Shrimp, is it possible?

[GoldenPlecTony]

Good morning people,

I have 6 neons, 2 corys, 1 featherfin syno, 3 mollies, 1 betta. Is it possible to put shrimp in with this selection of fish? I dont trust my local LFS to tell me the correct info. If shrimp can be introduced what type? I have a 90L long tank.

Thanks

 

[GoldenPlecTony]

Betta is very peaceful and is kind of bullied by the mollies. I know a bad tempered Betta would be a bad idea but my peaceful 1 (Thor) might just leave them alone.

 

[dagman]

GPT: One of the reasons I joined the AA forums (today) was to find out about shrimp and why I have had such a bad experience with introducing them into a community tank. I have tried 3 times to bring some shrimp on board a 240 liter planted tank which has been stabilized for about 6 months (I had swings of pH and dropping kH probably due to the amazonian earth I used). Anyhow, I have not been successful with any shrimp. The smaller ones, would probably be eaten (I have a krebensis cichlid and some mildly aggressive mollies), but the three times i brought shrimp in (they were 3-4 cm in length), none really lasted more than 2 weeks. I did not feed them specially, and the one that lasted longest (2 weeks) would park itself below the feeding site and catch the crumbs avidly. I have given up on shrimp at this point. So, I'll be interested in hearing from others with better stories.

 

[Patterson333]

If I were you, I'd go out and but some ghost shrimp. They're often sold as feeder shrimp, so you can buy them for real cheap (one of my LFS will sell you 5 for 1$).

If you put them in and they survive, then you know that shrimp will work out in your tank, and you can go out and buy the nicer shrimp that you want, but if they get eaten, then you know shrimp won't work.

As far as my personal experience, I kept two amano shrimp with a Betta for years, but everyone's experience is different so I'd test with ghost shrimp lol

 

[GoldenPlecTony]

Sound advice, a little trial and error. I have about 5 plants and a tasty pipe for the shrimp to hide in, I will try them and if I see them being harassed I will step in and add more plants etc.

I will keep you posted. Hopefully going to get shrimp in a few days

 

[Reiner]

I also agree with Patterson, test with ghost shrimp first. But do keep in mind that it's not totally uncommon for several of them to die due to poor conditions they have previously been kept in because there considered feeder shrimp. So IME the test is to find out if any of your fish eat the shrimp and not so much if the poor little ghosties survive for an extended period of time.

 

[Patterson333]

So IME the test is to find out if any of your fish eat the shrimp and not so much if the poor little ghosties survive for an extended period of time.

+1, Back when I used to keep tropical community fish, that was my experience as well.

If I tried it now with my African Cichlids it would just be a quick lunch lol

 

[GoldenPlecTony]

Eventually I hope to get to house cichlids ... Maybe in a few years and when I get some more money lol.

 

[dagman]

In my case, it hasn't been that the shrimp were eaten--until they had died, that is. The last time, one of these Bamboo shrimp died within a few days. (Interestingly, they had been mating in the bag in which I brought them home.) The other guy had beautiful fanlike appendages which he would spread out and eat from. My grandkids loved it. It would position itself below where I fed the fish and capture crumbs. It also liked to sit on the filter intake. It wouldn't relinquish these locations to anyone, but it seemed to get along with the others. After a few weeks, he looked a bit "peaked" and sluggish, and then I found him dead. My 240 liter tank runs a bit warm (83-85 degrees) during the summer. The fish don't seem to mind it, but I wonder if that has something to do with it.