# The Story So Far..........



## Shrimpy (6 Jan 2012)

Hello Everyone,

I am new here and was after a little help and advice.

A couple years ago i attempted to keep CRS, i failed miserably!!! I done a lot of research before keeping them and thought i knew what i was doing. I bought a good substrate, used Mosura products and used RO water. About £700 and 60 dead shrimp later i gave up.

Almost a year ago i decided to try again. This time i used normal gravel and Benibachi products, again with RO water. Everything has been going great, i started with 20 shrimp and added another 20 about 2 months after, i did not quarantine the new shrimp and had a slight bacterial outbreak, i used a product called shrimp emergency that worked wonders. I was left with 27 shrimp and they were all breeding well, eating well and looking healthy. From the 27 left i know have roughly 120, probably more but i get bored of counting 

My parameters are all good and stable, ph 6.4, GH 5, KH 0 and TDS 120. The problem i have now though is they have stopped breeding. I added some breeding liquid to the tank which worked for a couple months, i seemed to have a new pregnant shrimp each day. But now i fear they have got used to the breeding liquid and it is no longer working. Any ideas what could be stopping them from breeding?

Thanks for listening.


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## chrisjj (6 Jan 2012)

What size tank is it - they may have reached capacity.

might be worth selling a few & getting a couple of new ones to mix the bloodline a bit.


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## Shrimpy (6 Jan 2012)

Wow! quick reply 

Its a 400l aquarium. I recently done a shrimp swap with someone, i swapped 40 of mine for 40 of his. I was thinking along the same lines as you, but it hasn't seemed to of helped.

Any other ideas?


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## GHNelson (6 Jan 2012)

Hi 
I'm no shrimp breeder...what i have noticed in my little nano if I do regular water changes every few days it seems to stimulate them into moulting and breeding.
hoggie


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## Shrimpy (6 Jan 2012)

I do 40l water changes every 3 days to keep my nitrates at zero. Water changes do stimulate moulting and breeding normally, just not for me at present.

Next idea? :/


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## GHNelson (6 Jan 2012)

Hi Shrimpy
Here may lie your problem :arrow: ph 6.4, GH 5, KH 0 and TDS 120
Im not sure.....I would have thought shrimp would need higher Kh...for their well being.
hoggie


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## chrisjj (6 Jan 2012)

400ltrs is well big enough to accommodate many more shrimp.

Not sure.


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## basil (6 Jan 2012)

Could be wrong food type? What is your feeding regime please?

Water parameters look almost perfect but what temp you got em at?


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## Shrimpy (6 Jan 2012)

Kh reading 0 is perfect i thought?

 I feed a variety of food, all Benibachi but i rotate what i feed. They get a different food everyday, including baby food. I  feed fresh leaves on weekends, spinach and nettles.
 I also use a lot of whitening conditioners , but i have always done this and they were breeding like rabbits for about 9-10 months.


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## Dincho (6 Jan 2012)

Hi Shrimpy,

I know you said your KH is 0 but i don't think it is. When did you last test your KH readings? how old is your test kit? Have you added any rocks to the tank lately? Seriyu stone/mini landscape rock?


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## Dincho (6 Jan 2012)

Just reading your post again, you said you now using "normal gravel". You must be using something to buffer the water and keep the parameters stable?


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## GHNelson (6 Jan 2012)

Dincho said:
			
		

> Hi Shrimpy,
> 
> I know you said your KH is 0 but i don't think it is. When did you last test your KH readings? how old is your test kit? Have you added any rocks to the tank lately? Seriyu stone/mini landscape rock?



I agree...Kh 1-15 is the recommendation.
hoggie


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## Dincho (6 Jan 2012)

i disagree, kh 0 is perfect! But i just don't think it is reading 0 or the shrimp would be breeding. Its normal for CRS breeding to slow down during the winter months but if your dosing the breeding liquid you shouldn't have a problem, your kh MUST be higher than 0, that's your problem.


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## GHNelson (6 Jan 2012)

Hi 
Not if he is using RO water.
hoggie


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## Dincho (7 Jan 2012)

Yes if he is using RO water then the KH should be 0, what i am suggesting is that it is not reading 0. I think there is something in the tank, possibly some kind of rock that is pushing the KH up.

0 KH is what helps the shrimp breed. In the wild a heavy rainfall often encourages shrimp to breed, keeping your KH at 0 imitates this and promotes breeding.


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## GHNelson (7 Jan 2012)

Yea
I get what your are saying...regarding rainfall stimulation.
I would have thought to simulate the breeding cycle the Kh would be 2-6 for talking sake.
Then do a large water change to reduce the Kh to 0 reproducing the natural environment.
Most rocks/stones will increase the Kh not lower it.Having a Kh of Zero continuously may not be a good idea...and there is no buffer especially if you use Co2 for plants.
Just my opinion
hoggie


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## GHNelson (7 Jan 2012)

chrisjj said:
			
		

> What size tank is it - they may have reached capacity.
> Might be worth selling a few & getting a couple of new ones to mix the bloodline a bit.


Above could also be a mitigating factor.

Yea so get your posts up(25).....and start selling/swaping the shrimp on here  
Cheers
hoggie


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## Dincho (7 Jan 2012)

If you have an active substrate then keeping you KH at 0 is no problem, there is no threat of a ph crash etc.

The parameters look good, the only thing strange is being able to keep the parameters stable if you are using normal gravel, there MUST be something in the tank?


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## Shrimpy (8 Jan 2012)

Thanks for the replies.

Yes i am using normal gravel but i added fulvic grain to buffer the water and keep my ph down. Anyway, i found the problem! Dincho you were right, somehow my kh has crept up to 6!! My test kit is a little old so i bought a new api master test kit yesterday. The fulvic grain only has a 6 month lifespan so i guess thats what it was, i added some more yesterday so i will check again later.

Thanks again for all the advice


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## dw1305 (8 Jan 2012)

Hi all,


> Might be worth selling a few & getting a couple of new ones to mix the bloodline a bit.


 I think that is normally very good advice, but didn't CRS all originate from a single mutation (one red/white shrimp), so it might be difficult. I think all the higher grade ones are just selections from the original and would be even more in-bred.

If you could get "Wild type" Beeshrimp it should work, you'd need to breed CRS x wild type and then backcross the F1, F2 together with the RCS (and together with themselves) and select for health, rather than marking, but I'm not sure if that is feasible.

cheers Darrel


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## Dincho (8 Jan 2012)

Shrimpy said:
			
		

> Thanks for the replies.
> 
> Yes i am using normal gravel but i added fulvic grain to buffer the water and keep my ph down. Anyway, i found the problem! Dincho you were right, somehow my kh has crept up to 6!! My test kit is a little old so i bought a new api master test kit yesterday. The fulvic grain only has a 6 month lifespan so i guess thats what it was, i added some more yesterday so i will check again later.
> 
> Thanks again for all the advice




Lucky guess


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## Shrimpy (8 Jan 2012)

Just to confirm. I added another packet of fulvic grain yesterday, i just tested my water and everything back to normal, ph 6.4, gh 5, kh 0, fingers crossed they start breeding again now.


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## Shrimpy (9 Jan 2012)

Added some more breeding liquid last night, 2 pregnant shrimp today  Panic over, thank you again for the assistance.


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## nayr88 (9 Jan 2012)

Post up a picture of your your tank, would love to see this 120strong gang!!
You did say 40l right?


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