cardinal shrimp
6 posts
-
bigduke45123 - Posts: 24
- Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:19 am
cardinal shrimp
What does everyone think about raising cardinal shrimp and what all is involved in raising them? I know that you have to have a well planted tank and all but are they hard to raise?
-
a1k8t31524 - Posts: 939
- Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 5:10 am
for the most pare shrimos are easy to care for, as long as they have alot of hiding places and a good food source, you also might check to see you have the proper PH i know that some are not very tolerant of PH swings or changes.
-
bigduke45123 - Posts: 24
- Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:19 am
thanks a1k8t3 I am thinking of setting up my spare 10 gal tank up for them they have a high price the cheapest that I have found is $14 each but as long as I can get something set up for them they are very nice looking shrimp and would like to see them produce babies. I think that I want to start with red cherry shrimp first though because they are cheaper. I have some ghost shrimp or glass shrimp in my 55 gal tank but want something different.
-
a1k8t31524 - Posts: 939
- Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 5:10 am
a 10gallon would be perfect for a shrimp tank, you could but one of thoes cheepo Co2 systems to get some nice foliage in there throw in a sponge filter and could do it all cheap compared to a larger tank
-
Tmercier834747 - Posts: 887
- Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm
large groups of cherry reds are gorgeous.
you can hold (while breeding) 100-150 shrimp in a 10 gal tank (with weekly 30% water changes) beacuse they release a LOT less waste than the average fish. Given the average retail cost of cherry reds, and how easy it is to breed them, even with losses this is an easy profit.
The optimal temperature is 75-78F.
Because they are inverts they do well in moderate hardness.
Live plants will help greatly in reducing the need for heavy water changes while the tank is heavily stocked, and java moss specifically can make a snack for very hungry shrimp, also the food that may collect on it. If you need any help on getting a good setup to grow plants in your 10gal just ask. It'll be much easier and less costly than your 55.
Sponge filters are a must since shrimp eggs and fry will be so incredibly small. You'll encouter large losses if you run anything else as the babies will just get sucked up, like most kinds of fry.
Make sure you've cycled the tank and that there's no trace of ammonia or nitrites before you add any large quantities of shrimp. Cherry reds can be more susceptible to nitrates than many species of fish, and generally won't handle a cycle...
Limit your inbreeding as much as possible by re-aquring more shrimp from other sources. If you have a few LFS in your area which carry them see if you can work out a deal as a breeder for them and they should arrange to give you some with any credit you've gained by giving them shrimp to sell. If you inbreed any more than 3 generations you stand the risk of losing your little 'breeding contract' or whatever may come of your proposals (I can't imagine why else you'd want to breed shrimp lol) because you'll start to notice deformities and weak shrimp that won't make it in the long haul. Your LFS will quickly see this as a problem, as they can't sell dead shrimp or shrimp that can't swim, or have 1 leg.......There's reasons we don't all live in West Virginia. lol Sorry, it had to be said. :)
Overall they're very easy to get to reproduce (in comparison to many other fish and shrimp species) as long as their water param demands are met.
Should you decide to go with cherry reds, after your tank has cycled, I would start with 4-8 with the hopes that you have at least 1 good female.
Anything else just ask...
you can hold (while breeding) 100-150 shrimp in a 10 gal tank (with weekly 30% water changes) beacuse they release a LOT less waste than the average fish. Given the average retail cost of cherry reds, and how easy it is to breed them, even with losses this is an easy profit.
The optimal temperature is 75-78F.
Because they are inverts they do well in moderate hardness.
Live plants will help greatly in reducing the need for heavy water changes while the tank is heavily stocked, and java moss specifically can make a snack for very hungry shrimp, also the food that may collect on it. If you need any help on getting a good setup to grow plants in your 10gal just ask. It'll be much easier and less costly than your 55.
Sponge filters are a must since shrimp eggs and fry will be so incredibly small. You'll encouter large losses if you run anything else as the babies will just get sucked up, like most kinds of fry.
Make sure you've cycled the tank and that there's no trace of ammonia or nitrites before you add any large quantities of shrimp. Cherry reds can be more susceptible to nitrates than many species of fish, and generally won't handle a cycle...
Limit your inbreeding as much as possible by re-aquring more shrimp from other sources. If you have a few LFS in your area which carry them see if you can work out a deal as a breeder for them and they should arrange to give you some with any credit you've gained by giving them shrimp to sell. If you inbreed any more than 3 generations you stand the risk of losing your little 'breeding contract' or whatever may come of your proposals (I can't imagine why else you'd want to breed shrimp lol) because you'll start to notice deformities and weak shrimp that won't make it in the long haul. Your LFS will quickly see this as a problem, as they can't sell dead shrimp or shrimp that can't swim, or have 1 leg.......There's reasons we don't all live in West Virginia. lol Sorry, it had to be said. :)
Overall they're very easy to get to reproduce (in comparison to many other fish and shrimp species) as long as their water param demands are met.
Should you decide to go with cherry reds, after your tank has cycled, I would start with 4-8 with the hopes that you have at least 1 good female.
Anything else just ask...