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Can you keep Neocaridina Shrimps at low pH?

Neocaridina Shrimps, or Cherry Shrimps, have specific water parameters requirements. So, can you keep this species at low pH? You can find out in this article at Aquarium Blueprints.

Quick Summary

While you can keep Neocaridina Shrimps withing a pH range of 6.5 to 7.5, your pet inverts may end up having a hard time molting in softer water that are below a pH level of 7.0. If your shrimps can’t molt properly, then then may not survive the process.

Therefore, we recommend that you keep the pH of your tank to within a range of 7.0 to 7.5. When increasing pH, we suggest that you do so slowly in order to not shock or stress your shrimps. The best way to do so is by adding cuttlebones or crushed corals.

What is the recommended pH range of Neocaridina Shrimps?

The Neocaridina Shrimps are able to tolerate a pH range of 6.5 to 7.5.

With that said, we recommend that you keep pH to 7.0 to 7.5. This is because a pH level that is below 7.0 is considered to be soft water, which means that your tank water does not have enough GH and/or KH.

With the deficiencies of GH and KH, your Cherry Shrimps will have a hard time molting, which may result in them passing away in the process.

When it comes to GH, you should aim for within a range of 7 to 15. For KH, you should target within a range of 2 to 8.

How to increase pH for your Neocaridina Shrimps

If your tank water has a pH below 7.0, then we recommend slowly increasing it. This is because a big swing in pH will cause stress and even sickness to your pet inverts.

If you want to increase the pH of your shrimp tank slowly, then we recommend adding crushed corals or cuttlebone. Both of these will slowly dissolve in your tank if you have soft water.

Along with adding crushed corals or cuttlebone, a water change may also help increase the pH of your Neocaridina Shrimp aquarium if the new water has a higher pH than the tank water.