Marali Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenteam Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Nice start only thing I would be concerned about is the PH. Most crystal shrimp don't do well over 6.8 that's why you see people using substrate like ADA to get that parameter range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marali Posted September 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 I was also concerned about that until I saw the stock I will be buying thriving and breeding in 7.6. This has given me some hope although I am still optimistic. If they do not do well I will opt for another type of neo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marali Posted September 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 If I wanted to buffer the ph closer to neutral are there natural methods to do so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenteam Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 People use peat moss but it can be hard to measure correct amount specially for a 5g tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananariot Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Cycling process is not nearly done. Ammonia will kill shrimp and so will nitrite. U have ammonia no nitrite and no nitrate. This means ur ammonia to nitrite bacteria haven't started colonizing yet. Also means ur nitrite to nitrate bacteria haven't even colonized yet. Means you're probably ~3 weeks at the soonest for finishing cycling. Getting shrimp and putting them in would be a bad idea at the end of this week. Maybe some chemical intervention could help but Ive always gotten mixed results with equilibrium and safe start Otherwise I would say nice setup! I've had crs breed in like gh 8 water so they have become tougher through the years. Good idea getting high ph breeding shrimp. The best bet to get shrimp to breed is to match the parameters they're used to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marali Posted September 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 I have had this tank running for about 3 weeks. With media from my established tank as well as the various plants and such I moved over. The only change I have had so far is my nitrate is up to 5ppm. Which is still well within it's normal limits. But the shipment has come in so I will be checking out the stock tomorrow and making my selections. So hopefully I can have a small update tomorrow. I will be sticking to only purchasing 5 tomorrow. Then checking out the second shipment later in the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananariot Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 I have had this tank running for about 3 weeks. With media from my established tank as well as the various plants and such I moved over. The only change I have had so far is my nitrate is up to 5ppm. Which is still well within it's normal limits. But the shipment has come in so I will be checking out the stock tomorrow and making my selections. So hopefully I can have a small update tomorrow. I will be sticking to only purchasing 5 tomorrow. Then checking out the second shipment later in the week. Sounds good lol, was initally concered cause the post said 1.5 weeks. Good luck on the shrimp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marali Posted September 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Yeah I've had this one up for sometime. Just couldn't decide what I was wanting. I have another tank going through a cycle 1 1/2 weeks for my Scarlet Badis. Same size. I've got so much going on that I'm forgetting time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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