How Many Ghost Shrimp in a 10gal Community Tank?

[amethystfern]

Hi, all. I have a ten gallon community tank that has a betta, pleco, and 7 neon tetras at the moment. My beloved apple snail recently passed so I'm hoping to introduce new tankmates as the tank seems so much more empty now, at least visually. I adore apple snails but am interested in adding some ghost shrimp because they seem to be more active.

My betta is extremely docile. He's never shown an ounce of aggression, except when he's eating and it's only directed at his food. So I'm not worried about him at all.

I'm just wondering how many I can add to the tank? I know that ghost shrimp have a low bio-load but with the stock I have now, I'm not sure what would really be okay to add at this point.

Also, as I miss having an apple snail so much, do you think I could add a few shrimp and a new snail or is that pushing it?

 

[TheSmallFish]

Hi just some questions first. What kind of pleco do you have? What are the water parameters?

 

[amethystfern]

I have a clown pleco.

All of my water parameters seem fine. pH usually tests between 6-7. And the temp can range between 70-80 degrees, usually on the higher end as I keep the tank heated.

 

[TheSmallFish]

I just read up about them and the pleco should be in a minimum of 20 gallons. So If you gave him away then you could do like 10 ghost shrimp.

 

[amethystfern]

He's still a baby so I will move him to a larger tank when he gets bigger. He's still a little thing. Do you think I could add an apple snail with some shrimp?

 

[Fresh2o]

Aside from the stocking issue, I would worry about mixing ghost shrimp with ANY small fish. They have a tendency to become aggressive and attack small fish.

 

[amethystfern]

Oh. Thank you. I don't want to put my tetras in danger.

 

[jimsz]

I have a dozen tetras and several ghost shrimp for a number for years. The ghost shrimp and fish have never had any problems.

If the shrimp have plenty of places to hide and plants to climb on they pretty much keep to themselves.

 

[amethystfern]

Oh, cool. I'll keep that in mind. Still haven't decided yet.