A few Questions - help a shrimp noob out?

[Shroob]

Hi there people,

After reading your forum, and aquiring a tank (36"x12"x15") I feel I am nearly ready for shrimp, however I still have a few nigling questions.

1)What would be the best way to set up the shrimp tank - I have had a sponge filter for 3 weeks, working in another aquarium, will this have gathered enough bacteria, or should I leave it abit longer?

2)What would be the best way to do the switch-over - Should I order my shrimp, and when they arrive put the filter in with them at the same time, or have the filter running some time before?

Or would I still have to go through the cycling process?

3)Would some sand from the other aquarium be suitable for the shrimp tank - If I was to transfer some sand over, how much? eg. 1cm on the bottom/1" on the bottom? Also should I transfer some water to help with the transition?

4)How many shrimp could this tank contain of cherry red shrimp?

5)Moss balls - I have seen them on ebay, they seem perfect for shrimp to just graze on, has anyone used them or any thoughts on them?

6)I have read other posts, however I am still unsure on how much to feed, I know that you should only leave the food in for 5-10 minutes, then remove it after, but how much food is necessary, 1 catfish pellet? half a pea? I know that will depend on how big the colony is, but say for 12 shrimp?

One last point, I have never had shrimp before, so please dont flame me, I did preform searches and did look at the articles, but I would rather post these questions now than wake up to a tank full of corpses.

[mikedmatthews]

see in blue

Hi there people,

After reading your forum, and aquiring a tank (36"x12"x15") I feel I am nearly ready for shrimp, however I still have a few nigling questions.

1)What would be the best way to set up the shrimp tank - I have had a sponge filter for 3 weeks, working in another aquarium, will this have gathered enough bacteria, or should I leave it abit longer?

if you aren't getting a ton of shrimp right off the bat, you should be ok. go ahead and set it up before they arrive though.

2)What would be the best way to do the switch-over - Should I order my shrimp, and when they arrive put the filter in with them at the same time, or have the filter running some time before?

Or would I still have to go through the cycling process?

see #1

3)Would some sand from the other aquarium be suitable for the shrimp tank - If I was to transfer some sand over, how much? eg. 1cm on the bottom/1" on the bottom? Also should I transfer some water to help with the transition?

most benefit from sand is going to be on top. if i was going to try and seed the sand i might try to just scrape a little off. never done that though. i like to add crushed coral too.

4)How many shrimp could this tank contain of cherry red shrimp?

you don't need to start with many. i would get 10 or so then as they reproduce and fill the tank over the next 6-8 months, start digging out grops and get others addicted.

5)Moss balls - I have seen them on ebay, they seem perfect for shrimp to just graze on, has anyone used them or any thoughts on them?

just bought one. l like it, but the shrimp haven't paid much attention to it. what kind of plants are you planning on other than moss balls?

6)I have read other posts, however I am still unsure on how much to feed, I know that you should only leave the food in for 5-10 minutes, then remove it after, but how much food is necessary, 1 catfish pellet? half a pea? I know that will depend on how big the colony is, but say for 12 shrimp?

i didn't feed much at all when i had that few. maybe every 2-3 days just a little bit. now in the colony i feed daily about what i would feed 5 average size livebearers, which still isn't much more than a pinch.

One last point, I have never had shrimp before, so please dont flame me, I did preform searches and did look at the articles, but I would rather post these questions now than wake up to a tank full of corpses.

[Shroob]

Thanks for quick reply,

In responce to your plant question, I plan to have some Java Moss (saw some on eBay attached to bamboo, thought a couple of these stuck out at angles would look nice.
Any other plants you would recommend?

Thanks

[mikedmatthews]

maybe najas and frogbit/duckweed. mine like to hang from it at the top.

[Terran]

Plant wise I really like this aquatic grass....I am not sure what its called or what variety this is....but it grows pretty slowly in a shrimp tank (at least it has in mine)....and if you have a sand substrate it can over time fill in pretty dense.


The best picture I have of this grass has Cajuns in the frame but I keep Red Cherries in this as well.....(my Cajuns have a tendancy to uproot the grass to nibble on the roots)



This is the max size of the grass and for scale those cajuns are only about 1cm long...so Id estimate that the grass grows about 1.5 to 2cm long....

[Shroob]

Thanks for the input everyone, Ill definately be looking into those mentioned.

[Mustafa]

One last point, I have never had shrimp before, so please dont flame me, I did preform searches and did look at the articles, but I would rather post these questions now than wake up to a tank full of corpses.

First of all, nobody "flames" anyone here. If that happens I will warn the person and ban him/her. Criticism, discussions (even heated ones sometimes) and similar conversation techniques aimed at getting "to the bottom of it" are ok, but not flaming. Why would anyone possibly "flame" you just because you're a newby? Just follow the rules here and you'll be fine.