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Hi Everyone, I am very new to the shrimp community, shrimp keeping in general(this is my first post). I stumbled upon shrimp keeping/breeding from aquaponics. I began this little adventure when I began fascinated with growing my own herbs and vegetables indoors using hydroponics. This lead me to countless of hours of research on youtube, google, forums, etc. Which eventually lead me to aquaponics, because the goal of my hydroponics was to become as self-sustaining as possible. This lead me to do a lot of research on nature, plant growth, nutrient cycle, ecosystems, eventually to Takashi Amano, "Learn from Nature, Create Nature". Thus I was on my way to creating a desktop aquaponics system that was aesthetically pleasing, functional, and cost effective. I started based on a design by a commercially available nano aquaponics system that I thought didn't look very nice, plus whats the fun in that? Simple concepts, fish/inverts in the tank produce waste, waste gets broken down by nitrifying bacteria, nitrates feed plants, clean water goes back into the tank. So upon doing more research I found out that dwarf shrimp produce little to no bioload, which means that I would need a **** ton of dwarf shrimp to produce enough nitrates to feed my little herb garden. Thus I decided I needed at least 1 fish, and I wanted a male Betta because they're pretty. However, knowing the nature of bettas I knew that I couldn't house my precious little dwarf shrimp and my betta together. Which lead me to do more research and i discovered a video showing you how to make a water bridge to filter 2 tanks with 1 filter using an overhead sump. "my aquaponics grow bed is basically an overhead sump" is what I thought and i figured it could work. 1 month of planning, sourcing, building, painting, daydreaming, and I was done building it and setting it up. I filled it with remineralized RO/DI water, planted my plants, added fluval cycle, and let the tank cycle until I only had <20 ppm nitrates. Most things were bought on Amazon, Home Depot, or Local Hydroponics store The setup consists of: 2 x 2.5 gallon aqueon tanks 1 x Black 1/3 size 6 inch food service pan (Growbed) 1 x Hydroton hydroponic grow media 1 x 20 inch finnex stingray light 1 x hikari mini sponge filter 1 x mini aquarium air pump 1 x 3w submersible water pump w/custom tubing&protective sponge housing 1 x DIY water bridge 1 x DIY wood housing 1 x outlet timer (Optional) Now it was time to locate my little shrimps. Most plants naturally prefer an acidic growth environment, thus I decided to go with Caridina shrimp mainly as I know they prefer softer more acidic environments. PERFECT! I ended up picking up 10 neat S-SSS looking CRS from a LFS near me and 5 PRL SSS CRS from another LFS, while I was there I saw some blue dream neos and couldn't resist and ended up with 5 of them and 6 ghost shrimp. I also picked up 1 golden horned nerite and a zebra nerite (1 for each tank). Its been 2 weeks since I introduced all my new roommates into their new home and so far everyone is happy! The 6 ghost shrimp surprisingly live peacefully with my Betta. My betta(has no name yet:(..) doesn't bother them too much. I did however lose 3 of my blue neos right after they molted..which i guess is attributed to the huge pH difference or something else. All my CRS have been doing great! The herb seeds I planted in the growbed have also sprouted I have some cilantro, sweet basil, thyme, oregano, parsley and arugula in there. I am hoping that over time as the herbs grow, along with the plants in the tank itself that my water conditions can remain relatively stable.

Currently own two 60 gallon freshwater tanks and a nano saltwater reef, now want to try a nano/micro shrimp tank! I got a 3 gallon cube and sponge filter with an LED light etc. Everything except shrimp, plants and substrate. So I have a few questions. I want a planted tank with some amazon sword or hair grass with plenty of java moss and maybe an anubias attached to a small log in the center. But what substrate is best for Neocardina shrimp? I want to keep blue velvets or blue dreams and know I would need darker substrate for better color on the shrimp. But whats best for the plants? Will all active substrates used for "growing aquarium plants" change the water chemistry or are there brands that don't? Should I just go with black sand? I bought some root tabs for the substrate when it comes time for planting. Im using RO water and plan on just remineralizing it to the correct levels for the shrimp. That leads to my next question. Are there any good liquid mineral supplements you guys use for Neocardina? I feel that liquid supplements would be much easier to get the water to the correct levels for water changes and such. I watched a video Flip Aquatics did and mentioned using Fluval shrimp mineral supplement but looks like you cant get that anymore, and from what I've research Neocardina will do fine in water with KH levels at 0? So if I used RO water and remineralized the GH to the correct level would the water be good to start cycling and good for shrimp? Really interested in shrimp and would love to make a micro ecosystem they can thrive and breed in! would love to hear your guys feed back on anything to help give me more knowledge on the hobby, thanks! 🦐

Hi, thanks in advance for helping! I have a heavily planted 2 gallon nano tank with one ghost shrimp. I'm looking for tank mates, preferably solitary becuase I don't have the room for fish fry:). The tank is heavily planted, with 3 Marimo moss balls, 6 small water wisteria, and some natural decor and a cave. Ideas please? Tank specs are: Tempurature- a constant 69 pH- constant 7.8 ammonia/nitrites/all that jazz- 0ppm except for nitrates, which is about 15-20ppm usually The tank has undergone the nitrogen cycle. Thanks! This is a picture of the tank, to get a sense of dimensions. The flashy gravel was chosen by the youngest child in our family.

Hey everyone, newish to the forum, never introduced myself, I'm Kizzle from England keeping dream blue shrimp and one maylasian trumpet snail, so I thought I show my Nano tank. I like seeing aquascape designs and always admired pure natural designs, thought I give mine a go lol no where as good as the pros tho. Here is my setup, I had trouble designing a cave/hide area for my shrimp so just threw the slates together and got this, lots of openings, inside I have placed loose moss hoping the shrimp will use it as a breeding ground, I left a slight gap so the moss still gets a bit of light. This is to show the moss inside with a torch but behind to the right is an opening for the moss to get light hopefully is will grow upwards that's the plan, also looks pretty dark in there for shrimp to hide even with a torch shining in lol, I was never a fan of a moss ball, so I got moss carpet, didn't have room for the subtrate to place on so the plan is to let it grow over the rock Got another hiding place for the shrimp, a log with moss tied on and a leaf for them to hide and eat behind is my planted area I plan to get hanging moss for my wood but algae has grown instead which is a bonus, the big plant is tied on driftwood, I plan to get more plants, these seem to grow really well already planted small versions by the slate rock "Oh hai dere!" Hunting down my blue dream shrimp to show, she the darkest blue so hopefully she survives and brings more to the tank And finally a night time light looks better in person lol

Hi, I have a 1.8 gallon (cycled) tank, so basically a fishbowl with a filter. It has 9 water wisteria, three Marimo balls and some rocks/ a cave. I have one ghost shrimp, one cherry shrimp, and one Malaya/rainbow shrimp. I have a fantasy about breeding Red cherry shrimp and possibly selling, but I don't know if it's possible in such a tiny tank. I just have a few questions about that: 1. How many shrimp do you think I could keep in this little tank? 2. Would I have to put a sponge over the filter intake? 3. Do you think that non-local stores like Petsmart or Petco would buy the shrimp? Thanks if you can answer any of these!

Thanks for helping, in advance. I have a 1.5 gallon that has a filter and air pump. Currently I have 1 ghost shrimp and 1 RCS. How many shrimp can I keep in this tank? I don't want them to get territorial. My ghost shrimp and cherry get along absolutely fine. I have 8 Water wisteria and 3 Marimo algae balls, as well as a few rocks for exploring and cleaning.

Hey everyone, new to the forum and the world of shrimp keeping. I am going to be starting a nano 5.5 gallon crystal red shrimp planted tank. Check out my video. I am going to document the whole process. My Setup I currently have a 20 gallon planted tank with a few fish. Unfortunately shrimp would not be compatible with one of the tank mates so i'm starting a whole new tank!! Cant wait for the plant order to come in!! Hope to hear from you - Matt Side note: Does anyone on here breed CRS and sell them?

Hi All! My other post is getting kinda messy/full - so I will start a new one just for these 5 new pieces of Manzanita with Fissidens Fontanus. These are decent sized pieces but would still be regarded as NANO size. The manzanita has been boiled, and then waterlogged. Once waterlogged I add the fissidens moss. It has since nicely grown in and will continue to flourish under low maintenance conditions. I don't use and fertilizers or co2. I do use 2+ watts per gallon of lighting. There is a generous portion of Moss on each piece of driftwood. These are shrimp safe! Fissidens looks amazing once it keeps on growing. These are off to an excellent start. #1 $18 (12" x 3") SOLD #2 $18 (12" x 4") SOLD #3 $16 (12" x 3") SOLD #4 $20 (8" x 8") SOLD #5 $18 (10" x 4") SOLD SOLD -MANZANITA STUMP w. FISSIDENS (2 available, 2x2") $10 each Shipping is $5 via USPS first class mail. I will combine shipping and offer you the lowest rate, but it will just depend on size of box and weight. Shipping within Continental USA. Thanks!

Aquascape Project Finnex 2.5 Gal starter kit http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Aquarium-StingRAY-Cliplight-2-5-Gallon/dp/B00MHR8YIE StingRAY Light D1: 8/4/15 Tank filled with fridge water, ADA Amazonia soil, merimo moss ball. Original water readings: Fridge: 7.1-0-3-0 Tap: 7.4-4-3-0 Tank: 6.6-4-5-0 D6: 8/10/15 Planted Dwarf Hairgrass D7: 8/11/15 Added Frogbit Tank: N/A-4-0.5-0 D9: 8/13/15 Purchased RO water and 3/4 water change. No test D11: 8/15/15 Tank: 7.4-3-0-0 D19: 8/23/15 35% water change D28: 9/1/15 25-30% water change Okay so now it is Sept 29, 2015. I tested the water last night and my ammonia is still between 1-2. Any ideas as to why this cycle is taking so long? Why it may be stalled? Ideas?

I got this shrimp from my LFS today. They didn't know what it was and it was the only one, so they threw it in. Can anyone tell me what it might be?? I will try to find better pictures!! Thanks so much! Also, I'm new here, so I hope this is in the right place.

Hello Everyone! I have decided to turn my 5.5 Gallon nano into a Crystal Red Shrimp tank. I have been cycling this tank for about 3 weeks. My current water parameters are Ammonia - .25ppm, Nitrite - 0 ppm, Nitrates - 0 ppm, and my ph is 7.6. I know most individuals say that this is a high ph for this specific type of shrimp but in our area it is quite common. And strangely enough we do have many breeders and LFS that are raising and breeding in this ph. I am using distilled water for my water changes as well as 25% tap water. I have a sponge filter as well as a 15W LED Solarflare from Deep Blue. Right now in the tank, I have Dwarf Baby Tears in the front of the tank, Anubias petite around the front of the driftwood as well as attached to the top within it, Java fern to help hide the sponge filter, and some Christmas moss near the end of the driftwood. I am dosing with Iron, Excel, and Flourish. I also have 4 Zebra/1 Spotted Nerite, 2 Orange Neo, and 1 Scarlet Badis. The Badis will be getting rehomed once I purchase my CRS stock. If my water parameters stay constant for the next week, I will be bringing home my new shrimplets next Friday. So I will be posting updated photos once that has happened. Any advice or comments would be much appreciated.