finally bought some cherry shrimp! :)

[Balloon Fish]

hey everyone, i finally bought some cherry shrimp off of aquabid.com. 12 cherry shrimp 1/4" to 1/2" juvenilles. Anyways i have a lot of questions now

1. About how big do they have to be to start breeding?

2. I have neons, a few cardinals, 3 balloon bellied mollies, and a few guppies in my 20g (a little overstocked but i'm gonna move some) and i was wondering if any of these fish will eat the baby cherry shrimp if i do breed them. I am thinking that the main ones who will be eating the baby cherry shrimps are the balloon bellied mollies and the guppies so i might be moving those soon, do you think the neons will? they dont really swim around at the bottom so i doubt if the cherry shrimp were born they won't notice them...

3. Do they jump out of the tank? (my old ghost shrimp did but i guess it was cause of my angel ) (the cherrys are gonna be in the 20g)

4. I have a penguin 100 on the 20g should i put something over the inlet?

5. Do cherry shrimp eat poop?

i have a few more questions but i can't remember them right now so i'll ask them later if i do remember it can't wait for the shrimp to come.

[Balloon Fish]

oh ya i remember a few more questions

6. Does salt help the shrimp? (i sometimes add aquarium salt to the tank for the mollies)

7. What kind of stuff has calcium in it cause a few websites have said that calcium is important.

8. Is there anything else i need to add to the tank to help out my shrimp? so far i have iodine, maybe salt depending on the answer, and something with calcium depending on the answer i get.

thanks in advance

[Balloon Fish]

ooo i got a few more

9. Is it super important that the shrimp have something to hold onto when they are being shipped?

10. does priority mail usually come in the mornings? and when they say priority does that mean USPS?

thanks

[Lotus]

1. 3/4"
2. Yes, they'll eat the babies
3. Not unless water quality is really bad or a fish is chasing them
4. Yes, if you're going to have baby shrimp (but see #2)
5. No, nothing eats poop
6. No
7. Cuttlebone and crushed coral in a small bag in the filter will help
8. No
9. Pretty important. If the seller isn't doing this, I'd say they're irresponsible.
10. I believe it comes when it comes.

[Balloon Fish]

ok thanks a lot the guy who is selling it to me is a really good person according to his feedback (200/200 positive). Anyways he said that he was gonna be sending like 14 shrimps (2 extra as insurance) and put some guppy grass in there for them to hold onto, is there any way that i can add calcium into the tank without modifying the pH? i'm gonna be going to petsmart later today to pick up some iodine and maybe some other stuff oh and does USPS leave the package at my doorstep if i'm not there to recieve it? or is there some policy where they deliver it again? Oh last question, when and if the cherry shrimp have eggs what do you think would be the best way to preserve most of the babies in the 20g with most of the fish still there (i moved the guppies except 2 albino ones and 3 endlers and i also moved the balloon bellied mollies) would getting some moss or something help? or more hiding spots?

[Balloon Fish]

i went to petsmart just then and i bought a lot of extra stuff like 2 feet of polyester and stuff for filters and other useless stuff and when i come home i'm looking at my tank then i go OMG i forgot the iodine... sigh... gonna have to go back on thursday or saturday...

[Lotus]

You really don't need the iodine.

Anyone selling/sending shrimp should know to add something for the shrimp to hang onto. It doesn't really matter what kind of plant, as long as there is one. If someone says they bag the shrimp with nothing to hang on to, don't buy from them. USPS will normally leave it at the door if you're not home. The best thing to do would be to have it delivered to your parent's work, so someone can keep it inside. It will depend on how the sender is sending it, though, as sometimes they require a signature. You should probably check the USPS Web site for information on that, and ask the seller if he is having it sent with a signature proof.

Yes, adding calcium will probably raise your pH.

To give the shrimp the best possible chance of survival, make sure there is plenty of java moss/riccia/other dense plants. Make sure you cover the intake with sponge or netting so the babies don't get sucked up the intake of the filter. Then, hope the fish don't find them all.

[Balloon Fish]

ok thanks a lot for the replies i'm glad i haven't bought the iodine yet cause its like 8 bucks and i'm not even sure if they do have some. It won't be a problem if the shrimp get here tommorow cause my sister is home like all day and she can recieve it but she is only 11 so i dont know if she can sign but i get home at noon so its probably not gonna be a problem. If it doesn't come tommorow then i'm in trouble cause my sister wont be home on thursday...

On the filter intake cover i bought some polyester from petsmart and it was like 2 square feet for 2 bucks so i thought it was a pretty good deal and i got some as for the fry cover i am hoping that the guy who sends me the shrimp includes enough guppy grass so i could leave it in my tank and grow it out but if it isn't enough i'll try something else or maybe order some plants but i doubt i will. I have a few more questions. What does the calcium do for the shrimp? and is it important? and can you give me a name of a product that has crushed coral? and does crushed coral make my water milky? Thanks for all the help so far

[Lotus]

It should be OK for your sister to sign for the package (I guess). I dunno what Child Services will say about her being home alone, though....
Did the seller send you a tracking number?

What's your KH like? If it's low, then you might have a problem with the calcium. Shrimp use calcium to form their exoskeleton. Just like your mom always tells you to drink your milk for strong bones (as it's high in calcium). Shrimp have their "bones" on the outside, and they moult their exoskeleton, so need to have calcium. Some people say that as long as they're getting enough calcium in their diet, they should be OK without any added to the water column.

I would recommend getting cuttlebone, and putting a small (1/4") piece in the tank. You can get the cuttlebone at any pet store in the bird section for less than $2.

If you want to use crushed coral, your best bet is a LFS that has saltwater fish and sells it by the pound. If not, you'll be stuck with 15lbs of it and have to pay like $20. All you need of it is a tablespoon in a mesh bag in the filter.

[Balloon Fish]

my cousins live next door to us so if my sister needs something she will know where to go

The seller did send me a tracking number except i put it into the tracking thing on usps.com and it kept saying that it will be updated during the evening if information is available

My kH in the tank is usually from 12 to 14(don't know the measurement). OOO and i just saw a pic of the cuddle bone on petsmart and i had some of that stuff for my two birds a long time ago but i dont have it anymore . I might go pick some up next time i go out, do i just stick the whole thing into the filter? And just a random question but can you use cheese mesh (i think thats the name) for a mesh bag in your filter?