Sulawesi shrimp and soil?

[m00z]

Hi y'all!

Is possible to keep sulawesi shrimp with soil? Even though everyone writes that we should use either neutral substrates or coral sand and RO water blah blah ... :rolleyes:
But the guide on planet inverts for Cardinals states that ADA Amzonia works!

I read that Ebigold Shrimpsoil has mininal nutrients and it doesnt buffer the pH too low. Is it then possible to use Shrimpsoil with maybe coral sand /crushed coral or maybe bicarbonate to buff up the pH? (the tap water where I live is very clean, I think at least :undecided.)

what are your experiences?

thanks!

[countcoco]

I'm curious why you'd prefer to use an active soil over inert substrate. I'm guessing it's because you want to keep them in a nicely planted tank. However, keep in mind that most plants prefer acidic water and temperature ranges that are inappropriate for cardinal shrimp.

Also, planet invertz contains a lot of questionable information. I don't see how ADA Amazonia could possibly work as a substrate in a cardinal tank.

[m00z]

well coral sand isnt exaclty inert either :P
anyways, if we could buffer up the pH isnt it possible to use any substrate? plants or no plants.

[killer007]

but even with soil plant will still die cuz ph is too rock hard @.@....
depend of which plant you put in...so...some plant will sure die in ph 8 @.@...

[countcoco]

well coral sand isnt exaclty inert either :P
anyways, if we could buffer up the pH isnt it possible to use any substrate? plants or no plants.

Coral sand is good because it increases alkalinity; aquasoil is not a good choice because it decreases alkalinity. Cardinals need alkaline water, so why use a soil that decreases alkalinity? That's like saying you want to use coral chips in a crs tank.

I'm sure it's possible to keep them in a bare tank, but it will only make things more difficult. Most people who keep cardinals believe they are not fond of frequent or large volume water changes. Frequent water changes are generally required in bare bottom tanks.

[m00z]

With Ebigold Shrimpsoil my water is still alkaline :/
And if I mix with coral or bicarbonate maybe i can raise it another 0.5?
I would NEVER even consider using Aquasoil for cardinals.

Ps i dont have any cardinals at the moment so dont worry Im not experimenting this on them :)

[imke_j]

The idea to use active shrimp soils for having a low GH and KH is no so bad. Anyway one should test if you can bring up the pH over 7.5 with aeration only and how the substrate behaves under temperatures around 27-28C. Time for a test tank without shrimp, m00z ;) Let us know the results!

[m00z]

wow a little support hehe!
imke, do you think the experiment would be stable in a smaller volume of 5 liters? I dont have empty tanks and free spaces lying around at the moment :P

[imke_j]

I'd always imitate real conditions in a test. I guess that tank should have minimum 20L.

[yu390705]

Of course you can always use soil as your Sulawesi shrimp tank substrate.

actually, the reason why taking soil as substrate is not only for water plant, but also for breeding rate.
Soil got much higher baby shrimp breeding/surviving rate than coral sand
In Taiwan several popular shrimp breeders do so.

If you want to plant some water plants in minor alkaline water, Polypodiaceae sp., Cryptocoryne sp., Araceae sp., ferns, mosses are all fine.
and they can all survive with 26-28 C, which is the best temperature for Sulawesi shrimps

Don't be afraid, I think most of the tap water keep their alkanity and pH > 7 with Master Soil, Nisso Shrimp Soil and GEX soil.
Currently most of sulawesi shrimps you can buy are bred by human, so their pH and hardness range are very wide.