Conditions for a Healthy Life of Shrimps.
Shrimps are generally quite hardy creatures. Shrimps are undemanding to the chemical composition of water, but very sensitive to oxygen deficiency, so the water must be aerated. It should be borne in mind that in densely populated and heavily planted shrimp aquariums, just like for fish, water aeration is necessary at night due to a lack of oxygen. When dealing with shrimps, never forget that water quality is the most important thing in their lives. They are extremely sensitive to any changes. It must be remembered that shrimps are much more sensitive to harmful substances in the water than fish.
They prefer water with an active reaction close to neutral or shifted to the alkaline range (pH 6.8-8.5). An acidic environment (pH below 6.2) causes the destruction of the chitinous cover. For the same reason, it is not recommended to keep them in soft water, poor in calcium salts, which serve as the main building material for the shrimp armor. Water hardness 6-25. But the most important quality of water is stability! Shrimps are able to adapt to a new environment even if the parameters are not entirely favorable. But they will not be able to adapt to chaotic fluctuations in parameters (which are inevitable when trying to use pH-minus or plus products). In general, typical tap water is an ideal habitat for most animals in this group.
Shrimps can live at temperatures from 15 to 30 degrees. Like all cold-blooded animals, the metabolic rate of shrimps is directly proportional to the ambient temperature (in this case, water). At 26-30 degrees they are active; at 18 degrees and below, cool water causes a significant slowdown in metabolic processes, making the animals sluggish and inactive. It is better to stick to the optimum, which lies within 20-28°C. Shrimps can tolerate a gradual (within an hour) decrease in the range up to 10°C. Sudden temperature drops (for example, during water changes) even by 7°C are often fatal to them. Therefore, sudden fluctuations in water temperature in the aquarium are unacceptable. Keeping these animals in water with a temperature above 32°C is generally unacceptable, as it can lead to protein coagulation in the body and, consequently, their death.
Phosphorus is an essential trace element for invertebrates. It is necessary for building the carapace of crustaceans. However, in natural water bodies, the concentration of phosphorus (in the form of phosphorus compounds – phosphates) is negligibly small, as a result of which freshwater animals have adapted to get by with a small amount of this trace element. In tap water used for the aquarium, the phosphate level is elevated, differing by tens of times from natural indicators. Plus, the source of phosphates can be aquarium decorations, substrate, and food. Mineralization of food residues, dead particles of aquarium plants and animals also leads to the formation of phosphates.
Phosphates in themselves are not only harmless but also useful. For example, calcium phosphate Ca₃PO₄ is used by shrimps and crayfish to build their shell. However, an elevated level of phosphates causes the growth of unwanted algae-bacteria (blue-green and filamentous). For these algae, phosphates act as fertilizer. The phenomenon of eutrophication — the enhanced saturation of water with phosphates, leading to water blooms — has a disastrous effect on aquarium inhabitants (not only shrimps and crayfish, but also plants). Algae, multiplying on phosphates like yeast, can lead to poisoning and suffocation of crustaceans. The concentration of phosphates in a freshwater aquarium should not exceed 0.3 mg/l. You can measure the concentration of phosphates in water using tests.
A good filter or reverse osmosis will help avoid the introduction of phosphates from tap water. A good filter (if with reverse osmosis, it’s even better) purifies the water from phosphates that fertilize algae. Complying with maintenance rules will help prevent an increase in phosphate levels in the aquarium water: regular, weekly water changes of 20-30%, feeding pets in moderation, avoiding overpopulation. Any organic matter (food residues, dead particles of plants and animals) is a source of both nitrites and phosphates.
If you notice yellowing and wilting of aquarium plants, rapid growth of unwanted algae, test the water for phosphate content and take action in case of elevated indicators. You can remove them using various preparations in composition and application method manufactured by companies producing aquarium products. You can reduce the phosphate content to zero using special bacteria that require phosphorus to build DNA, RNA, and ATP. There are also special zeolite-containing adsorbent preparations that, when added to aquarium filters, remove phosphates and other harmful compounds from the water.
The frequency and volume of water changes for shrimps differ very little from these parameters for fish: standard 20% are quite suitable with a sparse stocking density; however, if shrimps begin to breed, this process becomes avalanche-like. In this case, you need to choose a strategy: either transplant some of the shrimps (for example, to a general aquarium where they can become a food supplement for fish) or increase the frequency of water changes. The volume should preferably remain the same, as jumps in water parameters can negatively affect shrimps. If a large amount of water is replaced quickly in the aquarium, shrimps may die in a day or two.
Never replace a lot of water at once. Do not add water just taken from the tap into the aquarium. It should stand in a container for some time so that the temperature rises to room temperature. Otherwise, if shrimps get into ice-cold or very cold water, the temperature of which differs sharply from the water temperature in the aquarium, they will experience stress and die. To avoid testing your pets’ resilience, replace only 15-20% of the water weekly or even twice a month.
Be sure to siphon the substrate in the shrimp tank! Despite their small size, shrimps produce quite a lot of waste. You will be surprised by the amount of excrement… At the same time, it is better to drain the water not directly into the sewer, but into a bucket. Shrimp juveniles are often sucked up by the hose, but they tolerate this journey normally, and after the dirt settles, it makes sense to scoop the fry back into the aquarium with a thin tube. Juveniles are very different from adults. They are very sensitive to unfavorable conditions and often die. Iodine is a very important element for the life of shrimps. But it often happens that there is too little of it in food and water. If you add iodinol (from a pharmacy) to the aquarium water at the rate of 1 ml per 10 liters of water, once or twice a month, it will not harm plants, fish, and bacteria. But the shrimps will be happy. It is better to refrain from using traditional alcohol-based iodine solution.
The average lifespan of shrimps is from 2.5 (Palaemon) to 6 years (Leander). The lifespan depends on the water temperature in which shrimps are kept. At 26°C and above, shrimps “age” by the third year; at 15°C they also live no more than 3 years; at 21-24°C — 4 years or more. Females grow faster than males.
Shrimps can live in aquariums of any capacity — from 5 to 500 liters, but the most convenient are aquariums with a capacity of 35 to 100 liters. The stocking density of shrimps depends on their species, but should not be too high so that they do not compete with each other, both in terms of food and territory. By and large, they can be acquired based on the calculation of 8-10 five-centimeter individuals per 100 liters of volume. The stocking density of small shrimps in the absence of aeration is 25 pieces per 100 liters of water (3-4 liters per individual), with aeration — five times more. In principle, you can keep shrimps of different species in one tank, but you should not abuse this without need: the law of the jungle has not been cancelled, and in the world of crustaceans, larger and stronger ones will not mind dining on neighbors less fortunate in physical condition.
One of the adaptive features is cannibalism. This phenomenon benefits not a single individual, but a population or group located in a limited area at a high population density. In the struggle for living space, strong individuals destroy the weakest. In a water body, as well as in an aquarium, a shrimp (large individual) likes to have its own corner or territory where it feels like a master. Facts of cannibalism have also been observed during transportation under dense stocking conditions. In an aquarium with a stocking density not exceeding permissible limits, this happens extremely rarely and serves as a signal of a sharp deterioration in living conditions.
A common weakness of aquarium invertebrates is the desire to “take a walk” outside a poorly covered aquarium. Some shrimps like to crawl or jump out of the aquarium if, for example, they are unhappy with the parameters or aquarium neighbors. Sometimes they succeed in good acrobatic stunts that can end in escape from the aquarium. Usually, such unauthorized “walks” lead to the death of the animal within a few minutes. Therefore, the aquarium must be tightly covered with a glass cover or a special lid and try to place wires and hoses from equipment so that it is not easy for shrimps to climb them.
You can make a top cover for the aquarium from plexiglass or rigid polyethylene. Strips 3-5 cm wide are cut and glued into a frame according to the size of the aquarium top. The inner edge is bent inside the aquarium at an angle of 30 degrees. This will prevent the shrimp (and other crustaceans and snails) from leaving the aquarium on their own. If all shrimps are trying to climb out of the water in unison, this most likely indicates poor conditions in the aquarium (an increase in pH or nitrogen compounds).
When keeping shrimps together with fish, the presence of a sufficient number of shelters and good plant thickets is mandatory. They lead a semi-hidden lifestyle with prevailing twilight and nocturnal activity. Shrimps also really like to hide under driftwood, in caves and other secluded places. At the same time, they possess an amazing camouflage ability in the aquarium; if a shrimp decides to hide, finding it will be very difficult. There are cases when shrimp owners, firmly believing that all shrimps had died, started cleaning the aquarium and suddenly, after draining almost all the water, discovered every single little shrimp safe and sound at the bottom. By the way, a tip — if you want to see hidden shrimps, shine a flashlight into the aquarium at night — their eyes will shine brightly in its beam, like a scattering of stars in the night sky. They really like to sit in the current from the filter or swim against the current.
For shrimps, as for most fish, the aquarium flora should be chosen carefully. Echinodorus, Cryptocoryne, Thailand fern, Bolbitis, etc., are best suited. Fine-leaved plants — Myriophyllum, Vallisneria, Cabomba, Ludwigia grow strongly, form dense thickets, and shrimps become invisible in them. Therefore, one often hears complaints from a disappointed aquarist that the long-awaited shrimps he bought hid in the plants and do not come out. During the day, shrimps lead an active lifestyle. Besides digging in the substrate, they crawl over the leaves of large-leaved plants, cleaning them from flat snail leeches. The latter cause a lot of trouble to aquarists: having entered the aquarium with bloodworms, they suck blood from snails, which die and spoil the water. Shrimps will not rest until they destroy all leeches.
Never use hot tap water, as chemicals are added to the water. The main thing is that there are no heavy metal salts in the water, particularly copper. This is a common curse of invertebrates. Even the seemingly most insignificant concentrations can very quickly send these tireless algae-eaters to the next world, especially if they are in the molting stage. So if you suddenly feel like treating fish in a shrimp aquarium with copper-containing preparations, don’t forget to move the shrimps to another container in advance. Some manufacturers warn about this in instructions, advising to lower the concentration, but without experience, it is sometimes difficult to measure the right dose, and as a result of exceeding the maximum permissible concentration of copper, shrimps die. Moreover, this may not happen immediately, but within 1-2 weeks. Shrimps tolerate changes in water salinity well (and the presence of trypaflavin in it), which allows disinfection measures to be carried out in case of fish diseases.
Shrimps are very useful in the aquarium as they act as cleaners. Young individuals extract bloodworms or tubifex hidden in the substrate, quickly eat dead fish, leaving nothing of it. Adults eat rotting leaf residues, detritus (black sludge formed from fish waste and rotting algae). Besides Caridina multidentata (Caridina japonica), there are several related shrimp species that also eat algae to varying degrees. These are the Taiwanese Red Cherry shrimp (Neocaridina heteropoda) which eats a large number of different types of algae and easily breeds even in a general aquarium, Brazilian Yellow-Belly Grass shrimp (Palaemon pantanal), Rudolph Red-Nosed shrimp (Caridina gracilirostris), Dwarf Blackberry Algae Eating shrimp (Caridina spp.), and Dwarf Emerald Green Deora Algae Eating shrimp (Caridina spp).
Shrimp Trap.
It is not so easy to remove a large number of shrimps from the aquarium. You can catch shrimps using various modifications of fish traps, the main principle of which is 
to create an easy entrance, provide shrimps with an incentive in the form of, say, food, and make the exit as difficult as possible. Well-washed small plastic water bottles are needed.
Carefully cut the bottle, turn the cut upper part of the bottle upside down, and insert it into the lower part so that there is enough space from the cap to the bottom for the shrimps to maneuver. Also, attention must be paid to the escape routes of the shrimps, which we will minimize by eliminating all gaps between the upper and lower parts of our design. Make a hole in the cap so that through this simple entrance the shrimp can get to dinner. If there are fish in the aquarium besides shrimps, the hole must be made in such a way that a fish cannot sneak “as a stowaway” into the dining room. As a result, there should be only one entrance and one exit inside, through which only the most talented and clever shrimps can escape. There have been cases of shrimp deaths inside bottles; this is attributed to the fact that there is no water circulation inside the bottle. There are two solutions to this problem: either perforate the bottle with small holes, or do not leave the trap in the aquarium for a long time.
Behavior of Shrimps in the Aquarium.
Acclimatization of Acquired Shrimps. Quarantine for New Shrimps. 
Last changes and additions made on June 8, 2012.
