I am Matt, a shrimp breeder from China. I have been keeping Sulawesi shrimps since 2021 and have some experience in raising native Chinese wild shrimps and Crystal shrimps. In my Sulawesi tank, I keep Caridina dennerli (some of them have red eyes and blue body), Caridina spongicola, Caridina spinata, and a small amount of Caridina sp. “tigri” and Caridina striata. This article shares the setup and daily maintenance of my shrimp tank.

Sulawesi shrimp tank equipment

Aquarium: 50x30x40 cm Filter: undergravel filter (UGF), trickle filter Filter media: Seachem Matrix, OF 3DM media, volcanic rock Substrate: mainly volcanic rock, 200ml Aqua-system Project Soil Premium 7.2 in UGF Lighting: Jiyin 10W, timer (9:00-21:00, 12 hours per day) Pump: Jialu 6W 500L/H

Heater: UP aqua 200W

Shrimp tank setup ideas

Sulawesi shrimps are adapted to a pH of the aquarium water between 7.5 and 9. I think it requires strong filtration efficiency to quickly convert and decompose food residues and proteins in the tank into nitrates to ensure that the tank will not be toxic due to excessive ammonia.

Therefore I chose UGF and trickle boxes, which can increase oxygen dissolution in the water and provide a high-efficiency filtration system. I also place a large amount of crushed volcanic rock under the filter outlet to allow water to flow through it. The volcanic rock is also a good filter material.

Setting up the aquarium

After placing the volcanic rock, I sprinkle a bacterial powder on the surface of the volcanic rock, fill the tank with water and switch on the filtration. I use tap water during this initial (cycling) period. The period is about 40 days. During this time, the filtration is always turned on. The light is on for 12 hours/day. Half of the water is changed every two weeks. All the water is removed one week before the shrimps are put in. I remineralize the RO water with SaltyShrimp Sulawesi Mineral 7.5.

Temperature

In winter, I set the heater at 27.5 °C with a temperature control socket (26-28 °C). The heater is placed under the filter outlet, in the flow. In summer, Guangzhou is so hot that water temperature will rise to 30 °C, but no fan or cooler is needed, this is ok for Sulawesi shrimps.

Water quality management

I add the SaltyShrimp 7.5 mineral salt to the RO water to reach pH 8.1-8.2. At this time, TDS is about 250-300 ppm. I change 10% of the water every two weeks, and replenish the evaporated water with RO water. I do not add any aquatic fertilizers or highly acidic substances to the tank to avoid affecting the pH.

I use Seachem Prime, Stability and Pristine products in maintenance, as well as Easy-Life Catappa-X. I occasionally add a quarter of a dried catappa leaf to the tank.

If the filter cotton on the first layer of the trickle box becomes dirty, it will be replaced. Because there is less feeding, it will not get dirty easily, and there will not be a large amount of algae in the tank. I do not recommend to let the algae growth explode, it will pollute the water when the algae die.

I don't vacuum clean the bottom. I created a high-efficiency filtration system instead. I feed the shrimps only a little amount of food daily (no food is left after 0.5-1 hour), so I don't think there will be much food residues affecting the water quality.

Feeding

I don’t feed the shrimp when the numbers of shrimps are low, and even if I feed them, they may not eat. I start feeding at density of 4 shrimps per liter. If there are young shrimps, I add a little bit of powder shrimp food every day. The amount is only about 0.01g. It can be bacterial powder or GlasGarten ShrimpFit. Adult shrimps will also be fed half a piece of shrimp food the size of a fingernail, I offer them a homemade food.

I make my own homemade shrimp food using the following ingredients (powdered): spirulina, catappa leaves, nettles, spinach, mulberry leaves, bee pollen, beta-glucan, and chlorella. I add water to create a paste, spread it flat on a baking paper and bake to dry.

Handling the shrimps

Sulawesi shrimps are very sensitive to external stimuli, the light, the temperature, the pH, even the dip net might scare them to death. And they need stable water parameters. I used to forget to add RO water to replace the evaporated water in the tank, and they died one after another.

There is a very important reminder. If you buy shrimps and have them delivered in several days, then the health status of the shrimps is low and the water contains ammonia. Place the bag in the tank. Once the temperature is consistent, net the shrimps directly into the tank, do not drip the aquarium water into the bag.

Key to success

I think the most important thing about keeping Sulawesi shrimps is to provide a suitable water parameters and a stable environment, and create an efficient filtration to maintain low ammonia concentration and stable pH.

The above is my experience of shrimp keeping. I will share some of my aquarium videos on YouTube (@shrimpkeepermatt1989). You are welcome to communicate with me at any time. Thank you.

Matt Liang