Shrimp keeping

[Spid]

AQ had been so quiet lately... probably due to the ban of shrimp sales.

Nevertheless, I decided to contribute my experience as a shrimp keeper here. For those who have comments welcome to rebut. For those who find it helpful please spread around.

This content maybe a little bit dry. Hope you can bear with it.

Shrimp keeping
By Jon Ng (Spid)

Water quality parameter can directly affect the shrimps' health. Exposure of shrimp to improper levels of dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrite or hydrogen sulfide will eventually lead to stress and disease.

Here I will advice on how to minimize the risk of getting your shrimp sick and die.

Dissolved Oxygen
Maintaining good levels of DO in the water is essential for successful production since oxygen (O2) has a direct influence on feed intake, disease resistance and metabolism. Aeration is often used to create the rippling effect on water surface eg install an air sponge.

Temperature
This is another important water quality parameter. It can affect shrimp metabolism, feeding rates and the degree of ammonia toxicity.Warmer water holds less O2 than cooler water.

Why some hobbyist are able to breed CRS under condition of non chiller tank is based on the above. An increase in the DO via creating aeration will help making shrimp adapting to your water climate. I myself believe very much in making shrimps adapt to your environment rather you adapt to theirs. Those I have shared my setup with would have known I am able to breed CRS in bulk in temperature of 27-28 degree. But even so, I need to exercise caution for these setups.

Ammonia
Ammonia is a very important parameter for good shrimp production. Under particular conditions, ammonia can easily rise (through accumulation of overfeeding, protein rich, excess feed wastes and excreted ammonia) to dangerously high levels.

The higher water temperature and pH, the greater the concentration of the toxic ammonia form (NH3). For those die hard hobbyist, please exercise caution if you want to breed shrimps under a high temperature. When I encounter deaths continuously like 2-3 pieces per day, a revamp of the tank is necessary. Reason of death can be high ammonia accompany by high level of hydrogen sulfide.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a colorless, toxic gas, is a by-product of the deterioration of organic matter, usually under anaerobic conditions. Anaerobic soils with moderate to high organic concentrations can be a significant source of H2S, which is toxic to shrimp as it hinders their respiration. Shrimp tend not to die immediately, they will encounter slow death. Of which it is exhibit with slow motion, restless action, fading color/ If the bottom soil starchy and passes odor when sediment is disturbed, it indicates anaerobic conditions and the presence of H2S. The best scenario is to change the whole tank of soil. Usual practice is change all soil within 2 years. Some hardcore hobbyist I have met changed their soil every year. (No wonder ADA business is so good)

Conclusion
Buying shrimp from a reputable source is very important. Make sure the shrimp are in proper condition before you introduce them into your tank. I have seen a lot forum guys asking question about importing shrimps via courier. To clarify there is always a big issue in getting shrimps this way. A condition of 2-3 days in a bag full of their excrement, accompany by hot weather will put stress to the shrimps. I would like to insist that shrimps are very very sensitive to ammonia. Once exposed with high level, chances of survival are slim.

Shrimps are unlike fishes where you can tackle their sickness and disease with proper administration of medicine. Once shrimps are got sickly chances of recovery will be low as per se. So the saying "prevention is always better than cure" works well on shrimp keeping.

[Y3H]

Thanks for sharing. A very good read for all shrimp keepers.


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[tureblue82]

thanks for contributing!!!!!

If i have a tank full of shrimplets,how do i change the soil?

any good ways?

[alvinchan80]

thanks for contributing!!!!!

If i have a tank full of shrimplets,how do i change the soil?

any good ways?

If you have a tankful of shrimplets means there isn't much problem with the overall stability of your tank environment, don't need to touch the soil actually..

This is my humble opinion from a noob thinking..

[Mookie]

Have most shrimp sellers move to other websites?

[Mookie]

Is there anything I can add to help shrimps with molting? Seems like every time I change water, 1-2 shrimps will molt and die after.

[Y3H]

You could check out BorneoWild Vigor and Minerum for moulting issues, have heard they have good results. Need confirmation by others here though.

On a side note...
If you see the molt clearly separate from the shrimp, it may or not be a molting issue. It could be due to shock by the water changes, since water parameters are altered when you change water. Just my 2 cents

[gboy22]

If they die after molt most likely is water issue. Not enough calcium?

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[Cliftonha]

Interesting read, thanks for the write up Spid.

[popimac]

Thanks for sharing, Spid. Interesting read, especially on the production of H2S.

For the H2S problem, perhaps one of the ways to prevent it's production is use undergravel filter so the soil gets filtered constantly, removing the organic matter.

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[Spid]

If they die after molt most likely is water issue. Not enough calcium?

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At times, shrimp shed/molt to adapt to the water parameters, especially when you introduce new shrimps into tank. If they were to die after molt, this shrimp must have encounter trauma before.

If there is soil in your tank, there will be minerals present and thus your TDS should be in a good range for shrimps to molt.

[Spid]

Thanks for sharing, Spid. Interesting read, especially on the production of H2S.

For the H2S problem, perhaps one of the ways to prevent it's production is use undergravel filter so the soil gets filtered constantly, removing the organic matter.

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Chances of soil breaking down is higher if via undergravel filtration- Spent 3 years to figure that out. End of day I have concluded best way is to change soil frequently. Well this is my view, other breeders may differ.

[HeMan]

Thanks for sharing Spid
learnt alot from there.

[popimac]

Well, that's a good 3 years worth of experience to share with us. Thanks.

For the DO, do you recommend the use of oxygen tablets?

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[Spid]

It will only help in the short run regards to dissolved oxygen but not in a long run. Surface agitation will be a better choice.

[popimac]

Ok. Managed to convert (by inverting it) my bubble counter on my 2213 outlet to create surface agitation. =)

May consider adding an additional sponge filter or just an air stone pump to increase DO.

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[Spid]

As weather is getting humid and hot these days, below are some ways of keeping temperature low in shrimp tanks.

1) Use LED lighting. comparing LED, t5, PL, T5 lighting contributes the most heat.

2) Avoid using HOB-hang on back filter. Motor in the HOB will contribute to the heat in the tank significant.
Best to use air driven sponge filtration and/or cannister filtration. For cannister filtration, go for motors that will not take too much wattage usually will not contribute to heat.

3) Fan/ chiller
Above are the common ways of getting your tank chilled.
Will not elaborate much on that.

[Starlett]

It's encouraging to hear from you that you are keeping crs without chiller and that's what I'm trying to do because my 2 ft is only 26 litres, so having chiller is neither here not there.. I have also stopped using hang on filters few days ago and switched to 2 bubble filters in my tank.
I just upgraded my crs to the 26 litres tank from a smaller tank for 1 month. After the move, I had my fair share of them dropping eggs and berried ones dying off so technically im not successful yet.
Since it's only a month plus, I will try on for a few more months to see if I can manage well.
My temps are 27.8 highest on really very hot and humid days.

[tetrakid]

For those who won't want to splash out on a chiller, one solution may be to make a DIY cooler.

It is quite easy to make. Just hang a towel outside one side of the tank. Below the towel, have a container of water which should always be filled. One end of the towel is dipped in the water so that it will be constantly wet the whole day. Place a small fan in front of the towel to blow on it so that the water on the wet towel will evaporate and cause cooling. Even without the fan, this method should offer some good cooling as long as the towel is kept moist all the time.

[kimkeat]

For those who won't want to splash out on a chiller, one solution may be to make a DIY cooler.

It is quite easy to make. Just hang a towel outside one side of the tank. Below the towel, have a container of water which should always be filled. One end of the towel is dipped in the water so that it will be constantly wet the whole day. Place a small fan in front of the towel to blow on it so that the water on the wet towel will evaporate and cause cooling. Even without the fan, this method should offer some good cooling as long as the towel is kept moist all the time.

Is it more effective than blowing the water surface directly with a fan?