Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'd probably add more bamboos. They are generally quite peaceful and don't really move that much, that I observe. Mine tend to pick a spot and spend most of the day in that spot, rarely moving more than an inch or two from it. They will sit on top of each other and crowd as many of themselves into a choice spot as they can. They do sometimes swim, but not like cherry shrimp do, they're rather cumbersome and it's like watching a log swim, I think .
It's true that shrimp have a lower bio load than fish do. They produce poop of course but where fish produce a lot of ammonia, shrimp not so much. Compared to a cherry shrimp, Bamboos certainly produce more poop, the amount depends on their size. Full grown ones will obviously produce more, being so much larger.
Fwiw, I just recently moved mine from a temporary 5G to a 10. They were in that temporary tank since April. It was seriously overstocked, and I won't bore you with the reasons, but I didn't have much choice unless I wanted to get rid of them which I did not. In the 5G, I had 7 bamboos, 3 of them at least 3 inches long. The others are about half that size, plus were about a dozen small Vampire shrimp, another fan shrimp species. Full grown they get to five inches or more, but the largest of these is only about two inches long at this time and they are slow growing. Eventually they will each need about a square foot of floor space, but that won't be for some time yet. Hopefully by then my problems will be sorted out.
Tank also had a lot of snails. A few red rams horns, hundreds of little Malaysian Trumpet snails, a few Nerites, maybe 8 Spixi snail adults, plus their assorted babies. Spixis are part of the apple snail family, full grown they're about a inch wide.
Also contained about 18 Strawberry rasboras, tiny things, .75 inches full grown, plus a couple of cherry shrimp.
Now all these are in 10G, and appear to be enjoying the extra space. But now there are about 15 adult cherries and at least that many younger ones of various ages in with them.
I have the second smallest model of an Aqua Clear, running, but I will be replacing it with an AC 50, which would handle at least a 30G. I won't have to clean it as often as I do the smaller one.
I keep a circulation pump running all the time, a few inches off the tank floor, which helps provide more current for the fan shrimp to feed in and I have a big flat sponge, suction cupped to one tank end, which the shrimp love to hang onto to fan feed. Cherries like to pick at the sponge too. It used to be a Lee sponge filter. Flat, clover leaf shape, two inches thick, with a big hole in the middle, which the Vampires just love to hide in.
It never hurts to have extra filtration, on any tank. Cheaper to buy used if you can though. Provided all the pieces are there, it's much cheaper, but if you need to replace any of the parts, forget it and buy new. New motors for ACs are all the same, only the impeller differs with each model, and they do last for a very long time. I've never bought a new one and out of six or seven Acs, only once have I had to replace a motor. If there is a club in your area, check it out. Many hold auctions, where you can often get gear at great prices.
Btw, if your tank is not covered in some way, it should be. Male bamboos have a habit, from time to time, of climbing out and going walkabout. If you don't find them soon enough, they're done for. In habitat, I suspect this behaviour is related to mating, as in, hoping for more opportunities or spreading the genetic pool wider. Either way, if they can find a way, they may get out. Need not be a glass top, it can be mesh or netting or something like that. I don't know for certain that females don't do this also, but so far, only males have done it to me. I've lost 3 to the walkabout urge, sadly. So I keep their tanks covered with mesh.
It's true that shrimp have a lower bio load than fish do. They produce poop of course but where fish produce a lot of ammonia, shrimp not so much. Compared to a cherry shrimp, Bamboos certainly produce more poop, the amount depends on their size. Full grown ones will obviously produce more, being so much larger.
Fwiw, I just recently moved mine from a temporary 5G to a 10. They were in that temporary tank since April. It was seriously overstocked, and I won't bore you with the reasons, but I didn't have much choice unless I wanted to get rid of them which I did not. In the 5G, I had 7 bamboos, 3 of them at least 3 inches long. The others are about half that size, plus were about a dozen small Vampire shrimp, another fan shrimp species. Full grown they get to five inches or more, but the largest of these is only about two inches long at this time and they are slow growing. Eventually they will each need about a square foot of floor space, but that won't be for some time yet. Hopefully by then my problems will be sorted out.
Tank also had a lot of snails. A few red rams horns, hundreds of little Malaysian Trumpet snails, a few Nerites, maybe 8 Spixi snail adults, plus their assorted babies. Spixis are part of the apple snail family, full grown they're about a inch wide.
Also contained about 18 Strawberry rasboras, tiny things, .75 inches full grown, plus a couple of cherry shrimp.
Now all these are in 10G, and appear to be enjoying the extra space. But now there are about 15 adult cherries and at least that many younger ones of various ages in with them.
I have the second smallest model of an Aqua Clear, running, but I will be replacing it with an AC 50, which would handle at least a 30G. I won't have to clean it as often as I do the smaller one.
I keep a circulation pump running all the time, a few inches off the tank floor, which helps provide more current for the fan shrimp to feed in and I have a big flat sponge, suction cupped to one tank end, which the shrimp love to hang onto to fan feed. Cherries like to pick at the sponge too. It used to be a Lee sponge filter. Flat, clover leaf shape, two inches thick, with a big hole in the middle, which the Vampires just love to hide in.
It never hurts to have extra filtration, on any tank. Cheaper to buy used if you can though. Provided all the pieces are there, it's much cheaper, but if you need to replace any of the parts, forget it and buy new. New motors for ACs are all the same, only the impeller differs with each model, and they do last for a very long time. I've never bought a new one and out of six or seven Acs, only once have I had to replace a motor. If there is a club in your area, check it out. Many hold auctions, where you can often get gear at great prices.
Btw, if your tank is not covered in some way, it should be. Male bamboos have a habit, from time to time, of climbing out and going walkabout. If you don't find them soon enough, they're done for. In habitat, I suspect this behaviour is related to mating, as in, hoping for more opportunities or spreading the genetic pool wider. Either way, if they can find a way, they may get out. Need not be a glass top, it can be mesh or netting or something like that. I don't know for certain that females don't do this also, but so far, only males have done it to me. I've lost 3 to the walkabout urge, sadly. So I keep their tanks covered with mesh.