Live rock for H. rubra

[ToddnBecka]

I've been considering starting a small colony of H. rubra, and was wondering whether a chunk of live rock from a SW setup would work as a biological filter. Would the bacteria survive a decrease in salinity, down to brackish levels, or would it be better to establish a setup using MTS first?

[apistomaster]

Hi Toddenbekka,
Using live rock as the basis of a biological filter should work just as it does in a reef. Of course the higher the salinity to less die off one could expect but die off occurs in startup of full marine conditions. You really care about the survival of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria. There would be a period while the balance of bacteria species shifts until those able to thrive at your target salinty are in ascendency, but it would happen and the live rock would perform the functions.

Just run the standard tests and anticipate the ~2 months I estimate the full transition to brackish conditions will take. I do not see any reason why this natural filtration method would not be viable in the long run.

I think you would end up with a greater diversity of life including copepods and worms than would ever occur using a conventional stock filter. Some species undoubtedly will be present upon the introduction of the live rock that have some ability to adapt to less than full marine conditions.
Guess you can tell, I think it is a good idea to try.

[badflash]

The shrimp don't need a lot of salt to do well and breed, so salt tolerant plants like java moss and java fern can be used up to about 4 teaspoons per gallon.

There are also macro marine algaes that work. I have one that looks and feels a lot like a a plastic pot scrubber. I don't know what it is called though.

[apistomaster]

badflash: "There are also macro marine algaes that work. I have one that looks and feels a lot like a a plastic pot scrubber. I don't know what it is called though."

This sounds like a plant that would make a nice addition to a brackish water tank containing gobies or even Monos; fish that are never hebivorous.
As you know their aren't that many plants that can grow in brackish water
aquariums with higher salinities. I did not know there were any macroalgaes one could use.

If you recall what the species is I would be very interested in knowing the name. It might even help improve the water quality in an Amano Shrimp larvae grow out tank as well as one for H. rubra.

[badflash]

It is called Chaetomorpha and I was able to grow it in 1/2 seawater up to full sea water. I did not try it in less salinity.

[ToddnBecka]

Just run the standard tests and anticipate the ~2 months I estimate the full transition to brackish conditions will take.

Is it necessary to wait that long before stocking the shrimp, or will the bacteria already present support the bioload through the transition period?
I was figuring on using MTS to establish a new setup, they should be hardy enough to cycle just about anything. Apparently the H. rubra are relatively tough (for shrimp) but I doubt they're as tolerant as snails...
Considering that these shrimp are sold in completely sealed containers as well as open-top "ant farm" type arrangements, is water circulation necessary? I'm wondering if/how well they would live in a 2-2.5 gallon glass vase w/out a heater. My sister has mainatined a betta in a similar setup for well over a year, along with a couple live plants and a few snails. (She never changes the water, beats me why the fish survives, much less looks so good... )

[badflash]

I think the wait is for the live rock. The red shrimp don't need special treatment. In their natural environment they go from nearly pure fresh to full sea water all the time.

If you use the macro-algae you can just plunk that right in half-brack water and go.