I am going to do the same thing tomorrow. Pick up some RCS. I think the ph has to be above 6.5 but mine is steady at 6.5. Any thoughts on this? Mine is well planted -ish 10g with 6 tetras. Any tips on acclimating?
New to Shrimps, adding to community tank
Hi all,
Tomorrow I was planning to pick up some HC to start carpeting and I figured I might want to try some shrimp (amano, ghost, RCS).
I was wondering what kind of plants they like to hide in.
Filter:
Aqua Clear 20 (no prefilter- is it necessary?)
-Sponge
-Purigen
-Matrix
This is for an established 10g community tank.
1x Female Betta
1x Congo Tetra
1x Oto
2x Bumblebee gobies
Plants:
Corner of hygrophila corymbosa
Corner of purple bamboo
2x Pieces of driftwood
2x Amazon Sword
HC (Soon)
2x Hornwort (plan to move to other temp tank)
Substrate is Eco Complete (I've read that this worked for some).
Any advice is welcome!
Tomorrow I was planning to pick up some HC to start carpeting and I figured I might want to try some shrimp (amano, ghost, RCS).
I was wondering what kind of plants they like to hide in.
Filter:
Aqua Clear 20 (no prefilter- is it necessary?)
-Sponge
-Purigen
-Matrix
This is for an established 10g community tank.
1x Female Betta
1x Congo Tetra
1x Oto
2x Bumblebee gobies
Plants:
Corner of hygrophila corymbosa
Corner of purple bamboo
2x Pieces of driftwood
2x Amazon Sword
HC (Soon)
2x Hornwort (plan to move to other temp tank)
Substrate is Eco Complete (I've read that this worked for some).
Any advice is welcome!
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
For the original poster - stay away from rcs in your setup, they'll be an expensive snack for your fish. Ghosts or amanos might be ok, just depends on the individual fish. The congo would especially concern me as far as snacking on the shrimp, but honestly, congos really need to be in groups of 5+ of their own kind, and they really need a much bigger tank, so if it'd be possible to trade him in on some of the plants or shrimp you're looking for, that would be in the best interest of the fish.
Anyway, back to the shrimp - amanos and ghosts are both bigger than rcs so less likely to get snacked on, and their coloring doesn't make them quite as obvious of a target as rcs. Keeping the smaller shrimp with fish of any kind is a crap shoot. The fish may instantly go after your shrimp, they may never bother them, or they may go a year or more before you come home one day and find your entire colony wiped out (I speak from experience here - over a year building a colony of orange neos in a tank with a few guppies, they all totally ignored each other. One day, came home and there were no bodies but only 3 or 4 shrimp left - still wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen one of the guppies stalk and kill/eat one of the "survivors").
Plantetra - you are correct that rcs prefer a higher ph. The bigger issue though is likely your gh. When the ph is low like yours is, you're more than likely also going to have softer water. You may be able to acclimate the shrimp ok, but the soft water prevents them from being able to molt/rebuild their exoskeleton properly and they die. Test your gh and kh before jumping into anything. They're more expensive (especially considering they're going in a tank with fish), but crs may be better suited to your water.
Anyway, back to the shrimp - amanos and ghosts are both bigger than rcs so less likely to get snacked on, and their coloring doesn't make them quite as obvious of a target as rcs. Keeping the smaller shrimp with fish of any kind is a crap shoot. The fish may instantly go after your shrimp, they may never bother them, or they may go a year or more before you come home one day and find your entire colony wiped out (I speak from experience here - over a year building a colony of orange neos in a tank with a few guppies, they all totally ignored each other. One day, came home and there were no bodies but only 3 or 4 shrimp left - still wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen one of the guppies stalk and kill/eat one of the "survivors").
Plantetra - you are correct that rcs prefer a higher ph. The bigger issue though is likely your gh. When the ph is low like yours is, you're more than likely also going to have softer water. You may be able to acclimate the shrimp ok, but the soft water prevents them from being able to molt/rebuild their exoskeleton properly and they die. Test your gh and kh before jumping into anything. They're more expensive (especially considering they're going in a tank with fish), but crs may be better suited to your water.
For the original poster - stay away from rcs in your setup, they'll be an expensive snack for your fish. Ghosts or amanos might be ok, just depends on the individual fish. The congo would especially concern me as far as snacking on the shrimp, but honestly, congos really need to be in groups of 5+ of their own kind, and they really need a much bigger tank, so if it'd be possible to trade him in on some of the plants or shrimp you're looking for, that would be in the best interest of the fish.
Anyway, back to the shrimp - amanos and ghosts are both bigger than rcs so less likely to get snacked on, and their coloring doesn't make them quite as obvious of a target as rcs. Keeping the smaller shrimp with fish of any kind is a crap shoot. The fish may instantly go after your shrimp, they may never bother them, or they may go a year or more before you come home one day and find your entire colony wiped out (I speak from experience here - over a year building a colony of orange neos in a tank with a few guppies, they all totally ignored each other. One day, came home and there were no bodies but only 3 or 4 shrimp left - still wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen one of the guppies stalk and kill/eat one of the "survivors").
Plantetra - you are correct that rcs prefer a higher ph. The bigger issue though is likely your gh. When the ph is low like yours is, you're more than likely also going to have softer water. You may be able to acclimate the shrimp ok, but the soft water prevents them from being able to molt/rebuild their exoskeleton properly and they die. Test your gh and kh before jumping into anything. They're more expensive (especially considering they're going in a tank with fish), but crs may be better suited to your water.
Thanks for the tips Jen. Yea I was inclined to go with ghost shrimp, since they're cheaper and just to "test the waters" with the fish lol.
I'm sorry to hear about your orange neo's. I can't imagine losing a whole bunch like that. Did they have anywhere to hide or did it not matter?
Gametheory:
Jen is right. You have some definite RCS eaters. Amanos get to a decent size though, and should be fine. They won't breed in fresh water though, although you'll also probably never get ghost shrimp babies even though many types do breed in fresh water. They have a larval stage and usually starve to death if they're not eaten by their parents or other tank inhabitants first. There is some hope though. I found a cherry in my 29G community tank the other day. Have no idea how it got there, but figure it must have hitched a ride with some fish I bought. I have a ton of fish in that tank. About 10 adult male guppies, 15 or so guppy fry, 4 leopard danios, 3 pearl gouramis, 4 albino cories, 10 otos, and most recently a pair of peacock gudgeons. I have driftwood that forms several caves and is covered with java ferns and moss. I have other plants in the process of growing out around the wood, but my shrimp usually stays in the moss. Even with all those fish, he seems to be doing fine. So as usual, results vary!
plantetra:
Get some crushed coral and add a couple of cups into your substrate. Give it a few days and see what that does to your PH. It should give you a boost. If not enough, add more. The calcium from the coral helps the shrimp with their molting too. And, if you have any snails, it can help them grow some pretty impressive shells.
Jen is right. You have some definite RCS eaters. Amanos get to a decent size though, and should be fine. They won't breed in fresh water though, although you'll also probably never get ghost shrimp babies even though many types do breed in fresh water. They have a larval stage and usually starve to death if they're not eaten by their parents or other tank inhabitants first. There is some hope though. I found a cherry in my 29G community tank the other day. Have no idea how it got there, but figure it must have hitched a ride with some fish I bought. I have a ton of fish in that tank. About 10 adult male guppies, 15 or so guppy fry, 4 leopard danios, 3 pearl gouramis, 4 albino cories, 10 otos, and most recently a pair of peacock gudgeons. I have driftwood that forms several caves and is covered with java ferns and moss. I have other plants in the process of growing out around the wood, but my shrimp usually stays in the moss. Even with all those fish, he seems to be doing fine. So as usual, results vary!
plantetra:
Get some crushed coral and add a couple of cups into your substrate. Give it a few days and see what that does to your PH. It should give you a boost. If not enough, add more. The calcium from the coral helps the shrimp with their molting too. And, if you have any snails, it can help them grow some pretty impressive shells.
Gametheory - They had plenty of hiding spots - carpet of dhg, several differing sizes of crypts, flame moss, peacock moss, red "moss", ludwegia, cabomba, and a few other plants I can't remember off the top of my head - plus lots of driftwood. And they were fine for a very long while, the fish didn't even mess with the babies (at least not enough to make a difference), then one day they discovered that shrimp = food, and once that clicked, it was over!
Plantera - the crushed coral will definitely help you out, but the problem you'll run into is doing water changes. The water you add back in is going to be as it comes out of the tap, not as it is in the tank. It will over some time adjust up due to the coral, but the up and down fluctuations are very hard on fish and inverts alike. You'll be way better off either going with shrimp that are suited for your conditions (not rcs), or using one of the various additives that you mix in the water to up the hardness and ph. The good news for you is, the additives are way more effective at bringing hardness/ph up and maintaining it there than they are at bringing it down (which, unfortunately, is what I need - my ph is 8.3 and kh is 18 to 19).
Plantera - the crushed coral will definitely help you out, but the problem you'll run into is doing water changes. The water you add back in is going to be as it comes out of the tap, not as it is in the tank. It will over some time adjust up due to the coral, but the up and down fluctuations are very hard on fish and inverts alike. You'll be way better off either going with shrimp that are suited for your conditions (not rcs), or using one of the various additives that you mix in the water to up the hardness and ph. The good news for you is, the additives are way more effective at bringing hardness/ph up and maintaining it there than they are at bringing it down (which, unfortunately, is what I need - my ph is 8.3 and kh is 18 to 19).
I had a betta who lived with a ghost shrimp for months and never even looked at him. The only time I DID see him look at him, he ripped him to shreds. Ugh.
Yeah, I think OP needs to re-examine his stock list - and do some work on it.
Congos should NEVER be alone, and even a single Congo is too big for a 10g
Additionally, Congos and Bettas are known to fight, Congos can get nippy at times to long finned Fish such as Bettas.
finally, all of the above will munch shrimp like no one's business.
Congos should NEVER be alone, and even a single Congo is too big for a 10g
Additionally, Congos and Bettas are known to fight, Congos can get nippy at times to long finned Fish such as Bettas.
finally, all of the above will munch shrimp like no one's business.
Thanks for all the tips. I think i should wait on RCS and luckily none of LFS had RCS this evening. After reading the replies, i feel good that none of them had it. The water i am using is RO purified from walmart. I used tap water before and the Ph right out of it is 8.2 and it kept killing all my fish and heavy chlorine. So i ended up using walmart culligan water and they seem to be fine and happy. Is it a good idea to mix treated tap water with the RO water and find a ph suitable for both fish and shrimp?
Got back from my LFS a couple of hours ago. Picked up the HC and two amanos. Thanks for the input all, although some were sad, but they were still great! Your advice inclined me to bet on the amanos lol.
As for their size, they're the same if not bigger than the congo and betta.
The female congo is actually really docile and gets along with the betta (never had an aggression problem, possibly since it's a female -shortfins?) for a year so far, maybe that's odd? It does seem a bit out of place and was never intended for this tank, so I'll look into giving it away.
So far all the fish have shown no aggression towards them and they're happily doing their shrimp business.
As for their size, they're the same if not bigger than the congo and betta.
The female congo is actually really docile and gets along with the betta (never had an aggression problem, possibly since it's a female -shortfins?) for a year so far, maybe that's odd? It does seem a bit out of place and was never intended for this tank, so I'll look into giving it away.
So far all the fish have shown no aggression towards them and they're happily doing their shrimp business.
JustgenGametheory - They had plenty of hiding spots - carpet of dhg, several differing sizes of crypts, flame moss, peacock moss, red "moss", ludwegia, cabomba, and a few other plants I can't remember off the top of my head - plus lots of driftwood. And they were fine for a very long while, the fish didn't even mess with the babies (at least not enough to make a difference), then one day they discovered that shrimp = food, and once that clicked, it was over!
Plantera - the crushed coral will definitely help you out, but the problem you'll run into is doing water changes. The water you add back in is going to be as it comes out of the tap, not as it is in the tank. It will over some time adjust up due to the coral, but the up and down fluctuations are very hard on fish and inverts alike. You'll be way better off either going with shrimp that are suited for your conditions (not rcs), or using one of the various additives that you mix in the water to up the hardness and ph. The good news for you is, the additives are way more effective at bringing hardness/ph up and maintaining it there than they are at bringing it down (which, unfortunately, is what I need - my ph is 8.3 and kh is 18 to 19).
You mentioned that it is better to get shrimps that suit the water conditions. Do you have any suggestions for any shrimp that can live in 6.5ph softwater? if not what i can do is, add some water from my tap which is at 8.2 and above or crushed corals. But i read that neon tetras prefer it acidic. What is the right ph for plants? i have Wisteria, many Anubias, DHG, Argentine sword, Amazon sword and few more. Thanks in advance.
Shrimp are natural food for fish, sooner or later they will be lunch and dinner
Even for Neon Tetra???Shrimp are natural food for fish, sooner or later they will be lunch and dinner
My large neon tetras show no interest in any of my shrimp,,,, yet.Even for Neon Tetra???
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk
ive seen so many threads that say " i had shrimp with my neons for month then woke up one morning and they were gone" some times it takes a while for a fish to realize shrimp are food but once they do the shrimp are gone pretty fast.
tetras also need to be kept in groups they are schoolers and need a good 5 or 6 to be some what comfortable but more the better. in a 10 gal that is not possible though.
even neons will rip shrimp apart. they can not eat them whole but will pick leggs off and fight over them and rip them to shreds
tetras also need to be kept in groups they are schoolers and need a good 5 or 6 to be some what comfortable but more the better. in a 10 gal that is not possible though.
even neons will rip shrimp apart. they can not eat them whole but will pick leggs off and fight over them and rip them to shreds
Yup only fish I trust with my shrimp are ottos
Does anyone know if Holey rock will help in maintain the water buffer? I have 6.5ph and close to 0 kh and 75 gh.
I hope this doesn't infringe on any forum rules, but here's some information on another forum from a quick google searchDoes anyone know if Holey rock will help in maintain the water buffer? I have 6.5ph and close to 0 kh and 75 gh.
About 5 posts down I believe is what you're looking for.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=204525
Thanks for the link, I had two intentions posting this. One, i wanted to know the answer. Second one is, i could not find anything related to this in this forum.
My actual question is, will it maintain the Ph at 8 or will it keep climbing as i keep adding soft water as my water is acidic.
My actual question is, will it maintain the Ph at 8 or will it keep climbing as i keep adding soft water as my water is acidic.
My 2 cents worth and a related question...
I have watched ghost shrimp go after the RCS when they molt. Seems they give off a scent during molting which the ghost shrimp know. The ghost shrimp sudenly become active when they get that scent and don't stop looking till they find the RCS.
So either but not both in the same tank.
I just got my GH/KH test kit. Got the TDS meter a couple of days back. Trying but it's
taking me a while cause of cost.
So my TDS is 140 and my GH is 4(drops). So now to start dosing MGSO4.
But this 10g tank already gets almost 1/4 tsp of CASO4 per week after WC.
But this is the day before WC. The day after WC the TDS was 125.
Anyone have any thoughts on this...should I begin a dose of the MGSO4 in addition
to the CASO4 ? And would this replace adding the crushed coral ?
This is mostly because of RCS in this tank.
Trying to make this tank a better environment for the RCS and Gametheory may be interested in this info also.
I have watched ghost shrimp go after the RCS when they molt. Seems they give off a scent during molting which the ghost shrimp know. The ghost shrimp sudenly become active when they get that scent and don't stop looking till they find the RCS.
So either but not both in the same tank.
I just got my GH/KH test kit. Got the TDS meter a couple of days back. Trying but it's
taking me a while cause of cost.
So my TDS is 140 and my GH is 4(drops). So now to start dosing MGSO4.
But this 10g tank already gets almost 1/4 tsp of CASO4 per week after WC.
But this is the day before WC. The day after WC the TDS was 125.
Anyone have any thoughts on this...should I begin a dose of the MGSO4 in addition
to the CASO4 ? And would this replace adding the crushed coral ?
This is mostly because of RCS in this tank.
Trying to make this tank a better environment for the RCS and Gametheory may be interested in this info also.
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
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