# Information for keeping CRS



## jlo (Mar 26, 2009)

Keeping CRS are easy and simple, I had been reading alot about how people keep CRS in here (U.S.),and i see lots of people worry alot about lots of things, so I post this thread and hope will help some of our CRS keeper. Myself I only had keep Crs for few months, but lucky enough I was taught by a japanese breeder. What I think is important is how you set up the tank, not always worry about the water the only 2 things i check is the Temp. and PH. and do 10% water change every 2 week. 

the best basic set up supplier for CRS:


Substrates

I recommend ADA soil, it will help you on the Ph and keep your water condition well. 

Filters
I believe Under gravel filter is a must for most of the shrimps, the way to use it is you connect you power filter to the under gravel filter rather than using air stone or power head because this will help the shrimp or baby shrimp from sucking in to the filter. Lots of people use canister filter or hang on filter the biggest drawback for those filters are when you clean them is kind of difficult, and you will lose lot of biological filtration bacteria and for hang on filters lots of time you don’t even get enough biological filtration. Personal I real like wet/dry filter with Glass Bio Ring “NOT BIO BALL”(the bio ball doesn’t do too good either) because the cleaning is a lot easier and when you cleaning the filter you won’t disrupt the biological so much. 

Mineral rock 
Mineral rock is very important to your Crystal red shrimp because the mineral can help the breeder shrimps to breed and the baby shrimps to grown. The rich natural elements enhance the creamy white color of shrimps and keep them healthy.

Food
I only had use the Shirakura CRS Specialty Food because this food is designed especially for shrimp tank. They are products of years of shrimps breeding experience, and it is designed to enhance color of crystal red shrimp, red bee shrimps and other algae eater shrimp.

Others
~Heater (if it gets too cold)
~Cooling fan (if it gets too hot)
~Hiding place ( I highly recommend bamboo charcoal, because they will work like carbon to keep your water cleaner also can help absorb smell, toxins, organic compounds and chemicals) or you can use rocks or drift woods, flower pot est.….
~Lighting: you need to pick the one that can fit your tank and if you having real aqua plants in you tank you will need the one can provide enough light for your plants too.

Here are just some idea and iformation, hope this will help


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## tex627 (Nov 2, 2008)

jlo, i agree with what you say but i dont thing everything you stated is necessary to breed CRS. i started breeding CRS last december and i listened to everyone on the web and bought all the things people online said i needed. heres what i think is actually NEEDED:

1.heater
2.substrate
3.a filter that is able to turn your tank's water around more than 5times/hour and that will not suck in baby shrimp(i.e. if you're using a 20 gallon to breed your filter should be able to filter 100gph or more)
4. water parameters-as long as its stable you will be able to breed in the following conditions:
TDS: ~200
gH: ~5-6
pH: 5.5-7.2 (the guy at brian's tropicals breeds his in a pH of 7.6 as long as parameters are stable they will adapt and breed)
kH: doesnt directly effect the shrimp but will alter the pH
nitrate <20
nitrite and ammonia 0
5. 30% water changes once a week
6.food w/o copper(flake, algae wafers, crab cuisine)
7. last but not least, a tank(any size but bigger the easier)

the following are the things that will make breeding a lot easier:
-bigger tank(20 gallon reccomended)
-ada soil(will set water param to what CRS prefer automatically)
-good light(2-3 wpg) will support healthy growth of plants and will help soak up nitrates and other nutrients therefore minimizing water changes
-CRS food
-calcium supplement
-chiller
-purigen(this stuff is amazing! takes care of all my problems)
-2 filters that will turn your water around 20-40 times ( i have 2 HOB filters with a sponge over the intake of course, one with lots of sponge and purigen for mechanical filtration and the other for biological filtration with all media.
-hiding places:driftwood, plants, biomedia(what i use) and other things that wont effect water parameters

well this is basically it. i hope this could help people on a low budget. my point is a lot of things that people reccomend arent necessary. dont get me wrong though i agree with everything jlo says its just not NEEDED.

as for the undergravel filter, it will shorten the lifespan of soil if used with soil. its definitely not need but will increase biological filtration. you could always do that by adding another canister filter with good media in the long run you'll be saving money using an extra canister filter attatched to sponge filter because then you wouldnt have to change the aquasoil on a yearly basis.


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## modster (Jun 16, 2007)

Japanese and US breeders use very different methods. Japanese breeders don't really plant their shrimp tank and are big fans of under gravel filter. Maybe that is why they think a large enough filter is so important. Also, they clean their filters only when they change the aquasoil, which is every half year. US breeders take a completely different approach. Their tanks are heavily planted and the plants are used as part of the bio filter. Take my tank as an example, it's 29g and only has an aquaclear 50 on it. My plants are able to keep ammonia/nitrite/nitrate at zero. 

There are many ways to breed CRS. After all, the shrimps only care about the water, not the type of filter you use.


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## tex627 (Nov 2, 2008)

i knew that japanese breeders liked to use undergravel filter but i never knew that they changed their substrates every 6 months. from my experience, CRS dont start breeding until they settle down and are adapted to their new environment. it takes around 2-3 weeks to cycle the tank and then 2 months until they start breeding. and 1 month until the eggs hatch. it'll take at least 3-4 months until they get their first batch of babies. IMO if you have to re setup your tank every 6 months it would be much better to just add couple more canister filters and redo the tank every 2-3 years.


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## jlo (Mar 26, 2009)

The way I learn from the breeder is you do clean your filter pad every week, also the ada soil should last for 3-5 years so we do not change it every six months and from what I know he put plants in his tanks too, but the plants only cover about 50% of the tank, my tank has lot of plant too, my tank is same way its cover abotu 50% too. I understand lots of people (inclued myself) use the tank as part of the bio filter, but if you don't have a very good filter you will lose lot of bio filter every time when you trim you plants and if you have some plant is not healthy your bio system will become weaker too, all I am saying is you want to give you the best and the most stable water to your shrimps ( not only CRS). and the filter will affect the water a lot. " sorry Modster I have to disagree with you"


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## jlo (Mar 26, 2009)

I live in seattle so I never think of a chiller, and the main reson for this information I put out here is want to share one of the easiest way to keep CRS or other shrimps and you don't have to do much after set up, and if you don't put anything ( like a pice of sponge) to block the intake of the filter it does suck in baby shrimps. And the way i set up my tank don't cost that much either ( for my 29 gal is about $400 include everything even the stand and all the lights,but the shrimps and plants) I think is a fair price. 


tex627 said:


> jlo, i agree with what you say but i dont thing everything you stated is necessary to breed CRS. i started breeding CRS last december and i listened to everyone on the web and bought all the things people online said i needed. heres what i think is actually NEEDED:
> 
> 1.heater
> 2.substrate
> ...


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## tex627 (Nov 2, 2008)

the 1st setup that i described is <50$. i just forgot to include the sponge over the intake for the first setup.


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## jlo (Mar 26, 2009)

May I ask how big is your 1st tank? $50 that is cheap.


tex627 said:


> the 1st setup that i described is <50$. i just forgot to include the sponge over the intake for the first setup.


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## tex627 (Nov 2, 2008)

i did not get the tank setup i described, but i did help a friend setup a tank for CBS and RCS that price. 

he got a 12 gallon tank, light and HOB filter for 30$ at 6th avenue aquarium in SF. 15$ on ADA amazonia and 10$ for a heater. but the 1st setup i described doesnt use ada amazonia so that setup w/o ADA amazonia will be <50$


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## praxis5624 (Apr 22, 2006)

Good information here for future reference. Beginners and pro's should save this topic and study it.


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## tex627 (Nov 2, 2008)

a lot of things that people recomend arent necessary for breeding low grade CRS.


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## dgphelps (Jan 1, 2008)

That's certainly true, my low grade CRS tank is pretty low-tech and they are breeding like mad. Apart from regular water changes and feeding, I don't really do anything. I also keep my temperature a bit higher than is recommended at 78-80C.

I think if I had gone ahead and chosen higher grade CRS when I first started I would have spent lots of money getting all the recommended bells and whistles. As it stands, I did it all on the cheap, except the ADA substrate, and am now beginning to selectively breed my way up to S grade. I haven't seen any deaths or problems because of my skimping on supplies in the beginning.

Of course, there may be a limit to what grade I can keep, but I will learn if that is true with time.


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## catfishbi (Sep 4, 2008)

Nice post


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