Drydock Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Hey, I've never kept shrimp before, but I have a 10 gallon with cardinals and some small rainbow fry, live plants and a ton of algae. Could I keep some shrimp in there without having them turn into dinner??? What kind would be best to act as a clean up crew??? It would be cool if some would breed, but I'm not really focused on that. Plants - I have some vals, some pygmy chain and some hygro. Planted in black sand. Temp - 78-80 deg Filter - HOB Marina Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedarkstar Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Hey,I've never kept shrimp before, but I have a 10 gallon with cardinals and some small rainbow fry, live plants and a ton of algae. Could I keep some shrimp in there without having them turn into dinner??? What kind would be best to act as a clean up crew??? It would be cool if some would breed, but I'm not really focused on that. Plants - I have some vals, some pygmy chain and some hygro. Planted in black sand. Temp - 78-80 deg Filter - HOB Marina Thanks, I'd say the rainbows are the ones to look out for, I have ~20 shrimp in my tank with 8 White Clouds and some Guppies and haven't seen any harassing/murders lol You might want to add a jungle of some sort of moss or Riccia and they would be fine in the tank to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 They should be ok with Cardinals and rainbowfish fry as they both have smaller mouths. Larger rainbowfish will eat the shrimp so becareful with them growing up. As for what kind of shrimp that depends on what you want. Amano shrimp, green shrimp and my personal fav cherry shrimp are all easy to take care of. Amano shrimp are good algae eaters and get larger, about 2", so its harder for fish to eat them. Cherry and green shrimp are smaller(1") and more decorative, with the cherries getting a bright red and the greens a nice green color. The green and cherries also breed fairly easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 I have had Ammano's (AKA Algae-eating shrimp @ most LFS on the southside) in with full-grown Sevrums... as long as they stayed hidden, they stayed alive! Ammano's do a great job on just about any filamentous algae, including BBA if they get desparate for food. Cherry & Green shrimp are more detritivores - tho some have had success w. them eating algae, I never have... probably b/c they always get NLS. These 3 types seem to be fairly readily available (get CS & GS from AA members, and AS at NC). Other great shrimp are the Crystal Shrimp - reds, blacks, bumble-bee, etc. They look really nice, but are more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drydock Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 OK, So I bought 6 cherry and 6 Amano at the NC sale on Saturday. They have a long ways to go, but they are making a noticeable difference in the algae in the tank. One question. How good are they at escaping and what do you usually do to keep them in the tank? I have a full canopy with just the cutouts for the filter and heater cord to go in. I ask b/c I can't count all of the shrimp and I'm getting a little paranoid that they are going on a trip to nowhere. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 I have all of my shrimp in tanks with no tops.... I have no problem with escape's they definetly will turn in to dinner with the rainbow fry as they will be eating any babies that you get from your shrimp.... just not a good mix... the rainbows will be happy tho....... your wallet will also be lighter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 If they want to escape, they will. I keep open tops, and find shrimp corpses on the floor every once in a while. I think it's only the oldest ones that leave (ie. taking the first steps on their own to shrimpy heaven :P), or if there is too much of a threat from predation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 I also keep my shrimp in tanks that are mostly open. I get the odd shrimp that decides to leave the tank but not too many. Like Jason, I find its usually the older adults that go wandering and it happens more often in my tanks which have both shrimp and fish. I don't really worry about it as its only been a couple shrimp over the years of me keeping them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drydock Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 I have all of my shrimp in tanks with no tops.... I have no problem with escape'sthey definetly will turn in to dinner with the rainbow fry as they will be eating any babies that you get from your shrimp.... just not a good mix... the rainbows will be happy tho....... your wallet will also be lighter Well, the rainbows are only in there temporarily until they are big enough to handle living in the 210... I'm not worried on the shrimplets right now, but once the rainbows are out, then I might see if I can increase the populations in there on my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelseylynn Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 I ask b/c I can't count all of the shrimp and I'm getting a little paranoid that they are going on a trip to nowhere. Have you looked inside your filter? I had a young amano shrimp "disappear" on me once and found him happily swimming around in my filter. You might have to cover the intake with mesh if your shrimp are small enough to get sucked in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 I've had colonies of Cherry shrimp breeding in an XP3 that I had on a planted tank - them and MTS loved the refuge and the detritus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drydock Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Have you looked inside your filter? I had a young amano shrimp "disappear" on me once and found him happily swimming around in my filter. You might have to cover the intake with mesh if your shrimp are small enough to get sucked in. You know, I was thinking about that last night. The tank is right full and the outtake for the filter is below the water surface. I had seen some shrimp poking around the current and cleaning off the crap, but I kind of thought they were avoiding the main flow, until I saw one smack dab in the middle, munching away... I'll have to be careful when I go to clean that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 hahaha...this is quite amusing...I never thought about these shrimp living in filters and having a feast! I'm looking at getting some too 'cause I think they're cool to watch! Can't wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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