I finally got tiger shrimp (Caridina sp. "Tiger")

[zapisto]

Hello,

i really start love shrimp.
after some sort of success with cherry , i setup 5 new tanks in case i see some other species.

during one of my meeting fish club i meet with a guy who have tiger shrimp.
i buy 12 from him (hoping have the two sex)
this guy is not a breeder of shrimp but a aquascaping , so he did not know if his shrimp breed or not , he add about 100 fish in his master tank 1 years ago and never check for baby
well his tank is very very well planted , despite my short observation i was not able to see any baby, but i thim he has more than 100 fellows in this tank for sure so who know.

well my questions is (before you ask , yes i read mustafa article and yes i did a search on the forum and read threads)
can i have clear answer , because what i read confuse me a bit.

- how can you sex them ? (is it like the cherry)
- I read they prefer acidic water , but wich PH is the best , and which gh/kh ?
- i put them in a setup like my cherry , do they need a special setup ?
- what about reproduction , easy? hard? special care ?
- what is the incubation time and grow out time ?

i think that's enough for question
i am starting get really really in love with shrimp

i continue look for other species.

I love them

[Mustafa]

Hello,

i- how can you sex them ? (is it like the cherry)

similarly. You can see the brownish eggs developing in the females ovaries after a while although it's not as easy to see as in the red cherry females. The males have a more streamlined body shape when mature. The females' abdominal area goes down further (when mature) to accommodate the eggs. I would not worry about these things though. If you have about 10 shrimp from a breeding group then you most likely have males and females in that group. That does not necessarily apply to store-bought shrimp though.

- I read they prefer acidic water , but wich PH is the best , and which gh/kh ?

A PH between 6-7 should be sufficient. GH and KH will be necessarily low (espeially KH) as you are striving to get acidic water. Strive to have both as close to 0 as possible. Don't worry about ph crashes if you do regular small water changes and don't overfeed.

- i put them in a setup like my cherry , do they need a special setup ?

No, just a general "shrimp" setup. What works for your red cherries should work for the tigers, too.

- what about reproduction , easy? hard? special care ?

reproduction is dependant on your ability to reproduce their environmental needs (i.e. water parameters). So, it's harder to reproduce the water parameters that tiger shrimp need, but reproduction itself is just as easy as it will happen automatically once the water parameter needs are met.

- what is the incubation time and grow out time ?

after about 3-4 weeks the eggs hatch (depending on temperature) and after about 2-3 months the young should be mature and reproduce themselves (although still not fully grown).

My only concern is that you just got red cherry shrimp and have not gathered enough experience with them yet . I would not rush to quickly into keeping other species, especially ones that need special water parameters like the tiger shrimp, as you are bound to experience disappointment when your shrimp start dying one by one. So, just keep whatever you have right now and only look for other species once you are reliably (and regularly) reproducing your current species.

[zapisto]

My only concern is that you just got red cherry shrimp and have not gathered enough experience with them yet . I would not rush to quickly into keeping other species, especially ones that need special water parameters like the tiger shrimp, as you are bound to experience disappointment when your shrimp start dying one by one. So, just keep whatever you have right now and only look for other species once you are reliably (and regularly) reproducing your current species.

Thanks Mustafa for your advices,
In fact i am pretty good with acidic water , because i am a breeder of south american dwarf cichlids.
i can go down to Ph incredibly acid (like 4 of little bit lower) for some difficult species.
my water us very soft and ph around 6 to 6.6 with no action.
i found more difficult have a water ph around 7.2 for my cherry.

but i am agree with you i will slow down my enthusiast for now and work on this two species.

i ahev actualllly two female tiger carrying eggs and the eggs seems to be close to maturity (if i refer to chery ).
their color is more dark than one other female who also carry eggs but less mature.
will keep you inform on my progress

thanks for all and for allthe very helpful answer

[Mustafa]

[
Thanks Mustafa for your advices,

You're welcome!

In fact i am pretty good with acidic water , because i am a breeder of south american dwarf cichlids.
i can go down to Ph incredibly acid (like 4 of little bit lower) for some difficult species.

Ahhh...I see, then you should do very well with the tiger shrimp. You can actually go down to PH 5.5 with Tiger shrimp (and probably even a little lower). By the way, I love both south american and african dwarf cichlids and have kept and bred a few myself before. I am not surprised at all that someone interested in dwarf cichlids would be interested in shrimp.

my water us very soft and ph around 6 to 6.6 with no action.
i found more difficult have a water ph around 7.2 for my cherry.

Put some crushed coral into your filter or tank and see if that does anything. Start with a little bit, measure PH after a few days or a week or so, add more if necessary. Alternatively you can always use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to raise your ph.

i ahev actualllly two female tiger carrying eggs and the eggs seems to be close to maturity (if i refer to chery ).
their color is more dark than one other female who also carry eggs but less mature.
will keep you inform on my progress

Congrats! Yes, definitely keep us informed of your progress.

[zapisto]

Ahhh...I see, then you should do very well with the tiger shrimp. You can actually go down to PH 5.5 with Tiger shrimp (and probably even a little lower). By the way, I love both south american and african dwarf cichlids and have kept and bred a few myself before. I am not surprised at all that someone interested in dwarf cichlids would be interested in shrimp.

Well
i finally got the tiger shrimp tank stable at 5.7 PH
and you was rigth, the shrimp seems better and active.
they eat well and more female carying eggs now.

i get two stranger in this group.
an japonica and an other shrimp with no color and no mark at all.
will try get a picture for ident.

thanks for all the info
hoping not some excitation see shrimplet

[fishgeek]

sorry to piggy back a question into this thread
i too like zapisto have dwarf's and am interested in which shrimp species will be most suitable for soft waters

at present i have cherry and bee
i was looking at mostly bee relative ie crs etc
are they any specific hardness/alkalinty levels that are too low for these guys to tolerate or is the stability as you have said the most important factor

andrew

[zapisto]

sorry to piggy back a question into this thread
i too like zapisto have dwarf's and am interested in which shrimp species will be most suitable for soft waters

at present i have cherry and bee
i was looking at mostly bee relative ie crs etc
are they any specific hardness/alkalinty levels that are too low for these guys to tolerate or is the stability as you have said the most important factor

andrew

hi fishgeek
are you the fishgeek i know ? from apistrogramma website ?

actually you question is excellent , i am in the process of making a list of shrimp who will be easier for me to keep with the water i have.
so if someone more expert can give us a hand that's will be great.

[Mustafa]

i am in the process of making a list of shrimp who will be easier for me to keep with the water i have.
so if someone more expert can give us a hand that's will be great.

Hi guys,

You might want to go through the shrimp varities page and read the profiles. I have added water parameter information about a few weeks ago. It should give you an idea if you can keep and breed a given species in the water you have.

[zapisto]

i am in the process of making a list of shrimp who will be easier for me to keep with the water i have.
so if someone more expert can give us a hand that's will be great.

Hi guys,

You might want to go through the shrimp varities page and read the profiles. I have added water parameter information about a few weeks ago. It should give you an idea if you can keep and breed a given species in the water you have.

sorry i really badly explain myself.
i mean a sort of excel sheet made from thoose helpful article you write, to make compariason easy.

but you are true , i eat theese article like chocolate (and i love chocolate lol) and i found them really a good start point to understand thoose species you list, help make a choice.

[demented_lullaby]

Hey Zap! Incase you ever want more tigers Big Als near point claire has a tank full of healthy ones. Cool to see another montreal area person here

[fishgeek]

same geek zapisto

mustafa the parameter you put on seem a little open ended to me anyway, i am used to specific requirements from keeping the dwarf's

it seems most of the bee varieties ie crs/bb and bee, also the tiger shrimp
a big plus for these is they are benthenic?(live bearing- sorry the word eludes me basically require no saline tanks for larval development)

is there a strict requiremnt for a certtain hardness ph or do these guys just like it kept stable , with smaller frequent changes so less fluctuations


andrew

[zapisto]

Hey Zap! Incase you ever want more tigers Big Als near point claire has a tank full of healthy ones. Cool to see another montreal area person here

Hi lullaby,

where di you go there
i think i took all their tiger already, or they receive some other

fishgeek,

you are rigth bee varieties ie crs/bb and bee, also the tiger shrimp, is the shrimp for us (keeper of dwarf cichlids).
but i breed successfuly cherry (ok thos are the easiest) and the only one thing i do is add more "electro rigth" in water and use crush coral at the bottom of tank.

well the other things is to found bee varieties ie crs/bb and bee, dont know in you area but in mine geez it is hard.


and about the stablility , thoose critters like stability.

[fishgeek]

very hard to find many let alone any of these shrimp over here

i have found a german site that prehaps exports to england , still having trouble understand the autotranslations though

and more importantly need to get 1 of the 2 i have to breed before i start trying others

andrew

[Mustafa]

mustafa the parameter you put on seem a little open ended to me anyway, i am used to specific requirements from keeping the dwarf's

The parameters are not open ended; they just encompass a wide range. That's closer to the conditions in nature and closer to reality. Even with dwarf cichlids you are not going to find them in rivers with just one specific ph level and conductivity. There is a range for any aquatic animal that is "right." I keep my acid water species at PH levels between 5.5 and 6.5 for example. 6.0-6.5 should be a pretty good "stable" range for all acid water species.

is there a strict requiremnt for a certtain hardness ph or do these guys just like it kept stable , with smaller frequent changes so less fluctuations

Your water should not be too hard, but you don't necessarily have to go to extremes on the downside either. Whatever water you use for your dwarf cichlids should be just fine for the shrimp, too.

Just one more thing. For you and zapisto it would be better to keep a tropical species of acid water shrimp such as the sri lanka dwarf shrimp as they can take higher temperatures much better and continue breeding even at temperatures close to or even slightly over 86 degrees fahrenheit (30 degrees celsius). The bees, bumblebees, crystal reds etc. are species from subtropical/temperate regions and don't like temperatures that are too high.

[fishgeek]

fantastic thanks very much mustafa