CRS using tap water

[JL_Wong]

Hello!!!!! I am very very new to keeping shrimps, and i started with crystal reds, bad choice. haha, only have 6 out of the total 15 I bought.
anyway, I was wondering if it is OK to use tap water for the shrimps in the long run??? The rest of the surviving shrimps seems to be doing pretty well... I use AZOO branded de-chlorinater.

[eviltrain]

please provide more informations like what you use for setup of your shrimp tank. a full tank shot would be nice too.

[wooty100]

2nd that. Need more info.

Your temp is ?

[IrvineChen]

Is your tank cycled?

[JL_Wong]

Maybe a 10L tank... Tank should be cycled, been running since last November... I do not have test kits, only have GH and pH...
GH == 6~8
pH == 6.5~6
tds == 180 (I sometimes use the fluval shrimp mineral supplement, but now I am attempting to lower the tds with water change without using that)
temp == 24~26 c (using a fan to cool it)
using azoo de-chlorinator, azoo plant substrate... Setup is an UG filter hooked up to an HOB filter... I'm not home now, will mane take a few photos when I can later in the day... Evaporation is an issue, I do top up with tap water, but instead of just topping up, I remove some tank water and top up with dechlorinated tap water, remove 1 part tank water, top up 2 parts tap water...
Have half a Ketapang leaf, nana, Java fern, some random moss, a Marino and a small floating plant...

[JL_Wong]

I also use a few drops of seachem stability when I do a water change...

[Xmant]

Using untreated tape water for top-up is a no no. This will kill your shrimps faster.

[JL_Wong]

I do use AZOO chlorine and chloramine remover on the tap water.

[IrvineChen]

Just my thought, I never add the treated water immediately into the tank... I usually put it aside with air pump to further dissipate the chlorine for another 1 or 2 day before I feel it is safe for my shrimp.

[JL_Wong]

image.jpg
My simple tank

[Urban Aquaria]

If your tap water is reasonably good (not those tap water with oddly high TDS or GH type from old building pipes), its usually possible to keep crystal red using de-chlorinated tap water sources. Though how well they fare in the tank environment will also depend on many other factors too, like water parameters (tank has to be fully cycled), temperature, beneficial minerals, dissolved oxygen content etc.

Only thing with tap water is if you use it to constantly top up water in the tank (especially if using a fan to cool it which creates lots of evaporation) and don't do much water changes, the TDS and excess GH would tend to build up over time. Thats one of the reasons why those keeping the more sensitive shrimp species that require strict parameters usually have to buy distilled water or invest in a RO/DI system to distill their own water.

Your experience losing 9 shrimps out of the 15 you bought could be due to the tank still cycling and toxic parameters spiking, or the shrimp were not acclimated (ie. drip acclimation) to the tank beforehand and those that could not adapt to the new water conditions eventually died off. The remaining 6 shrimps that are still alive in your tank are most likely the stronger ones who could adapt in time.