Bare Bottom + High Flow (Fire Shrimp?)

[Pheelosopher]

Hi all. 15g nano reef cycled up and running. It is a bare bottom setup with real reef rock. Return pump at 24x GPH. I also have an ecoTech pump placed at the bottom at high flow for detritus, etc.

Pair of clownfish.

I don't have any experience with shrimp. I would like to get a fire shrimp, but am not sure if it will survive in this setup, or if it'll just get blown around to smithereens?

Please share your thoughts / feedback / recommendations.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi all. 15g nano reef cycled up and running. It is a bare bottom setup with real reef rock. Return pump at 24x GPH. I also have an ecoTech pump placed at the bottom at high flow for detritus, etc.

Pair of clownfish.

I don't have any experience with shrimp. I would like to get a fire shrimp, but am not sure if it will survive in this setup, or if it'll just get blown around to smithereens?

Please share your thoughts / feedback / recommendations.

Shrimp do not like smooth surfaces. In fact, when they are shipped, very often a small piece of plastic mesh is put in the bag for them to hold onto.

Fire shrimp are shy and need a firm surface to cling to. With a bare tank, they will need to hold onto the underside of the rocks.

Have you thought about scarlet cleaner shrimp? You would see it more often.

Jay

 

[Pheelosopher]

Shrimp do not like smooth surfaces. In fact, when they are shipped, very often a small piece of plastic mesh is put in the bag for them to hold onto.

Fire shrimp are shy and need a firm surface to cling to. With a bare tank, they will need to hold onto the underside of the rocks.

Have you thought about scarlet cleaner shrimp? You would see it more often.

Jay

Jay, thank you for the reply! Will the scarlet cleaner shrimp encounter the same issues? I am open to it, just want to ensure that it can manage living in the tank: comprised of rock, high flow, and no substrate.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Jay, thank you for the reply! Will the scarlet cleaner shrimp encounter the same issues? I am open to it, just want to ensure that it can manage living in the tank: comprised of rock, high flow, and no substrate.

Cleaner shrimp are more apt to sit up on top of the rocks, out in the open, so they would be fine.

Jay

 

[exnisstech]

I keep a blood red fire shrimp in a bare bottom. It has a spot in the back where it stays in the rocks. I've had it for a few years. While it is beautiful it doesn't come out much. I've kept skunk cleaners in bare bottom also. They just hang out in the rocks.
If you are planning on keeping lps be aware that shrimp are theiving buggers when it comes to food. I've had them dig inside the mouths of lps to pull food out of the coral.

 

[Pheelosopher]

Thank you for the reply. As far as scavenging for food, do your shrimp go into the bare bottom to get leftovers? The ecoTech has a 10 minute feeding timer where it slows down. Just want to understand if this works for the shrimp to eat.

 

[jda]

You don't see so much flow that shrimp cannot walk on the bottom of a tank. Keeping all debris suspended is a pipe dream, which you will soon realize, since the water will either be too cloudy or it settles anyway - always sounded better than it ever worked. Letting the debris settle and then sucking it out is much cleaner and easier.

In any case, coralline will grow on the bottom soon enough and the shrimp will be able to hold on a bit.

 

[exnisstech]

I currently have the blood red fire shrimp and large peppermint in the tank shown below. I added the sand in the center just for the haddoni and I have never seen either shrimp in the sand. I think they're smart enough to stay away. The fire shrimp stays in the back but comes out and walks around on the rocks to get food when I feed. The peppermint stays wonder the left front rock. It will reach out and grab food but is activity scavenging when lights are out.

 

[Pheelosopher]

You don't see so much flow that shrimp cannot walk on the bottom of a tank. Keeping all debris suspended is a pipe dream, which you will soon realize, since the water will either be too cloudy or it settles anyway - always sounded better than it ever worked. Letting the debris settle and then sucking it out is much cleaner and easier.

In any case, coralline will grow on the bottom soon enough and the shrimp will be able to hold on a bit.

Thank you for the insight!

 

[Pheelosopher]

I currently have the blood red fire shrimp and large peppermint in the tank shown below. I added the sand in the center just for the haddoni and I have never seen either shrimp in the sand. I think they're smart enough to stay away. The fire shrimp stays in the back but comes out and walks around on the rocks to get food when I feed. The peppermint stays wonder the left front rock. It will reach out and grab food but is activity scavenging when lights are out.

Beautiful tank. I'm going for a similar look. Minimal yet effective. Thank you!

 

[exnisstech]

Keeping all debris suspended is a pipe dream, which you will soon realize

Agreed. I recently realized this myself. I have a reefer 350 36x24x24" I'm running 2 mp40, 2 mp10s, and 2 Nero 5s. Stick frags are digging it but I still have detritus piling in a corner and there are always some type or particles floating in the water.

 

[jda]

Peppermint shrimp stay out in the open a bit, are cheaper and also will go to work on some pests if you get some from the Florida Keys. You might consider these in your shrimp list.

 

[Pheelosopher]

Peppermint shrimp stay out in the open a bit, are cheaper and also will go to work on some pests if you get some from the Florida Keys. You might consider these in your shrimp list.

I'm leaning towards cleaner shrimp over the fire shrimp based on this thread. Seems like cleaner hang out in the open for viewing pleasure. I am only planning on keeping 1 shrimp for now, due to my lack of experience with them.

I do 1 gallon water changes weekly. Using reef crystals salt. Is this enough for shrimp, or do I still need some form of additive for their molting thing that they do?

 

[jda]

I have never done anything special for shrimp. They do need fed and cannot just eat fish poop, so make sure that they eat - this is true for all of your clean up crew.

Lots have been made that shrimp need iodine to molt. I am not so sure about this. Mine live to the end of their lifecycle, which is not all that long which is like a three years once we get them and who knows how old that they are when we do. In any case, there is iodine in the right forms in your salt mix.