Top Tips For New Shrimp Keepers - Most Important Things To Know For New Shrimp Keepers

[@PsychCow]

I have so much respect for someone who only has time for "one take", as I am pretty much the same way. Keep on keepin on brother!

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thanks

[@sidgrendon3800]

Best shrimp video ever, with valuable information, thank you for sharing your experience.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thanks man, appreciate the kind words. Awesome to hear my videos are helping people.

[@wingingitadventures]

Just purchased your skittles pack. Can't wait to add them to my collection. I'm new at shrimp keeping but I'm enjoying it.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Awewome 👍 Thank you for the business.

[@jamesholbrook7785]

You definitely share your knowledge with anyone that wants to listen.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

😁👍

[@shesellsfish]

You've been putting out some great content for new shrimp keepers or folks who think they may want to try shrimp. It's easily understood and you cover all the basics, particularly of what you need to have or do BEFORE you impulsively buy some shrimp. My friend decided she wanted to get some shrimp cuz they're so pretty. Knew nothing at all about them. Had a 10g tank with her pride and joy Mr. Cuddles her gorgeous half moon betta, 9 male endlers and a few ramshorn snails, some nice plants for Mr. Cuddles and a nice steel pre screen on her HOB filter so the little male endlers wouldn't get sucked up. Guy at the big box pet store said that would be perfect for shrimp. Since Mr Cuddles didn't chase the male endlers or bother the snails he was one of the mellow bettas that wouldn't bother shrimp, and with plants they would have a place to feel safe. She calls me tells me all this and says she's about to order 30 shrimp off of E-bay from 4 diff different people and then says one of the shrimp kind she's getting is really expensive some kjnd of kong tiger thing, but really pretty. I'm like WAIT! Do NOT push any buy buttons, stop, listen, you are about to spend a chit ton of money and it's not going to turn out well. She says come over for coffee and tell me why. Ok. I go and look at her tank, yep, nice healthy tank. Mr Cuddles is laid back, everybody's healthy. So I start by telling her the tank is not the problem, Mr Cudfles is. She, of course says I'm wrong, he wouldn't hurt a flea. Then I look at what she wants to buy off Ebag, course it's a mix of neos, caridina, and sulwasi shrimp. So I explain different shrimp have different water parameter needs and some cannot live together no matter what you do. So she says she'll jusy get the neos then, the pretty blue ones. Then I'm explaining imported shrimp vs home bred and trying not to be a debbie downer Karen type. But she says well I'm going to try it anyway. So I say well, your tank is perfect except for Mr Cuddles, even sweet, nice, bettas love to hunt and eat shrimp. It's biological, built into them, one of the things they eat in the wild. How about you get Mr Cuddles a brand new tank with lots of toys, a floating log, a betta hammock, and some plants. He'll think it's his birthday. Nope. I want the pretty blue shrimp cuz Mr Cuddles is blue and thd endlers have blue and the snails are blue, it will be all so pretty all together. And the man at the pet store said it would be fine. Big sigh from me...ya'll know this is NOT going to work out well for her. So...first off, the man at the pet store is a moron who probably doesn't even have a fish or a fish tank and secondly....and I had one of those very rare light bulb moments, lol. I said, humor me k? Let's go to the pet store and get a dozen ghost shrimp. They're only about 19 cents or so. We'll pit them in, and if Mr Cuddles does ok with them, in a couple of weeks you can get the pretty blue shrimp. Off to the pet store we go, pick out the biggest, healthiest ghost shrimp they have. Go back and put them in her tank, she's all excited watching them darting around. Mr Cuddles is very interested also. I go home telling her to keep track of them, remember we got 12. This was on a tues, on thursday, she calls me...I can only find 3 of my shrimp, but before you start it's NOT Mr Cuddles because he's still eating his pellets and some flakes. Ok. Humor me one more time k? About 11 pm or midnight, get a flashlight and shine it in your tank and just see what everybody is up to. Shrimp are nocturnal, maybe you'll see them all out hunting for leftover scraps. Saturday morning she calls in tears. OMG OMG OMG, you were right, Mr Cuddles is a MONSTER! I saw him attack a shrimp and bite his tail right off and then he took him to the bottom and ate him bit by bit while that poor shrimp was alive! Then he went hunting for the last one and by the time I got a net, he found him and ate him too. More tears. Gave her your youtube channel and a couple of others, research hun, listen, watch, ask questions. Don't hate Mr Cuddles, he only did what almost all fish do if they're big enough to catch a shrimp. Sheesh...some folks don't want to listen and have to learn the hard way, I guess. 🙄 So YES please keep on doing what you do for newbies who don't know what they're doinv yet. 👍❤👍

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Lol very good story 👍 Lol Mr Cuddles 😆 😄 Thank you. Been putting in 10x or more effort into videos. My videos aint even close to good, but much better lol. During my layoff from work I did a lot of youtube education stuff. Never started making videos for people to watch really, more for my own records and a few people would comment and have became friends over the years. Decided with the extra time off work I would actually at least get some kind of an idea of how to even make a video instead of basically just pointing a camera at my tanks saying hey look at my cool stuff lol. Good videos take lots and lots of time, effort, and planning. The most frustrating part is sometimes the good videos dont always do good.

[@RicardoJunqueira]

Just got here from Mark's aquatics channel. You got yourself another subscriber.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

👋😁👍

[@dro420mandrews]

Love them jellies in the beginning!

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thanks 😊

[@dro420mandrews]

@@MarkShellyAquatics sure thing man! Just finished the video, browsed the store, and am trying to convince my gf we need more shrimp lol, sorry if this is a dumb question but if I bought 5 blue jellies would there definitely be a male and female to get a little group going in a 10 gallon?

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

@@dro420mandrews I reccemend at least 10 to start. You may be ok with 5, but 10 is better. I make sure to include males and females.

[@dro420mandrews]

@@MarkShellyAquatics thats so awesome man thank you for confirming! I'm going to put an order in for as many as I can afford as soon as I get my moscow guppy fry out of the tank I'll be using

[@Zezhuanth_Irthos]

Sometimes I go back to watch older videos and... I was laughing when I saw that one shrimp who had one on his back trying to swim😂 I just got my 50G acrylic aquarium a couple days ago and when it's planted and cycled I plan to buy the jellies from you. Because I see the love you put into them, so I trust you. I've been watching you for a long time. I'm so happy that you are in the US lol. I can't wait to see more videos I love listening to you😁 much love and respect to you❣️❣️

[@juz4damamiz617]

I ordered a skittles pk and the quality is great,way better than I thought,they are very active and have had no problems whatsoever!thanx Mark I will be ordering more very soon!👍🏽✅🦐👑

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Glad to hear it man. Glad you are enjoying your shrimp 👍

[@jimseevers]

I'm getting a couple of small, 3 gallon shrimp tanks set up for my kids along with a 10 gallon support tank and doing the typical KZbin research binge. A different channel (Mark's Shrimp Tanks) directed me here. I was just about to order some shrimp before watching and I realized I would have been sentencing them to death. I'll give the tanks more time to fully cycle and get my plants healthy first. Thank you for the content and I'll be placing an order soon(ish).

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thanks for watching and glad my video helped you out really appreciate it.

[@MarksShrimpTanks]

omg that blue Jelly tank though !! I am trying to get them here but no luck so far.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

They are pretty nice 👍 Thanks man.

[@michaeltruelove8950]

Thank you for just being normal! Good info,easy to understand

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thanks, what my channel is all about 😁👍

[@Nomadistar]

Just found your channel & I am thrilled! I was in the hobby & then some 20 or so years passed me by...I just ordered my 200gal with a 50gal sump (yesterday) I can't wait for it to arrive!!! I used to have ghost shrimp in my tank & had no idea what I was doing for the most part, but they somehow managed to live. Back then it was a 29gal community tank that had a male betta , an African Butterfly & some crabs, gobies & so on. I had an under-gravel filter with 2 powerheads a HOB filter & air stones. (I am blown away at how much has changed & what I have learnt in the past 1-2 years on YT.) I am so looking forward to ordering some shrimp from you once my planted tank is ready. Your shrimp are wow, especially liking the blue velvet @.@

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thank you 😊 Wow I'd be excited about a 200 gallon. Lots and lots has changed. Been in hobby around 35 years at this point. Started with community fish as a kid, spent my teens and early 20s doing the cichlid thing, then did planted tanks and goldfish ponds for around 15 years. The last 5 years I started doing planted tanks breeding guppies and shrimp. Little over 5 years ago I bought my first shrimp, now its taken over everything lol. Shrimp are super addicting 😁

[@Nomadistar]

@@MarkShellyAquatics :) Yeah, I am feeling like a kid at Christmas. That is so cool with all your experience and memories & I can't imagine how it feels. I don't know how life got in the way for so long, but I am thankful that I am getting back into it. LOL! Yes, it's all about the shrimpys :D

[@calvin1104]

Found your website when I was looking to for pilo moss to set up my extra fishtank. Ended up getting 3 plants and a 10 pack of your blue velvet shrimps. Have the tank cycling now with some bacteria and am excited for the shrimp to arrive! This video was great and very helpful, thank you :)

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thank you 😊 The blue dreams and blue velvets are strong healthy, very prolific lines, I'm sure they will do really good for you 👍

[@AnkansTanks]

Very informative video man. The shrimps look very pretty.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thank you 😊

[@arcticwinds6125]

Very nice video, with great information!

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thanks man, put quite a bit of time into it. After all the new people I sell shrimp to I see the same issues quite often. Figured this could help someone. Now that I'm back at work I plan to do at least 1 information video a week, and if I have time 1 project video during the weekend.

[@arcticwinds6125]

@@MarkShellyAquatics Your video quality has come a long ways over the passed months :). Great work!

[@reynardvanderwalt2390]

I saw my first shrimplets today :D

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Awesome 👍😁👍

[@mraquaticnews5676]

Nice colour shrimp!

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thanks 😊

[@flyer34sparky]

Great video!

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thank you

[@larrydsAquatics]

Great information Mark.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thanks Larry 😊

[@sq33qs]

Awesome video man.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thank you 😊 👍

[@claudiastage2285]

I have a hob filter and can't keep shrimp. what do you filter with?

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

I use hob filters in many tanks, you just need a sponge prefilter on your filter intake so you dont auck up baby shrimp.

[@dimitrijekrstic7567]

​@@MarkShellyAquatics great video man, I hope you are getting some traffic/new customers from this, cause this is both nice footage and great advice. I read a lot of the comments and your replies were as helpful and chill as the video is. As a new shrimp keeper, thanks for all you've done here 👍👍👍

[@schauman1]

Great video! Thanks , SandyO

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thank you for watching

[@Maxdeexx]

I like this video. Thank you so much for your tips. Ciao.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Thank you 😊

[@robertjester6887]

I have ghost shrimp in my tank. Can I put any other color in with him when but your answer?

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Ghost shrimp are completely different species of shrimp. Lots of different species are aold as ghost shrimp so who's to say.

[@jacobg7966]

Just got my 2nd tank setup and was able to cycle it in about a week. I added a good pinch of pellet food and then added a couple rocks, from one of my other tanks, then plants, and a couple days later after the food had time to start decomposing I squeezed a sponge from my main tank in there

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Yep, there are lots of different ways of doing it, just gotta get that bacteria from your established tank into your new tank 👍

[@ronklint9437]

I clean my small tanks with a turkey blaster to suck up the gunk and than add new water…however I’m worried about the shrimp babies. How tiny are they at first. Can I see them?? With my other tanks I do this once a week but now with my shrimp tank I'm afraid. I did a cleaning, put the gunk into a jar and tried to make sure there were no babies…but I saw squiggly movement so I poured it all back… Will it hurt the health of the tank to wait on these water changes?

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

I like to have a little flow in my tanks to keep stuff stirred up and for the filters to get as much as possible. But I have air powered tanks with low flow and the gunk builds up. On those tanks I am resetting at least every year, so I catch all shrimp out, suck the gunk out with shop vac, fill her back up and start over again. Baster would for sure suck up baby shrimp. Sponger filter with a power head can do wonders to stir up dead spots. But in planted tanks you will always end up with dead spots. And gunk will build up. Its part of a natural planted plant in my opinion, as long as you keep up with water changes it doesn't cause problems.

[@schauman1]

Mark what state are you located? I’m in central Florida and have very hard water. Thanks Sandy

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

I have hard Indiana limestone water. Pretty much the same as florida lol

[@schauman1]

Lol, I’m sitting on lime rock too!!

[@stevenastasio3738]

Hey Mark! What’s the best way to get a hold of you? I have some questions about the order I received.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

You can reach me through my website

[@garrypeak4277]

Great channel mate 👍. Just discovered it. I’ve keep fish for many years, but suddenly got the urge to try shrimp. I would have loved to have bought from you but I’m on the other side of the earth (down under) to you lol. If you go the route of a skittles tank, is it true that any offspring will be brown or clear? And just on the sizes of what you should be buying at the start. Now I realise my eyes are 53 years old 😂, but I lot of the shrimp I see down here, are very tiny, half the size of your pinky fingernail. Should I be buying at this size, when I start? Cheers from Sydney 👍

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Depends on the shrimp you start with. But usually they will not all be brown or wilds, like all shrimp colonies, even with skittles you gotta take out the ones you dont want. Small shrimp deal with transportation and changes better, so small shrimp are good to start out with.

[@garrypeak4277]

@@MarkShellyAquatics thanks, Mark. I sent the message before I saw the end of the video, where you were talking about size lol. Just discovered the channel. Binge watched a bunch of videos last night….which caused much angst with the other member of the household 😂 Cheers from Sydney 👍

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

@@garrypeak4277 lol

[@HappyOne2017]

Will you ship to Canada? Thanks so much 🙂🙏

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Sorry, just shipping in US.

[@OnIoN4UrTrUbLeS]

Liked! I just do 10% water change every week to two weeks.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

👍 Nice, I feed a lot, and have lots and lots of shrimp, mine are usually around 25% week.

[@OnIoN4UrTrUbLeS]

@@MarkShellyAquatics Thanks love the videos!

[@Fishcentral]

Hello

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Hi

[@dro420mandrews]

@@MarkShellyAquatics hey

[@dimitrijekrstic7567]

​@@dro420mandrews ay

[@dro420mandrews]

@@dimitrijekrstic7567 yooo

[@christophergonzalez6290]

I would love to keep neos. But if I’m being honest, I’m afraid to. My water parameters here in TX are ph 8.0 and tds 400. I also would love to keep plants except there many aquatic plants that can handle my water parameters. That I know of

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Depends what is in your water. Tds just says how much, not what. I have tons of kh, but not lots of other stuff. My ph is around 8 and tds close to 300

[@christophergonzalez6290]

@@MarkShellyAquatics nice ! I wish I had your water coming out of the tap. I’m investing in an RODI unit. Which do you recommend and from where. I would like to mention that I love watching your videos. They’re informative and entertaining. I’m a truck driver and they help me while I’m out in the road. As for fish keeping and shrimp keeping. Research is key but experience is a good teacher. Thank you

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

@@christophergonzalez6290 The RODI unit I got for my caridina is the bulk reef supply 75gpd plus system

[@thirdwheel-Nov22]

I saw the shrimp 5 months ago and like...wow! Killed the first 6. :( so trying again...I am a newbie, but want to do good by the shrimp. so thanks.

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Shrimp are a bit different thant most your common fish. Make sure your tank is fully cycled and established. Unless your water is really bad for shrimp you should find success. Fully cycled tank and make sure to properly acclimate new shrimp.

[@metalcowgirl34]

Drives me nuts in the forums when new people ask what can live with shrimp and people list pretty much anything, including bettas! 🤦‍♀️

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Lol, they always have that one betta that never ever would hurt a shrimp lol. I've watched endlers go crazy eating shrimp, and like I said in video some guppy lines hunt, kill, then pick apart and eat baby shrimp.

[@baronandbaronessvonwolf4618]

I had a female beta not kill my shrimp i had Until Petco sold me a young male that looked like a female (That. They sold as a Female) And He killed Everything including my Female Beta that i had for few years And Petco Has very low Quality Neocaridina shrimp for a higher Price I am Glad i found a new Shrimp seller We wont mention His Name {Mark Shelly} 😂

[@schauman1]

How do I order shrimp from you?

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

My website is markshellyaquatics.com

[@jacobg7966]

What state are you shipping your shrimp from? Or where are you located is what im asking

[@MarkShellyAquatics]

Shipping from Indiana, but that doesn't really matter as I ship everywhere in the US and its all usually 3 days shipping unless its really close to me in central Indiana and some of those get there the next day, but its usually I ship on Friday and package arrives on Monday, sometimes Tuesday.

[@jacobg7966]

@@MarkShellyAquatics Just asking cause I’m in Alaska 😂 My lfs carries shrimp pretty frequently but if I can’t find any with them i may consider buying online. I may try to order from somewhere closer to the west coast