How to Setup a Tank for Caridina Shrimps

1. Introduction

This page describes how to setup a tank for soft water shrimps.   Typically, this setup is used for Caridina types of shrimp.  

2. Tank Size

Although Caridina shrimps can be kept in small tanks in the range of 3 to 8 gallons, it is much easier and you will be much more successful with a larger tank. A minimum of 10 gallons is recommended, and probably a slightly larger tank, like a 20 gallon long for example, would give you higher chances of success. The reason is that shrimps like stability. On a small tank, there are temperature fluctuations, large percentage of water evaporation compared to the tank volume and less space for the shrimps to "swim away" when aggression arises.

3. Required Equipment

In addition to the tank you need the following equipment:

Substrate: For Caridina shrimp tanks, it is advised to use a "buffering substrate".  There are several different commercially available aquasoil products that have this capability.   We use Brighwell FlorinVolcanit aquasoil, size "F" (fine).  This type of substrate will keep the water pH low, which is critical in successfully keeping Caridina shrimps.  Aquasoils usually lose their buffering abilities after 1 1/2 or 2 years of use, depending on the quality and type you get.  After this, the substrate needs to be replaced.

Filter: In most cases, for a tank 10-40 gallons, sponge filters are typically used. Sponge filters are widely available and they are inexpensive compared to other types of filter. An air pump will be needed to drive the sponge filter

Heater/No Heater: Most shrimp keepers do not use heaters. The temperature for a shrimp tank should be around 68-74 degrees and this typically does not require a heater, as long as the room temperature is within this range

Light: Ideally you select a light for the tank that is not too bright to cause algae blooms, but not too dim so the plants and mosses can grow and stay healthy

4. Optional equipment

Feeding dish: In order to avoid the food you drop in the tank from spreading all over the substrate and polluting the water, it is advised to use a feeding dish, which also allows you to easily remove the uneaten food.  A feeding dish can be anything that can keep the food contained.  Most shrimp keepers use a glass petri dish for this purpose.

Driftwood: Driftwood tends to lower the water pH, which is a desirable side effect for shrimps.

Rocks: It's not recommended to add rocks to shrimp tanks because some types of rocks change the water parameters, making the tank unsuitable for shrimps. If you must use rocks make sure you select pieces that do not change the water chemistry

Plants: Shrimps like to use plants in order to seek shelter from other aggressive shrimps. Also, a source of shrimp food called "biofilm" grows on the plant leaves, and that is a plus because biofilm is highly beneficial to the shrimp health. Popular plants and mosses for shrimp tanks are Anubias, Java Fern, Java moss or other types of mosses.

5. Water Parameters for Caridina shrimps

Source: Caridina shrimps live in relatively "soft" water. This means that there is a low amount of solids dissolved in the water. The amount of solids dissolved in the water is measured in TDS (Total Dissolved Solids). Tap water, depending on what region you live, can vary from 90 to 400 TDS. Caridina shrimps like TDS between 90 and 140. So if your tap water TDS is greater than 140, it would be recommended that you do not use that water without filtration. Typically the filtration used for aquarium are RODI systems - reverse osmosis filters. A RODI filter will remove all the solids in the water resulting in 0 TDS, the same as distilled water. A less expensive alternative would be an RO filter, without the "DI" part. This filter will not give you a zero TDS however it will produce water in low TDS that you can adjust later.

Adjustments: Depending on what water you start with, you need to make the following adjustments for your shrimp:

- Chlorine and Chloramine: Those are deadly for the shrimp even in the smallest amounts. Tap water needs to be treated to remove those 2 components. There are several products on the market for this purpose. We use Seachem Prime. RODI water does not necessarily need to be treated for chlorine and chloramine however several hobbyists use it anyway, just to make sure the water is safe.

- GH and KH: These 2 are measures of the hardiness and buffering of the water. There are kits on the market to test these 2 parameters. For Caridina shrimps, a range of 4-6 for GH and a KH value of 0 are ideal. If you start with a water that has low GH and KH (RODI, distilled, etc.), you need to "mineralize" the water, using commercial products readily available like Salty Shrimp GH+ for example.

- pH: It's important to keep a correct pH in your tank so your shrimps can thrive. Caridina shrimps like the pH around 5.5-6.2. It is not recommended to use chemicals to alter the pH in a shrimp tank. If the pH is above the range, you can use botanicals (leaves, alder cones) or driftwood in order to lower it.

Final Result: At the end, the water parameters in your Caridina tank should be:
- TDS: 90-140ppm
- GH: 4-6
- KH: 0
- pH: 5.5-6.2
- Temperature: 68 to 74

6. Cycling the tank

After you fill your new tank and adjust the parameters, the tank needs to go through a "cycling phase".   This phase is necessary to build the beneficial bacteria population to process ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.  There is a large amount of documentation on the web about this cycle, so it is not necessary to repeat it here.   However it is important to know that for shrimp tanks, it is best to have a tank fully cycle and fully mature before you introduce shrimps.   Although you can introduce fish and plants to a newly cycled tank, for shrimps it is best to make sure the tank has matured for quite a while so it has the necessary algae and biofilm for the shrimps to thrive.   A minimum of 2 months is recommended, however ideally you would not introduce shrimps until the tank has been running for 6 months.   It is a very long time to wait but it is worse to have the shrimps die because the tank was not mature enough to provide them with the right conditions. 

7. Water Changes

Water changes in a shrimp tank are done slightly different than in a typical aquarium. The differences are:
- Make sure the water parameters of the new water is very close or the same as the tank water parameters. If the temperature or TDS in the new water is too different from the tank values, the shrimps will be shocked and will likely die in a couple of days.
- IMPORTANT: Introduce the new water in the tank *very slowly*. Shrimps need stability so if you make large changes quickly, they will not react well and you may lose the shrimps.
- Although water changes for shrimp tanks can seem daunting at first, you'll realize that it is quite easy after you get used to doing them.