# Stocking levels



## Script404 (Jun 30, 2006)

Hi I was just wondering roughly what stocking levels you would recommend for shrimp and snails by volume.
Thanks.


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

Did you have a specific type of shrimp/snail in mind?


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## Script404 (Jun 30, 2006)

TBH no just setting up a community tank at the moment which I want some inverts in. But also curious becuase I am thinking of setting up a small inverts only tanks. I would like a variety if possible, never kept any inverts before so any advice would be usefull, and reading up like mad. But can't find much about stocking levels.


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## aquaboyaquatics (Feb 22, 2006)

If you are talking about the algae eating shrimps you can figure 2 to 4 per gallon. They will breed and the colony will stabilize with time. This is just a starting point. The actual count per gallon has to many variables to say.


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## Script404 (Jun 30, 2006)

Thanks kept fish for a while just getting into planted tanks and inverts now there seems to be a choice in the UK.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Inverts and shrimp are become popular everywhere. Yaya! Maybe some of the prices will come down on some of the stuff out there. 

Anyways 2 to 4 per gallon probably works out perfectly. Inverts and shrimp don't make that much of an impact in terms of water quality, and they don't seem to be stressed out in high numbers.

-John N.


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## Shrimp&Snails (Mar 27, 2006)

Also don't keep tanks of shrimp that will interbreed.
Species or caridina will interbreed with other caridinas. Neocaridinas will interbreed with other neocaridinas.

Shrimp are becoming more popular in the UK now thank goodness....I could only get amano shrimp for years.


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## Script404 (Jun 30, 2006)

Ta for the info guys.


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## aquaboyaquatics (Feb 22, 2006)

John N. said:


> Inverts and shrimp don't make that much of an impact in terms of water quality, and they don't seem to be stressed out in high numbers.
> 
> -John N.


John,

That is an interesting point. I have noticed that they seem more comfortable in higher numbers. Even when starting a new colony it is easier to start with larger numbers. I have found that the Cardina sp. like Bee's, Bumblebee's, and Tigers do better when I start a colony with 200 in a 20 gallon tank. I will have berried females in 2 weeks tops. If I use a 10 gallon with say 30 shrimp, it could take a month before I see berried females. The Neocardina sp. like Cherry Reds etc. do just fine starting with 10 in a 10 gallon and it is much harder for me to get a good quality culture going in a 20 gallon tank with them. They do better in the 10 gallon tanks.

I had found a great article on wild populations and there densities in Hong Kong. I am trying to locate the article again but until I do, the numbers of shrimp per square meter were extremely high.

Mike


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

I keep my tiger shrimps, at one point there are over 30 medium sized (1.5cm) shrimps, in an 8L (2G) tank! They just keep breeding non-stop in this tank!! When I put some in my larger thank of 60L, none of them reproduce, not sure why!

After I sold all the grown-ups, my two adult female tigers laid a further 4 batches of eggs and now I think I have over 100 babies in the same 2G tank!!

I change 30-50% water every week tho.

Here is a photo of my Tiger breeding tank:









Mother and babies:









You can find out more about my experience in breeding them here:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ed-aquariums/13936-my-tiger-has-eggs-pic.html

and here:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...196-tiger-shrimp-non-stop-breeding-photo.html


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## Neon Shrimp (Apr 26, 2006)

Hi The Teh,

Could you please tell me what kind of leaf your shrimp are resting on in the picture. Did you have to prepare the leaf in a special way? I think your set up is very nice and we like to see the pictures you are always kind enough to post .

Thank you!


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

The leaf was dried Indian Almond leaf, I have actually posted information here on my website when I was trying to sell off the extra I bought previously for my shrimps:
http://www.theteh.com/html/indian_almond_ketapang_leaf__u.html


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## Script404 (Jun 30, 2006)

Thats a nice little tank and some nice shrimp there. Was going to be getting some almond leaf for my tank for some of the fish, nice to know it does the shrimps good as well.


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## Shrimp&Snails (Mar 27, 2006)

I've heard good things and bad things about Indian almond leaves.....I was going to buy some to make my Tigers and cherrys reproduce but changed my mind. 
I now have 2 batches of tiger shrimplets with my adult female very berried again, a female cherry carrying one or two eggs (she dropped the rest), and finally a fully berried cherry female who looks like she's keeping the eggs. 

I might consider buying a few to experiment with though because yours seem to be doing great on them. 

Have your cherries got going yet Theteh?


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## Script404 (Jun 30, 2006)

Can't exactly say for shrimp, but betta dealers and breeders in Bangkok swear by almond leaves for bringing the fish up to condition, although they say that the fry need water without them in when they have hatched.


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

S&S, funny that non of my 7 cherries respond to the leaves! Have been keeping them for 5 months now and no eggs seen to date! Wonder what's wrong with them or my water?


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## Script404 (Jun 30, 2006)

Whenever I've seen almond leaf used, a tank that size would only actually have a fragment of leaf in, especially as its starts releasing tanins almost straight away, my brothers tanks 340 lt, and he uses about half a leaf, and it turned the water into that sort of blackwater colour you get in less than a day. I notice your waters really clear even though you have a huge leaf in there how did you manage that?


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

Not sure may be because I change 30% water weekly. That said, I have never seen huge amount of tanins released from the leaves from start to end. May be it is the species of indian almond leave used. I am aware that there are subspecies of the trees. I got mine from Malaysia. Then there are others from Singaporean...Thai...


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## Script404 (Jun 30, 2006)

The ones I'm thinking of were Thai, you can just pick them up off of the street, but huge tanin release, a leaf like that in a tank like that I wouldn't even be able to see anything in it at a guess, water change or not until the leaf had completly rotted down to nothing. Wonder if theres an optimum subspecies then?


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

Is your leaf very thin and brittle when dry? The type I use from Malaysia is thick and not brittle (one can bend it without cracking it into pieces) and has a rubbery texture to it. It definately did not release tannins like you have described!! At one point I have three leaves in my other 60L tank and I did not see any dramatic change in water colour for two weeks without water change!

Some do like the look of blackwater tho especially for discus tank.


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## Script404 (Jun 30, 2006)

Ok from memory this, but they seemed reasonably thin, but they weren't that brittle, you had to tear a chunk off the leaf but I wopuldn't describe them as rubbery. But as I say the tanin release was real quick, like put half of it in a tank, and hour or two later you already noticed the tanks water colour changing in a 340lt tank. I'll try and email my brother about it since he lives out there and get a better description.


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## Shrimp&Snails (Mar 27, 2006)

theteh said:


> S&S, funny that non of my 7 cherries respond to the leaves! Have been keeping them for 5 months now and no eggs seen to date! Wonder what's wrong with them or my water?


I was having the same problem (as you know) with my cherries not breeding but my tigers having no problems for about 3 or 4 months.
I had a male cherry shrimp in there but nothing was happening so I bought another male a few weeks ago.
I then saw a berried cherry female who went on to lose all but one of her eggs...she's still carrying it now and 3 or 4 days ago one of my cherry females became berried and is still fully berried. Another female has a very yellow saddle.

The only changes I can think of are a rise in temperatures, feeding (I used to feed them once every 3 days or so but now I feed lightly, daily), more frequent water changes because of the increased feeding and selling a lot of snails I had living in the same tank.

I have 3 cherry females in a 20g which i'm going to move into the tank with the males to see if they become berried too. Maybe my females were just too young to reproduce.

Best of luck with yours.


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

Thanks for the tips! Thing is I have also tried increasing the temperature, more regular water change and daily feeding...nothing happens...may be I will have to buy more shrimps...in case all my current shrimps are either only males or only females!


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## Shrimp&Snails (Mar 27, 2006)

I found it hard in the past to find a male because the cherry shrimp in my lfs are usually all pale. 

Here's a piccy of one of my males (I only have two) with one of my females.


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

most of my cherries are red!! May be they are all females..


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## Neon Shrimp (Apr 26, 2006)

I think that might be it. Try to get a few pale shrimp in a tank with both red and pale RCS if you are buying from a LFS. Best wishes to you and be sure to provide pictures when you have a tank full of baby RCS .


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## Shrimp&Snails (Mar 27, 2006)

theteh said:


> most of my cherries are red!! May be they are all females..


Yeah I had the same problem....because my cherrys were also fairly small and pale in my lfs I ended up with all females except one young male. Perhaps breeders who sell to lfs's tend to only part with their females to keep the lfs buying from them?

Look for skinny bodied cherry shrimp and buy 3 to 5 of them...chances are you'll get 2 or 3 males.


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

Now my problem is to find some RCS in LFS! Not aways available.


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## YuccaPatrol (Mar 26, 2006)

Shrimp&Snails said:


> Yeah I had the same problem....because my cherrys were also fairly small and pale in my lfs I ended up with all females except one young male. Perhaps breeders who sell to lfs's tend to only part with their females to keep the lfs buying from them?
> 
> Look for skinny bodied cherry shrimp and buy 3 to 5 of them...chances are you'll get 2 or 3 males.


I may end up selling them to my local fish store which is very interested. Although I would sell both males and females to any interested individual, I'll probably only sell females to the fish store for the exact reason you mentioned.

They will be more attractive to potential buyers and will ensure that I can continue to sell them.


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## Neon Shrimp (Apr 26, 2006)

Thank you for the insight and tip just in case I need to purchase some new shrimp I know what to expect and how to get what I need. 

Thanks:wink:


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## Funkadelic (Jan 7, 2006)

theteh said:


> Here is a photo of my Tiger breeding tank:


That is what my 2.5g cherry tank looks like now. I started with 2 females and 6 males, and now I think I have 40-50, maybe 60 babies swimming in there, and the females are carrying eggs again. I'm prepping a 4 gallon to put some of the new shrimp in, but I think I'll still have too many once they start growing.

I live in Southern California and dont use a heater in my tanks, so all winter my 8 cherries were just chillin without doing any reproducing. Water temp was usually in the low-mid 70s) Once the water started getting in the 80s they started breeding like crazy.

I'm not totally sure what to do with them all because my LFS wont take them until they are nearly adult size.


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## aquaboyaquatics (Feb 22, 2006)

Most of the Cherry Shrimp from a LFS are likely imports that came from a wholesaler. I also import them occasionally and in a box of 1200 individuals will find almost all Females. They do this I believe for 2 reasons.

1. The females are much more attractive.

2. They do not want people to have the opportunity to breed them. This would be taking money from their own pockets.

Your best source is multiple sources. Or ask your supplier for some Imports and some tank raised shrimp to start with. Then, Maybe once a year add some new genetics in the form of a dozen new shrimp.

Many hobbyists and breeders alike will have a colony of the same genetic make up going for a long time and just selling and not adding to the colony. This makes for some Deliverance type shrimp in the long run. It can lead to a variety of problems in the long including infertility.

Mike


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