I am thinking of keeping CRS in my community tank.
I have been reading that CRS shrimps should be able to handle a wide range of parameter, but i have also read items that stress the importance of controlling the temperature.
Currently, my tank is around 28C. That seems to be a no-go temperature for shrimps.
Is it really a must to consider some degree of chilling, either via fans or getting a chiller, before i consider adding CRS?
there are reports that mention CRS being able to survive in 28 degree waters. Caveat is that the tank must be very well oxygenated.
Rationale or explanation is that higher temperatures bring up the metabolic rate of the shrimps. higher metabolic rate == higher requirement of oxygen.
a consequence is that the CRS will be short-lived as well..
I am balding but i am still young!
I tried keeping crs at 28 degress. Basically at that temp, they usually start to lose their colourings and become orange/white instead of red/white. They still do best at 26 and below. At 28 in this cool time of the year, you have to consider that your tank will likely reach 30 or more come april/may/june next year. Fire Red or painted red or malayan shrimps are your best bet without cooler waters.
A sensoned shrimps breeder told me its possible to keep lower grade CRS in unchilled tanks, will survive but colours will not be brilliant... for higher grade CRS definitely need chiller...
I would suggest if your budget allows, get a chiller. Be it for the colour or for a longer lifespan.
What you are asking is not really new. Many have tried but few have succeeded, but in the process many shrimps have been unnecessarily sacrificed. Please get a chiller if you want to keep CRS.
Will cooling fans be a reasonable substitute for a chiller?
actually, I am looking to add lower grade CRS, max will be Sakuras. I am keeping them mainly as a clean up crew.
I did consider Malayan, but seems to be hard to find. Saw some "reds" at Y618 at 6 bucks for 10 or so and Sakura at about 2 bucks a piece, so thinking of getting them
if you use a fan in singapore's normal weather, the avg temp will be around 26-27deg, for cool weather like recently an go as low as 24deg, but seldom.
For casually keeping low grade CRS is ok, but if you are aiming for great colors and breeding, a chiller will keep water temperatures from fluctuating too much , therefore reducing shrimp stress leading to better development.
I have kept Sakura RCS in 29 degree waters. No problems. Is there a Sakura CRS?
I am balding but i am still young!
@ Erctheanda: Sorry, I a noob here. I thought RCS = CRS, all cherry red?
@tureblue82: That is the challenge, I would love to keep my parameters stable, but I am just casually keeping CRS, breeding is not really only mind now. I honestly do not see myself spending more than 2 bucks a shrimp. Having great color is a bonus. It is mainly a community tank with fish, so my focus is not really on a specific species.
@han: separately, yeah, i saw the power of evaporation recently. The tank got infected by ICH. I raised the temp to 32C and i see like 0.5~1cm of water going off in 3 days instead of the usual 1 week. Quite surprising
I faced the same problem when I was first setting up my shrimp tank. My room was around 28C at night, meaning that it potentially can get up to 30C in the day. I didn't want to get a chiller and started looking at other options such as fans (can't get temp down low enough, and too much evaporation), ice probe (not powerful enough) and even diy options (cheaper but have to put in more effort and potentially more costly to operate). In the end, I accepted that getting a chiller is part of the process of keeping shrimps.
I understand your needs to not spend too much but if you really want to do it proper (low shrimp death, healthy shrimps etc), you have to bite the bullet and get a proper set up, if not it'll be unfair to the shrimps.
Not sure about the hardcore shrimp keeper dictionary. I am a low end shrimp keeper. In my dictionary, RCS is red cherry shrimp while CRS is crystal red shrimp. Different species.
CRS is as demanding as high end rcs. Sakuras to me.. Is low or mid end rcs.
I am balding but i am still young!
@ Ertheanda: Thanks! Noobie mistake. I was intending to keep red cherry shrimp and not the higher end crystal red shrimp
So now, i see that if i ever want to get crystal reds, than yes, must buy chiller, which i totally agree given the price of CRS
If want to keep red cherry like Sakura, is a chiller a must?
Just curious, how big is your tank and what else do you have in it since it's a community tank? depending on what you have, RCA may not be the most suitable shrimps for it.
Originally Posted by ren_hao
@ Ertheanda: Thanks! Noobie mistake. I was intending to keep red cherry shrimp and not the higher end crystal red shrimp
So now, i see that if i ever want to get crystal reds, than yes, must buy chiller, which i totally agree given the price of CRS
If want to keep red cherry like Sakura, is a chiller a must?
I have a tank that is at the mercy of the sun and the weather. in that tank i have sakuras. no fire or painted reds. doing well with regular water changes!
never measure tank temperature though, but i can tell you, no chiller.
have fun!
I am balding but i am still young!
@Erctheanda: That's encouraging. Seems like i can really consider Sakuras.
@xuan87: It is a 2ft tank, about 110L (water volume, excluding substrate and the gap to the brim). The tank is placed about 3-4m away from the nearest window. So, it is pretty much "sheltered".
There are 3 "tunnels" created with a few large rocks and some artificial plants in it. Going to add in a few small java fern next week as my old plants dies because of ich treatment sometime back.
Currently, I have 6 rummy nose, 6 Serpae tetra, 2 balloon electric blue ram, 1 platy and 1 panda cory in it.
For clean up crew, stick with cheap cherry shrimps (those low-grade ones that sell in bags of 20 or 50)... or sakuras if you can spend abit more. No need chiller for them.
Your rams will likely hunt and eat them up over time anyways, so at least the replacement cost wouldn't be too high.
Basically, CRS can live in higher temperatures of 26C but the question is how long and will it even breed for you. For RCS, I found that my fire red breeds lesser at 25-26C. Anyone had this problem too?
6 rummy nose, 6 Serpae tetra, 2 balloon electric blue ram, 1 platy ===== not friends with shrimps....
Rule of thumb for fishes.. if it fits in the mouth.. it will try to eat it.
I am balding but i am still young!
Better buy Yamato shrimps...bigger
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks