New Shrimp Tank

[DanStanDaMan]

Hello!

I am new to shrimping and have spent quite some time reading about the tanks. My attraction to them is through the beauty of well planted nano tanks with good lighting (as I enjoy a little photography as well 😉 ).

Today I have bought a 20 ltr Arcadia Arc Tank with 9w bulb, small filter and a 25w glass heater, some EBI Gold shrimp substrate and aquarium gravel to go over the top of it as well as a piece of mopani wood, some slate pieces, a pipe styled cave and a Tiki style ornament! I also bought some underwater blue LED's.

I wish to plant my small tank so I also bought some Staurogyne repens, Christmas moss on wire mesh, Weeping moss on wire mesh, Glossostigma elatinoides and 10 Marino Moss Balls (although some of these may end up in my planted tropical aquarium!)

I have no mates who I can ask questions of so is it ok to ask a couple here please!?!

I understand that Shrimp don't like CO2, so what is the best way of feeding the plants?

I intend to buy Crystal Red Shrimp to begin with. Is there any plants etc I should avoid? Or are there any I should actively seek in addition to the mosses?

I don't want this forage to be a waste of time as it is going to be sat next to my PC where I am most evenings, so is there anything obvious I have missed?

Finally, how long should I set this up for before adding shrimp?

Thanks for any assistance.

Dan

 

[Matt Warner]

Hi, welcome to the world of shrimp keeping. Firstly, shrimps really don't mind co2 as long as you aren't overdosing it and have good surface movement. My yellow shrimp are breeding in a tank with co2. You can do away with the heater, as the shrimp do fine at room temperature as long as it doesn't drop too low. 20-22 degrees is just right for shrimp.
Crystal Red Shrimp are not really a good choice for a beginner, they need more specific water requirements than more hardy shrimp like Cherry Shrimp or amano shrimp. Crystal Red shrimp need acidic water and a lower TDS to be happy, so RO water mixed with tap water is needed to achieve the right TDS.
As for the plants, mosses are a good choice as the shrimp like to eat the stuff that collects in it. They are also very low maintenance so co2 wouldn't be needed. Any of the cryptocoryne species would be a good house as they are very hardy and grow in any tank.
You should get the tank planted up well and get them growing nicely and then you should be good to go with adding the shrimp. Just make sure to acclimatise them very slowly and carefully using the drip method.
Hope this helps you a bit.

 

[DanStanDaMan]

Thanks for the reply.

Maybe I should go with something easier then........I did also like the look of the amano's! Although the EBI gold is supposed to make the water a little acidic 6-6.6pH?

I think to start with, before I put the shrimp in I will put an old yeast based co2 system in just to get the plants growing nicely, then resort to liquid carbon....1ml per day should suffice on a small tank!

If I am to use RO water are there any nutrients I should be putting back in - for the sake of the shrimp or the plants?!


I will get hold of a test kit and keep a record of relevant figures!

 

[OllieNZ]

The only tester you need is a TDS meter and remineralise the ro using a mix like seachem equalibrium to the appropriate TDS level (TDS = Total Disolved Solids)