(09-11-2013, 06:08 PM)ohiotom76 Wrote: I never would have thought to keep pet shrimp. They are so cute! The closest things I've ever had to shrimp would be, I guess, Sea Monkeys. Are they easy/difficult to keep clean? Or is it about the same as keeping your fish tank clean?
Do you run into any issues with them becoming deformed from inbreeding as with guppies?
Freshwater shrimp are easy to keep if you know how to keep fish.
The basic need of shrimp are quite similar to the aquarium fish. You need a big enough fish tank. Minimal recommended tank size is 5 gallon. You need a filter (sponge filter is recommended for shrimp tanks since they will not suck in anything). You need a heater. Most of these shrimp are native to tropical area. They need around 76F water temperature.
The fish tank needs to be cycled before adding the shrimp just like how you would handle fish. For more information on aquarium nitrogen cycle, check out this article.
All these shrimp are scavengers. They eat leftover fish food at the bottom, and some of them also eat a little algae. Sinking fish food is preferred since they are bottom feeders. Do not overfeed. Once a day is enough and don't leave more food than they can finish in 30 to 60 minutes since they are bottom feeders. (To feed the fish, don't leave more food than they can finish in 30 seconds to 1 minute).
Tank maintenance is also the same as if you have a tank of fish. Weekly partial water change of 30~50% is required to keep nitrate down in a cycled aquarium.
For most of these shrimp, they like hiding places. Fine leaf plants such as java moss is perfect for them.
Do not house them with fish, because they will become fish food.
