[Crazyjayb]

Hey guys, I'm going to be moving into a smaller space within the next year and therefore want to plan out my hobby.

I am wanting to breed all sorts of shrimp, neos, and caradinas, and one fancy species of shrimp.

my questions have to deal with the ideal setup. I have a 40g stand that I currently have 2 40g tanks on that I was originally going to just divide into 3-4 sections with foam but I know many shrimp keepers have several more smaller tanks. I figure that this is because they can all keep different parameters but want to know more about why they choose this.

I am not against having multiple smaller tanks if someone can give me some reasoning. But the way I see it now is that altho you can control each specific parameters you also have to get an individual heater, lid, as well as individual water changes which is obviously a lot more work.

I also would like to know how people deal with culls when keeping a variety of different shrimp species with water that doesn't work with the other shrimp.

I know this is a long question, thank you to whoever responds.

Edit: Who still sells shrimp? I have tried going on a desktop to find the classifieds but I cannot find it anymore.

 

[Blue Ridge Reef]

Try this link: https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/153-sale-trade/

 

[apaniagua]

Try this link: https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/153-sale-trade/

What are the requirements to see that forum?

 

[Discusluv]

What are the requirements to see that forum?

Are you looking at the sales forum with your phone ( or trying)?
I think you need to look at it from a computer.

Am I correct @somewhatshocked ?

I think I saw this...

 

[Darkblade48]

What are the requirements to see that forum?

As long as you are logged into your account, and on a computer (that particular subforum is inaccessible on mobile), it should work.


There might also be some minimum post requirements, but it should be fairly trivial to reach it.

 

[Blue Ridge Reef]

Was hurried in my first reply, here's a more thought-out response.

I am wanting to breed all sorts of shrimp, neos, and caradinas, and one fancy species of shrimp.

Me too, man, me too. I have success with some, but WOW a lot of them don't take off like I expect. Don't discount the idea on my experience, but also don't plan your kid's college fund on it.

my questions have to deal with the ideal setup. I have a 40g stand that I currently have 2 40g tanks on that I was originally going to just divide into 3-4 sections with foam but I know many shrimp keepers have several more smaller tanks. I figure that this is because they can all keep different parameters but want to know more about why they choose this.

More tanks are better. One identical (on the surface) aquarium might go nuts while the other treated exactly the same has no babies.

I am not against having multiple smaller tanks if someone can give me some reasoning. But the way I see it now is that altho you can control each specific parameters you also have to get an individual heater, lid, as well as individual water changes which is obviously a lot more work.

Individual water changes are real, but you get to know each tank you care for and that's part of the appeal for me. In tanks where I use heaters, they are set to 65 or so and rarely turn on so that isn't an issue. My luck keeping shrimp at 75+ has been abysmal and I use heaters only to keep things from swinging too much these days when I use them at all.

I also would like to know how people deal with culls when keeping a variety of different shrimp species with water that doesn't work with the other shrimp.

I have a 125 gallon that all culls go in, they can make it or not. Many I worry won't (like poorly saturated CRS) are still in there and have lived out lives, a year or more down the line. Some I never see again. But I drip-acclimate them all and give them a chance. I realize that everyone doesn't have the option of another tank to drop culls in.

 

[Crazyjayb]

A cull tank is an absolute must for me.

I have a test tank set up in the new place just to get an idea of temp swings and it is usually around 67 degrees so a heater would be a must.

What I am working with is a stand that can hold 2 40g breeders or I must make a new stand. given that which would you prefer?

 

[Zoidburg]

my questions have to deal with the ideal setup. I have a 40g stand that I currently have 2 40g tanks on that I was originally going to just divide into 3-4 sections with foam but I know many shrimp keepers have several more smaller tanks. I figure that this is because they can all keep different parameters but want to know more about why they choose this.

I wouldn't recommend using foam separation as the shrimp could potentially climb over the foam. If you really want to use the 40g tanks, I would recommend acrylic or glass siliconed into place. If you are good, you can even go as far as cutting a circle in the center of these and then silicone or gluing in some sort of aquarium safe mesh that's far too small for baby shrimp to climb through.

The downside to this is that if something bad happens to this tank, it effects *ALL* of your shrimp. If they have their own tanks or compartments, then it should only effect one group of shrimp.

Separate tanks also lessen the chances of shrimp mixing and interbreeding with each other... thus you are able to keep the lines strong. Some shrimp still manage to make it into other tanks! I've heard of one shrimp that climbed out of their tank and made it into a tank below theirs! That shrimp got lucky.... most die when climbing out of a tank...

I am not against having multiple smaller tanks if someone can give me some reasoning. But the way I see it now is that altho you can control each specific parameters you also have to get an individual heater, lid, as well as individual water changes which is obviously a lot more work.

Heater not required.

Depending on how far you want to get into it, you can set up automatic water changes, where fresh water constantly drips into the tanks and there's an overflow to help remove some of the old water.


I also would like to know how people deal with culls when keeping a variety of different shrimp species with water that doesn't work with the other shrimp.

As mentioned, cull tank! Or you sell them! Plus side of a cull tank is that if a shrimp colors out better, you could always re-add it into a tank... assuming it's not mixed.


A cull tank is an absolute must for me.

Perfect!


I have a test tank set up in the new place just to get an idea of temp swings and it is usually around 67 degrees so a heater would be a must.

Good temps! No heater required!

I mean... you could use a heater to cycle... but you don't need a heater once the tanks have been cycled. Shrimp will be fine!


What I am working with is a stand that can hold 2 40g breeders or I must make a new stand. given that which would you prefer?

It's really up to each individual person. If there were small tanks that could fit perfectly 'sideways' (you see the side of the tank instead of the front), then it might not be a bad idea to go that route. But... if the tanks don't fit well, it would probably bug me.... in which case I'd probably stick with the 40's and figure out how to do partitions.

 

[Crazyjayb]

my questions have to deal with the ideal setup. I have a 40g stand that I currently have 2 40g tanks on that I was originally going to just divide into 3-4 sections with foam but I know many shrimp keepers have several more smaller tanks. I figure that this is because they can all keep different parameters but want to know more about why they choose this.

I wouldn't recommend using foam separation as the shrimp could potentially climb over the foam. If you really want to use the 40g tanks, I would recommend acrylic or glass siliconed into place. If you are good, you can even go as far as cutting a circle in the center of these and then silicone or gluing in some sort of aquarium safe mesh that's far too small for baby shrimp to climb through.

The downside to this is that if something bad happens to this tank, it effects *ALL* of your shrimp. If they have their own tanks or compartments, then it should only effect one group of shrimp.

Separate tanks also lessen the chances of shrimp mixing and interbreeding with each other... thus you are able to keep the lines strong. Some shrimp still manage to make it into other tanks! I've heard of one shrimp that climbed out of their tank and made it into a tank below theirs! That shrimp got lucky.... most die when climbing out of a tank...

I am not against having multiple smaller tanks if someone can give me some reasoning. But the way I see it now is that altho you can control each specific parameters you also have to get an individual heater, lid, as well as individual water changes which is obviously a lot more work.

Heater not required.

Depending on how far you want to get into it, you can set up automatic water changes, where fresh water constantly drips into the tanks and there's an overflow to help remove some of the old water.


I also would like to know how people deal with culls when keeping a variety of different shrimp species with water that doesn't work with the other shrimp.

As mentioned, cull tank! Or you sell them! Plus side of a cull tank is that if a shrimp colors out better, you could always re-add it into a tank... assuming it's not mixed.


A cull tank is an absolute must for me.

Perfect!


I have a test tank set up in the new place just to get an idea of temp swings and it is usually around 67 degrees so a heater would be a must.

Good temps! No heater required!

I mean... you could use a heater to cycle... but you don't need a heater once the tanks have been cycled. Shrimp will be fine!


What I am working with is a stand that can hold 2 40g breeders or I must make a new stand. given that which would you prefer?

It's really up to each individual person. If there were small tanks that could fit perfectly 'sideways' (you see the side of the tank instead of the front), then it might not be a bad idea to go that route. But... if the tanks don't fit well, it would probably bug me.... in which case I'd probably stick with the 40's and figure out how to do partitions.

Oh trust me I know all about shrimp being crazy climbers. My plan if I kept the 40s would be to get a 2inch thick piece of foam that I would mold to the shape of the glass so it would be snug again the glass so hopefully absolutely no chance of escapees to the other sides. I would set these tanks to be practically airtight except for heater cord and air line. However that brings up another question, if I had just one heater per tank that could heat the tank up to around 71-72 degrees would there be a heat distribution problem because it would have to be in one of the sections? I would want to use a heater bc from personal experience I have had much more success keeping the tank around 71-74 degrees vs in the high 60s.

I am definitely aware of the risk of an entire tank crash but so far have not experienced anything like that. Just to be prepared what are some tips to avoid an entire tank crash or is it all stuff like basic maintenance and obviously washing off soaps and such from your hands?

My final thing why I am more so with using the 2 40s is because the stand that holds them perfectly supports the frame of a 40g. What I mean by that is it fits snuck, I'm not sure if I am explaining this correctly but think of it like a box and nothing can go outside of the box. I don't know tanks that would work with those dimensions.

Thank you @Zoidburg and @Blueridgereef for your responses

 

[Zoidburg]

The rest of your questions are beyond my knowledge as I don't have any experience there. One thought is that you could do a false back for filtration and heating purposes, just enough to fit heater and filter in the back. Alternatively, you could plumb the tanks and set up a sump. This may be more difficult when you have two tanks on one stand but there are different styles of sumps. You would have intake and outtake on opposite ends of the tank.

I don't know how well this would work with thick sponges as it could vary based on how course the sponge is.

 

[Crazyjayb]

The rest of your questions are beyond my knowledge as I don't have any experience there. One thought is that you could do a false back for filtration and heating purposes, just enough to fit heater and filter in the back. Alternatively, you could plumb the tanks and set up a sump. This may be more difficult when you have two tanks on one stand but there are different styles of sumps. You would have intake and outtake on opposite ends of the tank.

I don't know how well this would work with thick sponges as it could vary based on how course the sponge is.

I was thinking of doing a false back but I am still worried about the heating issue. I think the flow wouldnt really get to the other side of the tank either.

 

[Zoidburg]

With a false back, if you used the acrylic or glass idea with sections cut out in each area and covered with mesh, it would probably work? Would probably want an area at the bottom as well as at least the middle section of the false back cut out and covered in mesh. That, or do some long sections cut out to nearly span the entire length of the tank and cover those sections with mesh but then that might cause an issue with the sponge dividers? Might not.