crystal red keeping

[Ljung]

hi to all shrimps hobbyists and experts....

i am considering to try to start crystal red keeping, but still wondering whether is that hard to keep?
it's not only because of the high cost to use them for trial and error to get the correct tank condition, i just dont want to cause unnecessary loss to the innocent lives....

supposed that currently we have a stable tank with other shrimps, is it ok to dump in the crystal red straight away (after the usual ritual of preventing temperature and pH shock), is there any crucial parameter to look for and control in keeping (or breeding) crystal red?

thanks in advance for all the advice and opinions.

[Mustafa]

The shrimp from the Caridina serrata species complex (i.e. Crystal Reds, Bee Shrimp, Tiger Shrimp etc.) that are imported to the US tend to be more sensitive to water parameters than shrimp such as N. denticulata sinensis. I do not know why that is. However, I do know that captive populations in Germany and Japan tend to be a lot mroe robust and not as sensitive as the imported shrimp. Due to the sensitity of the imported animals some of the people that breed them here use very soft water (PH = <6) in their tanks.

However, I am in the process of using regular tapwater at ph 7.2 to establish a more robust captive population. It's been going slow, but I have a feeling that I will succeed in the end. Having said that, I still think that the C. serrata group species will still be more sensitive to water paramaters than many other shrimp, even if more robust captive populations are established. However, that's just a hunch at this point and will be either confirmed or rejected through future observations.

Other than that, the breeding of the crystal red works just like the propagation of any other algae eating shrimp with completely supressed larval development.

Mustafa

[kross]

ljung,

u sure your wife allows u to buy/keep?

btw, mustafa, can i use 100% RO water and ADA aqua soil to keep Crystal Red aka CRS? this should take care of the hardness and ph rite? and if the tank temperature maintains around 25 to 28 degreesC, will it survive? is it true that CRS can't survive at 28 to 30 degreesC?

[Pigheaddd]

Hi kross,

You can use 80% RO. ADA Aqua Soil is perfect for CRSs, but please remember cycle your new setup tank couple weeks. The initial pH with ADA Aqua Soil will drop to 5.5 to 5.8. CRSs will not survive in that condition. CRSs prefer acidic and soft water. 25~28 degree C will not be a long term and 28~30 degree C just get worst!

Good luck!

[Ljung]

kross,

at home, i am the only one who knows what's really in my tank...

pigheadd,

that means we need a chiller to keep them alive during summer time?

[Pigheaddd]

Hi Ljune,

Yeap! You better have it if you are in Asia unless you turn on AC 24/7. If you are in the U.S., some area you need to have it too.

[kross]

Hi kross,

You can use 80% RO. ADA Aqua Soil is perfect for CRSs, but please remember cycle your new setup tank couple weeks. The initial pH with ADA Aqua Soil will drop to 5.5 to 5.8. CRSs will not survive in that condition. CRSs prefer acidic and soft water. 25~28 degree C will not be a long term and 28~30 degree C just get worst!

Good luck!

thx. and what is the recommended ph range? 6-7?

[winwin]

Dear all,

It is very interesting to hear from most of you that CRS (or any other Caridina serrata species) prefers soft and acidic water...

I have been keeping shrimp as hobby for some times now and in my past experience, my shrimps are most lively and active when the PH is around 6.5-7.2 with moderate hard water; for temp around 25c.

anybody agree?

[kross]

Dear all,

It is very interesting to hear from most of you that CRS (or any other Caridina serrata species) prefers soft and acidic water...

I have been keeping shrimp as hobby for some times now and in my past experience, my shrimps are most lively and active when the PH is around 6.5-7.2 with moderate hard water; for temp around 25c.

anybody agree?

eh....dun mean to dampen the mood but what's the casualty rate with the above water parameters? if zero casualty for months.... i guess 25C or low temp do wonders....

[winwin]

by above setting , the casualty rate is zero! To my understanding, low in PH will cause shrimp's shell hard to strengthen; especially after they change shell.

[Mustafa]

It is very interesting to hear from most of you that CRS (or any other Caridina serrata species) prefers soft and acidic water...

--I would not quite generalize like that. Some imported shrimp tend to be quite sensitive and lower PH means that ammonia is not as toxic. That is probably the reason why the imported shrimp of the C. serrata group seem to do better in lower PH water. However, I have now a population doing great at 7.2-7.4 PH...

Mustafa

[Mustafa]

by above setting , the casualty rate is zero! To my understanding, low in PH will cause shrimp's shell hard to strengthen; especially after they change shell.

--I don't think it works quite like that. There are many shrimp species living in very soft water (pretty much rainwater flowing in little creeks) with very low PH (under 6) and they are doing just fine. They get enough of whatever they need from the food they eat it seems. After all...fish skeleton is also made up of calcium and there are tons of fish living in very soft and acidic water growing just fine (and obviously the skeleton grows with them).

Mustafa

[DanHagan]

I just want to put in my 2 cents about using pure RO water. If you use RO water with no buffer the odds of a pH crash are greatly increased. I would recomend that you use some sort of buffer. You can find buffers ment for discus tanks and that will be perfect for what wild CRS prefer.

[kross]

I just want to put in my 2 cents about using pure RO water. If you use RO water with no buffer the odds of a pH crash are greatly increased. I would recomend that you use some sort of buffer. You can find buffers ment for discus tanks and that will be perfect for what wild CRS prefer.

eh...i doubt there is "wild" crs...