and so forth for years but now I use mostly fallen oak leaves from my yard for leaf litter.
 
#24 ·
I am a bit embarrassed to show the tank right now because I used glue to put the flame moss on wood and it is so obvious. I should have tried tying it on with string like @somewhatshocked suggested. It looks ugly.

I also took off the background and am in process of putting on another.



I guess I shouldn't be so self-conscious about the flaws...
 
#25 ·
Super glue gel is my favorite method for attaching moss. It grows quickly and within a week or two completely covers the glue. Added bonus: You don't have to wait a long time for thread to break down.

One of the best things about journaling is seeing one's tank when it's not at its best. That way it's more impressive when things grow in and settle down.
 
#27 ·
Yesterday had wonderful BBQ with some fellow members from TPT and members of sfbaaps.

Like the shrimp newbie I am, when asked what kind of shrimp I had I said "wild shrimp."
"But, what kind of wild shrimp," they asked, "Cherry shrimp?"
"No," I said, "they are not red."
"Cherry shrimp come in many colors." They said.
"Oh," I responded, turning red. "Ill look at my order from Aquatic Arts."


Such a light-weight.
 
#28 ·
Update:
After y'all assured me it was okay to show my glue-ridden sticks and "bare" - a$$ background- I wont be embarrassed.

Added some more plants to tank received from other members at BBQ. So very generous of them...

Also, added a mulberry leaf under glass bowl with piece of Jake's Veggie food and a couple cholla pieces. The shrimp luv the food- but, so do the assassin snails I thought I had picked out of the tank prior to getting the shrimp. Where were they hiding? Sneaky little guys.

Its really hard to take pictures of these shrimp with my I-phone- their colors and markings are subdued. They are not really colorful like many of the shrimp you see in other journals. Of course, like I stated earlier in this thread, that is my preference...
But, does make them difficult to photograph.

I think I will do my first water change tomorrow. I will need to modify my thinking and not do a 50% water change weekly. Ill do about 25% and see how that goes.
The mesh pre-filter that I bought recently is kinda a pain, it clogs up with debris very quickly- daily. Its trying my patience. I really dont want to wash this pre-filter daily in order to not have reduced flow from my canister filter. I think ill order a trusty sponge prefilter instead. With those you only need to clean every 3-5 days. Thats what you get for trying to be "fancy."

Any and all suggestions, comments, recommendations greatly appreciated.




 
#29 ·
I suspect that in 3 months that tank is going to be absolutely crawling with babies. If it isn't please take me up on my offer to send you some of mine that are breeding like roaches. Shrimp are a lot like fish. You'll know when you need to feed them when they swarm food. Much of the time they are uninterested because they are finding food everywhere. It's only when you have such a population that they are hungry that they populate a shrimp lolly or so forth. With that size tank and 30-50 new shrimp, I can't imagine they are looking for supplemental food. Yet. But that time is coming, trust me!
 
#30 ·
Thank you so much! I definitely will keep your generous offer in mind in the coming months.

You know, they must be getting plenty of food because they do not swarm the food. There is always three to four crawling on the food and within the cup- but, never a swarm.

They are throughout the tank. They are eating something.

I hope they are all fine. I know some are fine because I see 5-10 at any one time...
 
#31 ·
I have a 5.5 gallon with probably well over 200 including babies. They are the only tank I have that cluster over introduced foods. But even my 50 gallon cull tank (no fish) don't seem to need supplemental feedings. Of course I feed all of those anyway.
 
#32 · (Edited)
You'll have a better experience with a sponge pre-filter. Plus your shrimp will likely congregate on the sponge - especially shrimplets. Some folks clamor for the DIY stainless thing you bought but I find them to be impractical and less durable than one needs in an aquarium.

Mine get a gentle squeeze in old tank water when I do water changes. In some tanks, that's only once every couple weeks or so. They clog way more slowly with shrimp because they keep them pecked (edit: I meant "picked") clean.

They'll eventually get hungry. Just have to give them time to settle in and then they'll swarm whatever you feed them. That might take way longer than you're expecting because they may not run out of whatever they're currently eating for several weeks. (That's a good thing.)
 
#38 ·
You'll have a better experience with a sponge pre-filter. Plus your shrimp will likely congregate on the sponge - especially shrimplets. Some folks clamor for the DIY stainless thing you bought but I find them to be impractical and less durable than one needs in an aquarium.
Have you tried Jungle Aqua's from user JungleFowl here on the forums? I used Aqua Clear sponges with a hole cut out of the for years but tried some of his and have been quite impressed. I'm only 5-6 months into using them, but they seem to be made pretty well and are holding up so far. My problem with sponges is that I felt like every time I took them off to rinse, I was boring the opening out more when I'd put them back on. I watched small shrimp crawl down that hole and wondered if any could get far enough to find the intake. Probably not anything that is going to impact numbers at all, but figured I could eliminate it as even a risk with the steel mesh. Largely a matter of preference, and with time I may cool on my opinion of these but so far, so good.
 
#39 ·
Tried similar ones off and on for several years and just ultimately prefer sponge. The steel almost always - regardless of the grade of material used - degrades in acidic water at a rate that irks me. Probably fine for the average hobbyist, though.

I have a bunch of tanks (way less than I used to, thankfully! but still a lot) and tend to buy sponge in bulk and cut my own. But there are quite a few different varieties and sizes available on the market that have held up well for me for several years. I've had some on my AquaClear and Eheim filters that have been in use since 2010 or 2011 that haven't yet needed to be replaced due to stretching or wearing out. But I also have some (only 2, really, and I still have them kinda zip tied) that have broken down a bit after a couple years.

Full disclosure: I always gravitate to dark or black hardware to make it easier to hide against a black background or behind plants. So sponges really fit the bill for me. Same goes for cheap dual sponge filters on fleabay.
 
#40 ·
I was doing some reading on the micro-rasbora species for this tank, B. brigittae, B. maculatus or B. merah.
I have never kept any rasbora species- weird when think about how long Ive been keeping fish.
Anyways, its shocking to me how readily these fish breed in the aquarium. Appears to take little effort on the part of the aquarist. Put in a good mix of males/females, add spawning medium, set the parameters right and you have a good chance of off-spring.

The question I have though, as I would put them in with the shrimp, is the matter of temperature. It looks like they do best around 75-77 in aquarium. At 72 degrees, which is where I have my tank set, they may be temperature stressed?

What has your experience been?
Here is a good article I came across of the three common micro-species.
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/boraras-marvels-in-miniature/
 
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