Neocaridina (red Sakura) TDS flexible?

[Finatic005]

I am a beginner when it comes to shrimp. I read a care guide by shrimp farm which states a tds of 150-250. My water is 300-350ppm. So, is this tds ok for shrimp? If I lower the tds, the kH will drop too low. Any suggestions would be great.

[Jay_Walker]

Are you adding anything to the water to bring TDS that high. Neos are fairly flexible, but a 350 TDS seems awful high. What is your current KH and GH with TDS that high? How about pH? I always thought 150-200 was optimal. 

[JSak]

TDS can be a bit tricky and misleading as a sole measurement for water parameters for shrimps. TDS stands for total dissolved solids, meaning that anything that's dissolved in the water will contribute to a higher TDS, which can include, GH, KH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, chlorine, etc. As Jay_walker mentioned, I believe measuring your GH and KH would provide better information than just TDS. The best advice I've heard is that you should try to match your water parameters to the breeder who you're getting your shrimp from since they've managed to have success with those parameters and it'll make the transition to your tank easier for the shrimp. The parameters for my neos are roughly GH - 10-11 and KH - 3-5, but I'm sure my TDS is higher because I use indian almond leaves, cholla wood and alder cones that leach tannins into the water, which would probably raise my tank water TDS. The only time I measure TDS is when I'm remineralizing my RO/DI water for water changes. Since RO/DI water shouldn't have much minerals in it, the TDS should be low so any increase in TDS would be a direct result of the remineralizer I'm adding to the water. For example, for my neos I shoot for a TDS of about 200 when I'm remineralizing my water for water changes and that usually gives me the GH and KH that I want for my shrimp. 

 

All that being said, cherry shrimp are one of the most hardy shrimps in the hobby currently since they've been around for so long. In general, they can adapt to a wide range of parameters but will thrive best in harder water. I've heard that the asian wholesalers who breed in mass quantities keep their water insanely hard, so that makes me think that it'd be better to make your water harder than softer. Are you using tap water?