Simple cherry shrimp setup in 5.5?

[Scapexghost]

I'm redoing my 5.5 gallon I use for growing out fry. Since the tank would otherwise be empty most of the time, I want to attempt to establish a cherry shrimp colony in the tank to add a little flair. However, I have had very little success with shrimp in the past. What would be a good simple setup in terms of substrate, plants, food, and potentially hardscape? Since I will still be using it as a fry grow out tank, I need to avoid anything that significantly affects water parameters since I need to keep the water parameters as similar as possible to the main tanks. I have hard water (300+ ppm), high ph (7.8-8.4) and a nicrew classic led light.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Scapexghost

[Andy's Fish Den]

What kind of fry would you be growing out in the tank? With a tank that small, it will be very hard to keep water parameters in check when growing out very many fry. Cherry shrimp themselves can be grown in a 5.5 gallon very easily, and can potentially fill that size tank up very quickly. I have done it myself, I started with 10 shrimp in the tank and about a year later, I sold off well over 200 and still had a lot left. You have similar water parameters as I do, my shrimp tanks simply have pool filter sand, a few small pieces of rubble rock in a pile for hiding spots, or one or two of the terra cotta shrimp hides, some kind of plant, either guppy grass, hornwort of java moss, and a small sponge filter. 

[Scapexghost]

On 11/10/2021 at 4:30 AM, Andy's Fish Den said:

What kind of fry would you be growing out in the tank? With a tank that small, it will be very hard to keep water parameters in check when growing out very many fry. Cherry shrimp themselves can be grown in a 5.5 gallon very easily, and can potentially fill that size tank up very quickly. I have done it myself, I started with 10 shrimp in the tank and about a year later, I sold off well over 200 and still had a lot left. You have similar water parameters as I do, my shrimp tanks simply have pool filter sand, a few small pieces of rubble rock in a pile for hiding spots, or one or two of the terra cotta shrimp hides, some kind of plant, either guppy grass, hornwort of java moss, and a small sponge filter. 

Mostly lifebearer fry for now

[JettsPapa]

Neocaridina shrimp (red cherry shrimp and the other color varieties) should do well in your water.  They often struggle when first introduced to a tank if it's new, without a suitable amount of biofilm so they can graze all day, which is why many experienced fish keepers advise letting a tank run for at least two months before introducing shrimp, and three months is better.  Could that have been the issue?

They also like dense plants and/or a pile of small stones to hide in.