substrate?

[mnemenoi]

Right on and welcome aboard, freshwater inverts and shrimp can be quite rewarding and fun. You have certainly got your work cut out for you. Most of us have cut our teeth a bit with neocardinia (Sakura, cherry, yellow, snoball, rilis) first and they are far more forgiving at first. The next step is the softwater shrimp (Crystals, OEBT) or extremely hard water species (Sulawesi) and from there on to even more delicate stuff (BKK, Wine, Panda, Blue Bolt or WC Sulawesi). I applaud you for taking on a difficult task indeed. My recommendation is to initially focus upon your tank and its parameters, especially your water and its numbers (these will be important). For planting, I would simply get some variety of mosses and easy care plants. Trying to master a planted tank and softwater shrimp in one leap is a big jump indeed. You can always later learn more and experiment with plants as you become more familiar. The shrimp themselves will really love the mosses and will assist in growing the biofilm they eat and shelter their growing young.

[barberking12]

ya i wanted to start with this tank and the cbs then i would go ahead and setup my other 3 10g tanks for the offspring and selective breeding but i know it will take time many months of time haha

[mnemenoi]

Well it sounds like you indeed have a great plan and good luck in your endeavor. We are happy to help with what advice we can and little stuff we have picked up along the way...