35ppt Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Trying to increase the survival rate of my RCS babies.Wondering -- what is most important factors on survival of the little ones? Food particle size, food content? Specific water parameter? Hiding places, even in a shrimp only tank?My tank is overall stable and healthy and mature.My first guess would be that it is feeding related. I assume biofilm takes care of them for a while, but the once a week protein and twice a week veggie that I feed may need to be adjusted, perhaps?As the bigger shrimps eat all these foods, I was assuming the little scraps they generate are then utilized by the smaller/baby shrimps.Is the special powder baby food I have seen worth a try?I imagine I could increase the protein feedings, but I am not sure how much they should actually be given.The other most likely factor, I think , could be temperature. I do have a heater, but have a couple of logistical reasons for not using it. But I could try to bump the temp up a few degrees.Tank specs:10 gal.Tap water.No heater. currently ~68FBlack Diamond Substrate.2x13W CFL (horizontal).Light duration: 6hrsPlants: mosses, java ferns. Riccia. Assorted other floaters. Mystery stems.sponge filters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metageologist Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Your temprature is fine. Alot of people don't use heaters at all in shrimp tanks. Do you know what your GH KH and TDS is. Also you say you use tap water us it well or municipal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 most babies feed on biofilm. GH can contribute to survival or death as well. Is it a shrimp only tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
35ppt Posted January 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Yup, shrimps only. Not counting the unwanted snails, of course. I knew you guys were gonna ask about params Which I don't know. Tap is municipal water from a lake. I believe TDS and hardness are on the low side. I am generalizing by thinking if the params seem good for adults, they should be for babies, as well.Perhaps this is not accurate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Not accurate, but the reasoning many people use who are not "in the know." heh High gh and adults can survive, but the babies will disappear one by one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metageologist Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Do you know what lake. Where do you live there may be other from the area here who will know the areas general water peramiters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 +1 aboves, also alot of moss helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
35ppt Posted February 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 update, and more questions. My tap is gh 2 kh 3 Shrimp tank is gh 7 kh 6 My tank is covered, so I am not sure why my params are so much higher than tap. So... gh is in the range of 6-9, that Soothing has previously mentioned being a good range for his neos. Perhaps my neos want a lower gh?? (which I still don't understand) I did just pick up some baby shrimp food powder, and will try that. h4n 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesHe Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Water parameters. GH 8 is good for noes. You never know what's in your tap water, and they may change over seasons. If you have issue with tap water, I will suggest to switch over to RO water and remineralizer (SS GH+). adjust the GH to 8. that's all you need. Add some crashed coral under your substrate. Regarding juvenile food, MK-Breed shrimp baby food is great one to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dukendabears Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Shrimp nature has 2 baby foods, a baby bio, and a baby veg/animal protein. Both are great foods for babies and i use them in my own tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
35ppt Posted February 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 I feel like this is a new issue for the tank, so yeah, maybe my source water is variable. I have always used aged tap water, but I do have a carbon block filter for my drinking water. Starting to wonder if it would be a good idea to use it, or not. My other thought is that maybe I need a bit of a tank-redo, since it is a year old. With only sponge filters, I always have dead moss bits on the substrate, altho I do of course try to vac them up. I really do not want to go the RO route. But I would like to know more about the crushed coral. How much do you use? Where do you get it? And how would it mesh with my existing black diamond sand?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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