How to Keep Aquarium Shrimp

Keeping aquarium shrimp is a rewarding hobby for beginning aquarium keepers. Most aquarium shrimp are fish-friendly and may help clean up the waste produced by their scaly tankmates. However, shrimp are rarely kept for their cleaning skills. Instead, they must be valued as their own pet. Shrimp may also be kept seperately, in their own tank.

Things You'll Need

  • Appropriately-sized aquarium on a stand
  • Heater
  • Substrate, such as gravel or sand
  • Aquarium filter
  • Bio-Spira or other cycling probiotic (optional)
  • Florescent tank hood and light
  • Aquarium lid
  • Aquarium net
  • Water testing strips
  • Shrimp food
  • Friendly tankmates (optional)
  • Hiding places
  • Water changing syphon
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Instructions

    • 1

      Fill your aquarium with water and cycle it. You may add Bio-Spira or any other type of probiotic to help your aquarium with the nitrogen cycle. Set your heater up, wash your substrate and add it to the bottom of the tank. Arrange the tank's hiding places and decorations. Adding the light hood and top early on will help your bacteria flourish. Attach your filter and start it up when the aquarium is full.

    • 2

      Sprinkle shrimp food into the tank to help feed the beneficial bacteria you are building up to keep your shrimp safe and healthy. When your water testing strips tell you that you are in the correct parameters for your chosen species of shrimp, you may purchase and bring home your shrimp.

    • 3

      Using the aquarium net, carefully remove the shrimp from the bag they came in. They are very delicate and will be easily crushed. Some species of shrimp may attempt to leap from the net, so keeping your hand over it while moving them may help you avoid such disasters.

    • 4

      Watch the shrimp over the next few hours. They will stay mostly hidden or dart around to different hiding spots. This is perfectly normal. If they do not move or remain on their side on the bottom of the tank for a long period, something may have happened in transport and the affected shrimp may be dying or dead.

    • 5

      Change the water in the tank from the bottom with the syphon at least once every week. The water must be tested every few days with your water testing strips to maintain ideal water parameters.