vividmop.blogg.se - Setting up a shrimp tank

#SETTING UP A SHRIMP TANK FULL#

Use the full width and height of your tank.Give your shrimp room to hide with caves and gaps.There's no right or wrong way to do this, but here are a few tips: Building the hardscapeīuild up your rocks and wood into a structure that looks interesting in your tank. Sponge filters can either sit on the substrate, or stick to the glass walls with suction cups, so you've got some flexibility. It's pretty frustrating building the perfect layout of rocks and driftwood, only to realize there's no room for your filter anywhere. Add the filterĭecide where you'd like your filter to be before you plan your hardscape layout. Going too deep can lead to anaerobic pockets of gas building up, and cause problems later. Pour your substrate into the tank until it's between 1-3 inches deep. You don't want to rinse a buffering substrate, though.

Some types of substrate might need to be rinsed before you use it, otherwise your water will be cloudy for a while. The basic steps to get your shrimp tank built are:

Food: a mature tank with biofilm should keep your colony well fed, but it's a good idea to have some extra shrimp food around.

Heater: using a heater can help keep the parameters stable, but you don't really need one.

Light: you might want to use an aquarium light if you're trying to grow a planted tank.

You only need to clean the sponge every few months or so. Sponge filters are the most popular choice in shrimp tanks, they're small and low maintenance. Shrimp safe filterĬhoose an aquarium filter that's safe for shrimp. Having lots of background biofilm spread around the tank will make your shrimp much happier, and help baby shrimp to survive.īe careful when choosing rocks, though, as some types can cause your KH to increase. The extra surface area is great for growing biofilm and algae to eat. Females will also try and get some peace from the males by hiding for a while. It's completely normal for shrimp to spend a lot of their time hiding.Īfter molting, they feel vulnerable and seek shelter.

They provide surface area for biofilm to grow.

Hardscape pieces like rocks and driftwood are incredibly important in shrimp tanks. Using tap water with these types of substrate can make them only last for a few months before they need replacing. Tap water often has a fairly high KH level, and any active substrate will work hard to pull this out of the water. You should only ever use remineralized water with buffering substrates, or you'll wear it out faster. Once you've decided on a substrate, you'll know what type of water you need.

Neocaridinas can also live in tanks with these substrates, but they don't need it.įor a mixed species tank, you can use an inert substrate like gravel or sand too. This will help prevent pH swings in their water. The sensible route is to make sure your most sensitive species will be happy.Ĭaridina shrimp thrive with a buffering substrate, as they don't like high KH water. There are quite a few options for shrimp tank substrates. Vases, fishbowls, and plastic tubs have all been used by shrimp keepers before. You can use almost anything as a tank as long as it holds at least 1 gallon of water. rocks, driftwoodĭwarf shrimp, as suggested by their name, are tiny and don't need a big aquarium. Some water, either tap water or remineralized.What difference does it make?Ĭaridina shrimp thrive in acidic water with a fairly low pH, but Neocaridina have a slight preference for higher pH levels.Ĭaridina shrimp also need a low carbonate hardness (KH) level in the water, or they'll have trouble molting safely.Ĭherry shrimp are much more tolerant of higher KH water and happy in a wider range. They're a bit tougher and can tolerate a wider range of water parameters. It'll be much easier to plan ahead for this, than try to correct it later.įor beginners, Neocaridina or Cherry shrimp are probably the best choice. These two types have slightly different preferences for their water parameters. Hard water - Neocaridina or Cherry shrimp.There are two main groups of freshwater shrimp: Which type of shrimp?īefore you start building your shrimp tank, you'll need to decide which species of shrimp you want to keep. Shrimp tanks are a fun alternative to fish tanks, and are very simple to set up.