Ok, my water has a low PH (~6.1) and there is iron and copper in it (it's well water). I can't have any inverebrates with this, right? What about spring water that I'd buy at a grocery store (Poland Spring water or Deer Park)? Would I be able to use that? Also, it's a 2.5g tank, how many shrimp/snails could I put in there. It'll be planted.
Is My Water Ok For Shrimp And Snails?
- Thread starter n3ont3tra
- Start date
rockerBOO
Fish Fanatic
Usually they have gallon jugs of distilled water if you wanted to do that. Otherwise you could get a water purification thing for your water. But since you just have a 2.5G, you should be able to get it from there cheap enough.
RESGuy
Fishaholic
Im not sure what shrimp you are planning to add the tank but I'd say if you want RCS then ph 7.2 should be good 
I beleive stocking is one shrimp per 1/4 gallon, so you can add a total of 10 shrimp 
I beleive stocking is one shrimp per 1/4 gallon, so you can add a total of 10 shrimp there are some nice and expensive shrimp that would appreciate the ph in the 6's
here is a nice link to the care and water specs certain shrimp can have.
http
/www.petshrimp.com/shrimpspecies.html
Good luck! shrimp are pretty cool
here is a nice link to the care and water specs certain shrimp can have.
http
/www.petshrimp.com/shrimpspecies.htmlGood luck! shrimp are pretty cool
three-fingers
Fish Connoisseur
The pH would be fine for some types of shrimp, but it's the copper i would worry about . Do you know the pH of the bottled water? Sometimes it says on the bottle. If it doesn't you could just buy one and test it.
Don't use straight off distilled water for tank, you should buy the 're-mineralized' stuff from your lfs, its pretty cheap.
If you use acidic water you should probably add calcium(you can buy it at your lfs, meant for marine tanks) for the shrimp, but thats not 100% necessary. But if you use acidic water and want to have snails, you should use a coral sand substrate as this makes the water alkaline.
But i still don't like the sound of that copper one bit .
. Do you know the pH of the bottled water? Sometimes it says on the bottle. If it doesn't you could just buy one and test it.Don't use straight off distilled water for tank, you should buy the 're-mineralized' stuff from your lfs, its pretty cheap.
If you use acidic water you should probably add calcium(you can buy it at your lfs, meant for marine tanks) for the shrimp, but thats not 100% necessary. But if you use acidic water and want to have snails, you should use a coral sand substrate as this makes the water alkaline
.But i still don't like the sound of that copper one bit
.Yeah, I just looked it up, then PH is acidic most of the time. I want ghost shrimp, so could I have about 5 of those? What if I wanted apple snails? How many of those? Could I just put crushed coral in the filter to raise the PH?
dizzied
Fish Addict
You can use crushed coral during the cycle, it might raise your PH enough before adding any inverts and keep it buffered.
crazie.eddie
Fish Addict
People don't understand, it's the copper he is concerned about. Copper IS bad for inverts. It may be cheaper in the long run to get a RO filter to remove the metals, especially the copper.
littleme1969
Fish Herder
I agree. Copper is a big NO NO with any type of shrimp species They cant tolerate it at all, you even have to be carefull with ferts and meds to ensure there is no copper.
To keep apple snails you need a PH of at least 7 or above otherwise their shells will erode and reduce their life span by a large chunk.
I would reccomend using some type of bottled water, but as mentioned above buy one and check it out first for PH etc. Or maybe you can talk a friend or neighbour who has mains water to supply you, as you will need a good supply especially when you first cycle the tank just in case you have any nitrate/ammonia spikes that need serious water changes to get under control.
Raising PH can be done a few ways but I would strongly suggest sticking to the natural ways. Crushed coral substrate is a good way, you can have it in any ratio to your gravel and just have it as your full substrate. Another good way is ocean rock. Its very attractive and seems to do a great job of stabalising PH quickly. I use both of these in my own tanks.
Do plenty of research, as mentioned above different species of shrimp prefer a certain PH so make sure you choose a shrimp that goes with the water conditions you end up using, otherwise they wont live very long at all.
To keep apple snails you need a PH of at least 7 or above otherwise their shells will erode and reduce their life span by a large chunk.
I would reccomend using some type of bottled water, but as mentioned above buy one and check it out first for PH etc. Or maybe you can talk a friend or neighbour who has mains water to supply you, as you will need a good supply especially when you first cycle the tank just in case you have any nitrate/ammonia spikes that need serious water changes to get under control.
Raising PH can be done a few ways but I would strongly suggest sticking to the natural ways. Crushed coral substrate is a good way, you can have it in any ratio to your gravel and just have it as your full substrate. Another good way is ocean rock. Its very attractive and seems to do a great job of stabalising PH quickly. I use both of these in my own tanks.
Do plenty of research, as mentioned above different species of shrimp prefer a certain PH so make sure you choose a shrimp that goes with the water conditions you end up using, otherwise they wont live very long at all.
three-fingers
Fish Connoisseur
I would go for RO too, since you get pH 7 and nothing bad. But you will have to 're-mineralize' for the shrimp and snails and if you want any plants, and i have no idea how you would do that at home or if it's worth all the bother. If you have an LFS near you, I'd just get RO water from there.
You can keep apple snails in slighlty acidic water, but it corrodes their shells, if the water is only slightly acidic then adding calcium will help a bit.
But yes, crushed coral in the filter helps, but you need alot of it .
I've read that ghost shrimp need alkaline water in the long run, but I'm not 100% sure. There are plenty of other shrimp that like acidic water. If the water is only slightly acidic(6.5+) then MTS would be ok, but i would still add calcium.
You can keep apple snails in slighlty acidic water, but it corrodes their shells, if the water is only slightly acidic then adding calcium will help a bit.
But yes, crushed coral in the filter helps, but you need alot of it
.
three-fingers
Fish Connoisseur
What type of apple snails? Personally, i would say 2 if its the smaller ones you want. And yes, you would need filtration for ghost shrimp . I'd look into a sponge filter if you want a chance at breeding them .
. I'd look into a sponge filter if you want a chance at breeding them .
RESGuy
Fishaholic
If you would like to breed apple snails, I think a 2.5 gallon tank is out of the question, even if they were alone in it. You will prob need a larger tank.
I have larger tanks, sorry, forgot to mention that. 45g, 55g, 30g, and 10g, all available Also, do turtles eat snails? The 45g has different water in it, but it also has a painted turtle and some catfish. I know they'd east shrimp, but I doubt the catfish I have would eat snails. Would the turtle?
Sorry I'm getting off topic from my other question, but I don't think I need to start a new topic for this...
45g, 55g, 30g, and 10g, all available Also, do turtles eat snails? The 45g has different water in it, but it also has a painted turtle and some catfish. I know they'd east shrimp, but I doubt the catfish I have would eat snails. Would the turtle?Sorry I'm getting off topic from my other question, but I don't think I need to start a new topic for this...
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