BROCHUREJBL9 What - Why - How ? Crustacea and shrimp in the freshwater aquarium JBL 2 Contents Page Preliminary note ............................................................. 3 Preconditions .................................................................. 4 Equipping the aquarium ................................................. 4 The right water ............................................................... 6 Food ............................................................................ 10 Care ............................................................................. 11 Communities ................................................................. 12 Overview of species - shrimp Dwarf shrimp ................................................................ 13 Fan shrimp ..................................................................... 14 Large-clawed shrimp ...................................................... 15 Overview of species - crustaceans Dwarf crayfish ............................................................... 16 Large American crayfish ................................................. 17 Cherax from Australia and Papua New Guinea .............. 18 Crab .............................................................................. 22 Photo overview: Dwarf shrimp ................................................................ 24 Fan shrimp ..................................................................... 26 Large-clawed shrimp ...................................................... 27 Dwarf crayfish .............................................................. 28 American crayfish ........................................................... 28 Cherax ........................................................................... 29 Crab .............................................................................. 31 Published by JBL GmbH & Co.KG D-67141 Neuhofen/Pfalz www.jbl.de 5st revised edition 2009 Texts: Friedrich Bitter, Heiko Blessin Photos: Friedrich Bitter, Chris Lukhaup, Heiko Blessin, JBL Archives Layout: B-Design JBL 3 PRELIMINARY NOTE If you are just becoming interested in fresh- and crabs, has become a firmly established water shrimp and crustacea or are think- sector of aquarium-keeping. More and ing about acquiring some, this information more people are fascinated by these crea- has come at just the right time. We want tures and are interested in keeping them. to make you more familiar with these ten- Although some aquarium stores have just limbed creatures (decapods) and at the a small selection of species, importers and same time describe some of the basic prin- wholesalers are bringing us new species or ciples of successful care. forms almost every week, so there is abso- lutely no lack of variety. What began as a fashion about ten years ago, namely keeping shrimp, crustacea JBL 4 PRECONDITIONS There are as many different sorts of deca- ter, but live mainly on the floor or on or un- pods as there are differences in their temper- der decorative objects such as rocks, roots, ament and requirements, a fact which many caves and aquatic plants. newcomers do not like to acknowledge. The best for all these creatures, of course, is to keep them in a single-species tank, how- ever, with the right se- Avoid high lection and combina- water temperatures tion of species, they can be combined Higher temperatures definitely with other aquarium stimulate the metabolism of dwellers in a com- crustaceans, shortening the munity aquarium. intervals between molting. Unfortunately the possible life expectancy is also affected. Fres- When choosing an hwater crustaceans, with very aquarium, the main few exceptions, originate from priority is to select cool, oxygen-rich waters. Being one with the largest kept at room temperature with possible floor area, since cooler temperatures at night is floating shrimp do not play not bad for them at all, in fact a significant role is aquariums. positive effects on their vitality Most other types of shrimp and all crusta- are to be expected… ceans spend hardly any time in the open wa- EQUIPING THE AQUARIUM Crustacea and shrimp do not grow continu- ously in the same way as fish do, but have to molt, enabling them to increase in size con- siderably. Each molt is a decisive and dan- gerous experience in the life of these crea- tures, since for a period of time ranging from hours (for dwarf shrimp, young crustacea) to days (for adult crustacea), their otherwise protective shell is soft, leaving them practi- quartz gravel from a specialist aquarium re- JBL cally helpless against hungry predators, tailer is recommended. In order to provide which, in the case of crustacea, even include the optimum living conditions, we recom- their own species! Caves and crevices are mend using a long-term nutrient floor cover- 5 therefore vital as they provide hiding places. ing material (JBL AquaBasis plus), placed in the empty aquarium as the first layer and The aquarium should also be well-structured then covered with the washed, fine quartz in other aspects, so that the aquarium in- gravel. This provides the aquatic plants habitants can avoid each other if they wish. with all the nutrients they need for vigorous, It is important particularly when keeping healthy growth. Strong plant growth in turn freshwater shrimp that the decorative mate- ensures healthy water, as vigorously growing rial provides hiding places, as many of these plants extract harmful nutrients from the wa- creatures react aggressively if they constant- ter. The plants can be given additional fertil- ly meet other inhabitants of the aquarium. izer with JBL Ferropol (plant-based fertilizer) and JBL Ferropol 24 (daily fertilizer). Aquatic plants are also important in shrimp aquariums or for dwarf crayfish. If you only want to keep floating plants, mosses and ep- iphytes like Java fern, the ground substrate is of secondary importance. If root-growing plants are to be included, a fine, washed Soaking newly acquired aquatic plants It has become apparent that newly purchased groups of plants may cause symptoms of poisoning in shrimp and crustaceans. It is not so much the plant fertilizer which causes this, but rather the insecticides used in the culture of emersed plants. Soaking the plants in water for several days before placing them in the aquari- um will help. The short-term use (12-24 hours) of a very good active carbon such as JBL Carbomec activ will remove insecticides and pesticides. JBL 6 THE RIGHT WATER Shrimp, like other crustacea, breathe through which sucks in shrimp and their offspring. their gills, covering their oxygen require- CP i 40 is driven purely by air. The bubbles ments primarily out of the water. What cur- rising in the inner pipe push the water out of rents and waves create in nature, namely the filter, causing suction to develop in the oxygen enrichment of the water, is produced filter. The surrounding water flows in through in an aquarium by a motor-driven filter (JBL the bio filter foam, where it is cleaned by pol- CristalProfi), an air-driven internal filter (JBL lutant-absorbing bacteria. Shrimp also love CristalProfi i40) or aeration. The animals searching for food on the surface of the foam. react to a lack of oxygen by trying to seek refuge in higher layers of water, where they The water temperature is a further impor- sit almost motionless. In such situations the tant criterion in the successful care of these more agile crustaceans will even attempt to creatures. Even species from apparently escape from the hostile environment by leap- tropical or subtropical regions prefer lower ing out of the aquarium. temperatures: they often originate from wa- ters at higher altitudes or are accustomed JBL CristalProfi i 40 is perfect for shrimp to seasonal variations. Most species can be aquariums as it has no dangerous inlet slit kept at a temperature ranging between 19 and 25 °C. The required temperature can be easily and safely set using a heater-stat (JBL ProTemp S). North American crayfish of the species Cambarus and Orconectes need a temporary drop in temperature to below 15 °C if they are to breed successfully the following spring. For the majority of species, the recommended pH level of the water should be in the slightly acid range (pH 6.5) to slightly alkaline (pH 7.5). Using a JBL pH Test Set, the pH level Air-driven internal filter JBL CristalProfi i 40 JBL Remember to keep the water cool 7 In long hot summers the water temperature of an aquarium may increase alarmingly, espe- cially in apartments under the roof. For small shrimp aquariums, special ventilators directed at the surface of the water use the principle of cooling through evaporation to reduce the tem- perature of the water by 2 to 4° C compared to the ambient temperature. Larger aquarium for crustacea can be connected to commercially available cooling units. Daily changes of water and an improved supply of oxygen make the life of the invertebrates more tolerable at this time. Constant water temperatures not desired In nature, the water temperatures change in a day/night rhythm and over the course of the year. The metabolism of the crustacea has ad- apted to this. Slight variations in temperature prolong life-span, a good reason for controlling the heater (JBL ProTemp) with a time switch. The water temperature can be precisely mo- nitored using the JBL Premium Aquarium Biotope of the Caridina multidentata Thermometer, which shows exact readings to 0.5°C! Caution environmental protection: can be measured precisely