JSak

Yea when I get new shrimp I'm checking them frequently and counting them everyday. Once I see a berried female I relax a little, but once I see babies then that's when I stop worrying as much. It's definitely an awesome feeling and an accomplishment to finally have babies. There's definitely more hiding I'm sure. Now you can just sit back and watch the babies grow!

That's awesome! If babies are born and raised in your water parameters, I believe they become stronger than the parents so once I see babies growing up to at least smaller juvenile size (1/4 inch or so) then I feel pretty confident about the colony. Hope they do well for you and that you have many more babies in the future!

@Shrimpygirl Congrats! When I notice eggs hatching and the babies surviving then I start to worry less about if my shrimp are doing okay in the tank or not. Problem with shrimp I've noticed is that sometimes they won't give you many signs that somethings going on unless you're really paying attention to them and know what to look for. But like roagland said fluval stratum is a pretty weak buffering substrate so I'd assume over time the kh in the water change water will deplete the buffering activity of the soil. Neos tend to like at least a little kh so I'd personally recommend gh/kh+. Yea for some reason some people will tell you that your shrimp aren't doing well if you're not doing things according to the "ideal standards" even if they've never seen your shrimp and/or they're breeding and doing fine. Consistency is key imo and the #1 rule I follow for my hobby.

OEBTs can be tricky because now they're being bred and raised in both neo and caridina parameters, so I think the best would be to check with the person you bought them from and get your parameters as close as you can to theirs. I'd say consistency matters more than perfect water parameters as long as the parameters are at least close or within the range of ideal. That being said, OEBTs originally were raised and bred in neo parameters and I keep RCS and OERBTs together in neo parameters (ph 7.6-7.8, gh 10, kh 4). Fluval statums a buffering substrate meaning that it will help to soften the water and lower the ph, which is more ideal for caridina, which would explain your drop in parameters. The main thing I'm worried about is the sudden change in hardness after changing to fluval stratum. That's a pretty significant drop from 8 gh and 4 kh to 4 gh and 0 kh, but I'm not sure I'd recommend changing everything back again as that'd be another sudden change in parameters and stress. From personal experience, if your shrimp are doing well I think it's best to leave them alone and be patient. When I first started the hobby I would hear different opinions about how to breed shrimp and if my shrimp didn't have it I felt like I needed to get it because that's what people said they have to have. I ended up changing things in my tank regularly, such as using ph adjusters, changing substrates, using supplements, etc. They did okay, but compared to now I'm much more busy with graduate school and pretty much just feed daily and change water once a month and my shrimp are doing WAY better than when I was trying to change things to make it "perfect". My number 1 rule in shrimp keeping is consistency and I only intervene if absolutely necessary (more than a couple deaths in a day or 2, parasites, etc.). As an example, most people say the ideal parameters for caridina are gh 4-5 and kh 0-1 (I focus more on these parameters than ph) and that if you deviate from that you're doing it wrong. I started with 10 about 5 or 6 months ago and had to go home for a while because of the covid situation. I had a friend who's experienced with pet keeping but knew very little about shrimp. When I came back it was full of babies and juveniles and I'd guess there's close to 50 now. I decided to test all my parameters since I was gone for a while and to my surprise I got gh 8 and kh 5, and I tested it twice. I may get hate for that comment but I wouldn't recommend keeping caridina in those parameters and I'm not even sure how the kh got so high in that tank. I got really worried and thought I should do something to get the kh down but then realized the shrimp are doing very well so there's no need to do anything drastic too quickly. So now my plan is to go slower and maybe even drip my water when I do water changes since my remineralized RO water (gh 4 kh 0-1) has different parameters than the tank so that they don't experience too much of a change in a short amount of time, but I'm not planning on doing more frequent or larger water changes. Bottom line, imo if your shrimp are doing well and breeding I wouldn't change anything because as you've stated there are inconsistencies in info because everyone has their opinions and different things work for different people. I've heard that it's easier for shrimp to go from softer to harder water than the other way around, so I'd keep a close eye on the shrimp. As you stated the first issue you'll most likely see is with molting, so if you have successful molts that's a good sign and I wouldn't change anything. If they breed and you see berried females, that's even better, and if the eggs hatch and the babies survive then I'd say you're in the clear and your tank is good for the shrimp. If you start noticing deaths you may want to change the substrate back but I'd prepare for more deaths unfortunately. IMG_5759.HEIC

I'd also agree with roagland. If your shrimps are doing well and have been for that long, and especially if they're able to successfully breed and have babies that're able to survive, then I would keep things the same. From personal experience, I know it's tempting to want to change everything in your tank to match what more experienced hobbyists do and tell you to do, but lots of change in a short amount of time can be more harmful. Neos have become very hardy especially if they're homebred in the US. I got ROASTED for sharing my caridina water parameters on another group because they weren't "ideal" even though I have around 12 successful caridina tanks going. There's some people in the hobby who think that you need to follow a certain code specifically and if you deviate from it at all you're incompetent and don't deserve to have shrimp, but the point of my comment was to show people that shrimp are adaptable, and that consistency and patience can be just as important as "perfect" water parameters. I'll always recommend using remineralized RO water since you can control exactly what's going into your tank and how much of it, and you can keep parameters consistent with each water change. If you're planning to do that I'd recommend going with SS gh/kh+ just because your tank seems to already have kh in it. If you just us SS gh+ your water used for water changes might differ significantly from your tank water (remineralized water might have 0 kh while the tank water the shrimp are used to has a kh of 4). I'd recommend using SS gh/kh+ and trying to find out how much to add to get the gh and kh parameters of the tank, or at least close to it, so that water changes won't be too much of a change for the shrimps. Hope this helps!

Hi! In regards to your first question I've read and heard mixed experiences on keeping bettas with shrimp, so the best advice I can give on that is that it seems to depend highly on the personality of the individual betta and the layout of the aquarium. For example, my dad has a heavily planted 15 or so gallon tank in his office that has a betta, some tetras, white clouds, and shrimp. The tank's been running for at least 5 years now and the shrimp are thriving and reproducing. The betta may be picking off a few babies but I've never seen him attack or hunt the shrimp and there's lots of plants for the shrimp to hide in if necessary. I'd assume if the tank has very few decorations and/or plants the betta may be more likely to attack the shrimp but that's just a guess. This is also an assumption, but I think that if a betta gets a taste for shrimp, for example if they accidentally mistake a swimming shrimp for food, they may be more likely to attack other shrimp. I've read stories of people keeping bettas with their shrimp for a while and then suddenly losing a bunch of the shrimp overnight because the betta started to attack them. The fact that yours have been okay so far is a good sign but I'd just keep an eye on how they interact. As for your second question, the only time I pay attention to TDS is when I'm remineralizing RO water. TDS is a measure of the total amount of solids that're dissolved in the water, which includes GH and KH (measures of hardness in the water), but it also measures things like nitrates, ammonia, tannins (I believe?), etc. so it could be easy to think you're water is harder by reading a higher TDS if you're measuring the tank water directly. The two most important water parameters I measure (aside from temp) is GH and KH as I feel those measurements are more important to shrimps. Neocaridina like blue velvets have become very hardy in the hobby and they tend to prefer harder water so if you got them from a good source they may be able to adapt. If the shrimps are actively eating and scavenging that's a good sign they're doing well, and if they start breeding then I'd think it's safe to say your water's okay. Signs of breeding are the first thing I look for to tell me that the water parameters and the shrimp are doing okay. Hope that helps and good luck!

Hi skoomz! One thing I think of with tap water is the possibility of chlorine/chloramine in the water because most test kits don't test for those. Chlorine and chloramine are highly toxic to shrimp and can kill them pretty quickly. Also, your local water treatment plant may be adding chemicals into the water that may be affecting your shrimp as well. The only reason I think this when I hear tap water is because I used tap water when I first started the hobby, but once I switched to remineralized RO water I had much more success. Your gh and kh does seem high, but I've heard that the taiwanese breeders also keep their water extremely hard with their neos so I'm not too sure if that's the reason. How long have you had the shrimp?

I keep all of mine at room temp aside from my cardinal sulawesis that require more specific parameters. I try to keep my hobby as simple as possible for myself and for the shrimp as well. I've heard horror stories of heaters malfunctioning which could either cause it to shut off and drop the temp or constantly remain on and boil the shrimp. Even if it's not that likely, I didn't think it was worth the risk considering the shrimp would do just fine in room temp. I have about 15 or so tanks of neos, caridina and paracaridina and they all are doing very well and breeding for me just at room temp which I'm guessing can range from 68-75 F. As stated earlier, higher temps increase the shrimp's metabolism, so they grow faster, breed faster, and also die faster. I keep green jade neos with my cardinal sulawesis in a tank that's set at roughly 80-85 F and I've noticed that the neos are significantly smaller than the other neos I have that are kept at room temp. I've heard that high temps can cause the shrimps to not grow as large and at least in my experience that seems to be the case. But again, this is based on my research and personal experiences so if it's working for you I'd say stick with it. One of the mottos I try to keep with shrimp keeping is "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

I haven't tried any other remineralizing salt, but I've been using Salty Shrimp GH+ for my Caridina and GH/KH+ for my neos in the 5+ years I've been in this hobby with lots of success. As uuaaayyy stated, there are different sizes of the remineralizer you can buy. I bought the 450g one for about $20 on Amazon and I still have about 1/3 of it left after buying it about 5 months ago. How often you do water changes and how much water you take out also dictates how quickly you go through it. For me, I do water changes once a month taking out about 10% each time. I use 5 gallon buckets of RO water and add about 3/4 scoop to each bucket. I have 7 10 gallon tanks and 1 20 gallon tank with caridina in them, so it can last you a while. That being said, I've also heard good things about Brightwell Caridina GH+, which is a liquid remineralizer. I've never used it, but Rob from Flip Aquatics supports it and I've learned almost everything I know about shrimp keeping from him so I take his advice/opinions with high regards. I believe he did mention that it's more dilute so although it may be easier to dose and possibly cheaper, you'll likely run out of it faster if you have large volumes of water you need to remineralize. For me, if I'm spending a lot of money on the actual shrimps, especially caridina since they're pretty pricey, I try to spend a little extra to ensure that they'll have the best chance to live and breed. I've had solid results from Salty Shrimp remineralizers, it appears to have been in the hobby for a very long time, and many hobbyists/breeders/youtubers use it, which to me shows that it's an effective product. I'm the type of person who likes to go with the consistent products that have the most support, especially when dealing with live animals. I've tried to go with cheaper alternatives for different things in my shrimp tanks and have paid the price for them. Not to say I won't jump at a cheaper product/option if it's available and shown to be effective (this is definitely an expensive hobby so I can understand trying to save) but for me, what it always comes down to is risk vs reward. Is the savings you get from one product worth the risk of going with the more expensive but consistent product? That's what I also ask myself when I see shrimps I want for a cheaper price from a site I've never ordered from before (also paid the price for that mistake). Hope this helps!

Hey @Danky808! I have to ask but are you from Hawaii? Recognize the 808 🤙 Welcome to the hobby! Most of us here are glad to provide any information based on our knowledge and/or experience, so feel free to ask anytime! I used to be into fish for a while, but once I discovered shrimp and especially after I started to figure out how to keep and breed them, I couldn't go back to fish. They're so unique, relatively unknown in the aquarium hobby (although it seems like they're finally starting to get the recognition I think they deserve), and require very little maintenance and tank space. What kind of neos do you have?

I'm not sure if the backline is specifically a grade standard, but personally I like the color distinction with the backline. I've seen wild shrimp in streams that were dark brown/blueish with a pretty prominent backline so it might have some genetic roots to the ancestral wild-type neos. I'm sure there are breeders/sellers online that have neos without the backline or you may be able to ask on forums like this for breeders who specifically have neos without the backline that breed relatively true. I don't buy shrimp from pet stores anymore, but if most of them have it I'd have to guess that they're just more popular than shrimp without the backline. Pet stores will go with what's most popular and is more likely to bring in money. If you have a good enough relationship with your stores maybe you can ask them about possibly bringing in neos without the backline? If you'd like to do it the old fashioned way, you could buy the ones with backlines and as they breed select for the ones without the backline or ones with a less prominent backline, either by placing them in a separate tank or removing the ones with the backline (since your local stores sell the ones with backlines I'd think they'd be happy to take your backline neos that you don't want). As you keep selectively breeding for the shrimp that don't have the backline or is less prominent the backline should disappear over the generations and eventually you can have a colony of neos without the backline that will hopefully breed relatively true. I'd find it hard to believe there's any shrimp that breeds 100% true so you might get backlines every now and then but you can always give those away.

I agree with @uuaaayyy about going with remineralized RO water over tap water for caridina shrimp, especially pintos and Taiwan bees, so that you can control the water parameters can keep them consistent. I didn’t see you mention using tap water though so maybe I missed it. In terms of your plan, I think it’s a good idea! Neos seem to be very hardy and adaptable, especially if you’ve been raising them up for a while, so if you can slowly acclimate them they should have a better chance to thrive. Neos and caridina don’t interbreed as far as I know so you don’t have to worry about that. You also have the right idea about keeping the parameters closer to what the pintos want since they’re more sensitive to parameters and more expensive. Another suggestion is you could split your blue dream colony in half and keep one half in their old tank and add the other half into the tank for the pintos. This way if anything happens to the ones in the pinto tank you still have a “reserve colony”. One thing to consider though is that if you’re planning to use a buffering substrate (Amazonia, Fluval Stratum, Brightwell Aquasoil, etc.) if you have any KH in the water it’ll deplete the soil’s buffering capacity, essentially shortening it’s duration of effect. I saw you’re thinking of starting with neo parameters and working down to caridina parameters which is why I brought this up. I believe that buffering substrate is very important to a caridina tank and they can be expensive so that’s something you might want to consider as well. All that being said, it’s your hobby so you should do what gets you excited about the hobby. I have OERBT’s that came from a breeder who kept them in caridina parameters, but I wanted to put them in my neo tank to make the most use of my tank space. I drip acclimated them for about 8 hours since their parameters Were pretty different than the tank I was putting them in and they’re still doing well for me. So I’d think if you slowly acclimate them over several weeks/months they should have a good chance.

Yup looks like biofilm to me! Just the natural process of adding a new piece of driftwood to your tank. It happens everytime I add them to my tanks as well. It should go away over time 👍

I’m not sure if I understand, but I don’t do anything special to my water when I’m cycling it vs. when I have shrimp in the tank. I use RO/DI water remineralizer with either Salty Shrimp GH+ or GH/KH+ to achieve the water parameters for the specific type of shrimp I’m planning to put in (cardinal vs neocaridina) and let it cycle with that water. This way the bacteria and microorganisms that grow in my tank develop in the parameters for the shrimp I’m planning to put in the tank. I try to keep things in my tank as consistent and stable as possible, even during the cycling process. Hope that helps but maybe I’m misunderstanding your question. If so, could you tell me the youtubers that you watched who said this? I watch most of the popular shrimp tubers and learned basically everything I know about shrimp keeping from them.

That’s actually biofilm, which are microorganisms that typically grow on surfaces that’re rich in nutrients. Whenever I add a new piece of driftwood I get that biofilm as well. From my understanding it’s a good thing for a tank and can help promote the normal cycling process by promoting growth of microorganisms and beneficial bacteria. It should go away in a couple weeks but if you have shrimp they’ll most likely devour it.