[Senior Shrimpo]

As Sulawesi shrimp are becoming more and more popular, the knowledge about them is slowly growing. From the ancient lakes of Malili and Poso, they're naturally colorful shrimp that have caught the eye of many shrimp breeders.

I think we should have a thread for discussion about them. Experienced owners and newbies to the species (myself included) talk about what parameters they like, how to set up a sulawesi tank, etc.

I'd love to hear how people are keeping them. What is your gh/kh/TDS? Temperature & ph? How are they breeding for you?

Lastly, has anyone kept C. Woltereckae? Not C. spongicola, which needs a freshwater sponge to survive, but the shrimp which can be kept in an aquarium.

This is an article with a picture of C. Spongicola and its native sponge friend.

http://www.guitarfish.org/images/posts/sulawesi_shrimp/Rintelen Kris RSBL20060613p.pdf
(Check page 2)

Here is a picture of woltereckae:

Woltereckae has better banding/white.

I was originally gonna pm some people, but I figured it'd be more helpful to everyone if we had a public discussion.

 

[msnikkistar]

I know of one person who has the freshwater sponges and his sulawesi are doing well. But I really don't keep these guys anymore as I had to get rid of them to get my black tigers

 

[Senior Shrimpo]

And you chose not to sell them to me? :thumbsdow

Haha nahh, who has sponges? I want them. lol

I'm sure they're incredibly difficult to take care of though...

 

[mordalphus]

You should send aelysa a PM and tell her to comment here, she's the resident sulawesi guru.

I used to have breeding cardinals and cerulea, but I bought a group of spinata that were full of disease and parasite (which I had no clue about), and they decimated my entire tank. After that, I turned that tank upside down in my back yard and threw rocks at it. Talk about a fortune going down the drain.

 

[Senior Shrimpo]

Aww man does that stink!

I figured they'd be hard to breed but that was pretty out of your control...

Pming Aelysa now to add in her wisdom

 

[Geniusdudekiran]

I've alway thought Sulawesi shrimp looked like saltwater species... Did they evolve from saltwater species?

 

[mordalphus]

yes, they did, the sulawesi area is high in pH because it used to be in the ocean not too long ago. I think the whole island is active volcanos which are still building the area. That's why you have things like fresh water sponges, i mean... hello? I think the area used to be ocean, and with the rise of volcanos brought springs, which slowly converted the small salt water lakes into freshwater very gradually over time. Something along those lines.

 

[msjinkzd]

I bred C. spinata (yellow cheeks) for about 2 `1/2 years.

I kept them in pH 8.2, gh 3, kh 4, tds 150 temp 82

 

[aelysa]

Woltereckae are kind of hit or miss dependent on how the batch comes in. I'd say just a little harder to take care of than Spinatas. They really enjoy leaves, in my case I used guava leaves. Sprinkle a powdered food over the leaves at twilight. If you have shrimplets it is a must to do this daily.
PH 7.8, TDS 100-200 temp 78 for my tank. Good luck!

 

[mordalphus]

THERE SHE IS!!! *BOW*we're not worthy*BOW*

 

[A.M. Aquatics]

I love sulawesi shrimp, as well as the other wildlife that inhabits the island. Will I ever keep sulawesi shrimp? Sure....once I figure out how I singlehandedly took down an RCS without killing a CRS. lol.

 

[ZID ZULANDER]

The cardinals that I have right now are in 8.0 ph TDS is 180 or so and temp is 82. I keep the tylos in the same similar water.

 

[Senior Shrimpo]

Thanks all of you for your awesome words of wisdom Aelysa and zid zulander, mind telling the gh/kh and how to attain it?

 

[ZID ZULANDER]

I use a mix of neutral sand and coral sand. I will have to check it.

 

[msjinkzd]

I used texas holey rock and ro water (even though you didn't ask me, lol)

 

[jasonpatterson]

This is one variety of shrimp I'd like to keep but haven't been able to find a supplier other than the occasional insanely priced aquabid seller ($20 per shrimp for cardinals and the like.) Turns out that for once, the water right out of my tap is perfect for them.

 

[plamski]

I have mine in PH 8.2, GH 330 tds probably 8-9,KH 6-7, temperature 82.There are some rabbit snails too. They are breading but very slowly. I can’t keep them alive for more than 14 months.

 

[aelysa]

I use this granite beach shell gravel mixed with a bit of aragonite + distilled/RO. Gotta experiment with the ratios though, I get problems if the ph is past 8.5+.

 

[Senior Shrimpo]

I used texas holey rock and ro water (even though you didn't ask me, lol)

Lol, you already posted your gH and kH! I was most interested in those.

But thank you a lot. I wish there was some consensus as to what gH and kH were best for them, considering we have a pretty clear idea of what's best for CRS.

 

[msjinkzd]

Here is a copy of some parameters that are available in some foreign sites:
Lake Matano, measured on the northern and the southern shore in May 2008


Temperature 29.5
Electrical conductance value 191 - 227
PH 8.6
gH 7
kH 5
NH4 0
NH3 0
NO2 0
NO3 0
PO4 1,0
FE 0
CU 0

Lake Towuti, measured in the north

Temperature of 32°C shortly under the surface, 29 °C at a depth of 3 m.


Electrical conductance value 181
PH 8.3
gH 6
kH 5 - 6
NH4 0
NH3 0
NO2 0
NO3 0
PO4 2.0
FE 0
CU 0



When I measured the water upon direct import, the gh/kh was usually between 2-4 while the pH was always at 8.2.