Snuffleupagus
Aquarium Advice Regular
I've had my dp (Mahar Shalal Hashbaz) for a few weeks now, and from the beginning he'd had a ghost shrimp and two red cherry shrimp in the tank with him. I'd picked up the red cherries for a ridiculously high price at a lfs, so I was initially very hesitant about putting them in their with the puffer, since I knew puffers are famous for chomping on their tankmates. I'd read that shrimp are often tolerated, though, and I knew the red cherries wouldn't have a prayer in my main community tank with all the loaches, so I left them in there.
Then I acquired 10 more juvenile cherry red shrimp at a much more reasonable price, and also a 5-gallon tank to house them in, a few days ago. I left the other two in with the dp just in case the new tank didn't work out, to hedge my bets, as it were. Then today I started worrying about the two in with the puffer, so I went to move them, and I couldn't find them anywhere until I looked in the filter. I was initially glad to see them there, because I figured they'd found sanctuary, but then I realized they'd just been swept in there after the puffer slaughtered them. He didn't even eat any of one of them, just killed it for the heck of it. Naturally he left the 10 cent ghost shrimp completely alone, even though it's always harrassing him and fighting over food with him, and focused on the $8 cherry reds. They were really nice adult specimens, too. They kind of remind me of shrimp you get at a restaurant, now that they're lying there dead. Anyway, I just hoped to warn others to be careful with these little beasties. Though so far the enormous ghost shrimp is somehow holding his own in there.
Then I acquired 10 more juvenile cherry red shrimp at a much more reasonable price, and also a 5-gallon tank to house them in, a few days ago. I left the other two in with the dp just in case the new tank didn't work out, to hedge my bets, as it were. Then today I started worrying about the two in with the puffer, so I went to move them, and I couldn't find them anywhere until I looked in the filter. I was initially glad to see them there, because I figured they'd found sanctuary, but then I realized they'd just been swept in there after the puffer slaughtered them. He didn't even eat any of one of them, just killed it for the heck of it. Naturally he left the 10 cent ghost shrimp completely alone, even though it's always harrassing him and fighting over food with him, and focused on the $8 cherry reds. They were really nice adult specimens, too. They kind of remind me of shrimp you get at a restaurant, now that they're lying there dead. Anyway, I just hoped to warn others to be careful with these little beasties. Though so far the enormous ghost shrimp is somehow holding his own in there.