Reddit reviews U.P. Aqua Shrimp Sand
We found 2 Reddit comments about U.P. Aqua Shrimp Sand. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Small uniform grain sizesContains trace minerals vital for shrimpsEasy to maintain, great for breedingThe Package Weight Of The Product Is 4.4 Pounds
UP Aqua Shrimp Sand
LFS recommended it, so I grabbed a bag.
Snails will be fine with your shrimp and your plants. Personally I like Nerite snails because they are really neat looking, come in a variety of patterns, and won't breed in freshwater so you dont have to worry about them overtaking your tank.
If you think youre going to want to add live plants later, you might want to go with a substrate specifically for planted aquariums. Flourite, eco complete, ada amazonia, whatever.. or you could go for something specifically for shrimp like fluval shrimp stratum or this stuff which I not ever personally used... but is much cheaper. The reviews indicate that its really light weight tho, so you will have to weight any plants you stick in it.. it looks like the only real difference between the special "shrimp" type is just the size and shape of the granules though. They will do fine in either, Personally I am using [Eco complete](CaribSea Eco-Complete 20) for my crystal red shrimp planted tank and everything is doing fine in there.
If you don't want to shell out the money, use whatever you think looks good, sand, gravel,glass beads, legos, whatever... doesn't matter too much. Just personal preference, but I think Cherry red shrimp look really nice against a solid black or solid white sand or fine gravel. (you can also get a good quality plant substrate and just cap it with sand or gravel, but you have to be a little more careful about adjusting plants so you dont mix them all up if the color differs.
Easy beginner plants are things like Java ferns, several types of crypts, amazon sword... These things shouldntrequire Co2 dosing or too much light. Java Moss is super easy as well and makes a great hiding spot for baby shrimp or fish fry, and can look nice tied onto a piece of driftwood or a rock.. or even on the top of a cichlid stone or small terra cotta pot laid on it's side like a cute little shrimp house.
Cherry shrimp are pretty easy to keep, not too expensive, and breed like crazy. You should get a water testing kit so you can monitor your PH, nitrates/nitrites, ammonia, etc levels.
And you will want some kind of guard on the intake of your aquarium filter so babies can't get sucked in. You can get stainless steel or sponge covers off amazon or ebay, or you can just tie a piece of pantyhose or something over it if you're not too concerned about the appearance.
If you are COMPLETELY new to fishkeeping, you could also consider getting some simple beginner community fish like mollies, guppies, danios... Your local petstore probably has a section labeled as "beginner fish"
They come in a million colors and patterns and you would have to try pretty hard to kill them.