How do I set up a bee shrimp tank

What's on This Page:
The way I set up a bee shrimp tank. There are  many ways to do it, I think mine is probably one that's on the easy side as I generally tend to go for a lazy way if one exists.

Before You Read On: 
I know a picture is worth a thousand words, I will add more pictures later on. But here is a post I made about my setup, you can take a quick peek before you read on.

http://www.shrimpspot.com/index.php?/topic/1044-half-bare-bottom-tank-setup/?hl=%2Bhalf+%2Bbare+%2Bbottom


What are Bee Shrimps:
All crystal family (CRS/CBS/Golden/Snowwhite), Taiwan bees, Pintos. I actually set up my OEBT and BTOE tanks exactly the same way.



1. What You Need
You will need a tank, filtration, substrate, and water. Optionally and strongly recommended, some plants.

1.1 Tank:
Any tank will do, the main consideration here is the size of the tank. In general, I think anything between 10G-20G should work well for most applications. A few other consideration,
 - When selecting a tank for shrimp, pick the ones that gives you a bigger bottom area. I have used 20G talls and they don't work as well as the shallower ones (12" or less).
 - If you only have 10 shrimps, it would work better to start with a smaller tank (5G-10G range). Reason is that shrimps feel safe in number, especially in a new environment. Try to have at least 2 shrimps per gallon. The symptom of not enough shrmips is that they would hide most of the time, not responding to food, and generally less active. If they stay like that for an extended period, it is not good for them. Healthy shrimps should be always moving, maybe a few 5 minutes breaks in the corner everyday.
 - A 10G tank can hold more than 500 bee shrimps safely, but there's a difference between introducing 500 shrimps in a 10G tank all at once and having 20 shrimps in there and they breed out 500. The formal won't work too well, the later is every bit possible and I've done it many times.
 - Half Bare Bottom or not? If you read the link above, you'll see my setup. Most of my tanks are set up that way because it works better for me. I've listed all the thinking behind the idea in that post.

1.2 Filtration:
Shrimps don't eat a lot, so they don't produce a large amount of waste. Most filters will work, following are some of the considerations,
 - The most important thing about the filtration in a shrimp tank is not the type you use, but that you should cycle the filters properly.
 - You should have a solution for the filter intake unless you're using an air-driven sponge filter. You should cover it so baby shrimps won't get sucked in.
 - For some reason, canisters don't work as well for me as the HOBs. So I don't think you need to spend the extra money for them.
 - For my 15G - 20G tank, AquaClear 70 with a double sponge filter as the pre-filter (avoid baby shrimps being sucked in) is my top choice. For a 10G - 15G, an AquaClear 50 is enough. For 5G tanks, you can either use just double sponge filter or a small HOB.

1.3 Substrate:
ADA Amazonia. You can try all different active substrates, but ADA Amazonia is the one I find most consistent and with pretty good lifespan. Do make sure you properly cycle the tank (filtration + substrate) as Amazonia leaches Ammonia for at least 3 - 4 weeks (perfect for cycling the tank).
 - Bare bottom? Yes, I have seen people trying it, most of them stopped after a while, at least those I'm aware of.

1.4 Water:
Other than the initial fill (I use tap water for that), you should use remineralized RO for water changes.
 - There are many products for remineralization, I personally only use MK Breed Blue Diamond now as it's in liquid form, made from natural sea water, and affordable.
 - Don't mix tap with RO to achive the same TDS/GH, it's NOT the same. You can find many many unwelcome substances in the tap water. Aovid using tap water entirely, it will increase your chance of success many many times.

1.5 Plants:
Having plants in a tank makes a more stable environment. It promotes growth for many micro organisms and most of them are beneficial to shrimps. I find that most of the tanks that have good breeding result have lots of plants (moss, mostly).
 - I strongly recommand moss of any type(s). Java moss if you don't mind the growing pattern (or lack of), coral or phonix moss if you want the slow grower. I use peacock moss in most of my tank, they grow reasonably fast. It's personal preference.
 - You can use many things to tie your moss on, I find drift wood or colla wood work the best. But it will serve the same purpose even if you just float a clunk of moss in the tank.
 - I find that, when moss doesn't grow well, shrimps don't do that well in the same tank.
 - Moss or similar plants provide good hiding and feeding areas for baby shrimps, very good to increase baby survival rate.

1.6 Other things I would recommend:
 - Cholla wood. Shrimps enjoy picking on it for food and it provides more hiding places when shrimps find it necessary to hide.
 - Indian Almond Leaves. Very good stuff to have in your tank. It provides some food for shrimps and also has some anti-bacterial effect and PH lowering ability (although very limited). The verdic is, I find shrimps like them and they don't do anything bad to my tanks. One leave per 5-10G is good, and add a new one when the old one starts to decay or be eaten by shrimps. You can just rinse it with clear water then drop them in to where you want them to be.
 - Airstone. I find an airstone can noticeably improve the shrimp activity level, especially when the tank is considered warmer (over 23C / 73F).

1.7 Others:
 - You can have your favorite decorations in, but note that some stones will affect PH and/or GH/TDS. My policy is, no stone in my shrimp tank, except maybe the red larva rocks which I have used to no bad effect.
 - I find that, the simpler the tank is, the less issues you will have in the long run.
 - You want some water circulation in the tank, you also want to make sure shrimps can find a peaceful spot to chill easily if they want to.



2. Setting up a tank:
I'll list the steps I use to set up a tank, the ones listed as optional can be ignored completely
1. (Day 1) Wash and clean the tank, even if it's a brand new tank.
2. (Optional) spread a thin layer of bacteria additive of your choice. Try not to use multiple types unless you are SURE they work together.
3. Add substrate, about 1" thick.
4. (Optional) spread a thin layer of bacteria additive o fyour choice.
5. Add another layer of substrate, total about 2.5" - 3" thick. If you really want to be thorough, screen your substrate and use the bigger granule ones in step 3, and smaller ones in this step.
6. Flatten the substrate or make it however you like, most people make it so that the front is about 0.5" thinner than the back. This makes scaping and viewing easier.
7. Place a clean plate on the dry substrate, then add water in. Direct the water flow to the plat so the water won't distrub the substrate.
8. At this time, your water should be very slightly cloudy or completely clean (depending how well you place the plate and how carefully you added the water).
9. Turn on the filter and let it run for 24-48 hours.
10. (Day 2 or 3) The water should be very clear now. Sometimes it will still be a bit cloudy, this can be a result of certain batches of ADA substrate. This is not a big issue and there's really not much you can do about it. Doing water change won't fix it, nor will stuff such as active carbon.
11. (Optaionl) Clean the filter, as it has sucked up all the dirty stuff from the new substrate.
12. Let the filter run, no need to turn on light.
13 (Day 7, optional) Add some more bacterial additives if you have it.
14.(Day 14) You can add drift wood, cholla wood, and plants in now. And start the regular lighting period. My lights for shrimp tanks are on 7-9 hours a day (depending on the size/shape of the tank, and lighting strength), but at this stage, I would normally lengthen the lighting period to 10 - 12 hrs a day.
15. (Day 21) You can start testing for ammonia(NH3/NH4+), every 2 - 3 days. When ammonia is very low, you can start testing for nitrite (NO2) as well. You can add bacterial additive, little and often like a little every day if you have it.
16 (Day X) When you find both ammonia and nitrite are zero at least two days in a row, your cycling process is done.
17 (Day X) Do a 100% water change (or as close to 100% as possible) with remineralized RO (NO TAP WATER). I adjust my new water to about GH5 (TDS varies depending on what you use as mineral additive but should be between 100-180, again, use GH as the indicator, not TDS).
18. Turn lighting period to normal if you started with longer period at step 14.
19 (Day X+5+, i.e. at least 5 days after step 18), you can add shrimps in.

December Germany Group Buy

Basically the same price and term from the September group buy. Many people missed that one and asked for another one, so please put in your order early.

The prices are all for pre-order (and deposit paid), after they are landed, price will be 20% more. I'm usually pretty flexible with my pricing but for these I'll be firm, so it's fair to people who pre-order.

A few notes from the previous order:
- The colour of the OEBT is AMAZING. I kept some for myself, you can come to see them and I'm sure you'll be pulling out your pocket.

- Almost everyone who ordered pintos got at least 1 spotted head pinto, which if ordered separately will be $350ea.

- Size-wise, in the last order, OEBT are basically breeding size or very close to. Most shrimps were 1.2cm+.

- Parameters-wise,
Taiwan bee, crystal, pintos : TDS 160, PH 6.2, GH5-6.
Red Tiger and Black Tiger : TDS 250, PH 6.5, GH 8-9.





Notes and Rules:
- These shrimps are from a famous German breeder Michael Nadal.

- All shrimps are 1.2+cm unless otherwise specified. I'm told most of them will be bigger than 1.2 and should at the young adult size.

- Male/Female mixed. Do not ask for male/female ratio, I will be fair. If I can't get you at least 30% female, the transaction is cancelled. (I am told we'll get mixed male/female, but I can't guarantee 50% ratio. You get same ratio of female as in the entire shipment)

- All pre-orders require a 20% deposit, balance to be paid in full when picking up the shrimps. You'll get 100% refund if for any reason your ordered shrimps don't arrive (out of stock or other reasons).

- Preferred payment method is email transfer (no fee from me), or PayPal (3% fee to be added).

- Tentative pickup date is before Christmas, if you can't pick up (or arrange a shipping date) between  (December 14-31, please arrange alternative pickup/shipping date BEFORE placing an order.

- Shipping can be arranged, as long as I agree to ship to you, it's 100% DOA (excluding the shipping cost). Exception applies and I will communicate with you before your order is finalized.

- I reserve the right to deny purchase due to shipping difficulty and/or any other reason making the transaction difficult.

 - I reserve the right to change the pickup date. If you can't make it to the new pickup date, all deposit will be refunded.

- All order or inquiries to be directed to randy_leiATyahoo.ca (replace AT with @ of course)



Important Dates:
- I'm taking orders until Sunday, December 7.
- Tentative pickup dates should be after December 21.





What's Available: (coming back for updates, new species may be added later)


Orange Eye Blue Tigers,  $16ea ($15ea for 10 or more)
- These German OEBTs have better colour than average stock from Asia. They are a bit more expensive but it's definitely worth the extra $$$.

Black/Red Pinto, Black $200ea, Red $250ea.
- Mostly multi-stripes (or Zebra as named in Asia).
- Different pattern available but much more expensive (red spotted head is $400ea, for example)
- These are bred with pinto x pinto, not like most Asian sources who use mischlings.

Spotted head pinto mischling $50ea ($45ea for 10 or more)
- Red or Black.
- These can throw spotted pinto which are at least $350ea.

Shadow Mosura (aka Mosura Taiwan Bee, basically SSS pattern Taiwan beeS)



Crystal White Shrimp, $30ea ($28ea for 10 or more)
- I paid $60ea about 2 years ago....and couldn't find any source since.

Super red crystal shrimp low/med grade, $30ea ($28ea for 10 or more)
- These are crystal red shrimp with white bred out. Very hard to find in North America.

Taitibee red high end, $100ea. (Black ones are $90 ea)
- These are from Taiwan bees crossed with Tiger shrimps after many generations.
- They have the nice colouration of Taiwan bees and irregular pattern from Tigers.

Others: (quantity discount upon request for 10 or more)
Red shadow mosura $90ea
Black shadow mosura $70ea
Red Tiger $18ea
Red Tiger Orange Eye $200ea (can specify a pair if you order 2)
Black tiger full black orange eye $30ea
Black tiger dark eye full black $30ea

Germany Group Buy, August/September 2014 (closed)

*** Note: this Group Buy is closed. All orders should have been confirmed. If you ordered but didn't get a reply from me please contact me asap. ***




Notes and Rules:
- This is a rare chance to get these rare species from Germany. I don't think I'll be doing this very often. If you miss this chance, you may have to wait for a LONG time before I do this again.

- These shrimps are from a famous German breeder Michael Nadal.

- All shrimps are 1.2+cm unless otherwise specified. I'm told most of them will be bigger than 1.2 and should at the young adult size.

- Male/Female mixed. Do not ask for male/female ratio, I will be fair. If I can't get you at least 30% female, the transaction is cancelled. (I am told we'll get mixed male/female, but I can't guarantee 50% ratio. You get same ratio of female as in the entire shipment)

- All pre-orders require a 20% deposit, balance to be paid in full when picking up the shrimps. You'll get 100% refund if for any reason your ordered shrimps don't arrive (out of stock or other reasons).

- Preferred payment method is email transfer (no fee from me), or PayPal (3% fee to be added).

- Tentative pickup date is end of September, if you can't pick up (or arrange a shipping date) between  (Sept 28 - Oct 10), please arrange alternative pickup/shipping date BEFORE placing an order.

- Shipping can be arranged, as long as I agree to ship to you, it's 100% DOA (excluding the shipping cost). Exception applies and I will communicate with you before your order is finalized.

- I reserve the right to deny purchase due to shipping difficulty and/or any other reason making the transaction difficult.

 - I reserve the right to change the pickup date. If you can't make it to the new pickup date, all deposit will be refunded.

- All order or inquiries to be directed to randy_leiATyahoo.ca (replace AT with @ of course)



Important Dates:
- I'm taking orders until Sunday, September 14.
- Tentative pickup dates is around end of September or early October. Exact date will be announced in the week after pre-order is closed.





What's Available: (coming back for updates, new species may be added later)


Orange Eye Blue Tigers,  $16ea ($15ea for 10 or more)
- These German OEBTs have better colour than average stock from Asia. They are a bit more expensive but it's definitely worth the extra $$$.

Black/Red Pinto, Black $200ea, Red $250ea.
- Mostly multi-stripes (or Zebra as named in Asia).
- Different pattern available but much more expensive (red spotted head is $400ea, for example)
- These are bred with pinto x pinto, not like most Asian sources who use mischlings.

Spotted head pinto mischling $50ea ($45ea for 10 or more)
- Red or Black.
- These can throw spotted pinto which are at least $350ea.

Shadow Mosura (aka Mosura Taiwan Bee, basically SSS pattern Taiwan beeS)



Crystal White Shrimp, $30ea ($28ea for 10 or more)
- I paid $60ea about 2 years ago....and couldn't find any source since.

Super red crystal shrimp low/med grade, $30ea ($28ea for 10 or more)
- These are crystal red shrimp with white bred out. Very hard to find in North America.

Taitibee red high end, $100ea. (Black ones are $90 ea)
- These are from Taiwan bees crossed with Tiger shrimps after many generations.
- They have the nice colouration of Taiwan bees and irregular pattern from Tigers.

Others: (quantity discount upon request for 10 or more)
Red shadow mosura $90ea
Black shadow mosura $70ea
Red Tiger $18ea
Red Tiger Orange Eye $200ea (can specify a pair if you order 2)
Black tiger full black orange eye $30ea
Black tiger dark eye full black $30ea

Some new PRL that came in

I have a shrimp breeder friend who contribute about 10 tanks for this line to supply me. He would select the SSS pattern ones with good colouration and keep them aside for me and export the rest to Japan (lucky Canadian shrimpers).

This line has pretty good colouration, however as a note of warning, the line is not very stable yet. They would produce all patterns (S/SS/SSS) of babies, although most will have the same quality on colouration.

Procambarus Clarkii sp. "Ghost" Mating

I don't know much about crayfish. A few friends often asked me to import some for them as I know a pretty serious crayfish breeder in Taiwan, so I have seen more crayfish than I wanted ;-)

These came in couple days ago, and right after a long journey in their separated bags, this was the first thing they did after put into their temporary home before going to their final destination.

I was told that female cray with single claw would be reluctant to mate as they play an important part in the mating. You'll see why in this picture. The male has to grab the female the entire duration. Sort of a forced action, isn't it ;-)

Blue bolt, a different kind

Made by my 11 years old son, he is also very interested in this hobby.

Follow through a berried mischling

See this link on TPT for the follow through.

Finally tally: 10 TB babies, 8 regular mischling babies. 

YouTube link2 on how one of the TB babies hatched:
                      Part 1

                      Part 2

The latest dream blue

Just want to share some newer photos of the new dream blue.

These shrimps are about 60-70% breed true. Some babies will be less blue and you will get some carbon rills or midnight rilis in the offspring too.

 

I sucked at tigers

What I mean is I suck at breeding tiger shrimps, don't get me wrong ;-)

I've tried a few different setups and water parameters and none worked well. They (mostly OEBTs) would breed but baby survival rate had been terrible.

So I gave it another shot. Got 6-7 BTOE/Royal Blue and 3 OEBTs in a 5 gallon tank with akadama. I didn't lose any shrimp in the 4-5 months they have been in the tank. One OEBT got berried about 3 months ago and I think I finally broke the dry spell..... the babies have survived for about 2 months now and I don't think I lost many. And now more are berried.... could it work this time? I'll wait and see.

This particular one seems to be a royal blue? 

Extreme BKK berried

These extreme BKK seem to breed slower. With spring coming, hopefully they will breed better. Haven't spot any berried shrimps for the last 2 months and got two berried (maybe more) after an early February storm.

She is berried again

So the breeding has resumed after a 2.5 month winter break. She is berried again by a extreme BKK, or maybe a pinto in the same tank. What will I get this time?

CRS breeding in winter

So, what are they thinking in the merciless Canadian winter?

 So I have moved most of my shrimp tanks in my new shrimp room (started cycling in July 2013), it's in a small 10'x14' room in the basement. The breeding had been great from the beginning, all shrimps were breeding up until late October when the room temperature dropped to 18 - 19C (~65F). The babies kept growing although very slowly, and breeding slowly slowed down.

I have less than 10 shrimps that got berried in December, and I have probably over 500 bee shrimps in the shrimp room. And less than 5 in January.

What's going on?

I remember although breeding slowed down, but I had way more berried shrimp last year in tanks I had heaters in. This year it just slowed down to almost a full stop.

I have a CRS tank in my living room. The population grew from 3 to about 150 between March 2013 and November of the same year. I also observe no berried shrimp in that tank. Before November, female shrimps constantly got berried.

A lot hobbyists contribute this to barometer changes in the winter. I can't disprove that, but it doesn't explain why breeding still goes on in my buddies' shrimp tanks, but almost every tank in my house slowed down.

Hope things will pick up again soon. My experience tells me March is the magic time. I will just convince myself it's just a matter of time like I've told others countless times.

Share your experience?

Happy Chinese New Year

Cutie

Caught this baby playing on moss.....  so cute.

And his brother (or sister).

The the photo op ended because the shark has come....

Tangerine Tiger from Germany

I find that a lot of Tangerine Tigers on the market less attractive because the "tangerine" colour isn't "orange" enough ;-) So when there was the opportunity I jumped on it to get some in a group buy.

And a month has passed since I got them, they seem to be happy in my tank.

TT (Tangerine Tiger) is probably the easiest tiger shrimps to keep and breed, may be with the exception of regular/super tigers. But I'm known for pathetic in breeding tigers, so I will see if they will make me look better ;-)

I keep them in regular CRS parameters, maybe 1 or 2 degree C lower in tank temperature. Perfect for the bottom level on my shrimp racks.

Sulawesi Cardinal Shrimp (Caridina sp. "Cardinal")

These are beautiful shrimps and relatively easy for Sulawesi shrimps.

Recommended Parameter: 27C-30C, PH 7.5+, GH 5+, TDS 200+.

They are very shy but will eventually come out more as they get used to the environment. I suggest to have 10 or more in the tank, best to have 20+ because they would feel safer, be less shy, and will come out more. It's normal for them to hide for weeks when introduced to a new tank.

Feeding:
One thing about feeding is that they can be trained to eat introduced food, but most of the time they won't take anything you feed them in the beginning. Take it slow and definitely don't over feed them. If you don't see them eat the introduced food, then try it once a week until you can observe them eat what you give them. Even then, feed very little. In a tank of 50, I wouldn't feed more than 3 rice grain size of any food and less than 3 times a week. That's why I keep them with rabbit snails and just feed the snails instead.

Water Change:
I have heard many bad things about water change to these shrimps. I would suggest small amount like 10% every 3-4 weeks.

Golden Rabbit Snail (Tylomelania gemmifera)

Golden Rabbit Snail (Tylomelania gemmifera) 

- Grow to around 3".
- Big eater, can eat a lot of food.
- When they are happy in the tank, expect one baby each month. Baby snails are born as snails, they don't lay eggs.
- Recommended Parameters 25C-30C, PH 7.5+, GH 5+, TDS 200+
- Perfect as tank mates with Sulawesi shrimps. I see often these shrimps would pick snail poop.