Shirakura Mineral Stone 200g is a swellable mineral stone made of montmorillonit, which enriches the water with important minerals and which serves as natural ion exchanger for cleaning the water. Due to its high ability to exchange ions, it can ligate poisonous substances such as ammonium/ ammoniac and heavy metals over a long period and store them safely so that those substances are no danger for shrimps.
At the beginning it will look as if the Mineral Stone dissolved in the water. However, it does, of course, not. It only swells, which is necessary for storing the poisonous substances into its intermediate layers and for adsorbing them to the clay silicate.
For health, vitality and bright colours as well as for avoiding skinning problems, it is of immense significance to sufficiently enhance the water with minerals and to quickly bind the poisonous substances. This is of particular interest when using natural, very soft water or substrate which softens the water. Using these, a lack of minerals may appear rather quickly. Japanese shrimp breeders are convinced of the positive characteristics of the mineral stones and use them in their breeding facilities, as does Takayuki Shirakura.
Usage:
Before using it, hold the stone under water for a short time about 4 times every few minutes to let it soak. This prevents later cracking and breaking.
Just place about 200g Mineral Stone per 100 l water into the aquarium. Replace after about 6 months. There are no disadvantages to the shrimps in case of overdosage. If the mineral stone is covered with algae, it should be removed from the aquarium and the algae should be brushed off softly. Afterwards the stone can be placed in the aquarium again.