Here we go with part 3 of the shrimp aquarium! I have already written a part on this subject Start and set up a shrimp aquarium.
If you have followed my advice, you are probably already enjoying the colorful and active activity in your shrimp aquarium. Beautiful creatures these shrimp, right?
But your shrimp aquarium also needs proper care, if you want your shrimp to continue to look cheerful and hopefully reproduce. The last thing you want is a case of shrimp death.
How do you avoid shrimp die-offs and keep your shrimp looking good and healthy? Below, I’ll give you some helpful tips for the care and maintenance of your shrimp aquarium.
Let’s get started!
The most important water values for your shrimp aquarium?
The water values for your shrimp aquarium depend on the type of shrimp you have in your aquarium. For your convenience, I have provided the ideal water values for these popular species.
Do you want to keep very specific or rare species? Then I advise you to ask the grower or the specialized store for advice first.
Water values in Caridina shrimp
Caridina shrimp want water values that ordinary tap water usually does not meet. You can solve this problem by starting with osmosis water, pH lowering soils (e.g. unaquasol) and pH lowering agents.
Below are general water values for a Caridina shrimp aquarium:
Temperature: 20-26 degrees
pH: 6-7
KH: as close to 0 as possible
GH: about 5-6
Conductivity: 200-300
Water values in Neocaridina shrimp
Neocaridina shrimps are much less demanding. As a rule, it is sufficient to make sure that your water has the right temperature, as tap water often already has the correct water values.
In this case, I would still advise you to first check if your tap water corresponds to the water values below and, if necessary, adjust it a little. You never know…
Here are the general water values for a Neocaridina shrimp aquarium:
Water temperature: 20-26 degrees
pH : 6,5-7,5
KH : 4-8
GH: 2-8
Conductivity: 400-600
Water parameters for Crystal Red Shrimp
These red and white shrimp are popular farmed shrimp. Because they are so popular, I will list below the water parameters in which you can best keep them.
Water temperature: 21-25 degrees
pH: 6.2-7.2
KH: 1-2
GH: 4-6
Conductivity: 200-300
What foods and feeds for your shrimp?
Shrimp will eat just about anything. This is actually good news and bad news.
Good news, because their insatiable hunger is also the cause of their fantastic craving for chastity! Your shrimp’s diet includes dead plant remains, but also snails or fish excrement. In this way, they also keep your shrimp aquarium clean and prevent them from getting sick.
But this is also bad news because it means that you have to dose it, otherwise it will not stop. Do not feed the shrimp more than once a day and feed them mainly plant food. This way they stay healthy and keep their beautiful colors.
What food can you use in your shrimp aquarium?
You can choose between dry food or fresh vegetables, as long as you vary the diet. Tip: also treat your shrimp to “Catappa leaves” from vegetable shops. They are very healthy and prevent shrimp diseases.
Refreshing and cleaning the shrimp aquarium: how often and when?
How about refreshing your shrimp aquarium? If these shrimp are such good cleaners, is there anything else to do?
They meant above aquarium changers are quite divided within our hobby. I myself have always been in favor. But what about a shrimp aquarium?
You can certainly do this, for example a weekly water change of 15-30%. Make sure that the values of the new cooling water correspond to the water in which your shrimps reside. Think about temperature, GH, KH, …
If you want to read more details about this, you can this article in English have a read.
Shrimp & aquarium fertilizer: a good combination?
I am often asked this question: can you add aquarium fertilizer to a shrimp aquarium or is it harmful?
Well, first of all, you have to ask yourself: is plant food necessary in my shrimp aquarium? Many shrimp aquariums focus on shrimp and very few plants. Usually, the plant material consists of a few movements and some other plants. In this case, to be honest, I would not even use aquarium fertilizer.
Do you have a lot of plants?
Then you can use aquarium fertilizer. Basically, most aquarium plant food is harmless to shrimp, as long as it doesn’t contain too much ammonium or heavy metals. Fortunately, this is usually correct.
My own plant food, All in One, for example, is totally harmless to shrimp and is tested for that.
My advice: check to see if it is necessary and if so, check the label on your fertilizer. Fortunately, there is a very good chance that it is OK.
My shrimp are dying? … First aid for shrimp mortality!
You don’t actually want to think about it when you see these happy creatures, but what do you do if your shrimp suddenly get sick? Or even worse, what if your shrimp die?
The reason for this is usually poor shrimp nutrition or polluted water. In short, your shrimp are “poisoned”.
What can you do to prevent the death of shrimp in your aquarium? Here are some quick tips:
What has changed?
Have you used other foods? Did the water parameters suddenly change? Added new shrimp? If you did any of these things, the cause may be there. Remove the new shrimp from the tank and quarantine them. Get some familiar food and make a water change.
Change the water
Change 40% of the water in your shrimp tank. First check the quality by taking a measurement and let the water come up to temperature. Also check if the refreshment water has approximately the same values as the water your shrimp are kept in.
Clean your filter
Make sure that you clean the aquarium filter in the water you remove, so that the bacterial culture is not completely destroyed. You can do this by cleaning the sponges in the water. Biological material can be left behind.
The above steps don’t help? Then it may be time to take medication.
Care of your shrimp aquarium in a nutshell
The care and maintenance of a shrimp aquarium is actually very good, but there are a number of things you should pay attention to.
Consider the most important water values for your shrimp aquarium based on the species of shrimp you want to keep;
Use shrimp food from a reliable source, e.g., low vacuum jar. Livestock leaves are always a good idea too;
Refreshing your shrimp aquarium from time to time is a great idea, but pay attention to the water values of your new water;
If you use a good aquarium fertilizer for your shrimp aquarium (e.g. myAll-In-One), then there is no risk for your shrimp
Are your shrimps suddenly dying? Discover my advice above
A shrimp fry is particularly pleasant?
If you follow the tips in this article and react quickly and accurately to problems, you will find that your garbage can is a real pleasure.
I’m Benjamin, an aquarium, and fish hobbyist for more than three decades now.
My passion for aquarium fish never wavered after so many years. I keep consuming everything about fish tank, aquariums and alike.
As a result of my experience with aquariums and fish, I have decided to build this blog.
My goal is to answer all your questions – and even those you haven’t asked yourself yet – so you can take care of your fish and aquariums. From one passionate to another passionate!
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