houdini56 Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Hello! I recently re-homed the fish community of my FW 40g tank and am going to be shutting that tank down. I have purchased a 10g tank and am excited to start a shrimp-only community. I have two red cherries sitting all alone in my 40g, and I will be purchasing 10-20 more red cherries once the new tank is cycled. I am doing a fishless cycle which hopefully won't take too long as I have seeded it with the media from my 70g filter. It was a real battle cycling my 40g because I didn't realize until well into that I have ammonia in my well water. I lost a few fish along the way. Anyway, I have been reviewing all my cycling notes from the 40g tank, and I find myself wondering about the bioload created by 20 shrimp. In my 40g of course the fish community (which I added gradually) created the bioload necessary for the nitrate cycle....but do 20 shrimp really produce enough in a 10g tank? I will have a planted tank; currently have moved a few swords and crypts into it, but have ordered some pellia and another moss for the new tank. My substrate is black sand which I took from my 40g. Chemistry is not my strong suit, though I learned a lot more than I imagined wtih the first fishless cycle. I am hoping someone here can educate me about the bioload of shrimp. Oh, BTW -- we have a small RO unit on our kitchen sink now so with the 10g tank I won't have to subject the shrimp to any of my ammonia-corrupted tap water. I probably would be out of the aquatics hobby if we hadn't added that RO unit.... Looking forward to getting to know the community here....really excited about raising shrimp! Thanks for your help. ~Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Welcome Kris! You won't notice much of a difference with cycling and just 10 shrimp in a 40g. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMG Aquatics Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 20 shrimp in a new 10G tank will create more bioload than your filter can handle. I would add 10 shrimp in the new 10G and add Stability for 1 week then add the remaining shrimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houdini56 Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Wow! I had no idea. I assumed one shrimp put out a lot less pooh, etc. than one average FW fish did. I have a lot to learn! I do have an AC30 filter on this 10g tank. I'm not familiar with Stability; I was using Prime as a conditioner in my 40g tank. I'm not planning to add shrimp to this new tank until it's completely cycled...so would that advice about Stability still hold? thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Just do a cycle, let the tank mature before moving stuff in. Chemicals help some but not as much as time lol. Provide an ammonia source and ride the cycle out. Add a few shrimp and gradually increase it. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk houdini56 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vshrimp Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 20 shrimp in a new 10G tank will create more bioload than your filter can handle. I would add 10 shrimp in the new 10G and add Stability for 1 week then add the remaining shrimp. How is it that 20 shrimps can create such a huge bioload that the filter cant keep up? If so, I've had 50+ in a 5.5 gal tank without any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMG Aquatics Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 How is it that 20 shrimps can create such a huge bioload that the filter cant keep up? If so, I've had 50+ in a 5.5 gal tank without any problems. 20 shrimp in a new 10G tank will create more bioload than your filter can handle. If your tank is established, there would be no problem. Soothing Shrimp and houdini56 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillznglass Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Check into fritz zyme 7. It contains both strains of live bacteria nitrosomanas (ammonia to nitrite) and nitrobacter (nitrite to nitrate) which will instantly cycle your tank. Dr. Tim's one and only has them as well. Both can be used for instant or fish less cycling. Find a way to incorporate Seachem purigen into your filter, even if you have to build a small reactor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houdini56 Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 I do use Purigen in my 70AC filter and plan on moving it into my 30AC for the 10g. Great stuff, amazed at what it did for the clarity of my 40g tank. I am going to ride the cycle out in the 10g. Am hoping that seeding with media from my 40g will speed up the cycle a bit, but I guess it will be what it will be. My main motivation is that I have two RC shrimp still in the 40g tank because I have nowhere else to put them...but now that there's no fish in that tank I'd sure like to get it emptied, cleaned up, and put away. Those two shrimp are really living large, having the place all to themselves now! Thanks for the replies. When time allows I'm going to start a tank log/blog/whatever to share the shrimp tank journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibikaie Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Root tabs will be appreciated by your plants. If you are moving that much media and substrate from a former 40 gallon fish tank to a planted 10 gallon housing exactly two shrimp - you have nothing to worry about. Really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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