I know red cherry shrimp aren't techincally "fish" but I thought it would be best for me to post my question here.
I'm expecting a group of 10 red cherry shrimp through the mail today; I know all about their care and have a variety of food for them but the problem is that their permenant home is currently going through nitrite/nitrate spikes (which I am ammending) and isn't safe for them. They are going to be living in a natural planted tank that I recently set up.
Research has given me some advice with regards to the nitrite/nitrate spikes but I just need to find somewhere to temporarily house the shrimp while I make their new home completely safe. I have two options:
1) Kaze is in a 2.5gal aquarium right now, I had to move him from his larger tank as I couldn't do the water changes on my own and didn't want him to suffer for it (he will also be going into the NPT once it's safe and the shrimp have had time to explore/find hiding places if needed). The filter in his tank is fully cycled and he has a heater. I was considering floating a plastic breeder box in there with him and having the shrimp in there.
I would add a few leaves of an old silk plant for them to hide/hang around in. The reason I don't want to put them right in with Kaze is because he's already established himself as the "boss" and I don't have the right sort of decor in there that would make me feel comfortable enough to say the shrimp were safe if they needed to hide. It's difficult adding decor to this aquarium because it's small - and temporary. I will be doing water changes on this aquarium every three days.
2) Set up a 2gal aquarium without a filter and do daily water changes. I would be most comfortable with this but I don't have a spare heater on hand and I've heard that red cherry shrimp can be sensitive to cold spells at night. Living in England and with this being the "beginning" of Spring our nights are still pretty chilly. I'd hate to wake up and find the shrimp got too cold and died. Unfortunately I can't give you an accurate temperature reading of our nights.
Whichever housing arrangement is chosen, it will only be for a matter of 2 to 4 days. If I find the shrimp need prolonged temporary accomodation I will see to it that I buy another heater
ahead of time (I do have two 50 watt heaters and a 100 watt heater; one 50watt is in my NPT and the other (my spare) is being used in Kaze's smaller tank and the 100w (which is too powerful for tanks this size) is in the guppy tank downstairs) and set up a seperate 2gal aquarium with lots of silk plant leaves.
I'm wondering what your thoughts are and if you have any form of advice as to what I can do. I will admit I was not prepared for the nitrite/nitrate spikes in my NPT (hence my urgency and lack of heaters) but have certainly learned a lot about it.
Thank you for your time.
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