One of my CRS

[southerndesert]

S+ CRS.... I just love these shrimp and with the right water they breed like crazy making for a very colorful and active tank.



Cheers, Bill

[Mustafa]

Very nice shrimp! Yes, under the right conditions they can be *very* prolific. I have been doing all kinds of breeding experiments with them over the last months (since I moved here) as the water here in San Diego is rock hard. My findings point towards the fact that water hardness is less of a problem than the fact that harder water supports more bacterial life. These guys like the bacterial levels in the water to be as low as possible. Soft, acidic water has naturally low bacterial levels as most bacteria (and other similar organisms) do not like acidic conditions. So, when you keep them in hard water you have to be extra careful about getting everything perfect for them (i.e. keeping the water clean and bacterial levels low.). In addition to the fact that hard water provides the necessary minerals for the bacteria to thrive they mainly multiply when there is too much organic waste in the tank. This can happen through overfeeding and too much rotting and decaying stuff in the tank. Anyway...this is a short version and hopefully this will all be published (along with the results of tons of other experiments) in the foreseeable future.

[thief]

Wow Mustafa,

Thanks for the info. I really look forward to your article.

[Neonshrimp]

I too am waiting for your bood to be published Mustafa. I only use RO water in the tanks I keep CRS in and have had few problems with them. I am trying out Shirakura shrimp food and hope to see a healthier difference and will let you know. Other than that it is going steady with my CRS. Thanks for sharing the nice picture of that great shrimp

[aberfitch]

so can I ask what is the general hardness in your crs tank? do you use ro water?

[southerndesert]

Yes I use RO water then add a bit of Kent RO right to replenish some of the minerals lost to the RO process. GH is around 2 to 3 on average.

My tap water is over 8.0 PH here in AZ and RO is the best bet for me and combined with ADA Amazonia II keeps the PH around 6.6 and my CRS are breeding like crazy.

I also use a bit of Shirakura mineral powder a couple times a week.

Cheers, Bill

[badflash]

Keep in mind that R/O water does not remove all contaminants from the water. Mine passed Sodium Hydroxide and some hydrocarbons. The hydroxide was easy to burn out with muratic acid, but the hydrocarbons needed special treatment. Too much work for me.

[southerndesert]

Hi badflash,

While doing research before buying a RO system I also learned that some systems leave contaminants as you mentioned and if you get one without the carbon pre-filters even chloramines is left in the water correct? I have the one with the pre filter setup am I still at risk from other stuff?

I have had no problems thus far, but am less than educated in water filtration methods as it was always easier just to buy fish and plants that "fit" my water before I stumbled onto Dwarf Shrimp. Getting a stable tank in just about any PH range is doable for me with no problem now without much hassle since I pre-plan all my habitats before shrimp these days with proper substrate etc then use tap or RO depending on inhabitants.

Unfortunately I really fell in love this CRS and Tiger Shrimp and you are well aware of the water parameters they require I am sure.

Your comment.

Keep in mind that R/O water does not remove all contaminants from the water. Mine passed Sodium Hydroxide and some hydrocarbons. The hydroxide was easy to burn out with muratic acid, but the hydrocarbons needed special treatment. Too much work for me.

Has unnerved me a bit and wonder if this will be a problem? Probibly a dumb question, but I just don't know....

Thanks, Bill

[badflash]

Mine is a 4 stage 30 gallon per day unit and while it does a great job on water hardness, chlorine and chloramines, the other stuff I talked about gets through. Your water may be better than mine, which comes from the Hudson River and there are all sorts of factories and ships all up & down the river. There is also a little salt from the ocean that makes it up this far, so the sodium and chlorides can be an issue. Most of that is removed by the R/O unit, but not by any water conditioners I know of.