cherry barbs and shrimp

[Felf]

i have a 3 gal tank with 2 cherry barbs. today the guy at my lfs let me know that they just got some crystal red bee shrimp in! would the barbs tear them apart? the tank is sparsely planted with glossostigma and dwarf hairgrass that both have not fully established themselves yet. TIA

 

[czcz]

How much are the crystal reds at your LFS?

I've never kept crystal red but have kept cherry barbs with many neocaridina and caridina sp. shrimp for a few months. I never saw them attack or harass adult shrimp, but no babies survived either. The tank was densly planted. Can you add moss so the shrimp can hide if needed?

I realize its immoral to value a pet's life based on price, but would try ghost shrimp first. HTH

 

[FishLover14]

I persoanlly wouldnt risk it they shrimp might be able to be incognito enough to escpae but then again he could be eaten. In my opinion almost any fish will eat a shrimp if it will fit in his mouth.

JMHO

 

[Felf]

ok thanks just as i thought. the tank used to be densely planted with water sprite and wisteria but i recently decided to try high light carpeting plants. my lfs is selling the shrimp for $5 each or 5 for $20. they get them from a guy who breeds them just for store credit (i think) so it's pretty rare when they come in. when the tank was densely planted i only had mountain shrimp in there and they thrived but they got kind of boring after several generations so i threw them all in my puffer tank to add to the cleanup crew and food supply. looks like i'm gonna have to get rid of some fish or get a bigger tank right this instant