Snails, Crabs And Shrimps

[alisdairkr]

Newbie here being mislead by lfs - quelle surprise

Okay, I had (note past tense) a large freshwater shrimp and a red clawed crab. I had problems with my water going too low PH (below 6 at one point) which I now know is because I have overstocked. Came down one morning and the shrimp had obviously died in mid-shedding. (Looking at piccies on the InterWeb I think it was an Atyopsis - Wood Shrimp) The following morning the crab was going a headstand on the bottom . Had both for around 6 months. I presume that this was due to the acidity level, which I am deperately working on to correct? I usually try to keep the Ph at between 6.5 and 7. Temp is just under 80f. Nitrite is currently around 0.3%, and again I am working on lowering it. (.3 is the safe limit yes, not 3%? Whichever, that is what it is.)

Snails: I have recently bought 3 Apple Snails, and now find out that they need alkaline water(obvious really when some one terlls you, which the lfs didn't of course). How long will it be before they are dmaged by my Ph of 6.5 (ish)? Is there anything I can add to the water that will not harm the fish (I'm losing enough as it is, but that is another thread). Tetras, Barbs, Platys, Guppies, Corys and Otos.

Thanks

Alisdair

 

[eschaton]

Your red claw is in trouble because he needs salt in the water, not because of the PH.

My tanks stay acidic because I use CO2. Quite a bit more acidic than yours...don't ever really get much above 6 no matter how many water changes I do. That said, I have many algae-eating shrimp, snails, and such. What I've noticed:

A lot of shrimp are just fine in acidic water in the 6 range. My Cherries and Amano act fine, and web says Cherries can live down to 6.3, and amano have a similar range. Singapore Wood Shrimp actually prefer acidic water. Longarm and Ghost Shrimp can't be kept in acidic tanks.

As to snails, my experience with acidic water is: No effect on Malaysian Trumpets or Ramshorn (the latter is more unfortunate than anything...nothing slows them down). My black Mystery has a fair amount of shell erosion. My nerites have a ton, but they came with a little already, and I've read most species found in LFS are brackish and really need quite hard water. No one seems slowed down by the erosion at all, though it isn't too attractive to look at up close

Anyway, as for myself, I'm going to get a small amount of crushed coral and put it into my filter the next time I head to the LFS.

Also, you're not supposed to have any nitrite in your tank at all. It is highly toxic to inverts, and means your tank isn't fully cycled.

Anyway, that's everyting

 

[dizzied]

Snails like MTS can take acidic water better probably because their shells are harder. I do have a couple of apple snails in an acidic tank, compared to the ones I have in an alkaline tank, they have much duller coloration and a more corroded shell. They'll survive in 6.5 though.An LFS here keeps them in like PH 6.