Shrimpery Water Change Frequency

Hello Shrimpers,

In my 125L community tank, the w/c frequency is driven by the nitrate level (40ppm). However, in the shrimpery, now 3 weeks after initial light stocking, ammonia and nitrite are zero, and nitrate is 5ppm - which is my tap water level. I am hoping that the plants are controlling the nitrate at the moment. I have just done a 10% w/c with a jug, because, like most of us, I am mortified at the thought of sucking up a shrimplet.  So, the questions are:

1) As, (like the 125L), there is no mulm, is it necessary to siphon the substrate?

2) How do I decide how much and how often to w/c, particularly if the nitrate level stays low?

Thanks as always,

                               Skittler

Hi Skittler,


Sorry, i've just seen this.
This is just the way I do things (with a bit of advice from Seb at Pro shrimp thrown in).

Because I have a fairly heavily stocked shrimpery (I think – it now has 10 micro rasboras in there as well), I change 30% per week. Seb thinks 20% is OK for a low level of stocking, but I'm sure other shrimp owners could advise on this.

I used to just do changes with a jug, but I've now started using a syphon. I use a syphon that I think is originally meant for a bio orb. It has a blue squeezy bit that you use to start the syphoning off. It also has a screw on attachment on the bottom which has a plastic grid. I take this off when syphoning my shrimpery, which leaves a very wide opening so that if shrimp are sucked up, they won't be damaged.

I syphon the water into a white bucket because the shrimp are easier to see on a white background. Shrimp do get sucked up, but they're easy to see and I just fish them out using my special shrimp net and pop them back into the shrimpery (it's worth getting one of the special nets that retains its shape because the shrimp are less likely to get damaged. I just put the net into the tank and they swim out of it very calmly).

Seb (pro shrimp) says that shrimp can take fairly large water changes (though I have seen other threads on different forums that suggest that this isn't so good for them) as long as you don't dump large quantities of water in suddenly. So, unlike my fish tank, I dribble the changed, dechlorinated,  water in very slowly – it does take a while. Then I put some Bacter AE in (supposed to help the biofilm, but don't know if it's strictly necessary. Other people use beta glucans at a water change, and I've just got some but haven't tried it yet).

All my fish and shrimp appear to be thriving, so I hope I'm doing the right thing! Others will, no doubt do things differently, and probably better, so don't take this as gospel.

Hope it gives you some ideas though.

Diz1

I didn't reply as I'm not a shrimp expert.

I'll just add a couple of things to Diz's answer.
I do 2 smaller water changes a week as I have almond leaves and alder cones in the shrimp tank and a larger water change would change the water parameters too much. I clean the tank floor as I have nerite snails in the tank and they poo rather a lot. I know that shrimp poo grows micro-organisms that are food for baby shrimp but I don't know about the unsightly snail poo. And as I have sand, those big black bits just sit there.
I use a wine making siphon tube for this tank which is narrower than most fish tank siphon tubes but I find this easier to use with sand. I start it by filling the tubing with tapwater and let the first bit (the tap water) run into another bucket then collect the tank water in a light grey bucket - as Diz says, it is easier to see shrimp in a light coloured bucket.
I use a fish medication pipette with the end cut off to make it wider to suck baby shrimp out of the jug I use to empty the bucket. With larger shrimp I carefully decant them into a cheesecake pot, suck out the bits with the pipette and lower the pot into the tank so the shrimp can swim out.

The cherry shrimp in this tank are thriving with this treatment, but they are the hardiest and easiest of all the shrimps we can buy. I bought 5 crystal red shrimp a few weeks ago. My pH is a tad high for them (hence the almond leaves and alder cones) and my hardness is right at the top end for them. I have found 2 dead crystals and can only find 2 in the tank; I don't know if number 5 is also dead or just very good at hiding. Is it my water they don't like or the way I maintain the tank?

Thanks Ladies,

That's a massive help.

As far as your experience goes - and my distinct lack of it - never forget that "in the Kingdom of the Blind, the one-eyed man is King".    Your advice is invaluable. 

                                      Skittler