# Seiryu stones causing troubles in CRS tank



## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

It was under my nose the whole time (I think).

I have not had a sucessful spawn of CRS in my 12g Eclipse in quite some time. I change the water regularly every week, now with RO water from the store. I currently have 7 CRS in this tank. At one time I had over 30 from an original batch of 10 or so. I constanty had berried females but there were no babies. It has to be one of the most mind boggling problems I have dealt with to date in this hobby. I feed the best food, give them the best water and have a fully planted tank with moss and other nice spots for them too.

Recently when I checked my PH it was in the upper 7's prettty much what comes from the tap but the wierd thing is I have ADA AS in the tank which should lower that to an acceptable level for these shrimp. So I just though that my AS had become worn out. Then I started to think to my self... WHAT IS IT!!! Afer my usual weekly browse through the ADGshop I notice this 

"Please note that this rock may raise pH and hardness, though generally not to an unmanageable level"

What do I do, immediately rip the 2 large stones that together weith at least 5lbs out of the tank with a large smile on my face. I really hpe this is what the problem was.

I actually have a berried female so I guess time will tell!


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## tex627 (Nov 2, 2008)

i have the same kind of stone in my CRS tank i use to raise the pH. before i put the rocks in the pH of the water was well below 6 so i left it in there. but as aquasoil aged i had to take the rocks out one by one to keep the pH at a consistant level. the pH was probably the main reason why you didnt get any babies. 

if i were you i would take out all the rocks because pH will be at constant 6.6-6.8 after the amazonia reaches 2 months old. 

you should have test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, pH, gH, and kH. i do a test every 2 weeks to make sure everything is fine and to keep the water parameters consistant. 

as for the RO water. i dont think you'll need it. i normally just use it for top offs everyday, it gets pretty pricey. but if you want to use it its perfectly fine but you would need to add gH boosters and minerals to the RO water because its necessary for shrimp to molt.

i hope this helped.


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## tex627 (Nov 2, 2008)

i also read somewhere that CRS breeding in basic pH is hard not because the pH itself but it turns toxins into an even more toxic form and it just magnifys the impurities of water, but lower pH will turn toxins into a less toxic form. so you might want to do a bit more water changes too. its not just ammonia and nitrite that're toxic but a lot of other things too. since you only have 7 shrimp in there i'd say 30% once a week would be enough. i like to over do it i do 2 10% WC and 1 50% WC every week. the 10% is just to keep up water quality and the 50% is a sign for them to molt.


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## tex627 (Nov 2, 2008)

what kind of food do you feed them?


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

Sorry for not replying Tex, I havent been getting my notifications...

I had no problems with them breeding quite well after I set the tank up but I guess as the tank aged the stones leached more minerals into the water. I test all the time. I was just thinking that the AS was getting old and lost its buffering capacity, that was the main reason I was contemplating the RO unit. Well that and I also do keep soft water plants in another higher tech tank in my home.

I have also heard about the PH magnifying toxind aswell, but Nitrates were never the problem.

Here are some posts that i made recently on another forum where I got my notifications. 

2-15-09
So here is what I have as far as water params go.

My tap water.
PH-8.2+
GH-13
KH-2

37G with AS and pressurized co2 (so dont believe the PH #)
PH-6.4
GH-8.5
KH-2

12G Shrimp Tank
PH-7.4
GH-8
KH-3

Here is an older pic of the tank.n Right after ading AS II









Now.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

2-16-09

I still have a female that is berried. I will keep a close eye on her to see if the babies survive in these more favorable conditions.

Today!!!
Last night I noticed that two of my shrimp were berried! Today I got my AS I Powder in> I didnt really get it for this tank but for my nano at work (I sucked out too much during the year and a half of cleanings). But after I saw they way it looked in that smaller tank I couldnt resist putting some in this one. Long story short... RESCAPE!!!

Here are the pics.

















Some awesome macros (I think) from my new P&S.
































Momma








And guess what I saw after staring at everything for a half an hour...
HELLO!!! After closer inspection it seems one of the mommas popped last night or during the day today.


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## tex627 (Nov 2, 2008)

i think the CRS would like it more if you lowered your pH and gH. also, roots of anubias, java ferns, and crypts will leak things that are poisonous to shrimp if they are trimmed. professional shrimp breeders reccomend not to have these plants in shrimp tanks. and i was wondering why you had a C grade with a S+ grade in the same tank. it will lower the grade of your shrimp significantly when they breed.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

Im sure that the bit about Anubis killing shrimp is another myth purported by people who found it easier to blame their plants then the fact that there were other problems they were dealing with they either did not care to validate ir dismiss. If you can show me concrete proof of this then I will take back my statement otherwise it will remain a myth.

As far as the mixed shrimp, I know about the grades mixing I just simply dont care at this point. Personally I think its better to have something rather then nothing and I just dont have the room for an elaborate breeding system. Im just a hobbyist trying to enjoy my tanks to the fullest.


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## tex627 (Nov 2, 2008)

i just thought you might have wanted to know since you were having some problems earlier. since CRS are so sensitive and expensive i wouldnt take any chances. if there are any possibilities of them getting harmed, i would do as much as i could to avoid these risks. i respect your opinion but i've heard that anubias crypts and ferns' broken roots are lethal to shrimp from many sources.


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