# Shrimp tank?



## Psylk87 (Apr 18, 2012)

I have been thinking of using a small 5 gallon tank to make into a shrimp tank. I would have it all live planted and no fish just shrimp. 

How many shrimp could I fit in? I was hoping to have mroe than one variety of shrimp what do you guys recommend?

Also would 5 gallons be okay or should I try to go for 10 gallons? I want it to be a relatively small tank. 

Thanks guys!


----------



## blu the betta (Dec 31, 2012)

i recommened ghost shrimp they are about 50 cents at petco


----------



## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

5 gallons is great.

20 Red Cherry Shrimp would have your stocking level at 84% in a 5 gallon tank.
You could easily get 25.

BUT

you want to leave room in there for when they breed and have babies, so I'd say a good starter number would be like 10

Also shrimp are so small and have such a low bioload that 5 gallons would be perfect. But a 10 gallon would work if you wanted to add more shrimp than 20 to start


----------



## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

Shrimp have a very low bioload and most say 5-6 Cherry or Ghost Shrimp per gallon is fine. However, do not mix the 2 in such a small space as they have been documented harming each other (usually Ghost attacking Cherry). Ghost Shrimp go anywhere from 2-4/$1 so a very cheap option. Cherrys can be bought online in bulk to get the best deals and they have a lower mortality rate than Ghosts because they are bred as pets, not feeders.

What are the dimentions of the tank at the water level so I can calculate the gallons exactly?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Psylk87 (Apr 18, 2012)

Oh wow so could I maybe go smaller and still have a decent liitle shrimp tank? Lke 3-4 gallon rectangle tank?

The tank I have now is actually a 5.5 gallon So it is 16 X 8 X 10.

If I could feasibly go smaller that would be cool. I didnt know I couldnt mic species of shrimp so smaller would work for me. 

Also any recs on plants that shrimp do best with? I am leaning towards Cherry shrimp just for the fact they have more color, but I realy love those white and red ones too.


----------



## Aside (Mar 20, 2012)

I'd recommend cherries over ghost shrimp because from what I've heard cherries will breed like mad and you can get a nice population going. Baby ghost shrimp are apparently very hard to feed and therefore keep alive. 

Also cherries are smaller, less aggressive, and have a smaller bio load. With a cycled filter and live plants and small water changes you could probably keep close to or more than 100 in that small tank. You could start with like 20 and they should breed and start a nice little colony.

The red and white ones are crystal red shrimp and they are much more finicky than cherries. You can also get yellow cherries if you want, they might be a little harder to find though.


----------



## Psylk87 (Apr 18, 2012)

Could you keep yello and red cherries together? Or would that be a bad idea? My LFS can normally special order for me so I might be able to get my hands on them. 

Also is 3 gallons feasible or am I better of just going for the 5.5 gallon?


----------



## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

Bigger is ALWAYS better. Not just from a gallon standpoint, but a space standpoint as well. You want the to have room to move around right?

Sand is a good substrate. Most like Marimo Balls. Mine grazed on my Aponogeton and Anubias. Water Sprite is also eatible and easy to grow. Others have sighted Java Fern and Java Moss.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Aside (Mar 20, 2012)

3 should work fine so long as you plant it pretty heavily and keep on top of water quality. Really the only reason to go for five over three I think is you can get a more stable cycle and shrimp are very sensitive to ammonia.

You can definitely keep them together. They are the same kind of shrimp. The only problem is they will interbreed and you will end up with meddled colors down the line. But if you don't care about that they will coexist peacefully you just won't have very pretty offspring. 

In terms of plants I think more is better. Shrimp love to hide. I think they are particularly fond of moss it holds all sorts of goodies for them to snack on.


----------



## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

Actually you don't want to keep red and yellow together, at least if you are talking about neocardinia species. They will inbreed and give you ugly brownish offspring. That's my biggest peeve about keeping shrimp. If you want to have the nice colourful ones you see in the store, you have to keep each colour separate!

To start off with cherries, I'd suggest six, 4 females, two males. With proper conditions all four will be waddling with eggs in their bellies soon enough!

Sexing cherries is fairly simple. Females are larger, brighter, and have a rounded underbelly. Sometimes they are even carrying eggs. If you see that, choose that one. Males are smaller, slightly duller, and have a flat underbelly. 

http://www.planetinverts.com/shrimp_reproduction.html

This site has loads of information on shrimp, from reproduction, basic needs, to what can be kept together. Even on shipping. They also have great photos for helping sex shrimp.

Assuming you go with a filter, either set up a sponge filter, or get a pre filter sponge to put over the intake, or you -will- loose your shrimp into the filter.

While this thread started as being about bettas and shrimp, there is still lots of great info about shrimp themselves! http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=119766


----------



## Psylk87 (Apr 18, 2012)

Okay I have definitely decided to go with a 5.5 gallon tank. I will also definitely go with Red Cherry Shrimp only. 

What is the best substrate for them?

And what are the best plants for them and a 5.5 galllon? 

Is there any other special things I need to know? Is it true shrimp need a calcium block?


----------



## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

Cherry Shrimp LOVE Marimo Balls. They groom the algae off them. Anubias is also a slow growing but easy care plant. A good light (10w cool cfl is good) and ocasional dose (maybe every week or 2) of Flrish Coprehensive Suplament will keep them healthy.

When it comes to substrate, you don't want anything that could roll over and crush them or that they could get a foot caught in. This makes sand a good choice.

Calcium depends on their food and water. If the water has a hardness of at least 70 mg/l, it's fine. Lower than that, and they need a calcium suplament in the water. Varry foods between good algea wafers and sinking pellets which will give them enough calcium in their diet. You can also occasionally throw in some fresh veggies. Make sure their pellets and waffers are copper free (BAD for inverts) and have good ingrediants. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

*subscribing*


----------



## Cehszar (Aug 28, 2012)

I've had bad luck with the shrimps, I've bought more than 20 and all have died after 1 week


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

What kind did you get? Because the ghost shrimp I got died overnight last year. 

Shrimp are sensitive to water paramters I read, like ammonia and nitrites (or nitrates, I can never remember the good one) and they will most certainly perish in water treated with copper ferts or fed food containing copper. 

I could be totally off the charts here but this is what I came across in my reading. The person selling me cherry shrimp is waiting until I at least set up the tank, lol


----------



## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

Ghost are bred as feaders, not health. When you buy them, expect about half or more to die in the first few weeks. I would have had more left if that darn Tetra hadn't kiled almost all of them! The one I have left has been happy and healthy since before Thanksgiving ;-)

Cherry are much more harty as they are in fact bred as pets. But, you have to factor in the cost of them.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Good point on the ghosts!

Or find people locally who have excess


----------



## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

you're welcome Laki


----------



## Cehszar (Aug 28, 2012)

Laki said:


> What kind did you get? Because the ghost shrimp I got died overnight last year.
> 
> Shrimp are sensitive to water paramters I read, like ammonia and nitrites (or nitrates, I can never remember the good one) and they will most certainly perish in water treated with copper ferts or fed food containing copper.
> 
> I could be totally off the charts here but this is what I came across in my reading. The person selling me cherry shrimp is waiting until I at least set up the tank, lol


last time I bought 20 ghost shrimps, and I put 10 in the 55g, 6 on the 20g and 4 on the 5g, all of them were dead after the first week, just after their change of "skin"


----------



## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

Does your water have enough calcium? Were you feeding them a good diet to help with shedding? Did they have a place to hide from other fish/inverts in the tank after the shed? If the answer to all of that is yes, then you most likely got a bad batch. They can be mishandled in transet, starved, and ill when you get them. Don't give up on them all over a bad batch ;-)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Ok, never trying ghosties again.. 

Back on topic, if you feed them varied diet consisting of algae wafers, veggie wafers, bloodworms, other frozen food, and blanched veggies will they have enough calcium to shed?


----------



## MSG (May 8, 2012)

*I would be more concerned about keeping the water clean with a good filter first.*

The copper that will kill INVERTS is the amount you would find in the "Cu" based MEDICATION.

The trace amounts of copper found in HIGH quality dry foods in addition to fresh veggies are negligible. 

To give you an idea..... 
You would have to dump the entire container of food into the tank before the amount of copper in the food itself would harm them. The ammonia created from the decaying uneaten food will get them FIRST.


All shrimps will receive small amounts of "Cu" through their foods & require the element to grow/molt. As long as you keep up with the water changes/filtration & don't OVERFEED, the shrimps will multiply on their own. 

NOTE: I'm referring to c shrimp. 

Prepared foods = Spinach, romaine, zucchini, summer squash, pumpkin, carrots, stinging nettles, IAL, oak, dandelions, etc.... are other items that people have fed their shrimp. If something is too fresh & the cellular structure of the food provided isn't slightly decomposed, the shrimp will often ignore the item.

The frozen foods you have in mind are probably the riskiest to feed when you're starting off. I would advise against using those. 

Protein based foods will mess up your water the quickest.

Stick with plant & pellet based in addition to the leafy greens you find in your salad.


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Thanks so much!! They EAT indian almond leaves? I thought they just liked to pick around them.. That's great then, I have all kinds of that. And veggies around the house.


----------



## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

The will eat decaying or dried leaf litter. Why I was looking for leaves from fruit trees earlier this fall. Heard they were a big hit for someone else. So why not try.

Between my shrimp and the snails, they cleaned off a whole IAL


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

It's good to just have IAL in a shrimp tank, right?


----------



## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

As far as copper, it is always better safe than sorry. A pellet with it higher on the ingrediant list is one the avoid.

Frozen foods is not necessary really. I feed alternating waffers and pellets with once a week veggies. I also crush up a bit of cuddlebone, place it in a bit of water in a cup, and let a waffer suck up the powder once a week to every other week for a little extra calcium for shrimp and snails.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I never got the knack for cuttlebone. It always floats and doesn't crumble. I used fruity tums on my snails. They got a real kick out if it. Would tum induced water work for the blanched veggies?


----------

