# Chance CRS will breed



## qpixo (Sep 9, 2006)

I just started a breeding tank last week and added 5 CRS and 5 Red Fire. I know they will not interbreed. Water parameter: Temp 25C, PH 6.4, no Nitrate or Amoniac, DIY CO2. What is the possibility or chance the CRS will breed?


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## rjfurbank (Jan 21, 2008)

I think this depends on the hardness of the water. I was not able to get mine breeding well until I started using 100% RO.


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## qpixo (Sep 9, 2006)

rjfurbank said:


> i think this depends on the hardness of the water. I was not able to get mine breeding well until i started using 100% ro.


100% ro??


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## qpixo (Sep 9, 2006)

My Kh is 2


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## qpixo (Sep 9, 2006)

Does anyone has success breed while using tap water and adding Seachem Equilibrium (increase GH, add some mineral and calcium for CRS)?


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## torval (Aug 13, 2011)

deleted, not on topic.


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## TLe041 (Mar 20, 2010)

torval said:


> mine breed like crazy in my well water right out of my tap. it is totally untreated, ph 7.0, gh/kh 80. i add 1 teaspoon of baking soda per 10gallons and i cant keep them from breeding. i've had to seperate males from females in 2 different tanks because i have too many. they were breeding as small as 1/2 an inch or so even in the growout tanks. i didnt know they could even breed at that small.
> 
> what i find most important is not to overfeed, and keep the water clean. i do 50pct water changes and add 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda per 10gal tank every week. if anyone wants to buy some for like a buck apiece pm me. *they are solid red through and through no spots, no clear areas but some are lighter red*. i really need to get rid of some.


Are your shrimps red cherries? The OP is talking about crystal reds, which are *much* more difficult to breed.


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## torval (Aug 13, 2011)

ohh crap, i misread the post. i will edit this. totally my mistake. crs, rcs, i was tired it was late i misread. ignore that post. i was speaking of rcs. crs need totally different conditions.


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## rjfurbank (Jan 21, 2008)

qpixo said:


> 100% ro??


I started w/ tap water (kh~5; gh ~8; TDS ~250). They survived but did not breed.

Started using RO for water changes and they have really taken off. I noticed the change when TDS had dropped to ~100. I am now keeping it between 50 and 75.

I don't add any Equilibrium. I just add some Flourish comprehensive and K at water change time. I only have crypts and moss in there and they are doing well - not a display tank though.

Good luck.

-Roy


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

I've got crystals breeding in tap water... hard tap water, at that  Out of the tap (at least the last time I measured), my kh is about 5-6 and gH is pretty high up there at ~15, pH is about 7.8. I don't measure TDS, but I can guarantee that it's at _least_ a couple hundred ppm. For my CRS tanks, I use an acidic substrate (aquasoil in one tank, florabase in another) and plenty of nitrate-busting plants to keep toxins out of the water (guppy grass and duckweed are favorites of mine for this purpose). I get hatches of about 20 shrimplets at a time, most of which make it to adulthood. Some cute little S-grade babies hatched out the other day, as a matter of fact... bunch of teeny tiny little candy canes skittering around the tank XD.

However, back to the original question, I think your shrimp will do a lot better if you remove the DIY CO2. If the main goal is shrimp breeding, and not plant growing, the CO2 will do more harm than good, reducing the available calcium (which the shrimp need for their exoskeletons) and making their shells appear duller. I realize DIY CO2 produces a very low level of added CO2 compared to pressurized CO2, but it's still not worth the trouble IMO.


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## Morgan (Jun 28, 2011)

I've got CRS breeding in tap water via PUR faucet filtration. Rock hard SoCal water, also. I give much credit to the Fluval granulated soil, really levels out the high pH associated with hard water. Consistently high at 7.3 pH and shrimp are into 3rd generation. No fish in tank; 2 Nerite snails for brown algae duty. Try a PUR filter if RO water is not available...works for me and removes all metals and chlorine.


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## wHeEzO (Feb 8, 2006)

Crystals like soft water and lower pH. You got the pH down but I don't know about your hardness. Mine breed using straight from tap. I guess I'm lucky. =)

If your shrimps don't breed in 2 months, try using RO water.


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## alexopolus (Jan 18, 2010)

I had a bad experience with equilibrium and CRS, half of my colony at that time died. I just use 1/2 tap 1/2 RO to balance water hardness ( my water is extremely hard! ).


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## alexopolus (Jan 18, 2010)

wHeEzO said:


> Crystals like soft water and lower pH. You got the pH down but I don't know about your hardness. Mine breed using straight from tap. I guess I'm lucky. =)
> 
> If your shrimps don't breed in 2 months, try using RO water.


It also Depends of how mature your shrimps are and also make sure that you have females, a friend of mine had them for almost a year with no breeding ( small colony of 8) after a wile we figure out that all of them were males.


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## wHeEzO (Feb 8, 2006)

Yup that's true. Make sure you get IMO at least 10 to start with, maybe even 12 to be safe. That should be good to get a colony started. Good chances for at least 1 female and 1 male out of the 12 =)


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## Coursair (Apr 18, 2011)

Mine are breeding in tap water, but I wasn't getting many babies, so I started adding part Distilled/ part Tap when I do PWCs. 

Also reduced my PWCs to 10% instead of the 25-30% I'm used to for my fish tanks. Shrimp don't like fast change. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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