halocaridina Ruba Ammonia/ Light

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:48 pm

Thanks for the inforation on the plant. Is 1.012 salinity an average for keeping these shrimp?

dhavoc · Post by **dhavoc** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:42 pm

these shrimp are VERY adaptable, mine just happen to be in that salinity because that is what the pond they came from was at according to the person i bought these from. i have also seen these at another local LFS that are in full strength sea water because that is what the pools are at where there from. you can acclimate them to lower salinities but they wont breed below a certain level and probably wont live as long in full fresh water either.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:53 pm

I will make sure I get the salinity of the water the shrimp were raised in when I receive mine. I will also try to use some java fern. Do your shrimp eat the algae growing on the walls of your tank? Thanks again for sharing your experience.

dhavoc · Post by **dhavoc** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:10 pm

the babies do or at least they look like (so small its hard to tell), but the brown stuff grows on the rocks and gravel also and the adults are always picking at that. never seen them eat the fuzzy green algae though. good luck, once you get the tank conditions right, they will breed and be pretty low maint from there (small water changes once in a while and feeding maybe once or twice a week).

merlin03 · Post by **merlin03** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:55 am

A week ago I started this topic with my question on how to lower ammonia levels on my HR tank. That same day I was lucky enough to find some good bacteria for my tank (thanks Shrimp&Snails for the advise). Couple of days after introducing the bacteria all levels became normal. The HR are doing fine (bunch of tough guys) now they are very active and look just happy and very red.

Hence the importance of furums like this were people new to the hobby can ask and learn from the more experienced. And the best thing is that at the end all this discussion benefit the shrimp that depend on us to provide them with a good environment in our tanks.
So thank You all.

I do have observations, readings, measurements and other info that I learned this last month about H.R. Iam putting them together so I can have an organized data base for people having these same problems in the future.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 5:03 pm

That would be great if you could post or send us the information you have. I would very much like to know this to better care for the shrimp. Thanks for being so helpful

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 12:21 am

merlin03 wrote:A week ago I started this topic with my question on how to lower ammonia levels on my HR tank. That same day I was lucky enough to find some good bacteria for my tank (thanks Shrimp&Snails for the advise). Couple of days after introducing the bacteria all levels became normal. The HR are doing fine (bunch of tough guys) now they are very active and look just happy and very red.
Hence the importance of furums like this were people new to the hobby can ask and learn from the more experienced. And the best thing is that at the end all this discussion benefit the shrimp that depend on us to provide them with a good environment in our tanks.
So thank You all.

I do have observations, readings, measurements and other info that I learned this last month about H.R. Iam putting them together so I can have an organized data base for people having these same problems in the future.

Glad things have settled down for you and you're very welcome for the advice.

Good luck with the database....sounds like a good idea.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:49 pm

Check the end of viewtopic.php?t=1725

The anacharis died, but the critters are having a feat on them, so it isn't a total loss.

My setup is a 5 gallon recirculating tank, bubble powered with an undergravel filter. I'm using a coral substrate. At first I thought my red shrimp had died, but this hasn't turned out to be the case. I see a different group every night just before lights out. I think most are under the filter. Another observation is that my shrimp have little color, and some are actually white. I think this may have to do with the coral and water hardness. They are lively and eating well, so they don't seem to be suffering.

The nerites and MTS in with them are doing great. I'm hoping the nerites will repoduce in the brackish water. I just added some Chaetomorpha Algae to the tank. Cool stuff. Feels like a scrubby pad.

Anyone measure the TDS and pH in their tanks?

Post by **Mustafa** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:44 pm

badflash wrote: The nerites and MTS in with them are doing great. I'm hoping the nerites will repoduce in the brackish water.

The MTS will reproduce just as well as in freshwater. The Nerites probably won't reproduce at all. Tried it in my H. rubra tank already. I don't think there is enough food for the tiny veligers (=snail larvae) in such small systems. By all means give it a shot, though. If you are successful, let us all know.

Anyone measure the TDS and pH in their tanks?

My ph is around 8.0-8.2. TDS cannot be measured with "normal range" TDS meters that are usually used for freshwater. But knowning that seawater has a TDS value of 30,000 to 40,000 ppm my TDS, which is about half strength sea water, should be somewhere between 15,000 to 20,000 ppm. TDS values are not important in brackish and sea water. All you need to know is salinity, as salinity makes up the vast majority of the TDS value.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:55 am

What about calcium hardness? Basalt is pretty low in calcium. I'm wondering if high calcium will effect color or reproduction.

As to the nerites, if they start laying eggs (plenty of mating going on) I'll start adding microfood like marine green water and marine rotifers.

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:14 am

Badflash, Donya has had some success with nerites.

Mine just lay eggs everywhere....if only I had the space to set up a brackish/saltwater mini tank to put the eggs in.

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:15 am

Shrimp&Snails wrote:Badflash, Donya has had some success with nerites.

Is there any reliable documentation for that? If so, it would be nice to post it in our "other invertebrates" forum under a title like "breeding success with nerites" (as it's really off topic in the shrimp forum). I have yet to hear of anyone really breeding nerites, neither in the hobby by hobbyists nor in the laboratory by scientists. The few hobbyists that claim to have done so can never provide a method that can be reliably replicated (or any method at all for that matter). So, open up a new thread in our "other invertebrates" forum if you want to discuss it further.

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:24 am

badflash wrote:What about calcium hardness? Basalt is pretty low in calcium. I'm wondering if high calcium will effect color or reproduction.

I don't think you have to worry about calcium or anthing. If you're worried about it, you can always put some crushed coral into the tank. All I know is that my H. rubra have been living and breeding just fine and I have not even done any kind of water change (or added any calcium or anything else for that matter) in over a year. I just top off the water when it evaporates. Tap water already has all kinds of minerals, plus there are minerals in the food that I give them once in a while. So whatever they need, they seem to be getting it somehow as they are quite happy and multiplying.

Where did the reference to basalt come from? Is that what you are using as a substrate?

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:32 am

badflash wrote:Another observation is that my shrimp have little color, and some are actually white.

They can vary in coloration depending on mood, age and food, among other things.

I think this may have to do with the coral and water hardness.

I don't think so. See my post above.

I just added some Chaetomorpha Algae to the tank. Cool stuff. Feels like a scrubby pad.

That might actually work as long as the salinity does not go too low. I have had a few strings of chaetomorpha in my H. rubra tank for a while and I believe I am seeing some growth. It's nowhere near as effective (i.e. fast growing) as the string algae I have, but it should still get the job done. I don't know how much lower you can go with the salinity, though, before the chaetomorpha dies off. At half ocean salinity it still seems to be doing ok. I'll provide updates on this one (you, too, badflash!

) as it has only been a few weeks since i've put the chaetomorpha in. I'm totally happy with my string algae, but my curiosity about the survival of chaetomorpha in low salinity water needs to be satisfied.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 10:07 am

No, I'm not using basalt, I'm using pure coral & my water is very hard. Lava is basically foamed basalt, which is what they live in. I don't think the carbonate level of their native water is very high.