A Beginner's Shrimp Journal

[Nells250]

 

[Nells250]

Blue baby today

 

[Nells250]

 

[Nells250]

So it's been about a year since I started with shrimp in Plant Test Tank #1. That tank now needs to be renamed, as it is no longer a test tank at all!

ANYHOO, I have learned a couple of things:

1) I do NOT need to clean the substrate - After seeing a video of a large aquarium that hadn't been cleaned in decades, I decided to let things sorta sit. I have cleaned a few areas after removing a plant or rock. But otherwise the shrimp seem to keep the gravel surface from getting nasty.
2) shrimp like to play - I often see them reverse-surfing down the tank while holding onto a leaf. I swear they cut off leaves JUST for that reason! Some also seem to like riding on a wood skewer I use to move/remove things in the tank. They'll latch on and go for a ride!
3) tank needs a cover - keeps them inside when they try to escape being chased by others
4) shrimp love TUMS - so they get calcium, I put a small bit into the tank now and then, and they eat it all up.
5) I need to watch the PH - finally tested and the ph was very high
6) water changes not that important - I swear the whole tank got better when I STOPPED doing regular water changes!
7) nerite snails aren't all great - the snail in that tank seems to be lazy... plenty of algae ends up on the glass!

 

[MaloK]

1) I do NOT need to clean the substrate - After seeing a video of a large aquarium that hadn't been cleaned in decades, I decided to let things sorta sit. I have cleaned a few areas after removing a plant or rock. But otherwise the shrimp seem to keep the gravel surface from getting nasty.

The thickness of the substrate will play a role in the long term. In small tanks the layer must not be very thick. I never cleaned it and had problems with too thick layer.

shrimp like to play - I often see them reverse-surfing down the tank while holding onto a leaf. I swear they cut off leaves JUST for that reason! Some also seem to like riding on a wood skewer I use to move/remove things in the tank. They'll latch on and go for a ride!

No... They are not playing when they do that... The plant has some rot at the base and the shrimps feeding on it, cut the leaf off and followed the food in the current. I have them doing it sometimes and I put it on plant decay.

3) tank needs a cover - keeps them inside when they try to escape being chased by others

Indeed !

4) shrimp love TUMS - so they get calcium, I put a small bit into the tank now and then, and they eat it all up.

Don't go too fast on these they have adverse effects. Like over hardening of shells and difficult moulting.

5) I need to watch the PH - finally tested and the ph was very high

KH is the parameters you need to keep in check.

6) water changes not that important - I swear the whole tank got better when I STOPPED doing regular water changes!

As long as Nitrate remains under critical level... It's nearly true. But Water changes are still needed.

7) nerite snails aren't all great - the snail in that tank seems to be lazy... plenty of algae ends up on the glass!

It's perfect like that. build as much algae you can on the glasses.

Your pictures are beautiful and you have some odd specimens, I love that.

 

[Nells250]

MIND YOU, I am still learning, those were just some observations, and they may indeed be ALL WRONG!
;-)
As for the "odd specimens", I keep expecting to end up with all brown ones, but nice ones keep arriving all on their own! I never thought there would still be any left that still had red!

 

[MaloK]

MIND YOU, I am still learning, those were just some observations, and they may indeed be ALL WRONG!
;-)

I don't mean to offend... Not even close. I probably have shrimps for a couple months more than you. So I'm still learning too.

I was just comparing my observation with yours... And telling where I'm @.

As for the "odd specimens", I keep expecting to end up with all brown ones, but nice ones keep arriving all on their own! I never thought there would still be any left that still had red!

They are said to be colour blind in regard of reproduction. But I'm not sure they are across the board. From the start the bloody Mary females seems to refuse any contact with other males. But the males are not as selective. It seems to be the same with the black ones... So from time to time there's batches of solid red and black that pops. while the others are completely blending and have groups of 2 different wild type in addition of a bunch of mixed degenerated Rilis, that produce some really spectacular specimen.

I don't know how many generations are required to dissolve the genome. But I'm pretty sure it's a lot and we can always expect some odd specimens to appear.

 

[Uberhoust]

shrimp love TUMS

I would have never known. Do they eat it directly?