[etgregoire]

So I found a good deal on a new Fluval Spec 5 on Craigs and I'm going to pick it up tonight and I am interested in having a small shrimp tank. I'm a beginner so I was thinking of Red Cherry shrimp or Crystal Red shrimp which I think are best for beginners? I do have a few questions though!

1 - Substrate - I would like it lightly planted, but I'm not doing CO2 here so I was thinking something inert like sand, but also considering EcoComplete or Flourite. Do either of these have and adverse affect on shrimp?

2 - Ferts - How do shrimp do with root tabs, Excel and Flourish?

3 - Water quality - Should I plan on using RO water? Or is tap okay?

4 - Hardscape - Are there any types of rocks that would affect the gh/kh of the water that I should avoid?

Thanks, and forgive the extreme newbie questions... I'm excited though!

 

[dougolasjr]

1. I use Ecocomplete in all my shrimp/crab tanks. I believe all the substrates you mentioned would be okay.
2. ??
3. Really depends on how your water comes out of the tap. For most people Treated Tap water is okay for Red Cherry Shrimp. Not sure on CRS.
4. ??

 

[xmas_one]

Stay away from crs. Get cherries, use treated tap water.

 

[Betta Maniac]

Cherries (neos of any kind really) will be much easier for your first go with shrimp. They don't require the expensive substrate and RO water that Crystal shrimp do.

 

[AVN]

1 - Substrate - Your choices are good.

2 - Ferts - Excel is dangerous, dose sparingly. Flourish and root tabs work fine, just make sure to maintain stable parameters and make sure to avoid ammonia spikes from excess nutrients.

3 - Water quality - Depending on your tap water, it could be fine for Neos. Your water might have a suitable KH and GH but that is unlikely. RO is definitely the better choice in most cases.

4 - Hardscape - Any rock with Carbonates should be avoided.

Agree with others, start out with Neos and work your way to Cardinia once you've learned the ropes.

The hardest parts about keeping shrimp are:
- Maintaining a stable and optimal water quality
- Not overfeeding
- Not being able to stop staring at the tank
- Not getting 5 more shrimp tanks

 

[dougolasjr]

1 - Substrate - Your choices are good.

2 - Ferts - Excel is dangerous, dose sparingly. Flourish and root tabs work fine, just make sure to maintain stable parameters and make sure to avoid ammonia spikes from excess nutrients.

3 - Water quality - Depending on your tap water, it could be fine for Neos. Your water might have a suitable KH and GH but that is unlikely. RO is definitely the better choice in most cases.

4 - Hardscape - Any rock with Carbonates should be avoided.

Agree with others, start out with Neos and work your way to Cardinia once you've learned the ropes.

The hardest parts about keeping shrimp are:
- Maintaining a stable and optimal water quality
- Not overfeeding
- Not being able to stop staring at the tank

You forgot about being able to stop getting more and more tanks.

 

[AVN]

Post edited to reflect such wisdom

 

[randyl]

You forgot about being able to stop getting more and more tanks.

That, has no cure.

 

[Lukeo85]

I'd start with any neo. They are a lot easier and cheaper so if there is any losses in the learning process you won't take too hard of a hit. I would invest In a good master test kit to check all your water perameters. For the neos you shouldnt need an ro but that all depends on your tap. I think ro is best you start at o tds add minerals back in.Then there's no mystery about whats coming out of your tap. I've got the 5 gallon spec and I love it. Be careful with the overflow part cause babies will get sucked thru. Ill try to post a pic later on how I fixed that. I started with regular cherry shrimp then about two months later I decided to switch to fire reds. I gave away my cherries to a couple friends and wished I would have just started with the fire reds. They are just as easy to keep in my own experience. The market for fire reds is also a lot stronger than cherries if your looking to breed them. Good luck and have fun.

 

[etgregoire]

Cool thanks for the input guys...

This will be my second tank. I actually called my partner to ask permission before arranging to purchase the tank, we have a pretty big house but the way it's laid out doesn't lend itself to a lot more tanks. Plus we already have a dog and 2 cats, tons of hosue plants and my 75g. So it's a zoo at this point already.

 

[AVN]

You will find Neo tanks to be very low maintenance and easy once you get it going.

The best part? You can just throw out some house plants and line up 5g tanks along a wall and have tons of Neos!

 

[etgregoire]

Okay potentially a dumb question, but which are all the shrimp that fall under "neo"

 

[AVN]

That is a pretty bad question. Bad questions = ones that can be easily answered with Google. I'll humor you anyways.

Off the top of my head

Rilis - red, blue, green, and clear
Blue Velvet (blue jelly rili)
Black/Brown - Carbon Rili, Chocolate Neo
Yellow
White - Pearl/Snowball
Orange - Sunkist/Pumpkin Neo
Red - Cherry, PFR, Sakura

There are tons more.

 

[etgregoire]

Thanks for humoring me... I did try googling but I couldn't find anything that was a list. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Loumeer]

Not sure if anybody else has touched on this but some neos in my opinion are a bit easier to take care of than others.

Starting from hardest to easiest as far as I know

Yellow
Orange
Red Cherry

I started with yellows in my first tank an it was a crash and burn. If I were to start over I would get some nice Oranges or some of the really deep Reds that are out there. The red strains are notorious for being complete tanks while yellows are known to be quite finicky.

 

[Betta Maniac]

Cool thanks for the input guys...

we have a pretty big house but the way it's laid out doesn't lend itself to a lot more tanks.

They're taking over my kitchen ...

 

[etgregoire]

*sigh* i think this one has to go in the kitchen if it's going to be set up presently. we have a bar / high counter that it would look nice on against the wall, especially since the spec 5 is sort of oriented to sit out long wise and not against a wall flat. I did ask permission before I bought it... so I hope this doesn't become another one of "eric's crazy fish problem"