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Clean Up Crew/ Low pH

Unexpected

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What kind of clean up crew will work in 0dKH, 4.5dGH and a pH around 4.85?
Are there shrimp that can thrive in my water? Would those shrimp help with algae and such?

Thank you for any insight,
Mike
 
I haven't intentionally gone quite that low in pH yet, but I've kept amano shrimp in extremely soft water and they were perfectly happy (almost always berried). I think tigers and tangerine tigers are often recommended for soft acidic tanks as well. In my experience, shrimp are very happy with algae, but they don't make an appreciable dent in it.

I will be setting up some blackwater tanks, so curious what others say. My first thoughts are tangerine tigers and/or Asellus.
 
My first thoughts are tangerine tigers and/or Asellus.
I'll start looking into them. Thank you!
I forgot to mention, I inject CO2 as well. For some reason, my Amano's just slowly disappear.
 
I forgot to mention, I inject CO2 as well. For some reason, my Amano's just slowly disappear.
I don't inject CO2, but it's not uncommon for shrimp keepers to do that. What are you keeping your Amanos with, and are they big? Some possibilities:
  • In one of my tanks, I've had a few crawl out. I don't know why.
  • Some fish will go after the smaller ones.
  • Amanos of any size are vulnerable right after they've molted. For this reason, some people say they slowly lose them over time. I haven't experienced that, keeping them with Apistos.
Cheers
 
I think tigers and tangerine tigers are often recommended for soft acidic tanks as well.
I keep mine in a tank with a tds around 30 and they’re multiplying like cockroaches. They’ve got to be one of the toughest shrimp out there. I’ve had them breed in everything from rock hard London tap water to low tds black water. What fish do you want to keep them with?

Malaysian trumpet snails also do well.
 
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I keep mine in a tank with a tds around 30 and they’re multiplying like cockroaches. They’ve got to be one of the toughest shrimp out there. I’ve had them breed in everything from rock hard London tap water to low tds black water. What fish do you want to keep them with?

Malaysian trumpet snails also do well.
Harlequin Rasbora.
 
0dKH, 4.5dGH and a pH around 4.85?
Hi @Unexpected I wonder if your pH measuring device/kit is actually able to measure your pH accurately at zero KH? usually you need a bit of KH (i.e. above zero CO3) to make the reading reliable.
In any event, a pH at or below 5 is not necessary - even for breeding blackwater fish and in many cases 5 or below may be stressful if not lethal even for fish that prefer low pH (Cardinals being a likely exception...).

Cheers,
Michael
 
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amano shrimp do just fine in my 0kh 4gh tank. they molt healthily and have lived ~1 and a half years. that i've had em.
 
Out of interest, what is your KH and GH?
KH will be zero and GH must be super low too. They don’t care at all and all the females are berried constantly. They also bred fine in London tap water too. Not sure why they’re not more popular.
 
I know that some Parosphromenus and blackwater Cryptocoryne keepers have been successful with keeping Caridina parvidentata in low PH tanks. Might be worth looking into them (they are a bit of an oddball and could be interesting) but I don't think they are very common I'm afraid.
 
KH will be zero and GH must be super low too. They don’t care at all and all the females are berried constantly. They also bred fine in London tap water too. Not sure why they’re not more popular.
@Conort2 Very interest. Just trying to wrap my head around this one.... Even if ALL your 30 ppm TDS would be made up from Ca and a bit of Mg (say in the customary 3:1 ratio ~22 ppm of Ca and ~8 ppm of Mg) which is quite possible for some shrimps to get by in, but its unlikely that all of your dissolved solids would be just Ca and Mg so perhaps your feeding them enough food that are super rich in Calcium ? One way or another, shrimps need a good deal of Calcium to build their exoskeleton and that Calcium need to be sourced from somewhere.

Cheers,
Michael
 
Thank you all!
I will try Amano's again and see how they do. I do have low energy tanks I can't move them into if I see any stress.
I'm definitely interested in the "odd ball" shrimp. I will researching those this week.
Plants are my main focus and I definitely try to push my CO2 to the limit. This could explain some issues, but oddly I can keep cherries in my other tank that is also 0dKH and hits a 4.9pH.
 
Thank you all!
I will try Amano's again and see how they do. I do have low energy tanks I can't move them into if I see any stress.
I'm definitely interested in the "odd ball" shrimp. I will researching those this week.
Plants are my main focus and I definitely try to push my CO2 to the limit. This could explain some issues, but oddly I can keep cherries in my other tank that is also 0dKH and hits a 4.9pH.
if you can lower co2 for a while when the amanos are getting adjusted lowering lights as well. I think it'd help with them getting adjusted. first few weeks they're in the tank i'd recommend a lid of sorts aswell. once you get past the first month or so, they don't really jump much.
 
@Conort2 Very interest. Just trying to wrap my head around this one.... Even if ALL your 30 ppm TDS would be made up from Ca and a bit of Mg (say in the customary 3:1 ratio ~22 ppm of Ca and ~8 ppm of Mg) which is quite possible for some shrimps to get by in, but its unlikely that all of your dissolved solids would be just Ca and Mg so perhaps your feeding them enough food that are super rich in Calcium ? One way or another, shrimps need a good deal of Calcium to build their exoskeleton and that Calcium need to be sourced from somewhere.

Cheers,
Michael
If I’m honest I’m not entirely sure, they get a very small amount of equilibrium in their water and scavenge on what they can. They’re not target fed.

They were rescued from my main tank as they were decimated by my biotodoma and that was the only place I could put them. Fortunately they’ve thrived in This black water tank.
 
if you can lower co2 for a while when the amanos are getting adjusted lowering lights as well. I think it'd help with them getting adjusted. first few weeks they're in the tank i'd recommend a lid of sorts aswell. once you get past the first month or so, they don't really jump much.
I will try that.
 
I know that some Parosphromenus and blackwater Cryptocoryne keepers have been successful with keeping Caridina parvidentata in low PH tanks. Might be worth looking into them (they are a bit of an oddball and could be interesting) but I don't think they are very common I'm afraid.
Have a look at <this shrimp breeder>. He keeps Caridina at 5.5 - 5-8 pH.
 
I tried to keep amanos in 100% rainwater twice and both times they died within a month, in my experience they aren't 0-1kh 0-2gh kinda shrimps tbh. Cherry shrimps survived but didn't breed in the same water. I would try the tangerine tigers/tiger shrimp first.
 
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