Starting a 75G Feeder Shrimp Tank w/ RCS (Crazy?) and Plecos

[ericatdallas]

Okay, so this might be crazy, but I just started a 75G shrimp tank. It was originally going to be in a 20G, then I decided to put it in my 55G, but when I brought them home, I quickly setup the 75G I had laying around for it and decided to use it as a pleco breeding tank.

Whatcha think? Out of my mind? Crazy? Or worse, failed to consider something?

I wanted to do some live feed, so I'm going to culture RCS for Discus feed. I'm also going to modify the 75G to house a container of blackworms that will be isolated. If a few BW escape, I read that the shrimp will tear it apart.

I don't know the number, but a rough count is about 100 shrimp and he gave me a few berried shrimp I also have 3-4 shrimp that hitchhiked with some plecos I bought last week (so a fresh injection of new DNA).

I am a little worried because the person I bought it from has snails. I am going to leave the shrimp alone for about a month or two and kill off any snails I find as soon as I can with pliars until they're all gone (crossing fingers). It's a BB tank, so this might be a little easier for me.

I'm going to start out with RCS but maybe once I get a handle on this, get some CRS.

My plan is to make a PVC platform with egg crate as the surface. This will increase the surface area of the tank and put the pleco caves there. So the goal is for the plecos to breed in the higher levels but also to provide more surface for more inhabitants. I'm using egg crate to allow some light to pass through since I have java moss and hornwort that might tumble around.

I will have a pump to change water and I will probably target 10-20% per day.

Another goal is to take the waste water to feed an aquaponics setup. A very small and not very ambitious one to start. I plan to grow maybe 4-6 buttercrisp lettuce plants.

The guy I bought the shrimp from said a 10G can probably comfortably store 500-600 RCS, so I imagine my 75G which has 4x surface area w/ my PVC augmentation should have enough room for thousands (???)

I currently have two sponge filters in there, but I will probably modify a HOB filter (the strainer) with plenty of ceramic noodles and add a few more sponges as the population grows. The plants will help and eventually, so will aquaponics. I'll adjust WC as necessary if it gets too out of hand.

Siphoning gunk is a big concern as well.

[Skip]

its crazy you want to use those shrimp at Feeder

just get abunch of GHOST shrimp..

[ericatdallas]

I thought about ghost shrimp but why?

RCS seem easier since they don't have a larval stage. They breed nearly as fast. Their value is just that people are willing to pay more for them, but the resources to breed them are the same as ghost shrimp.

Also, if I get enough of them, I can sell them or trade them w/ people. I can even learn how to 'cherry' pick them for the quality ones and put them in their own tanks and feed the 'ugly' ones to the Discus.

It might be a little crazier to feed discus CRS (I did think of doing this), but I read that CRS are a little harder to breed, the initial cost to start up was higher, and they're a little bigger (harder to eat).

[Skip]

wait are you talking about Red Cherry and Not Crystal Reds?

cherrys.. yea. that should work..

hey. i have lots of FROG BIT and Java Moss.. its really filling up my 8g tank.. !

[TURQ64]

pure crazy..10g won't hold that volume long enuff to feed them live; waaaaay overcrowded, so all the numbers are off....crazy..I've had a vagrant colony of blackworms that fell off a spoon in one of my CRS tanks..they are multiplying, and the shrimp won't screw with them alive...

[ericatdallas]

Gary, how many RCS do you think a 75G will hold (healthy population, not max).

That's kind of a shame... but the plecos will probably eat the blackworms right?

[ericatdallas]

btw, the guy I bought them from I think he had it in a 10G tank. After I got mine, he looked like he still had 10x more in the same tank.

He feeds his shrimp to Discus as well.

Skip, haha, I guess when CRS go for $1-2 each, it would be kind of nuts to feed them to Discus.

[TURQ64]

Shrimp thrive in a balance with their tank; plants,substrate,algae, etc..Hard to imagine in a 75..(if it was 12 or 17 inches tall, maybe) They don't live in much of the water column..Never tried to raise feeders, without a worry as to their conditions..Maybe 1000...chery's are usually .50-1.00, CRS 3.00 to 50.00, depending on grade..

[ericatdallas]

Shrimp thrive in a balance with their tank; plants,substrate,algae, etc..Hard to imagine in a 75..(if it was 12 or 17 inches tall, maybe) They don't live in much of the water column..Never tried to raise feeders, without a worry as to their conditions..Maybe 1000...chery's are usually .50-1.00, CRS 3.00 to 50.00, depending on grade..

Yeah, I was assuming if I bred CRS for feeding purpose they would be in the lower grade. I've seen a few local hobbyist sell them for $1-2. Higher in websites and aquabid.

I did some research and found that people say 100 max for a 10G. Since the floor area of a 75G is about 4x, that's about 400, but I'm increasing the area with my PVC "shelf". I do see a ton of shrimp 'playing' in the plants too. However, the 100 number is probably considering bioload as well, and a 75G has 7.5 x the volume which probably is a factor. I'm thinking your 1000 estimate is probably a good number to use for 'healthy' population on a 75G.

Also, I'm thinking the person that sold it to me is not thinking about 500-600 adults, but baby-to-adults (since we were discussing this for shrimp feeder purposes).

Well, worse case scenario is this doesn't work, but I'm not looking to feed my fish exclusively on shrimp either. They're still fun to watch.

[Skip]

hey eric.. may only fill the tank up half way.. or 2/3.. so its not as high

[ericatdallas]

hey eric.. may only fill the tank up half way.. or 2/3.. so its not as high

I have it filled half way right now .... what's the reason for that though? Do shrimp prefer shallower water?

[Skip]

idk.. i thought turq was bringing up a point about the height of 75g tank.. i would prefer a 20 long over a 20 high..

[TURQ64]

My point there was that they don't use the upper water column much, occasional travel..I have no other point, as I enjoy the hobby; I don't raise bait..no feeder goldfish here,we raise Oranda..You would be better served by a seafood mix. My observations on a few people I have seen try this is a lot of crippled out shrimp, bored and sick Discus, and a lot of tank mess. Discus eventually just look at them as sport, like coyotes and deer... So if a person is o.k. with the mess, then a seafood blend is much better..But then again, the pirana and arro folks might enjoy feeder Discus..dunno, I just raise 'em....

[ericatdallas]

Well, I'm trying to raise a variety of live feed that will provide the nutrients for my aquaponics setup. Since people mentioned the nitrates are too low in a Discus tank, I figured raising plecos (which I enjoy anywy), shrimp, and having a blackworm keeper connected to it would work to supply the nutrients AND allow me to treat my Discus.

I went to the other forums and people mentioned RCS make for good feeders. I guess I'll let everyone know how it goes. I think if the Discus eat shrimp exclusively, it might not be good for them, but occassionally is what I'm aiming for. Maybe every few days. I definitely want to keep them eating dry pellets and BH mix and not get them too spoiled. Once summer hits, I'm going to start a vermicompost. Since it's my first, I'm hesitant to have an indoor one until I know what I'm getting myself into.

I do use SF and BH mix. The discus don't actually enjoy the SF mix very much and I've been working at it for about a year now with different recipes. My BH mix has SF mix in it too.

BH is actually getting harder to find or more expensive around here. One grocery store that used to carry it stopped and the only one I know that is nearby and convenient that still has it charges a lot for it. I thought $11 for two BH last time was kind of expensive.

I'm trying a turkey mix next. I dropped a few pieces of Turkey in and they seemed to peck at it.

[Skip]

BH is actually getting harder to find or more expensive around here. One grocery store that used to carry it stopped and the only one I know that is nearby and convenient that still has it charges a lot for it. I thought $11 for two BH last time was kind of expensive. .

WOW!!

Fiesta Mart has it for $1.00 lb and its been cleaned and sliced! want me to ship you some?! LOL