Shrimp setup?

I recently got myself a 5 gallon fluval spec tank and I was thinking I'd try to turn it in to a planted shrimp tank. My experience with shrimp is limited, but I'd really like to get into starting a small colony. I'm using CaribSea Tahitian moon sand, and I have a little wad of Java moss in a breeder cage (don't want it to get out of control just yet)

Any tips on my setup? I'm trying to find a good piece of driftwood, so any tips on the type of wood or what plants I should get would be greatly appreciated.

 

Shrimps like low ph so I recommend some leaf litter to lowen the ph and also provide food. For the wood I recommend getting Cholla wood, very good for shrimps and you can attach plants in it. Any plant will honestly do and this will vary on your aesthetic taste.

Black substrate will definitely high-light the shrimp's colors. I think your doing fine with your plans.

 

Thanks. as for the leafs, can I just go to my back yard and grab some? if so, how would I go about cleaning them?

 

Oh no haha, this is honestly just a supplement not a need honestly. But If you are interested here are some info.

There are special types of dried leaves that release tannins to the water which lowers the ph some examples are Indian Almond leafs, Banana leafs etc... These provide micro-organism for the shrimp to feed on. Usually you will see the water turn light brown and when you see the leaf decay usually people will advise to take them out or replace them with new ones. But If you leave them in the aquarium there is no problem to just be sure that your ok with torn leaves and some leaf debris.

I can't really explain this to you but here are some links regarding the use of dried leaf litter in aquariums.

 

Oh wait can I ask what Shrimps are you going with? (Curious because It might be a shrimp that likes high ph.)

 

I'm pretty interested in all this. I once dabbled with the idea of a back water tank (think that's the term), but never got around to it. I'm curious as to where you can get some of the leaves like ial. and how long do they store for?

 

Blackwater tank ^-^

I get my IAL and Banana leaves from my subdivision's basketball court. But you can purchase them in Amazon too, they go around in like $7 for 10 pieces some even cheaper and more expensive all depending in the sizes and grade of leaf.

IAL usually decays after 1 - 2 months in the aquarium but some people replace them after 1 - 2 weeks for aesthetical reasons only. You can keep them in the aquarium for a long time though It won't be a problem, but you might see little leaf debris all around.

If you don't like the leaf litter method there are Blackwater extracts out there to use after doing a water change so the ph stays low.



This is what I used in the past and it was great, but It was on breeding my bettas and I didn't have access to the trees yet at the time. But I think It could also work for the shrimp.



But I do suggest not going for fully Blackwater honestly 1 - 2 leaves should do enough in your 5 gallon without going fully Blackwater just a bed for organism for your shrimps and lowen the ph not drastically.

 

awesome. also, do they expire when out of the tank?

 

The leaves that you put in the aquarium are fully dried ones btw! So meaning If they are kept dehydrated outside of the tank I think it will still be good to use.

What types of shrimps are you going for may I ask?

You can also use alder cones and mineral stones to the tank If you prefer low ph without many tannins.

 

I'm not 100% sure what types of shrimp I'm getting, just that I'm going to get one or two of the cherry shrimp varieties.

 

I just went to my lfs and got some rocks and a nice driftwood piece. I also grabbed a really fine white sand that caught my eye.

 

If your getting Neocaridina types they mostly like low ph so that is good, Great start!

However I really don't advice white sand as a substrate to shrimps because they tend to camouflage on it and you won't see the full color.

 

How do you mean? do they actually sort of change their color to camouflage, or are they just hard to pick up?

also, I changed the setup a bit here's a pic
don't mind the rocks, just keeping the driftwood down.

 

How do you mean? do they actually sort of change their color to camouflage, or are they just hard to pick up?

also, I changed the setup a bit here's a picView attachment 184101 don't mind the rocks, just keeping the driftwood down.

Love that wood piece with the sand. It's harder to see shrimp on light colored sand so most people use black sand.

 

Well you see for example If you get Red Cherry they will look like this in white substrate



In dark substrate they will actually look like this



Some shrimps don't do this like SulawesI shrimp. But some people do have success in keeping the color still in white substrate but for me since your new at this and guessing that you like to see your shrimp at full splendor I would go with darker substrate, preferably black.

 

would the amount of plants have any effect on their coloration? I'm going to try to stuff this tank to the brI'm with plants.

 

Probably, that will definitely contribute.

But there's different grades of shrimp too though.

Some Higher grade ones tend to still show the color in a light substrate.

 

so if I cram the tank with plants their color will be fuller? that's good to know. I was a bit stressed about having to switch substrates. the sand I got is so smooth that it'd be quite the hassle to remove.

 

so after some poking about, I decided I'm going to go with tiger shrimp. if I get half of the blue variety, will they lose their color? I'm not sure what family they belong to.

 

This type? Caridina Cantonensis sp "blue"?



Caridina shrimps are not really recommend for beginners, especially this type. This is usually expensive and rare so a loss would be devastating for you. But If you are willing to research carefully and dedicate yourself unto this you might be able to raise the shrimp. But If I where you I would start with RCS then go upgrade to Caridina.

 

Alright. I'll back off of that species then. I'm about to head to a favorite lfs of mine to maybe pick up a few plants. I'll see what type of shrimp they stock and ask about them

 

Ok, update us later.

 

Tank now has a few plants in it. didn't come across the anubias I wanted for the driftwood, but I got a crypt Bolanse, some rotala, and a moss ball. starting to look a bit more mature (shame the driftwood isn't sinking yet)