Once you have your shrimp tank set up and running, you shouldn’t have to do much maintenance. So, do Cherry Shrimp tanks need water changes?
You can find out in this article at Aquarium Blueprints.
Quick Summary
You can avoid doing a water change for your Cherry Shrimp tank as long as your tank water is within the 6.5 to 7.5 pH range, 7 to 15 GH range and 2 to 8 KH range. Furthermore, the water should have no traces of ammonia or nitrites in addition to having less than 20 ppm of nitrates.
There are products available where you can adjust the pH, GH and KH ranges of your tank without a water change. There are also other products you can use to reduce ammonia, nitrites and nitrates without having to swap out water.
If you absolutely need to do a water change, then you should drip-feed the new water back into your tank in order to prevent your Cherry Shrimps from being overly stressed.
What are the recommended parameters for a Cherry Shrimp tank?
In order for your Cherry Shrimps to thrive, your tank water should have the following water parameters:
- 57°F to 86°F (or 14°C to 30°C) water temperature range
- 6.5 pH to 7.5 pH range
- 7 GH to 15 GH range
- 2 KH to 8 KH range
Even if you managed to be within recommended pH, GH and KH ranges, it is very important to note that these values will change over time in your tank.
To get these values back withing the suggested ranges, one of the methods is to do water changes. There are also additives that you can put in your fish tank in order to increase or decrease the pH, GH and/or KH of your tank water.
About Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates
Your Cherry Shrimps will produce organic wastes in your aquarium.
These wastes will eventually decompose into ammonia. Thanks to the beneficial bacteria in your tank, ammonia will be converted to nitrites and then nitrites will be converted to nitrates.
Depending on the filter media you are using and/or how deep the substrate is in your tank, you may also be able to grow a beneficial bacteria species that will remove nitrates from your tank water as well.
As long as you have 0 ppm of ammonia, 0 ppm of nitrites and less than 20 ppm of nitrates, then it is not necessary to change the water in your shrimp tank.
If you are getting spikes in ammonia, nitrites and/or nitrates, however, then a water change is the fastest way to reduce these nitrogen compounds.
You can also use a product like Seachem Prime to temporarily make ammonia, nitrites and/or nitrates non-toxic in order to make your tank water safe for shrimps. Adding live beneficial bacteria by using a product such as Seachem Stability, in your tank will also quickly reduce these compounds.
How water changes can harm Cherry Shrimps
A water change that causes a sudden change to the water parameters will induce stress to your pet shrimps. As a result, they may molt prematurely.
When Cherry Shrimps molt when they aren’t ready, then there is an increase chance of them perishing away during the molting process.
To prevent molting problems, we recommend that you avoid doing water changes unless you absolutely have to do so.
If you do need to do a water change, then we highly recommend that you slowly drip feed the new water back into your tank in order to safely acclimate your Cherry Shrimps to the new water parameters.
