jkpedrita Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Hello, I am having some breeding issues. Tank Parameters: I have crystal black shrimp in a 5 gallon tank- sand substrate, two sponge filters, remineralized (salty shrimp) ro with probably some remnant tap water from 5 months ago. Ph is...I can't see any difference in the colors on the chart between 6.8 and 7.2 so somewhere in there. Gh is 6 and Kh is 0. TDS is 191. Temperature was about 62 all winter and now about 64. The shrimp: I had eight lost two the first day and another one after too big of a water change. I add bacter Ae to the tank and feed them jakes veggie, and I believe it is max breed sparingly. Oh and they have cholla wood and a big ball of subwasshowevertheheckyouspellit. They are varied in sizing some smaller and a couple big ones--but they are all adults. Which made me believe I had a M/F mix. The problem: No shrimplets--ever. What am I doing wrong? Do I just have all of the same sex, regardless of difference in sizes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maylee Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 I would wait until someone much more experienced than me chimes in but my first guess would be your temperature is on the colder side. Some keepers like to increase their temps to around 76-78 for breeding purposes. Now, don't listen to me and increase the temp that high all in one shot obviously If we were to go strictly on numbers, I think a few of your parameters are on the edge. http://www.discobee.com/blogs/news/17030569-shrimp-water-parameters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyeGuy411 Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 The issue is most likely your pH. Crystal shrimp are a softwater shrimp, pH below 7, ideally around 6.2-6.4 They can live in higher pH close to 7 but you will have extremely low survival rate if they berry at all. You temperature is fine but will make them grow more slowly than they would at 72. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyeGuy411 Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 How long have you had them? How long ago did you swap the tap water out to RO? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkpedrita Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 I've had them for months and months--October/November-- I have been slowly switching them over to RO water since then. I thought they were a cool water shrimp for some reason I had it in my head that the cooler the better. I think I have a tiny heater that keeps temps at 72, maybe I'll pop that in there. The breeder I got them from kept them at a ph of 7 and they did wonderfully for her- she must have the magic touch . I can add straight RO water without the remineralizer to try to lower the ph a bit more. I worry it would also dilute the gh but from the chart (thanks maylee) it wouldn't hurt to drop it a bit more. Oh, and I have some alder cones on the way, so that should help with lowering the ph too. Thanks everyone. I'll give all of these a try-- not all at once--and cross my fingers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyeGuy411 Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Dont add straight RO unless you are topping off for evaporation. Gh+ remineralizer will not increase pH. Im not saying this is the case but some breeders will claim they keep shrimp at specific parameters when in reality they keep them at different parameters. I have often tested the water shrimp come in to see what parameters actually are. So far I have not found any drastic differences from stated paramters. I am always very leary of people that claim they breed crystal shrimp successfully in tap water or alkaline water. Im not saying it cant be done but there is a reason the shrimp community reccomends keeping them in soft acidic water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkpedrita Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Thanks for the tip RyeGuy. I the alder cones do the trick then. I don't know why the ph is so high with the ro water. When I test the straight ro water it comes up at 6.0, but for some reason the tank is higher. The breeder I got them from is completely reputable. I would have no doubt that the parameters are what they say they are. Regardless, I will try to get them to community recommended parameters . Thanks for the tips and all of the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiumanfu Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 If you add a heater, make sure to bring the temp up gradually. A degree every couple days. Bringing it up from 64 to 72 immediately will shock the shrimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesHe Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Crystal won't breed at pH above 7.0 pH6.0 is ideal. and they won't breed if temp is too low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadenlea Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 I agree with lower the PH and I also agree with raise the temp a bit but also, You said you have been slowly changing over to RO water. I would argue that your shrimp will not stop breeding until you stop fiddling with the water and they feel "untouched " for a few weeks. The less you are messing with the water, the sooner they will start breeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMG Aquatics Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 If you add a heater, make sure to bring the temp up gradually. A degree every couple days. Bringing it up from 64 to 72 immediately will shock the shrimp. I believe this may be untrue? I'm pretty sure during shipments, temperature swings up and down and probably sometimes even in large ranges yet they are fine. RyeGuy411 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkpedrita Posted May 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 Thanks guys. I'll let you know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiumanfu Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 I believe this may be untrue? I'm pretty sure during shipments, temperature swings up and down and probably sometimes even in large ranges yet they are fine. A properly insulated shipment shouldn't swing that fast. An uninsulated box left in the sun will swing fast but that's probably what causes deaths during shipping or at least some major stress. Dropping a heater into a small 5 gallon could bring the temp up very fast depending on the heater. You probably won't have a problem if its one of those tiny 25W guys. A 75W heater will raise the temp 10 degrees in 45 minutes in my 5 gallon water change bucket. In any case, I don't have hard proof so you may be right. I just prefer to air on the side of caution and since the OP is losing shrimp already, he should be careful to minimize any additional stress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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