Changing the Substrate

ShrimpFan · Post by **ShrimpFan** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:49 pm

Hello everyone,

I have a ten gallon tank with about 40 red cherry shrimp and six amano shrimp, and I'd like to change my substrate. Right now, the substrate is standard white aquarium gravel, which of course doesn't bring out the shrimps' best coloration. I'd like to switch to black sand, and I was wondering if I need to take all the shrimp out of the tank to switch the substrate, or if I can just shoo them out of the way while I scoop the gravel out, etc. Has anyone ever done this with the shrimp still in the tank? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
ShrimpFan

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:58 pm

I just did this in three of my tanks.

I used a kitty litter scoop to remove the gravel and the shrimp didn't seem to have any problem getting out of the way of my scoop. Just to be safe, I made sure to shake the scoop a bit before bringing it out of the water.

I made the switch to black sand and my shrimp have never looked better!

I first bought two small bags of cheap black sand. It is ok, but is somewhat dull dark grey. Then, for a 29 gallon, I bought 20 pounds of Tahitian Moon Sand which is absolutely beautiful. I can't tell what it is, but it has several colors in it and is just a bit reflective. It was well worth the extra money I spent and I wish I hadn't used the cheap stuff in the other two 10 gallon tanks.

One little bag of the cheap stuff was plenty for a 10 gallon.

Also, regardless of the type you buy, rinse it a LOT! The 20 or 30 minutes I spent cleaning my sand with a garden hose and bucket was well worth it. Both kinds of sand had a lot of dusty particles.

ShrimpFan · Post by **ShrimpFan** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:08 pm

Thanks YuccaPatrol! That helps a lot. My LFS has some black sand for sale, but I'm not sure if it's the fancy kind or not. I think I'll go ahead and buy the sand off the internet then, because it sounds like the moon sand is very nice and well worth it.

bulrush · Post by **bulrush** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 9:58 am

I also did this. I had black gravel and did not like it at all. It made the shrimp's colors look too subdued. So I scooped out the gravel slowly with a flat edged container. Sometimes not all of them would get out of the container before I lifted it out of the tank so I had to shoo them away. They are too tame.

Then I shooed them all to one side of the tank, and poured the new, light blue gravel (rinsed of course) in on the side without shrimp. This gravel makes a great contrast to their red color. Light green would also be a great choice.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 10:14 am

What sized tank do you have? Wanted to know if it was difficult maneuvering during the gravel change.

The blue and green really would be interesting, I might just try it.

Thanks.

ShrimpFan · Post by **ShrimpFan** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:24 pm

I went to my LFS today and it turns out they did have the Tahitian Moon sand. I bought some and I can't wait to try it! I'll let you guys know how the switch goes.

milalic · Post by **milalic** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:32 pm

Does the Tahitian Moon sand affects ph?

-Pedro

blinster · Post by **blinster** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:38 pm

About scooping out the gravel with a kitty litter scoop, do you guys clean your gravel often? Cuz I never clean my gravel and I noticed that even a small disturbance would throw a lot of wastes/food/particles into the water. Did you guys have problems with that when you were changing gravel?

Kenshin · Post by **Kenshin** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:59 pm

Hi Pedro,

The Tahitian Moon sand does not affect pH. It is inert.