5 gallon shrimp tank

[Sheepish]

Getting ready to set up a shrimp tank and just got a quick few questions!

If I understand correctly, my HOB filter with a sponge over the intake will be just fine for this. Correct me if I'm wrong!

Will standard gravel substrate be fine?

I originally wanted just RCS, but I think it'd be fun to have two different kinds of shrimp-- that won't interbreed, of course, to prevent getting the wild colored offspring. If I go down this route, I was thinking of doing Crystal red shrimp as well as blue velvets. Any other suggestions, or would this be okay?

How much should I be paying for these shrimp, and where should I be getting them from? I'm not sure if my LFS has the particular shrimp, and there's all sorts of different price ranges online.

Lastly, is there ANY fish I can put in with these guys? I initially considered a betta or a group of 3-4 pygmy cories, but I don't want to do either of those. A few that come to mind as possibilities are a honey gourami, scarlet badis, 1-3 sparkling gourami or a couple endlers livebearers. I don't know much about any of those fish, so if someone could enlighten me as to if they'd be okay in this tank or not, as well as what sort of conditions they DO need to do well on their own, that would be amazing!

Thank you very much for any help!

 

[OrionGirl]

All of those fish will chomp on baby shrimp. If it's heavily planted the adults and some young will survive, though the gourami likely could take smaller males as well. There are a number of danio and micro rasbora species that would be fine with them, but if you really want a shrimp tank, stick to shrimp. They'll do better, and a small tank will be safer with just shrimp.

the shrimp won't care about the substrate much, but I strongly encourage you to have plants, so providing a soil that will benefit the plants is a good choice.

As far are a source goes, I highly recommend Rachel: http://msjinkzd.com/

In terms of keeping those fish on their own...if you can provide live food, scarlet badis will be ok in a small tank, but the rest will really be best in something bigger. 10 with a honey gourami and 3-4 endlers would be fine. Don't get females, since they will overpopulate a small tank. If you want sparkling gouramies (and they are awesome little fish), give them a tank of their own, heavily planted, slow surface movement, and have 6-7.

 

[Sheepish]

All of those fish will chomp on baby shrimp. If it's heavily planted the adults and some young will survive, though the gourami likely could take smaller males as well. There are a number of danio and micro rasbora species that would be fine with them, but if you really want a shrimp tank, stick to shrimp. They'll do better, and a small tank will be safer with just shrimp.

the shrimp won't care about the substrate much, but I strongly encourage you to have plants, so providing a soil that will benefit the plants is a good choice.

As far are a source goes, I highly recommend Rachel: http://msjinkzd.com/

In terms of keeping those fish on their own...if you can provide live food, scarlet badis will be ok in a small tank, but the rest will really be best in something bigger. 10 with a honey gourami and 3-4 endlers would be fine. Don't get females, since they will overpopulate a small tank. If you want sparkling gouramies (and they are awesome little fish), give them a tank of their own, heavily planted, slow surface movement, and have 6-7.

Thank you Orion, tons of useful information! The website you've linked seems super cool. I've just got a few more questions to throw at you (or anyone else).

What sort of soil is good for plants, and where can I get some? I've only ever used gravel and sand as substrate. I will definitely be having plants, I can't get enough of them. Is there a similar place where I can buy plants online? My LFS doesn't have much outside of java fern and anubias (even though I will likely buy some of that, too!) Also, in the past I've had such a hard time keeping Java moss from getting ridiculously messy. What's the best way to get it to 'cling' to a piece of driftwood or rock, if at all possible?

And just one more question! How many RCS do you suppose it would be good to start out with to ensure that they eventually breed? And on average how many baby shrimp will come out of each hatching? And is this any different with Crystal red/crystal black shrimp?

That's it! I'll definitely be starting it out as a shrimp-only tank, and then once their numbers have increased and if I decide I want it I'll get myself a badis or the danio/micro rasbora species like you mentioned. Thank you so much!

 

[OrionGirl]

Rachel sells tissue culture plants as well. They do very well, you get lots of plants for the price, and you know there aren't snails or pests on them.

To attach any moss, there are a couple easy options. First, a dab of superglue will work fine and is tank safe. You can also use cotton thread, which will eventually decay away. Or, you can wind a bit around the branch and loosely tie it off. Another option is to use a black mesh bag, fill it up and create a hedge or ball that can be anchored,or the plastic mesh used for cross stitch.

For substrate, ADA soil is good, but be careful to cycle the tank with it in before adding live stock. Flourite will also work--a lot will depend on what type of plants you want, as well.

I say to get a minimum of 6. Really you can get away with 3, but 6 will be better and give you something more interesting to look at while they breed. Young shrimp produce anywhere from 10-30 shrimplets at a time. Check Rachel's species spotlights and profiles--she has a ton of information available on choosing and caring for shrimp.

 

[Sheepish]

And that's everything I need to know--- thank you very much for all your help!