[Appletea]

I started with 12 in my 5 gallon. I now have 10. I believe two died because I added a Betta Fish (m) to the tank for a day. I saw my betta harassing the shrimp so I moved him to a 2.5gal.

But the two shrimp died because of him stressing them out and trying to kill them. I think.

Anyway, I have an assassin snail and baby pond snails also in my 5 gallon. The snails are slowly dying out thanks to Sassy the Assassin Snail.

I have java moss growing and dwarf hairgrass growing well in the tank. Temperature is stable at 78F. Filter is running and lights (15w) are on 8hrs a day minimum.

I currently have an ornament/decoration in there as well and they seem to all hide in it or sit on it.

Nitrate - 40
Nitrite - 0
pH 6.8 (somewhere between 6.5 and 7)
KH - 80
gh - 60
ammonia - 0

I use ammonia LIQUID test and STRIP tests for the rest currently. Going to switch to liquid as soon as able.

They're hiding and not breeding. I see some eggs, some with saddles, and I have found a molt, so I think it'll come along within a month or so... But they are hiding quite often. I never see more than 3 out at a time unless I knock over the ornament and then they swim into the moss/grass area.

I don't feed them except once I week I'll break off an algae wafer, just a itty bit, and drop it in the tank. I remove the half-eaten remains at the end of the day.

 

[Jasperdog]

Shrimp are very hard to breed i think they have a larvae stage with special water perimeters i recommend live plants and a LOT more hiding places. So i don't think they will breed unless you are an extreme expert on shrimp and water conditions... sorry

 

[Appletea]

I've breed them before when I lived on the West Coast, that's why I'm at a lost here. It wasn't intentional to breed them; it just happened lol!

The only main difference I see between my old 5gallon in the desert vs my new 5 gallon here in Jersey is the lack of sunlight. In the desert you couldn't escape the light in my house during the day; but here there's barely any sunlight in the house and none reaches the tanks. At least there's no algae probs! lol.

For RCS I'm pretty sure it goes like this: mommy shrimp carries fertilized eggs until they're ready to hatch. Once they hatch they swim away from mommy and swim all over the place; but are harder to see due to their lack of bright-red colouring, their size, and their speed. I don't see any babies in my filter, though, and I have a sponge guard ready to place on the filter intake; I just haven't put it on yet because it's hard to attach and my filter's so weak lol.

Currently I think have only 2 male shrimp and 8 females; judging by their size + bright colours. But I'm not 100% sure on genders. Here's a 30second vid of my tank: http://youtu.be/YJRwurbGyH4

 

[angelcraze]

Try adding more live plants/moss. Nitrate of 40ppm, ime, is a bit high for shrimp. Small frequent water changes and/or more plants will keep nitrate down. In my heavily planted tanks where I don't add NO3 (nitrate ferts), I actually see 0ppm nitrate. The neocaridina shrimp breed like crazy in my 5g and 46g. Although, I notice their population remains subjective to tank size, more shrimplets in the larger tank.

They should not be hiding with no predators. They should be swimming about. More hiding places, as mentioned should help with this. Also, I find real driftwood helps them feel more comfortable. Otherwise, your tank parameters and conditions seem ideal for shrimp. Idk how your test kit measures gh, but I like to keep mine at at least 4 (drops).

I also feed my shrimp blanched zucchini once a week. I cut it up in chunks, then freeze. When I feed, I just microwave the zuch piece for 30 sec. or so in a small container with tank water until it sinks, let it cool and drop it in the tank. It's simple, convenient and the shrimp love it. Remove any uneaten zuch after 24 hours, as it will become fungus covered. With lots of shrimp, there will be none left!!!

 

[Appletea]

Thank you

I did water changes this morning and when I tested later in the afternoon the nitrate lowered to 20. Ended up returning all 10 of my RCS for store credit to LFS. Gonna miss them but I don't think shrimp are for me! lol. They were fun to have again, but LST, I have a betta in each of my desktop tanks.

 

[Jasperdog]

get Thai micro crabs
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