Shrimps in soft water

[Sunnyspots]

Could I have some sort of shrimp with a KH and GH around 2 or 3?

 

[PorshaF]

I think Crystal and Ghost are the lowest gh accepting that I've seen. I believe it was around 4 or 5. You could perhaps raise that with crushed coral or cuttlebone, also many shrimp specific supplements and calcium rich diets. My mom uses dolomite rock to raise her tanks gh. There are also many substrates I'm sure you're aware of such as aragonite sand. I don't think there are any that naturally thrive in 2 or 3 but I've read they can do well in neutral ph with supplements to assist in molting and other bodily functions

 

[StevenF]

The issue is not the GH value or how many degrees you have. Shrimp need calcium and mangnesium to molt. However the GH test doesn't tell you how much of each you have. if you just have calcium and no magnesium molting failure can occur. You want to have about 3 parts Calcium to one Part magnesium

Or you could have a lot of magnesium and little or no calcium. You need to be sure you have both. Which means a separate Calcium test and Magnesium testAlso one degree is 17.8ppm (milligrams per liter) which is a lot for a shrimp that may weigh about 10 to 20 miliigrams. And most of that weight is in the water, carbon, nitrogen and potassium inside he shrimp.

When you see a recommended GH value for a specific shrimp or fish keep in mind that is based on GH level of a tank with shrimp. The GH recommendation is not based on any lab study with known calcium and magnesium levels.

 

[Sunnyspots]

The issue is not the GH value or how many degrees you have. Shrimp need calcium and mangnesium to molt. However the GH test doesn't tell you how much of each you have. if you just have calcium and no magnesium molting failure can occur. You want to have about 3 parts Calcium to one Part magnesium

Or you could have a lot of magnesium and little or no calcium. You need to be sure you have both. Which means a separate Calcium test and Magnesium testAlso one degree is 17.8ppm (milligrams per liter) which is a lot for a shrimp that may weigh about 10 to 20 miliigrams. And most of that weight is in the water, carbon, nitrogen and potassium inside he shrimp.

When you see a recommended GH value for a specific shrimp or fish keep in mind that is based on GH level of a tank with shrimp. The GH recommendation is not based on any lab study with known calcium and magnesium levels.

I might well try some shrimp then. I could put some in my main tank or make a Walstad jar. If I do the latter I could allter parameters if necessary to suit without potentially upsetting the fish.
Thank you @StevenF and @PorshaF .