Those who discover aquarium shrimp are fascinated by their unique physical characteristics, ease of maintenance and the many advantages they represent within the aquarium with other fish. Did you know that they are capable of cleaning the bottom of the fish tank of scales and traces of dirt? These small invertebrates are gaining more and more popularity thanks to the little space they require and the little care they require, however, that does not mean that we should not pay attention to their diet or disease prevention.
If you are considering starting a shrimp aquarium (or shrimp tank) or you already have some and want to learn how to take better care of them, find out what prawns are for community aquariumsrecommended for beginners, their basic care or the type of water they require will be essential. Find out below on our site what are care of aquarium shrimp and discover how this little aquarium inhabitant can surprise you if you spend enough time with it. You can not lose this!
What do I need to have a shrimp farm?
We define a shrimp tank as an aquarium where only shrimps live or the reproduction of aquarium shrimps is encouraged. Fish are excluded from the shrimp farm, although many fans admit the presence of snails or other types of invertebrates. Likewise, there are those who use shrimp as animals that clean the aquarium and thus promote greater biodiversity.
Why set up a shrimp tank and not an aquarium?
There are many advantages that make having a shrimp tank more economical, hygienic or cheaper than a fish tank. Prawns live in fresh and cold water environments.
To begin with, we must know that you do not need a large aquarium, on the contrary, a size "nano" shrimp is enough and it will not harm their well-being or quality of life, although you can always opt for a medium or large size. You will be able to enjoy a very special and different aquatic environment in your home without having to spend much time or effort, the prawns themselves are responsible for cleaning the bottom of dirt.
What do I need to set up a shrimp tank?
Next we will show you the basic elements you need to set up your shrimp farm:
- Grave or substrate: as in fish tanks, many people try to embellish the bottom with a "grit" that we call gravel. There are many sizes, but on our site we recommend that you use a very fine one and be careful that it does not influence the properties of the water, such as acidity. If we don't feel like putting gravel there is no problem, although the bottom may look somewhat impoverished and the prawns will not have adequate enrichment for their lifestyle.
- Plantas: there are many shrimp plants that we can use, but we recommend the java moss since they live in their very leaves. microorganisms that our prawns are going to feed on. Riccia, java fern or cladophora are also good options. We can also use logs and stones to create a unique environment.
- Temperatura: prawns are invertebrates that live in very cold waters, for this reason you will not need any type of heater. Still, if you have one from a previous tank, we recommend setting the temperature between 18ºC and 20ºC.
- Filtro: if we provide them with a sponge filter we will also be offering them extra food, since microorganisms will reproduce in it. If we do not want to use a filter, we will only need to remove 10% of the water a week and fill it with new water. That will be all the cleaning they require.
- Water: we will try to avoid ammonia or nitrite concentrations and offer an average pH of 6.8.
- Gambas: when you have already created the tank, we recommend adding 5 specimens to start. Each of them will have 1/2 liter of water.
Can I add fish to my shrimp?
If your idea is to combine fish and shrimp, you should know that, in some cases, shrimp can easily become food. These are some compatible fish with shrimp:
- Corydoras Pygmaeus
- Dwarf Cichlids
- Neons
- Barbos
- Molly's
- Discus fish
You should never add Elephant fish or Platys fish. Finally, and as a recommendation from our site, we note that it is preferable not to add fish and shrimp in the same environment since the presence of fish creates stress for the shrimp and therefore remain hidden most of the time among the plants.
Shrimp recommended for beginners: red cherry
It is the most common aquarium shrimp and easiest to care for. Virtually most people who have or have had a shrimp have practiced with it.
It usually maintains the red color for females and a more transparent tone for males, although they can often present very interesting mutations. Its size is around 2 centimeters approximately (the males being somewhat smaller) and they come from Taiwan and China. They can coexist with other prawns such as the Caridina Maculata and others of a similar size such as the Caridina Multidentata.
They accept a wide range of pH (5, 6 and 7) as well as water (6 - 16) and the ideal temperature for this specific species is approximately 23ºC. They do not tolerate the presence of copper, ammonia or nitrite in their waters.
We can create small populations of 6 or 7 individuals to start with, and we will always respect your minimum space of 1/2 liter of water per shrimp, which should be proportional to the total volume of the population. If we do not have the presence of fish we can observe it swimming and feeding openly throughout the shrimp tank.
Aquarium shrimp feeding
Aquarium prawns are omnivorous animals, for this reason they will feed on all kinds of food. They include flakes, plecos food, brine shrimp, red mosquito larvae and even well-boiled spinach or carrots.
Diseases of aquarium shrimp
Shrimps have an enviable immune system: they can eat carrion or fish carcasses without getting sick. In any case, we will pay attention to the appearance of parasites, especially worms such as Scutariella japonica. We will be able to observe in the body of the shrimp some small white filaments that adhere to it. You can solve it with the purchase of a antiparasitic in any specialized store or in a pet products store.
Tips
- We recommend that the prawn diet be based on 30% protein and the rest be made up of vegetable elements.
- Prawns live an average of 15 months.
- Play easily. Prevents parents from eating their young by providing plenty of food and a nice thick clump of vegetation.
- It is important to know that they have a molting period in which they shed their exoskeleton, just like snakes.
- During the molt they hide from possible predators for days, until they create a new one.
