Article Written by Kevyn
There are certain things that you need to look out for in shrimp keeping hobby, but there are 3 most important things that stand out from the rest. Importance of the following will ensure happy breeding shrimps!
1. Temperature
As we all know from our research we know roughly the temperature range which our shrimps are capable of surviving in.
For E.g Cherry = 23-28Deg C // Crystal Red Shrimp = 20-25 Deg C
However, due to the weather in the Tropics, we will not be able to achieve our desirable temperature with the unforgiving heat emitted from the sun. Hence artificial chilling is introduced into this hobby.
Of course you may argue that the shrimps are fine in adapting in a higher temperature than it is suppose to. But have you ever felt comfortable when you are sweating most of the time? That’s how a shrimp feels when they are in a high temperature environment; uncomfortable. This will ultimately affect their coloration and their growth habits.
So ask yourself if you would want to introduce a cooling fan (-1/-2 Deg C) or a chiller(which is very costly) to allow your shrimps to show its full coloration. Which will be your choice? The cost will be your main clue.
2. Water Parameters
How often do you change your Aquarium water? Recommendation will be to do a weekly change of at least 10% - 30% water. Shrimps like clean water which does not have a lot of harmful bacteria and parasites eating into their shells, affecting their health. Every time a water change is introduced, do remember to use “aged water”, where you “seat” the water in a bucket for min 48 hours, to ensure that all chlorine have dissolved.
Do remember to add anti-chlorine as well to speed up the process (P/S DO NOT ADD ANTI CHLORINE DIRECT TO AQUARIUM). There are certain products out there that also helps build a better bacteria colony and breaks down harmful substances like Ammonia. A product that I would recommend will be Mosura BT-9. I will touch more on that if I get requests for it.
3. Lighting
As we know, shrimps from the wild has a natural environment where they have at least 12hours sunlight and night a day. Hence we would like to mimic nature as much as possible by having at least a form of light source for the shrimps. Be it tank by the window or having a LED light hanging over the top of the aquarium will suffice. We would like to have enough light for up to 6-8hrs, this will help the plants in photosynthesis, which helps the tank from breaking down ammonia and improving oxygen content.
Hope this helps in keeping your shrimps happy and alive!
