Shrimp for Newbies!

[evalmore]

Hello everyone,

I'm starting a 15-20g freshwater tropical tank and I was hoping to add a couple of shrimp and snails to it. I plan on having guppies and possibly an African dwarf frog in the tank as well. I'm completely new at fish owning and since everyone has been so helpful I've learned a lot from this site already . I was hoping you fine folks could tell me these things:

How many shrimp are okay to have in a 15-20g tank?

Do I even need both shrimp and snails to keep my tank clean?

What type of shrimp and snails should I purchase for my community tank with the guppies (and possibly other species)?

What species should I avoid keeping with the shrimp and snails (wouldn't want anyone getting eaten)?

Do the shrimp and snails need anything special like live plants or special food to be added to the tank for them to thrive?

I know I'm full of questions, but of you can answer even just one of these it would be extremely helpful!

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Apple snails are great big bio load but cool they get like the size of an apple
No ADF in a 20 high too much hight for them
RCS are pretty good at cleaning

 

[evalmore]

Thank you. I think I'll probably leave the ACF out of this tank. I've heard too many risky things about them. This probably sounds stupid but are RCS's a type of snail? (I'm really new at this XD.)

 

[aluka]

RCS are a red cherry shrimp. They are generally the beginner shrimp. Super hardy, will live in wild range of water parameters and temperatures. If you just want to have some shrimps to look at then keeping them with guppies is fine. The guppies will eat all the baby shrimps they produce. If you are looking to watch the shrimp population grow, then dont keep them with any fish that has a mouth big enough to fit them.


Generally, people start with 10 shrimps. Enough to start a colony, and low enough that if they die, its not that big of a lost.

 

[evalmore]

Alright. I do like he idea of having shrimp to look at, but I was hoping that they would also help to keep the tank tidy as well. Do the RCS's do that? Also, are RCS's easier to take care of than ghost shrimp?

 

[aluka]

RCS will eat some algae but they are not as good as amano shrimp or nerite snail in that aspect. They are very good at eating the excess food you might be feeding your fish.

Generally speaking, RCS are much hardier than ghost shrimps and better to look at, but ghost shrimps are much cheaper in price.

10 shrimps will be lost in a tank of that size, but you should still probably start with about 10, if they all live you can opt to add more.

 

[evalmore]

Awesome. I think I'll do a little more research but the RCS's seem like a better bet for me. Thank you for the advice.

 

[Leatherback1]

Do the shrimp and snails need anything special like live plants or special food to be added to the tank for them to thrive?

The shrimp need live plants or they will die off in a matter of time.If you are new I suggest java fern or maybe an Anubias or 2.Personally I think java fern is much more hardy

 

[evalmore]

Do the shrimp and snails need anything special like live plants or special food to be added to the tank for them to thrive?

The shrimp need live plants or they will die off in a matter of time.If you are new I suggest java fern or maybe an Anubias or 2.Personally I think java fern is much more hardy

I'm already planning on having live plants in my tank . I was thinking about having Java Moss (or possibly some other type of moss) and a couple Java Ferns.

 

[Leatherback1]

I'm already planning on having live plants in my tank . I was thinking about having Java Moss (or possibly some other type of moss) and a couple Java Ferns.

Java moss is a great option too.I plan on making a carpet of it in a shrimp tank.

 

[evalmore]

Java moss is a great option too.I plan on making a carpet of it in a shrimp tank.

Thank you for the reply . It was very helpful.