SGShrimp - PearlRuby, Pure Red Line

Hope that you will enjoy on the information and knowledge sharing of my Freshwater Caridina Shrimp - Pure Red Line keeping journey.

As the Pure Red Line shrimp is with ONLY White and Red color, I have decided to name my shrimp PearlRuby, Color as White as Pearl and as Red as Ruby (in a lighter tone)

Initial Setup

I am totally new to freshwater shrimp keeping and after spending weeks / months of doing some research, I have decided to venture into keeping Caridina Pure Red Line (PRL).

I have decided to learn from a local reputable shrimp shop - Madshrimp to setup my 1st Caridina Shrimp tank as well as to get the PRL shrimp from Madshrimp after the tank is fully cycled.

Attached are the items that I bought from Madshrimp to kick-start the cycling process of my 1st Caridna Shrimp tank.

Following are some info for the initial cycling process of a Newly Setup Tank:

1. 8 - 10 weeks for the whole cycling process

2. No lighting for the first 2 weeks and will turn on light for 2 hrs - 8 hrs progressively from 3rd - 10th week

3. No Chiller for the whole cycling duration

4. Plan to perform 20% - 30% of water change in between 3rd - 4th week and then a 50% - 60% of water change in 8th week.

(I am still researching on the need, frequency and how much of water change during the whole cycling duration)

5. Using Distilled water for the cycling process. Will consider to invest in a RODI system if I am successful on this 1st setup and to add more tank(s)

Thoughts on Initial Setup

Following are some of the thoughts for my initial setup :

1. Decided on 1 type of Shrimp (PRL) to kick-start the hobby in order to stay focus

2. Patient is a key success factor - taking my time to go through the full cycle process for a duration of 8 - 10 weeks

3. Focus on Quality rather than Quantity

4. Do not mix diff types of Shrimp in the same tank

5. Learn and follow the setup information from whichever shrimp shop that you plan to buy the shrimp from

Into Week 3

I am into my 3rd week of the cycling process and following are taking place from now onwards:

1. Light is turn-on for 8 hours a day

2. Water change of 15% on a weekly basis plug topping up the MADFU Enzyme Powder and MADFU Nitrifying Bacteria

Another 6 - 8 more weeks to go !

1st Plant Added

My tank is into the 9th weeks of cycling and I have decided to add my 1st plant to the tank.

Once I am have completed my 12 weeks of cycling, I will be getting my 1st small batch of Mosura PRL to introduce to the tank.

1st batch of Mosura PRL (5pcs)

As I have completed my 12 weeks of cycling process. I have decided to add a small batch (5pcs) of Mosura PRL.

During the cycling, I have managed to make some improvement to ensure that the water temperature is maintain at 24.5 C

Exploring .........

It is about 1 week after I have introduced the 5pcs of Mosura PRL into the fully cycle tank.

So far, all of them are doing well and actively exploring the tank

Attached is a video on one of them being very active on the plant.

1st Feeding

I did not rush into feeding the Shrimps after I have introduced to the newly cycled (12 weeks) tank. Reasons are:

1. With a newly cycled tank, there are Algae in the tank to feed the Shrimps.

2. Let the Shrimps to settle in a new environment before feeding take place.

I have waited about 2 weeks before my 1st feed to the Shrimps :)

Shrimp Molt !

I am so happy that I have managed to see one of my shrimp molting !

Unfortunately, I did not take a video of the process as I was not expecting to see the molting process. I took a photo of the Shrimp and the shell (in the red circle) left behind :)

As I have noticed all the 5 Shrimps are growing well and bigger than the size when I first introduced to the tank on 20 July, this is a good progress and evident that my tank is matured.

I will be getting my 2nd batch of shrimps (10 pcs) in next week !

Info on my setup

I would like to share on the following information about my setup:

1. As age is catching up, I have decided on just a nano tank - 3.5 Gallon / 13 Liter size for keeping Caridina PRL Mosura shrimp ONLY

2. I am using those Thermoelectric Technology Chiller due to the small size of the tank

3. In order to reduce any lost of cool temperature, I am using some head insulation material on the tank except the front glass of the tank. I also insulate the pipping between the tank and the chiller

4. So far, I am able to maintain the tank water temperature at 24.5C almost at all time

5. For the ease of water top-up due to evaporation, I am using auto-top-up device with Distilled Water

6. I am using Distilled Water for the whole setup and Water Change of 10% on a weekly basis. I maintain the water TDS at 120

7. Normal LED light is used and auto switch on from 9am - 5pm daily

> My objective is to keep it simple and easy to maintain in order to have more time for enjoyment.

> I will setup another standby nano tank - 1.85 Gallon / 7 Liter size with the same setup of the 1st tank.

> After many years in keeping Aquarium hobby, I have learned to be self-discipline to keep minimum # of tank. As such, I am just keeping two nano tanks for this new freshwater Shrimp Keeping hobby :)

Close-up Video

It is about 1 week after I have introduced the 5pcs of Mosura PRL into the fully cycle tank.

So far, all of them are doing well and actively exploring the tank

Attached is a video on one of them being very active on the plant.

2nd batch of PRL

I am pleased to share a video on my 2nd batch of PRL that I bought from MadShrimp on 10 Aug 2022 and this 2nd batch has settled in the tank very well !

This time round I am getting diff sizes as I enjoy seeing the growth of the Shrimps as a sense of achievement

I will just maintain the total of 13pcs of the PRL and stay focus to grow them. Hopefully I can take good care of them and grow them to Adult.

This is going to be a great learning journey for me since this is my 1st Shrimp Tank and I had decided to venture into keeping Caridina Shrimp PRL only.

Let's all enjoy the process of Shrimp Keeping !