Cherry Shrimp temperature range?

[neilsc]

hi Folks,
I have a nano tank which has a ever increasing colony of red cherry shrimp. The plan is to transfer some of them to a newly setup bowl. However the nano tank is running at about 23c and the bowl is unheated so therefore has a temperature of about 16/17c. My question is two fold, firstly can RCS live in such cold temperatures and if so how do I acclimate them from one to the other?

 

[mort]

Hi, they will live happily at those temperatures, some can even survive in outside ponds with a covering of ice. I found they didn't breed that much at 18c or so but that could suit what you are trying. To acclimate there are several ways to do it and its about trying to match the temperatures. You could add some warm water to the bowl to make them similar temperatures and then let it cool naturally to room temperature, catch the shrimp and put them in a container, letting it cool to room temperature (better with a larger volume as this process is slower), before acclimating them in the normal way. Acclimating a few degrees difference normally isn't a problem but 6-7c is quite a lot. Alternatively you could drop the temperature in their tank a few degrees, a few days before you do the move them and then slowly drip acclimate over several hours. The way I'd do it and it does depend on the two different volumes, is to just fill the new bowl with water from the other tank and then slowly fill it up if you didn't have enough water. It's the lazy way to acclimate as the shrimps go straight in without the need to drip them.

Shrimps do like mature, stable, setups though so I wouldn't rush adding them to a new tank and they need a decent water volume to be happy, so it does depend on how big your bowl is, to whether you would want to add them.

 

[neilsc]

hi Mort,
Thanks for the advice. The intended bowl holds 21litres, so should be large enough. The existing is 34litres so I cannot really use the water transfer method.
Its good to know they will survive in the lower temperature and this is likely to increase as we go into spring. So it makes sense to wait a month or two for the tank to mature and the temperature to rise.

 

[BritPlanter]

Hi Neilsc,
I agree with mort, the shrimp should be just fine. Cherry shrimp are pretty dang tough and can handle most temps except the heat. Add a few plants in, maybe almond leaf and you will be set. According to this article, 23c is just at their low point but again a few temps down to 16/17c and you should still be fine, just keep an eye on them!

How many shrimps do you plan on putting into that 5 gallon?