Is pH all that important?

SilvrStar7 · Post by **SilvrStar7** » Tue May 09, 2006 7:54 pm

If I'm not trying to breed bee shrimp, will they do ok in 8.5 pH water? I will do all I can to keep them completely healthy, but I don't *need* to breed them. I read the information pages, and I didn't get a clear yes or no...Anyone have experience with this?

I've never worried about pH before, and I've been keeping tanks for years. What's the best product to get my pH down to around 6.5, if I choose to do so in a tank? My freshwater planted tanks and saltwater tanks thrive in high pH water...This is new territory for me!

Thank you all for your help in advance!
~Laura

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Wed May 10, 2006 4:39 am

I took this info from the shrimp varieties page:

Common Name:
Bee Shrimp, "Crystal Black" Shrimp, Diamond Shrimp (in Singapore)

Water Parameters:
Needs soft, acidic water to feel well and breed. Can survive for a while in slightly alkaline water, but usually no offspring survive after hatching. Adults seem to be shorter lived in alkaline water, too.

SilvrStar7 · Post by **SilvrStar7** » Wed May 10, 2006 6:17 am

Like I said before, I read that...But ok, I guess I totally forgot that the guy who wrote it actually keeps the things...'doh! Ok, nm about that.

So, as per the second part of my message, what can I do to take down the pH naturally? I don't want to use powders or drops...I'm just afraid it will fluctuate too much.

~Laura

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Wed May 10, 2006 6:34 am

The problem with keeping critters in a PH which is different than your normal PH is water changes.

Say you added peat/bogwood/indian almond leaves to your tank and your PH is nice and low....when you do your weekly water change the PH in the water change water will be a lot different. So you have to adjust the PH of the new water in order to prevent PH shock.

Some people use RO water but I don't know much about RO i'm afraid.

Best of luck.

Newjohn · Post by **Newjohn** » Wed May 10, 2006 6:48 am

SilverStar7

If you are looking to go with R/O water, do a search.

badflash has alot of good information, on lowering ph in R/O water.

R/O water is roughly 7.0 ph and low on the hardness.

I hope this helps
JOhn

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Wed May 10, 2006 11:06 am

If the water is hard and basic, it is very hard to fix it in the tank. The substrate you use is important as is any stones you keep in the tank. Avoid anything that has any buffering capability like limestone, marble or coral. If you put acid on it and it fizzes, don't use it. I found it impossible to take my tap water and treat it in any way to make it a stable acidic level. It would just rebound. If you acidify it you bould up disolved solids and it screws up everything.

What I do now is make R/O water and add a teaspoon of R/O right for each 20 gallons of water. Water changes are treated the same way. It took me two weeks using muratic acid to burn all the contaminants out of the tank so it finally started cycling at a pH of 6.5. Once the bacteria builds up it seems to lock in and I haven't had to mess with it for quite a while. Now I just make up 5 gallons with 1/4 tsp of R/O right and I use that weekly to do the water changes.

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Wed May 10, 2006 12:53 pm

I really don't think you should be getting involved with bee shrimp if you want to keep your cherries in bottles.

fish newb · Post by **fish newb** » Wed May 10, 2006 3:07 pm

Shrimp&Snails wrote:I really don't think you should be getting involved with bee shrimp if you want to keep your cherries in bottles.

i think that that is a TOTALLY diffrent topic and that post should be deleted that type of post is considered FIRST CLASS SPAM

die spammer!

as for the ph question i personally would look into ro water

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Wed May 10, 2006 3:56 pm

fish newb- You are out of line. You may have a differing opinion, but we do not get involved with, nor participate in flame wars. While the post should have been provided in the other thread, this post indicates that SilvrStar7 has missed some important basics for shrimp keeping and this is the second indication that the shrimp may be mistreated or killed as a result.

I suggest you lookup the meaning of SPAM as well.

As far as the bottom line in this thread, if you put bee shrimp in a pH of 8.5 they won't last very long. You won't keep them or breed them. Before I knew any better I tried bee and tiger shrimp in my 8.2 pH tank. They died in about 3 weeks. These shrimp need special care.

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Wed May 10, 2006 4:43 pm

fish newb wrote:
Shrimp&Snails wrote:I really don't think you should be getting involved with bee shrimp if you want to keep your cherries in bottles.
i think that that is a TOTALLY diffrent topic and that post should be deleted that type of post is considered FIRST CLASS SPAM die spammer!

as for the ph question i personally would look into ro water

I think your name says it all.

I'm not a spammer i'm merely a keeper and carer of shrimp.....and someone who's introduction of *I wanna keep shrimp in bottles* doesn't say caring to me.

Post by **Mustafa** » Wed May 10, 2006 5:07 pm

fish newb wrote: i think that that is a TOTALLY diffrent topic and that post should be deleted that type of post is considered FIRST CLASS SPAM die spammer!

A first rate example of a post that will get you banned (among other things).

Newjohn · Post by **Newjohn** » Wed May 10, 2006 5:52 pm

Being new to Shrimp keeping.
SilverStar7 , Like others , Have heard of ideas.

And like all good hobbiest, would share, and ask , for others to give there feedback.
And go from there.

Yes, There is alot of research, one can do on there own first.
If you think this is the case.
Let the person know, and lead them in the right direction.

and I was introduced to liter bottle gardening.

Anyone heard of this before?

but I'm afraid to kill my lil babies

Or so I was told

I'll have to search for the links to these pages.

This sounds like , someone, needing advice.

I am sure that , at one time or more, everyone has done something stubid in there hobby.
And to try and keep this to a minimum. One should ask as many question as possible.

If people can not ask a question.
This is a Discussion Forum.

And get a answer , or lead in the right direction. No new Shrimpers will ask any question.

There are 777 members. And there are only a small percentage, that post new topic or reply to them.

Yes, I think that PH is very important.

Just My Thoughts
John

Post by **Mustafa** » Wed May 10, 2006 6:18 pm

Hi John,

I absolutely agree that new members should be able to ask a question and receive an answer. And if you read the recent discussions, they all got answers in the end. Not heart warming ones, but answers nevertheless. I don't think a person should be told to read this website and the forum, I consider that to be common sense. If someone refuses to do the research and have his/her hand held right from the beginning, then maybe that person should not be keeping any shrimp, or any animal for that matter. I do not believe at all that *everyone* is capable of keeping animals. Yes, they will still go ahead and keep animals (and probably kill them quickly) but there is obviously no law against torturing animals through ignorance. I just don't have the time and patience to hold everyone's hands without them showing *some* kind of self-motivation. There are many people on this forum I have helped out a lot after recognizing how they were actually doing their homework instead of waiting for others to do all the work for them.

Being a discussion forum does not mean that people can come here, don't do any research, let others do the research for them and spread misinformation. Ideally a discussion forum is for *educated* discussion, not speculation or hearsay. The only way to participate in educated discussion is to educate yourself *first*. There is no way around it.

As for the 777 members....you should know that it's absolutely normal that only a fraction of all members in any forum (even the "cuddly" and "warm" ones that shower you with love) actually post regularly. That's just the way it is. It's not specific to this forum.

Anyway...again, let's get back to the discussion of shrimp keeping and breeding. It's impossible to please everyone all at the same time and I am not even trying. It's useless to keep discussing this every few months...(I am just repeating myself every few months).

SilvrStar7 · Post by **SilvrStar7** » Sun May 14, 2006 7:01 am

I was just wondering about keeping shrimp in bottles...criminy. I was told it could be done, and was seeking a second opinion. My shrimp right now live in 2 gallon, 5.5 gallon, and 20 gallon filtered, completely live planted tanks. They may not get cleaned as much as I'd like them to, but the water quality is wonderful. Everyone else that I know that has cherries can't even get them to breed...I thought I wouldn't be different. Obviously I'm doing something right, since they don't breed if they're not happy!! AND NOW THAT IS DONE, I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT ANYMORE!!! I'm not abusing my shrimp.

My substrate is inert sand, and all I have in there are some driftwood, and rocks that are also inert. I guess I'll have to look into some pH adjusting chemicals.

In all honesty, I don't think I want them to breed, because the babies that I would sell to the LFS wouldn't be kept in low pH water, they wouldn't know how to care for them, and if they did, they wouldn't change anything anyway. I do sell my baby cherries to the LFS, but they can't keep up with my babies.

I'm trying to do my part to keep wild populations safe.

fish newb....Chill out dude!