Shrimps for Romania

[Balkanian Zen]

Hello everybody,

I appreciate very much the work you are doing back there. I have a Ph.D in philosophy and I am thinking of analyzing, with my students from a rhetorical point of view, the very good presentation articles on the website about Halocaridina Rubra.

By being in Romania, you are present in the Balkans too where people are not very acquainted with these shrimps.So I also wish to build up a tank of 54 litres (14 gallons) specially for these shrimps Halocaridina Rubra and I have some questions for start:

1. (for Mustafa) Can you deliver to Romania (Europe)?

2. Which would be the most adequate size for the coral sand; I have 3 options: 0,5-1mm, 1-2mm, 3-5mm.

3. Do you think is it appropriate do separate the tank: half with stones for them to hide and the other half without rocks?

I have read the rest of the forum; I have some other issues to ask but for start just this.
Thank you

[Mustafa]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm glad that these shrimp arouse interest everywhere in the world, including Romania now. Here are answers to your questions:

1. yes.

2. size doesn't matter

3. doesn't matter, either. They don't need to hide really. You can have rocks, no rocks, substrate, no substrate...they'll be ok with whatever you give them.

[Balkanian Zen]

Thanks for your reply. I have some other questions too:

4. If i want to breed them without any filter in the tank (Mustafa has repeatedly written “I actually do not recommend a filter at all...I would remove it” and „They don't need or want a filter. Excessive water movement can actually be counterproductive, especially if you want to breed them”, how often do I have do change water? And what quantity?

5. Is it an ideal value of water salinity if I want to breed them? I know it is recommended about 1/3 to 1/2 ocean salinity (1.008-1.016). Is it ideally 1.012?

6. When adding RO to evaporated one, RO must be simple or I must measure exact salinity with a hydrometer? In other words, do I measure every day when add RO or do I mix salt only one time and “After that you never have to worry about salinity since it's all just "set up once and just refill evaporated water."” (Mustafa)

[dan d]

Good questions ! We are all learning from them. I will try to answer, but wait for Mustafa to confirm them.

In regards to question 4., everything I have read says not to change the water, I remember reading somewhere Mustafa said he has a breeding tank that has not had a water change in years ! I too am concerned about that, but I also know Mustafa has the expertise to confirm this.

Question 5. I would say you have correct, quote from Mustafa: "I have kept and bred this shrimp at salinities ranging between 7 ppt (about 1.005 sg) and 23 ppt (about 1.016 sg). As you can see, they do well in a wide range of salinities (remember, you MUST use salt for reef tanks..not just table salt or "aquarium salt"). Water changes are not needed for this species as our animals have been breeding in water that has not been changed in many years (in fact I have tanks that didn't see a water change in over half a decade). However, it is important to top off with destilled/reverse osmosis (RO) freshwater periodically when evaporation decreases the water level of the tank significantly."

In regards to Question 6 you just top off evaporated water, the salt does not evaporate. I have thought about putting a line on my tank to show me the level to top off to & maintain consistent salinity, but after reading about these shrimp it sounds like they are used to the salinity always changing due to tides & rainfall. Rain & runoff would dilute their salinity in the little ponds they live in, but high tides & evaporation could raise the salinity above the recommended level. It sounds like these are tough little shrimp, not the delicate creatures I had with my saltwater reef tank.

There is not a lot of info out there on these shrimp & 90% of it has Mustafa's name attached to it but the 10% of "others" advice I have researched goes hand in hand with what Mustafa says. Keep asking questions as we all learn from them. I will be interested to learn if I gave the correct advice. (I'm pretty sure I did or I wouldn't of posted it )

Dan

[Mustafa]

Dan is pretty much spot on with his answers. The only thing I would like to clarify is that I don't only have one tank that hasn't seen water changes in years....*all* the Supershrimp tanks have not seen any water changes in years (since they were set up actually...i.e. no water changes, ever). There are 3-4 tanks that I've had for so long that it's been over half a decade without water changes. The others were set up during the years after that.

I know it's hard to believe that these shrimp do not require all that much maintenance, and/or technology to do well (and thrive), but it's simply the truth. That's what makes these guys such pefect pets.

[Balkanian Zen]

This is my current tank before any arrangement. Due to ecological reasons today I have sold my 200 liters tank and I save money to buy these super-shrimps :)

IMG_4669.jpg (215.51 KiB) Viewed 2498 times

Thanks for the accurate answers. I agree, these guys are perfect pets, because do not require all that much maintenance, and/or technology to do well.

I have another 3 questions:

7. Starting from question 4., at least the glass of the tank shouldn’t be cleaned? What is the most adequate frequency? Can we still see through the glass?

8. I have read here that someone put 20 minute twice a day (morning and evening) an air pump. Is it good or bad? I think it is bad, as it destroys microfilm which is eaten by the shrimps. Or?

9. In my town, (in my apartment), in summer the temperature in the tank could exceed 88-89 F (31-32 C). What would be the maximum temperature at which resisted your shrimp?

Mustafa only wrote: 77-78 is actually perfect. But depending on the placement of the tank on my racks (high or low) the temps can fluctuate between 68 and 88-89 on any given time of the year. I experimented keeping these shrimp outside during the winter here in San Diego (days warm, but nights and mornings can get colder...no freezing where I am) and the shrimp were regularly in water that was in the low to high 50s. Once I observed both adult shrimp and a few larvae going about their business (albeit slowly) at around 39 degrees Fahrenheit. So...they have a wide range, but they seem quite happy in the 70s. Exact temperature is not critical for success in my opinion and experience.

[dan d]

Good questions, they are getting past my knowledge we will learn together on these questions
Dan

[Mustafa]

Nice planted tank there.

7. Yes, you can clean your glass. You have to see your shrimp after all. I usually just clean the front glass and leave everything else overgrown with algae.

8. Completely unnecessary. You made a good point. The shrimp do eat the surface film, too. People recommending such unnecessary things just can't believe that these shrimp do not need any filter, bubbler or similar technology. In addition to being unnecessary, a bubbler will cause "salt creep" on the cover and outside of your tank. Not only does that look unsightly, but it also changes the salinity of your water over time, so that your water turns less and less saline. It may take years, but at some point your water may actually become almost pure freshwater if you let salt creep happen. Finally, these shrimp like to be left alone and not disturbed. Turning on a bubbler twice a day will just disturb them and make them swim around for hours before they calm down. Possible larvae will be swept around the tank, also...that costs energy for the larvae.

9. You pretty much answered your own question by quoting what I said...if your temps only get to 89 degrees Fahrenheit, then the shrimp will be ok. That was the max temp I had observed before, but his summer I had some shrimp at 90+ degrees (almost about 35 degrees Celsius), and they did not look stressed. They were running around, eating, and there were even larvae floating around at that temperature. So, temperature really is not a big issue. These guys are what their name implies: Supershrimp! Only if you leave the the shrimp tank in direct sunlight (e.g. on a windowsill) could the temps get so high that the shrimp die.

As I said in another thread, don't think too much about how to keep these shrimp. It's really as simple as the information presented here. If you follow the instructions here, not only will your shrimp thrive, but they will reproduce at some point...for sure.

[KenCotigirl]

8. Completely unnecessary. You made a good point. The shrimp do eat the surface film, too. People recommending such unnecessary things just can't believe that these shrimp do not need any filter, bubbler or similar technology. In addition to being unnecessary, a bubbler will cause "salt creep" on the cover and outside of your tank. Not only does that look unsightly, but it also changes the salinity of your water over time, so that your water turns less and less saline. It may take years, but at some point your water may actually become almost pure freshwater if you let salt creep happen. Finally, these shrimp like to be left alone and not disturbed. Turning on a bubbler twice a day will just disturb them and make them swim around for hours before they calm down. Possible larvae will be swept around the tank, also...that costs energy for the larvae.

I have read time and time again that sponge filters and air stones are not necessary but of course I put them in anyway. Just stubborn I guess. Also I do like the look of fine bubbles in my tanks. However my wife does not like the 'salt creep'. Looks sloppy. But I kept using the air stone and sponge filter any way. Just topping off when necessary with RO water. Never really considered that the 'salt creep' I removed when cleaning the tank/air line/cover would affect the salinity. Just a little salt here and there no big deal. Well after reading this post I decided to check the salinity of my tanks. I started them at about 18 ppt or about 1.013s.g. After checking they are now about 16 ppt or about 1.011 s.g. Well I guess it is time to remove the air stone and sponge filter. The aesthetics just do not out weigh the downside.

9. You pretty much answered your own question by quoting what I said...if your temps only get to 89 degrees Fahrenheit, then the shrimp will be ok. That was the max temp I had observed before, but his summer I had some shrimp at 90+ degrees (almost about 35 degrees Celsius), and they did not look stressed. They were running around, eating, and there were even larvae floating around at that temperature. So, temperature really is not a big issue. These guys are what their name implies: Supershrimp! Only if you leave the the shrimp tank in direct sunlight (e.g. on a windowsill) could the temps get so high that the shrimp die.

I removed the heaters last spring and did not and will not replace them again. If not necessary why do it. My home is kept at 66 at night and 72 daytime during winter and 72-78 in summer. It good to know that I sometimes listen to instructions. I wonder what else I am doing that is either not necessary or even hurtful?

[nick11380]

I had three sponge filters running off of one air pump with one of the sponge filters being in my super shrimp tank from long before I got the super shrimp. When I set the tank up and added the salt I disconnected the two sponge filters that were in the other tanks and ran the sponge filter in my super shrimp tank at full bubble for the days between adding the salt and getting the shrimp. When I got the shrimp I turned off the air to the super shrimp tank then a few days later when I got the glass top for the tank I pulled out the air tube and left the sponge filter in the tank.

[Mustafa]

I removed the heaters last spring and did not and will not replace them again. If not necessary why do it. My home is kept at 66 at night and 72 daytime during winter and 72-78 in summer. It good to know that I sometimes listen to instructions. I wonder what else I am doing that is either not necessary or even hurtful?

--It's good to experiment most of the time once one has built a knowledge base (otherwise how could we find better ways of doing things?), but in this case just trust me. Let's just say that anything you may be doing beyond what I wrote on the Supershrimp information pages is most likely unnecessary.