Would 82-84 F temperature be a problem for RCS to breed?

[Kenshin]

I recently put in a thermometer in my tank. I did not realize the water temp. was that high (82-84F), even though the water felt cool when I touched it. Would that be the problem why my RCS is not breeding? I recently had a female RCS dropped all of her eggs after she carried them for less than a day. Is that why? My kH, GH, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and etc. are all fine. If that is the case, please let me know. What temp. would be the best to breed RCS?

[Mustafa]

With Red Cherry shrimp 82-84 degrees Fahrenheit is just fine and they will breed. There is really no *best* temperature. As long as the temp is above about 68 degrees Fahrenheit, they will breed.

Are you sure you still have males left in your tank? Are you using a dechlorinator. Shrimp are sensitive to both Chlorine/Chloramine and to some dechlorinators. Seachem Prime has been working great for me and shrimp are not sensitive to it.

Do you use *any* other chemicals to treat the water? Do you use any fertilizers if you have plants? Any aquarium salt? If so, stop using all of that.

There has got to be a simple reason why your shrimp are not doing all that well.

[shalu]

My tank is at that temp right now due to warm weather. I noticed cherries are still breeding, but dropping some eggs. In other words, not as prolific as before. My crystal reds drop even more eggs, which did not happen when the weather was cooler and the temp was in mid 70s.

[Mustafa]

Interesting. My Red Cherries aren't dropping any eggs. But yes, most other shrimp species, especially the ones originally from temperate areas such as South China, will drop eggs and feel uncomfortable at temperatures approaching mid 80s.

[Kenshin]

I do not use aquarium salt. I used to use "Raise Calcium" from SeaChem to raise GH. I have been using Seachem Prime to remove the chloramine and Stress Zyme (for bacteria) when changing water. Before I started using Seachem Prime, I used to use Stress Coat to remove the chloramine/chlorine. I also used to use EasyBalance from Tetra as well, but I have stopped recently. Finally, I used to use Seachem Acid Buffer and Alkaline Buffer to raise my kH above 1, but have stopped already.
In regards to males, I believe
I also have been using Flourish Tabs as my fertlizer which I placed underneath the gravel bed every 6 months or so.
I still have some males in there, that is what I believe it is, I hope. If not, I guess I would have to buy another batch of shrimp again.
Please let me know if any of the treatments I used above are the reason why my shrimps are not breeding. Once in a while one die. I have seen two shrimps have a white strip across their body, and I know that is due to stress, but I do not know what I did to cause that. They don't seem to grow or molt. All the other ones are fine, I believe so! Anyway, any more advice would really be greatly appreciated.

[Mustafa]

I would get rid of the "Stress Zyme" (totally unnecessary and potentially harmful). The Flourish tabs might the main source of your problems. Most shrimp come from very clean waters and react very adversely to fertilizers of any sort. If I am not mistaken I have heard before that someone had problems with shrimp death to Tab type fertilizers. So, I would ditch that, too.

All I use is Seachem Prime to get rid of the Chloramines in my water and some crushed coral pieces to buffer the water and avoid PH crashes since NYC water is as soft as it gets. Everything else that you pour in your water is either unnecessary at best, or harmful at worst despite the fact that there many people out there (none of them really experienced with shrimp *breeding*) that will advocate all kinds of additives.

[Quake2Player]

I started up a 3 Gallon Marineland Eclipse for my newly arrived Cherry Reds I purchased from Mustafa ... the one with the built in filter/biowheel and fluroscent bulb all in the hood... but it didn't come with a heater.

The coldest my house gets in the winter is around 65 degrees Farenheit. Will my Cherry Reds be ok?

Mustafa.... should I get on of these small heaters... they claim to raise the temps about 4 degrees in a small tank:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 2004&Nty=1

What kindof heater would anyone else here recommend, if any considering my room temps should "not" go below 65 during the winter?

[tapmxt1]

If looking at where cherry red shrimps originally from... they are from a place:

- in winter, there will be some days the temporature goes down to single digit (i.e. 45 degree F)
- in summer, there are many the temporature goes over 35 degree C (i.e. 95+ degree F)


They should be with 60s or 70s.

[russell]

Most shrimp come from very clean waters and react very adversely to fertilizers of any sort.

i don't think i understnad. don't most people keep rcs in planted tanks? i figured everyone still dosed ferts. i guess i'm just confused as to what to do in my new 10 gallon shrimp tank. don't your plants need no3 and po4? i am keeping glosso, aromatica, anubias coffefolia, and bacopa colorado in my tank.

[shalu]

Small amount is fine, I just don't dose as much as with other tanks. Well, partly due to the fact I don't use CO2(another source of possible accidents) and plants don't grow that fast. I use KNO3, K2SO4, KH2PO4 and Flourish like with other tanks, but I am dosing NO3 and Flourish daily in tiny amounts, better be careful than sorry when I have expensive shrimp in it. High NO3 and copper in the traces is not good in general. Of course, there is no concensus on how much is too much.

[russell]

hmmm... well, i guess i'd better transfer some shrimp into my 10 gallon soon. because my 30 gallon gets about 8ppm no3 dosed every day

[Dan14]

My aquarium temperature is 86-87F, 30-31C. Isn't that a bit too much for RCS?
I also use:
-Tetra AquaSafe as a dechlorinator. It's suposed to neutralise copper.
-Tetra EasyBalance (rarely). Reduces Nitrate.
-Tetra PlantaMin fertilizer
-Tetra AlguMin. I use it separately to get rid of the algae that are on my plants and killing them. (rarely)
-Sera Baktopur
-Sometimes Filter Carbon
-10grams of salt for 10 gallons. Should I use more or less?

I'd like to know if any of the chemicals could harm them. Now they seem pretty happy.
And that's all I can find here. Only Sera and Tetra products. I didn't find Seachem Prime.

[badflash]

Anything I know of that kills agae kills shrimp, so steer clear of that unless it is used in a separate tank, then the plants soak in clean water for several hours before retuning to the tank.

Don't use plant ferts. Your plants don't need them once you have enough critters and the ferts are harmful over time. Who knows what you end up with when you mix so many chemicals.

The less the better. I use Amquel+ and flake food, that is it.

When you approach 90 degrees, you are asking for trouble.

[YuccaPatrol]

Dan,

Definitely back off on the water treatment chemicals. Other than your dechlorinator, the others are not necessary.

Best thing you can do to assure good water is to do regular water changes. I change 50% a week which is a little more than most around here. My shrimp are breeding regularly and I'm having to set up more aquariums for them as my population of babies is getting very large.

Good luck!

[badflash]

I just noticed SALT! What else is in your tank? Are you treating for ich?
Salt is no good for shrimp. Like Yucca said, do less of everything and more water changes. If you have algae it is due to your ferts and excess light. Algae also grows faster at high temperatures. Shoot for 75 degrees for your water temp.

Don't over feed. A tiny pinch every other day until the population swells way up.

Contact the maker of Sera Baktopur and seeif it safe for invertegrates. With what you are doing it sounds like you have a tank of sick fish. This is not the right home for cherry shrimp.

The mistake many fish keepers make is just adding water to make up for evaporation until they see problems. Routine water changes are the best thing you can do. 25%-50% weekly is a good thing. If problems crop up you can increase it. to every day if needed.