Soothing Shrimp Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Has anyone tried to keep shrimp in a bare bottom tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddles Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 I'm sure it's been done. Chemistry wise, it's no different than using inert substrate. If I was going to do it I'd want to have loads of moss in it so they have something to pick over all day. It sure looks funny to me though. Are you expanding your breeding operation and want to go simple®? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted July 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 I'm expanding, but not just with shrimp- with fish, too. Lots of people like bare bottom fish tanks due to easy maintenance and cleaner water. I was wondering about shrimp tanks doing the same thing, but honestly- I can't figure out how to do that with a shrimp tank as the teeny babies would get sucked up through vacuuming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 With fish it is great for breeding... you can keep the water quality very good... however you need to then make sure you provide plenty of food for fry For shrimp I figured they'd prefer to be able to clean the substrate. One I saw that I liked was just a ton of IAL at the bottom of a bare bottom tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo89 Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 I have about 20 fire red cherries in a bare bottom 1 foot tank. The tank is about 70% filled with dense Java Moss but honestly I haven't seen any visual improvement in population growth or health due to the lack of substrate. Have heard that a darker substrate will deepen the shrimps natural colours though, this no substrate may make them look duller than they may in a different setup. Louie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted July 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 yeah Triton...I hate the brown tannins look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted July 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 Do you clean the bottom at all with this set-up? I have about 20 fire red cherries in a bare bottom 1 foot tank. The tank is about 70% filled with dense Java Moss but honestly I haven't seen any visual improvement in population growth or health due to the lack of substrate. Have heard that a darker substrate will deepen the shrimps natural colours though, this no substrate may make them look duller than they may in a different setup. Louie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 ah ok, def a different opinion then, i love the tannins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted July 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 LOL Lots of people do. I'm the odd man out. Louie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 to me... this is fantastic... small amount of sand, lots of leaf litter Sorry... got a little off topic LOL Louie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryboy12484 Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 I have a Blackwater tank and my wife hates it.... "it looks dirty" lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 I like bare bottom with dwarf crays but I did not like it with shrimp because the tiny babies do get siphoned up as you siphon the bottom. They seem to prefer tank bottom . Using a white bucket it isn't bad as I see them but it got to be a pain as they bred more and went with gravel and plants . countryboy12484 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 This tank had 1 white Clarki . Now it has a pair and bit more driftwood. I find with messy crays bare bottom works best . I do not use a filter for this tank because I have had crays climb filter tubes etc . I just do 20% water change every other day. The bottom is painted black or the crays feel nervous . I might put in a filter but not sure . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted July 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 Glad you told me that. I just got 3 baby white crays. I have them in a bare tenner with sponge filter. I'll keep an eye out for climbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 I love the White crays . So far my pair has been getting along well. I have never had the dwarfs even attempt to climb out but bigger crays when they get to about 4 inches will try it . The marbled crays have not but I have had clarki try it before . The bigger crays initially do not like walking on bare bottom but after awhile they could not care less , Do you have PVC tubes for them? High5's 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High5's Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 I go bare bottom for breeder tanks with fish, I'd try it with shrimp with leaf litter bottom and some drift wood maybe even a filter through peat pellets for natural PH buffering with a hob canister with purigen bag should keep the water clear. Found thses on ebay for 19$ free shipping made by Aquatop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted July 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 I love the White crays . So far my pair has been getting along well. I have never had the dwarfs even attempt to climb out but bigger crays when they get to about 4 inches will try it . The marbled crays have not but I have had clarki try it before . The bigger crays initially do not like walking on bare bottom but after awhile they could not care less , Do you have PVC tubes for them? Good idea on the pvc parts! I'll get some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subtletanks91 Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 to me... this is fantastic... small amount of sand, lots of leaf litter Sorry... got a little off topic LOL haha I did the same thing for my biotope only amaxonia to buffer the water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ch3fb0yrdee Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 This is in regards to a barebottom setup. A few days ago I spoke to a friend and asked him what his opinions were about setting up a barebottom tank (Boston's rimless cubes really inspired me). And his response was that it offers zero benefits. Now, this is with regards to the shrimps. For us, we know the benefits is it allotted ease and time to clean barebottom tanks. For shrimp, these benefits isn't present. He rationalized that barebottom tanks doesn't help shrimps because it's in their nature to graze continuously throughout the day. Having a substrate would allow them to pick at microbs. I know there's products out there such as bacter ae that helps form biofilm which feeds the shrimps, but foods is naturally suppose to decay and breakdown inside the tank so that it can feed critters and microbs to recharge the humus substances. I suppose it's a more natural cycle, like in nature. Now key is to not have foods that contains to much animal proteins or foods that leeches sap or their substances too rapidly. I suppose when we setup a shrimp tank, we're really setting up a ecosystem in which out shrimps could thrive. Barebottom tank isn't naturally occurring in the wild. As such, it's really made me questions on of my own shrimp keeping/breeding methods. Just my 2cents but that's how I see it. High5's 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted July 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 Not really siding either way, rather playing devil's advocate. Bare bottom would add more area for biofilm and algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elo500 Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 High5 is that an internal filter? I saw a video awhile back for a shrimp breeding operation they used huge bare bottom tanks. The reason given was that it was easier to keep clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.