My shrimp never have colored up. My pH is about 8.3. I'm lovering it to 7.5 to see if this has any effect. Algae raises pH to up to 11 so feeding them on algae alone is a bit of a stuggle. Anyone else dealing with this?
My chrystalwort tanks run about 9.5. I'm looking for a cheap may to keep the pH in a reasonable range. These shrimps seem to be able to deal with extreme pH changes, at least in the basic end. Looks like the algae they eat can put out some pretty basic conditions.
My pH probe reads about 7.5 in clear water, but in with the heavy algae it is about 9.5 Anyone looked into this?
Color Vs.pH
Moderator: Mustafa
-
GunmetalBlue
- Shrimpoholic
- Posts: 263
- Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2005 11:10 am
- Location: CA
Hi Badflash, could you please give us a rundown on your shrimp tank specs to help us better understand what might be going on? I've had lots of algae in the past and have not yet made a connection on algae raising pH, especially to such a degree. What size is your tank and what kind of substrate, plants and anything else have you got in your tank? Temp? Does it have filtration? How often do you do a partial water change? What is your tap water pH? Do you add anything to the tank? And I hate to ask this, but how reliable is your pH probe? I must say, those are some pretty wild numbers! Sorry for all the questions, but want for us to try and understand what's happening.
In the simplest of shrimp tanks - with sand or gravel (inert); java moss, java fern and whatever other low maintenance plants that will grow; a simple filtration system with sponge on the intake - the tank water pH shouldn't change all that much (unless it has no buffering capacity), at least in my experience.
Concerning Color Vs pH:
In an earlier thread by Joshguppy, "My red cherries arent that red..." Mustafa said: "The color of Red Cherries can vary according to water parameters, food, mood, lighting, substrate etc. It can even vary from individual to individual. If *all* of your Red Cherries are not showing much coloration at all, then I would look at factors that are affecting your water quality or stressing them out somehow. Maybe too much food? Too few water changes? Too much water change every time...etc...etc..."
In general terms, from the info you've given so far, both fluctuating and extreme pH numbers would be one of the things that would stress out your shrimp (and therefore cause lack of color). I personally can't imagine algae raising PH to 11 though, so I'm wondering if there might be something else in the tank causing this.
I also think part of the reason your Cherries have not yet colored up may be that they are still young - it does take a while, and many of them reach sexual maturity first without having reached full coloration yet.
Also, in experiments I've done with RCS and with all things being equal, substrate - dark gravel or background definitely seems to make a difference in shrimp color intensity. For example, I have a bunch of 2.5+ month old shrimp in sand (light color) - and most are still colorless. But I also have 1.5 month olds in a tank with black gravel - and though much younger, most are of darker pigmentation, which for them means they are showing their red colors. It's not that they're fully red; rather, they have a bunch of tiny pigments that are red. If I were to throw them in the sand tank, I'm *fairly certain they will lose their color intensity until they are a few months older.
-GB
In the simplest of shrimp tanks - with sand or gravel (inert); java moss, java fern and whatever other low maintenance plants that will grow; a simple filtration system with sponge on the intake - the tank water pH shouldn't change all that much (unless it has no buffering capacity), at least in my experience.
Concerning Color Vs pH:
In an earlier thread by Joshguppy, "My red cherries arent that red..." Mustafa said: "The color of Red Cherries can vary according to water parameters, food, mood, lighting, substrate etc. It can even vary from individual to individual. If *all* of your Red Cherries are not showing much coloration at all, then I would look at factors that are affecting your water quality or stressing them out somehow. Maybe too much food? Too few water changes? Too much water change every time...etc...etc..."
In general terms, from the info you've given so far, both fluctuating and extreme pH numbers would be one of the things that would stress out your shrimp (and therefore cause lack of color). I personally can't imagine algae raising PH to 11 though, so I'm wondering if there might be something else in the tank causing this.
I also think part of the reason your Cherries have not yet colored up may be that they are still young - it does take a while, and many of them reach sexual maturity first without having reached full coloration yet.
Also, in experiments I've done with RCS and with all things being equal, substrate - dark gravel or background definitely seems to make a difference in shrimp color intensity. For example, I have a bunch of 2.5+ month old shrimp in sand (light color) - and most are still colorless. But I also have 1.5 month olds in a tank with black gravel - and though much younger, most are of darker pigmentation, which for them means they are showing their red colors. It's not that they're fully red; rather, they have a bunch of tiny pigments that are red. If I were to throw them in the sand tank, I'm *fairly certain they will lose their color intensity until they are a few months older.
-GB
-
badflash
- Master Shrimp Nut
- Posts: 2542
- Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2005 1:06 pm
- Location: Wappingers Falls, NY
- Contact:
Color Vs. pH
I have 2 established 5 gallon tanks with under gravel filters & bubblers. The substrate is made of marble chips, and the top is a fine brown quartz gravel. Make-up water is and always has been RO, so tap water is not an issue. I don't have a hardness meter, but I suspect the marble would make it just about as hard as it gets. I do about 20% water change each week.
The pH meter is also not suspect as it reads fine on the 7.0 and 10.0 buffers solution.
The shrimp do not appear to be stressed. They are eating well and growing fast, and I'm not finding any dead ones. I now have two females showing nice little yellow saddles. Since I lowered the pH to 7.7 they are staring to color up a little.
If you read the info in the manuals for growing plankton, there is a known effect on many algae making extreme pH shifts in water. I grow green water to feed my daphia (which I feed to my triops) and it is a solid pH of 11.0. I have to use acid to get it to a reasonable level before I use it.
The plant I use is Chrystalwort. This stuff is perfect for shrimp and also for raising anything that needs a place to hide. It grows incredibly fast and keeps nutrients from building up. I have some tank that I allow the algae to grow on it, then I move a handfull over to the shrimp tank & allow them to have a ball.
I give them all the algae they can eat, and just a pinch of fishfood every week.
I'd read that post on color, but it was so general that I could not work from it.
The pH meter is also not suspect as it reads fine on the 7.0 and 10.0 buffers solution.
The shrimp do not appear to be stressed. They are eating well and growing fast, and I'm not finding any dead ones. I now have two females showing nice little yellow saddles. Since I lowered the pH to 7.7 they are staring to color up a little.
If you read the info in the manuals for growing plankton, there is a known effect on many algae making extreme pH shifts in water. I grow green water to feed my daphia (which I feed to my triops) and it is a solid pH of 11.0. I have to use acid to get it to a reasonable level before I use it.
The plant I use is Chrystalwort. This stuff is perfect for shrimp and also for raising anything that needs a place to hide. It grows incredibly fast and keeps nutrients from building up. I have some tank that I allow the algae to grow on it, then I move a handfull over to the shrimp tank & allow them to have a ball.
I give them all the algae they can eat, and just a pinch of fishfood every week.
I'd read that post on color, but it was so general that I could not work from it.