If you’re an aquarium enthusiast looking to dive into something a bit more exotic than your standard cherry, Sulawesi shrimp like white socks are an incredible choice. These vibrant, colorful invertebrates hail from the ancient lakes of Sulawesi, Indonesia, where they thrive in unique, alkaline water conditions. They’re known for their striking patterns—think bold reds, whites, and blues—and their active, algae-grazing behavior that makes them a joy to watch.
The first step is choosing the right tank. While some keepers succeed with nano setups as small as 25cm cube tank (~15 litres), I recommend starting with at least 30cm cube (~27 litres) for better stability, as smaller tanks can experience rapid fluctuations in temperature and chemistry, which stress these shrimps.
Essential equipment:
- Heater: To maintain warm temperatures at 28C (for colder countries).
- Filter: Gentle flow is key—opt for a simple sponge filter like Qanvee 200A or hang on back filter.
- Air pump: For added oxygenation, as these shrimp love high-oxygen water.
- Thermometer and test kits (optional): Monitor temperature, pH, GH, KH, TDS, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate regularly.
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MUST! Cycle the tank fully before adding shrimp—use a bacterial starter like Fritzyme 7 to speed things up.
- Bio-media: Personally I like to use denitrate given its size to house anaerobic bacterias.
- Minerals: ShrimpTalk minerals to house both hard species and easy species.
- Lights: Full spectrum lights that provides sufficient brightness for your plants and viewing pleasure.
- Substrate: Lava rocks, inert substrate serves as additional real estate for your beneficial bacteria to do well.
Next, we will have a step by step setup guide.