10g Rcs Breeder Tank

So I have a 10 gallon tank laying around, so I saw someone talking about breading red cherry shrimp and I figured that would be a cool idea. So I was just curious what I needed, other than a filter and heater obviously, in order make this happen? How many shrimp could I keep in there? Do they need other tank mates or can it just be shrimp? I don't know, just the general things to help me get going. Thanks!

 

You will need live plants like moss, they don’t need tank mates but you could give them some like snails

 

Yes live plants are a plus! Also a sponge filter or at least a sponge on the intake of a filter, so it doesn’t suck up shrimplets. I have gravel in mine but I really wish I had used sand, so think of that first. I found breeding went up when I upped the temp to 78-80, I also feed bacter ae once a week in addition to pellets and veggies. It’s a powdery substance that creates a nice bio film to munch on, perfect for babies too. Cycle the tank first! An established tank will give you better results and fewer deaths (hopefully none). Acclimate them to your water before dumping them, ESPECIALLY if where you get them has different parameters than you do (pH etc). It’s really hard to have “too many.” They usually stop breeding when resources are low. I started with 7 in my 5 gallon and now I can’t count them, I even give some away, babies everywhere. So you can have many, I would start with maybe 6 (once established) and see how they do. You can do small fish with them, I have ember tetras. They are small and mine don’t hunt the shrimplets (that I’ve seen). You could add fish later after breeding starts just in case they munch on a few here and there. Snails are fine too. I love my shrimp tank...I’m sure you will too.

 

Thanks for the help guys! Ill try to start cycling my tank this week so I can get them up and running as soon as possible! Shrimpies here I come!

 

Thanks for the link! Where in NJ are you? I'm in Bergen Co.

WTFish gave you a lot of great info. I use BacterAE but dose 1/3 scoop (comes with a small scooper) 4-5 times per week in a 20g. I also feed them a small piece of Shrimp Complete every day.

When drip acclimating, do it for 3 hrs at least. I usually set it up for 1-2 drops per sec. If the container fills up, empty half and continue. Neocardinas are hardier than the fancier cardinas so you might want to start with regular RCS and variants.

Java moss and indian almond leaves are very highly recommended. The reason I asked where in NJ you were is because I'm overrun with java moss and could give you some to start off with. I also have some anacharis. A small piece of driftwood would help too as it can grow bio film better than substrate or glass. The IAL is a good food source for shrimp and leaves should last about a month. I bought a 50 pk off ebay for about $12.

A sponge filter is enough for a shrimp tank. I had an AquaClear 50 for a fry growout tank so I put that on as well as a sponge filter just because I had it.

I keep my tank around 77°F

6-20 is a good starting number of shrimp. Young females that get berried may lose their first couple of clutch of eggs. I started with 6 bloody mary shrimp but only 1 survived after a week. I picked up 20 young fire red cherry shrimp and some have given birth to shrimplets early but they didn't survive. It's been about 6 months and I have just started getting shrimplets. I counted about 10 the other night but can regularly see 3-6 most of the time.

I picked up 6 Otos for my shrimp tank after searching for tankmates. Otos seem to be the only fish that won't eat shrimplets. They're still in QT. I also added 5 Amano shrimp to help with the algae. I just picked up a 5.5g tank to raise brine shrimp and amano shrimp larvae (if they get berried). They need salt water to grow from larval stage to shrimp.

 

Thanks for the link! Where in NJ are you? I'm in Bergen Co.

WTFish gave you a lot of great info. I use BacterAE but dose 1/3 scoop (comes with a small scooper) 4-5 times per week in a 20g. I also feed them a small piece of Shrimp Complete every day.

When drip acclimating, do it for 3 hrs at least. I usually set it up for 1-2 drops per sec. If the container fills up, empty half and continue. Neocardinas are hardier than the fancier cardinas so you might want to start with regular RCS and variants.

Java moss and indian almond leaves are very highly recommended. The reason I asked where in NJ you were is because I'm overrun with java moss and could give you some to start off with. I also have some anacharis. A small piece of driftwood would help too as it can grow bio film better than substrate or glass. The IAL is a good food source for shrimp and leaves should last about a month. I bought a 50 pk off ebay for about $12.

A sponge filter is enough for a shrimp tank. I had an AquaClear 50 for a fry growout tank so I put that on as well as a sponge filter just because I had it.

I keep my tank around 77°F

6-20 is a good starting number of shrimp. Young females that get berried may lose their first couple of clutch of eggs. I started with 6 bloody mary shrimp but only 1 survived after a week. I picked up 20 young fire red cherry shrimp and some have given birth to shrimplets early but they didn't survive. It's been about 6 months and I have just started getting shrimplets. I counted about 10 the other night but can regularly see 3-6 most of the time.

I picked up 6 Otos for my shrimp tank after searching for tankmates. Otos seem to be the only fish that won't eat shrimplets. They're still in QT. I also added 5 Amano shrimp to help with the algae. I just picked up a 5.5g tank to raise brine shrimp and amano shrimp larvae (if they get berried). They need salt water to grow from larval stage to shrimp.

Wow thanks for all that information, that'll really help me get started as well as what WTFish? included.
Haha oh you north jersey people always telling people where you're from by counties, I'll never understand. I'm from Atlantic County, live right outside of Atlantic City. Thanks for the offer though!