# Do you cover your shrimp tank?



## psusaxman2000

Right now I have 2 tanks (55 gal and 20 gal) and have thought about turning my smaller tank into a inverts tank. I know with regular fish tanks you really don't need to cover the tops unless you over fill or you have jumping fish. My question is, do you need to cover a shrimp tank? Do/would the shrimp have a tendency to crawl up the heater line or up the hob filter and out of the tank?


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## spypet

no cover
no heater


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## psusaxman2000

What is the temp of your water if you have no heater. The room my tank is in gets down to 62 during the day and the 68 - 70 when the heat is on. I have a digital thermostat so the heat goes down during the day. 

Right now the tank has a few fish and I try to keep it around 74. I very well might put the fish in my larger tank but I'm not sure yet.


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## spypet

74f is perfect for shrimp and small fish.
most tank keepers here would kill to be
able to maintain that temperature.


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## psusaxman2000

Since you are using a heater, what temp is your tank at? If I do use a heater, would the shrimp climb out of the water?


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## vicky

I shouldn't say this, as I am inviting trouble by doing so, but I don't cover any of my tanks. A couple of things seem to help. 
1. I have floating plants in all my tanks. Perhaps this helps the inhabitants know where the surface is, so they don't accidentally jump too far. 
2. My tanks are heavily planted, and the water quality is good. The only time I found anything trying to escape, it has been when the water was less than optimal. 
3. I generally don't fill my tanks all of the way to the top. I leave them at least a couple inches low. 

Knock on wood and all, but I have never found a fish, frog, or shrimp on the floor. Naturally your mileage may vary and I know this is not recommended. But even known jumpers like swordtails have stayed in for me.


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## spypet

I never bought a heater in my 30 years with this hobby.

shrimp do not climb out of tanks, they may dart above
the waterline while startled by a stressful situation like
a predatory fish or a sudden change in water conditions.


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## spypet

vicky - those are all good practices =D>
just not necessary for all tank keepers.


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## Newt

I live in the northeast USA so I use a heater on my tanks. My 10 gallon shrimp tank has a cover for 2 reasons: The light that sits on the tank and the Amanos would climb out.


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## spypet

very true Newt - 
I've had Amano's escape from a community fish tank,
but not from a less stressful fellow shrimp only tank,
so it would be best if the OP specified which shrimp
he's talking about - I assumed typical CRS or RCS.
I would guess that -
most shrimp breeders don't keep zeo cycle Amanos,
in shrimp tanks until they are much more experienced.


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## Newt

I have a 10 gal shrimp tank with Cherries and Amanos.
The Amanos are very aggressive. When I put a skewer stick in to pull out some moss or tidy up the flora they will jump on it like they are attacking it. If they had the room to get out via the CO2 tube they would.


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## davemonkey

I have a cherry shrimp tank that is not covered. I've lost the occasional shrimp due to jumping, but it's rare (maybe twice in the past year). It's heavily planted and has not floating plants to speak of.


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## psusaxman2000

Just as spypet assumed, I'd probably start with RCS or CRS. I don't know much about shrimp yet so I would try to stick with the more known types. It doesn't sound like it is a big of a deal as I first expected and I'm probably going to make it a shrimp/Otto only tank anyway. Thanks for the incite.


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