Freshwater shrimp are a great addition to your home aquarium. They add color, and they’re really easy to care for. You can feed them things like spinach, lettuce, cucumber, or apples.
The only downside is that they don’t live as long as saltwater shrimp (3-5 years vs. 7-14). But if you follow these few simple tips when caring for your freshwater shrimp tank, then they’ll be around much longer.
Provide A Tank That Is At Least 20 Gallons In Size
Shrimp require a lot of oxygen, so you want to make sure there’s enough room for them to move around. The more shrimp you have in the tank, the larger it should be. If you have too many shrimp for your tank, then they’ll start to get stressed out and fight with each other. These fights can wound them and cause infection.
Keep The Water Temperature Between 72-78 Degrees F
You can’t just use any old aquarium heater when raising freshwater shrimp; most of them aren’t accurate enough; they’re way too big, so you may end up bumping into it and damaging the tank, or worse yet, electrocute yourself. Also, make sure to buy a thermometer that will be highly accurate and small enough to keep from damaging anything.
Feed Your Shrimp Every Day, And Feed Them Food High In Protein
This is especially important when they’re young. When you first start your shrimp tank, the eggs will float to the top of the water column and hatch into tiny baby shrimp. They are very vulnerable until they either grow hard shells or become large enough to fend for themselves. You’ll need to feed them at least every day to keep them alive. If you feed them, they’ll grow very fast.
Juvenile (baby shrimp) food is called “Micro-Spirulina.” It’s a specially made algae for baby shrimp and is easy to find at any pet store that sells freshwater aquarium supplies. Adult food is “Dry Baby Brine Shrimp.”
Clean The Tank Once A Week With An Algae Remover And Filter Cleaner
Over time algae and other things will build up in your tank. Regular cleaning is just as important for a healthy shrimp tank for a freshwater fish-only aquarium. You should also change about 20 percent of the water every two weeks. Live plants in the tank will help clean the water after you do your weekly cleaning.
Add Plenty Of Live Plants To Help Keep Nitrates Low
In addition to helping to keep your tank clean, live plants are a great food source for shrimp. Plus, they can help keep nitrates low by consuming them from the water column. Nitrates are dangerous because, after a specific concentration, they can poison the shrimp. It’s best to keep nitrates as low as possible to keep your tank healthy.
10-15 plants should be enough for shrimp that aren’t overcrowded. If you have too many in your tank, then you can add another 10 or so live plants.
Keep Your Substrate Clean By Removing Uneaten Food And Waste
You don’t want rotting food or poop sitting at the bottom of your tank because it will cause bad water conditions and stink up your house. If you’re worried about the shrimp being able to get to their food, don’t be. They are excellent climbers and will find a way up the glass or live plants if it’s necessary.
Dechlorinate Your Water Before Adding It To The Tank
Chlorine and chlorine-based products can kill your shrimp. It’s always a good idea to remove as much of it as possible—Dechlorinate water by boiling it for 10 minutes. Let the boiled water cool down, and then pour it into your tank.
Provide a place for the shrimp to hide from each other
If you have too many shrimp in your tank, they’ll eventually fight. This is very bad for them because they can end up getting injured or even killed by each other. Provide plenty of hiding places so that the shrimp can get away from each other if they need to.
Never Use Soap Or Anything Similar In Your Tank
The shrimp will be able to smell the chlorine or the soap, and they hate it just as much as you do. Some people may think that they’re helping by washing their hands or cleaning the tank while the water is running. However, this is very bad for the shrimp and will make it harder for them to breathe. Be sure not to use anything with chlorine when you clean your tank.
These are a few simple tips to successfully keep freshwater shrimp. We hope you will enjoy your new hobby of keeping these fascinating invertebrates.
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