[sunmiztres]

Hello,
I have heard from quite a few people on what the best water parameters are for CRS, and for breeding CRS and it always differs allot amongst people.
Some people over at the shrimp forum said you never worry about the gh only the kh and 2 degrees is the best. Others say don't worry about the Kh and gh is what you need to worry about. I told one person at the shrimp forum if I get my KH down to 2 degrees my GH is then 1 degree and they said that is fine. needless to say I am really confused and thought I should make a thread and see what other people think and what they keep their water parameters at for their CRS and if they are having luck at breeding them. Please chime in with your parameters.

Questions to answer.

What is your KH, does it matter?
what is your gh, does it matter?
what is your PH, does it matter?
Are you using tap water or RO water or a mixture of both?
Do you use co2 in your CRS tank?
What if anything do you use in your CRS tank to bring down the PH?

I am trying to figure out what the " average " is for the water parameters for CRS.

All you people out their that have been breeding CRS successfully please chime in with your knowledge

Thanks.

 

[A Hill]

Questions to answer.

1.What is your KH, does it matter?
2.what is your gh, does it matter?
3.what is your PH, does it matter?
4.Are you using tap water or RO water or a mixture of both?
5.Do you use co2 in your CRS tank?
6.What if anything do you use in your CRS tank to bring down the PH?

Added numbers to your questions to make it easier to answer:icon_wink

1. I believe KH matters some. I needs to be in a safe range, what that range is I'm no expert.
2. I believe GH is the same as KH, it matters some so keep it in the normal levels nothing too extreme.
3. My PH seems to be VERY acidic, less than 7, something in the 6. range...
4. I am using tap water, I hadn't ever even been using a dechlorenator but since I lost 3 CRS all the sudden for no apparent reason I picked up a bottle of Seachem Prime from my LFS the big bottle is $10 =\- and lasts for 2500, or 25000 gallons of water (not sure how many 0s I think it's 2500 though.)
5. I use substrate to make sure my PH is low. In the 55g it has a layer of large gravel, then small gravel, then Flora Base on top. If I was to redo substrate All I would use is Flora base ( I was on a budget when I fist started:icon_mad: but my combination has worked great.) My 10 I'm Redoing for Bees/CRS will have flora base as well since its locally available for me. If I was going to order a substrate online I would go with ADA AS from ADG, Owners are great guys and really really talented aquascapers.

I'm not sure my KH and GH but I know its low, I don't test too much and they're all doing fine. Most if not all my female CRS now have saddles:angel:. I recently lost 3 or 4 CRS one berried:icon_mad: But I suspect old age... But that is the reason for me getting the Prime anyways... I'd been meaning to also, since some people swear by this stuff.

-Andrew

Oh, and what other shrimp sites? Shrimpnow.com is a really great site.. Petshrimp I was banned after two days because of mustafa going on a rampage... So I'm not too sure how good their info is on there:icon_lol:

 

[sunmiztres]

well as it stands right now using 1/2 RO water and 1/2 tap water my
KH- 3.5
GH- 3.5
PH- 7.2 , wanting to bring this down. not sure what to use other then CO2. IF I use peat it will also lower my GH and then my figures change. I could change substrate but that would be a PITA and don't want to possibly have to recycle the tank.
Temp is 74 degrees.

Does this sound really good for CRS and offspring?
I have 3 berried females but it's not hard for the CRS to become pregnant. The test is when they have their babies do the babies survive. That's the real test. Been told there's a high mortality rate with CRS offspring if the water is even slightly out of whack.

Thanks

 

[A Hill]

Does this sound really good for CRS and offspring?
I have 3 berried females but it's not hard for the CRS to become pregnant. The test is when they have their babies do the babies survive. That's the real test. Been told there's a high mortality rate with CRS offspring if the water is even slightly out of whack.

Thanks

Its good you understand the real test is keeping the babies aliveroud: . I would wait and see how they do. In my opinion it's more important to have Stable water parameters than to have the perfect water. A good example of this is the member here TheTeh, he has bred his CRS in hard water .

So Keep everything as is for now and change it if you must after you find out there is something wrong.

Good luck with them shrimp!
-Andrew

 

[gabeszone247]

I never check the KH or GH. I just check the temp, which I keep at 23C, and my PH 6.5. I use co2 in my main breeding tank. I use regular tap water. I do 20% water change weekly.

 

[flounder]

I never check the KH or GH. I just check the temp, which I keep at 23C, and my PH 6.5. I use co2 in my main breeding tank. I use regular tap water. I do 20% water change weekly.

Yes, but you're in Japan. I don't think the tap water is as hard as ours in the states.

 

[A Hill]

I never check the KH or GH. I just check the temp, which I keep at 23C, and my PH 6.5. I use co2 in my main breeding tank. I use regular tap water. I do 20% water change weekly.

I'm pretty much the same way, just make sure it's the good temp and PH. Making it consistent is key I'm pretty positive... Because EVENTUALLY they should be acclimated enough to breed.

Yes, but you're in Japan. I don't think the tap water is as hard as ours in the states.

Yeah, generally their water is much softer than ours... For example that's why generally we don't use things like the Shikra white powder!

-Andrew