Hi, I'm Rick and I'm totally hooked on shrimp keeping! It's a rewarding hobby that allows you to create a beautiful underwater world in your own home. You can keep interesting shrimp species, cultivate lush plants, and even build a miniature ecosystem. Plus, there's the chance to learn some cool science while you're at it!
I am also the author and owner of ShrimplyExplained.com, which is all about making shrimp keeping accessible and enjoyable for everyone. The goal of the website is to help you avoid the common beginner mistakes and experience the joy of this fascinating hobby.
In this article I co-wrote with AquascapeGuide, we are going to cover:
How we should consider shrimp species
Precautions when using fertilizers
Consider the rocks used in aquascape
Certain rocks leach minerals into the water, raising your GH to excessive levels
Shrimp are good for cleaning
The balance between plants, light, and nutrients is never perfect so shrimp help to mitigate algae development, especially amano shrimp
Is Your Filter A Murderer?
Introduction
Aquascaping is all about having a tank that you love to look at, and shrimp can help you reach that goal. Some hobbyists add ornamental shrimp like red cherry shrimp or crystal red shrimp for a pop of intriguing color in their scapes. Others add shrimp as a cleaning crew to help keep their tank looking spotless. That being said, shrimp can be sensitive and have specific care requirements to consider before adding them. Your substrate, decorations, filter, and fertilizer all affect what type of shrimp can go into your tank. The rest of this article covers major considerations around tank setup, so shrimp benefit your aquascape instead of becoming a burden. Let’s get into things!
Quick heads up, this article discusses general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH). If you would like information on how these parameters relate to shrimp, then check out our Shrimp Basics courses below:
What Shrimp Are Right For Your Water and Substrate?
Different species of shrimp prefer different water parameters, so understanding what those are before choosing shrimp for your tank is critical. The different types of shrimp can be broken up into three different groups: Soft-Water, Medium-Water, and Hard-Water:
Soft-Water (6.75 or lower pH) | Medium-Water (6.5-8.0 pH) | Hard-Water (Above 8.0 pH) |
Crystal Shrimp | Neocaridina (Cherry Shrimp) | Cardinal/Sulawesi Shrimp (Extra Sensitive) |
Bee Shrimp (Extra sensitive) | Ghost Shrimp |
|
Tiger Shrimp (Some breeds) | Amano Shrimp |
|
| Whisker Shrimp (Aggressive) |
|
| Bamboo Shrimp |
|
| Vampire Shrimp |
|
Tiger Shrimp (Some breeds) |
pH ranges are generalized for some species. More specific ranges may be found here. We always recommend further research before choosing a shrimp species for your tank.
The substrate you choose plays a huge part in determining which shrimp are right for your tank. Aquasoils like Amazonia ADA, Tropica Aquarium Soil and Fluval Stratum are known as active or buffering substrates, meaning they change and control pH. If you’re using an active substrate in your tank, then you’ll want to check where your pH settles at, as that may affect which shrimp are best for your tank.
You may also notice that aquasoils bring down the hardness (GH/KH) of your aquariums water, potentially below the recommended range of some species. This is not something to worry about. As covered in our water chemistry video, one is able to boost up their aquariums GH and KH with reminderalizers as they are processing little water changes each week. KH is responsible for buffering your pH but your active aquasoil is now taking over that buffering role. Be aware that, just like with their nutrients, aquasoils lose their buffering capacity over time but will maintain their CEC for years to come.
The buffering effect generally last around 6-12 months depending on your water hardness. If you want to keep shrimp that require higher pH than what your aquasoil settles at, then it’s pretty easy to fix – just manually boost it up to where it is needed. Some used crushed coral but we suggest to learn how to adjust and maintain your GH and KH individually before moving to a calcium carbonate product. To learn more about water chemistry, check out the water chemistry section of our website!
Shrimp Hardiness
Another thing to consider when picking a shrimp species for an aquascaped tank is how hardy the shrimp are. Since plant health is a high priority in aquascapes, you often need to dose fertilizer frequently, especially when using the Estimative Index (EI) method recommended by Aquascape Guide. This is an excellent way to ensure adequate plant nutrition but it requires frequent water changes to avoid nutrient build-up. More sensitive shrimp species prefer stable water parameters so may not do well when larger changes are required for the benefit of the plants. Balancing these sensitive species with your plant health can be a challenge, so hardier shrimp species are recommended for aquascaped tanks. Here’s a list of your options:
Hardy | Less Hardy | Sensitive |
Neocaridina Shrimp | Crystal Shrimp | Taiwan Bee Shrimp |
Amano Shrimp |
| Sulawesi Shrimp |
Whisker Shrimp |
| |
Bamboo Shrimp | ||
Vampire Shrimp | ||
Tiger Shrimp |
Hired Help
One reason shrimp are often added to aquascapes is because they eat algae and other debris to keep your tank looking pristine. If that’s your goal, then picking the right shrimp species is key because some are better at eating algae than others. In general, amano shrimp, named after famous aquascaper Takashi Amano, are the best algae eaters you can get. They MOW through algae.
Neocaridina often get added into a tank to deal with algae but they do not have anywhere near as much of an impact on algae as a single amano shrimp. They’re lazy and only motivated by beer. They simply don’t have as strong of claws or as much of an appetite as amanos so they can’t handle tougher algaes. The good news is that neocaridina are extremely prolific breeders so within a few months you can have a shrimp army that does a pretty good job of controlling algae. This makes them the second-best option for algae control.
That being said, shrimp are not a cure-all for algae problems. Algae build-up is a sign of an imbalance of light or nutrients. Shrimp can take care of smaller imbalances but, if you have a ton of tougher algae like black beard algae, shrimp cannot fix it without a lot of beer and lighter fluid. It’s can be tough to figure out the root cause of algae, which is why ASG’s Algae Guide is fantastic to identify and solve your algae problem.
Create a Rocking Aquascape
Rocks are incredible aquascape accents or even centerpieces with all their varied textures and colors. Not every rock is right for an aquascape or shrimp tank though, and it’s not just because of their appearance. Some rocks leach minerals into the water, changing your pH, GH, KH, and TDS. This can be a problem for plants and shrimp that prefer softer water (low pH/GH/KH), and fast leaching rates can even be a problem for the hardier shrimp species. That’s why it’s always important to do your research for shrimp-safe rocks, or to test them using one of two different methods. We’ve got a list of rocks commonly used in aquascaping that indicates which ones are shrimp-safe or not.
Is Your Filter A Murderer?
Shrimp--especially baby shrimp--are smaller than a lot of fish typically kept in aquariums. This means they can be easily sucked up a filter intake for a deadly rollercoaster ride.
The safest filters for shrimp are sponge filters but these aren’t used in aquascapes frequently due to their noise, appearance, and low flow rate. Canister filters are typically best for aquascapes because their flow rate and filter media leave your water crystal clear. The intakes often are large enough to suck up shrimp though, so we recommend putting a pre-filter sponge or a piece of mesh over the intake. Doing so protects your shrimp and offers an extra level of mechanical filtration that catches large particles, reducing filter maintenance frequency.
Conclusion
Balancing the needs of shrimp and plants takes a bit of planning but is easily maintained once your aquascape is set up. After putting in that initial effort, you’re rewarded with a beautiful, lower-maintenance, and more diverse ecosystem. Who doesn’t want that??
This article was brought to you by Shrimply Explained. If you’d like to dive into the fascinating science of shrimp, then check out The Shrimp School from Shrimply Explained. If you’d like to learn more about aquascaping and plant health, then check out the ASG University.
Happy shrimpin’!
Rick & Shrimply
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