Fish that I want in my 10 gallon freshwater Aquarium

[Ben the Betta]

I have a 10 gallon tank with 3 male guppies in it. I would like 1 ghost shrimp in my tank to clean up the left over fish food, and I want to put 5 neon tetras in my tank. Is that too much/over stocking?

If so, what/how many fish should I put in my tank?
If not, please answer the following questions:
1. Do I need to feed my ghost shrimp, or will it find left over food itself?
2. Will the ghost shrimp, or the fish pick on each other?
3. Do the shrimp need hiding spots?
4. Can I feed neon tetras/ghost shrimp Algae rounds?
5. Are ghost shrimp disgusting/not pretty to look at? If so, what other scavenger/bottom feeder can be BY ITSELF, not in groups of 2 or more?

 

[Surfer]

That's not overstocking, those fish should be good

You can get a snail since your ghost shrimp will most likely die. They're very weak and not interesting to look at. Feeding the snail algae discs would be good, but the others should have a diet of flakes. They will also nip at the discs if hungry enough.

 

[Pearly]

With all do respect I disagree I love my ghost shrimp! They add very little to bio load and yes, you may need to supplement feed depending on what you have in your tank! My ghosts are tons of fun to watch

 

[azmodan]

I'd say try a ghost shrimp or two, they won't bother the fish and vice versa. They do definitely appreciate places to hide. Just as a warning though they are known to die unexpectedly for no reason, so don't be surprised if that happens. You can supplement with a little algae wafer, and you'll probably find that your fish appreciate them too (my neons certainly do). Another great scavenger would be a snail of some sort, such as a mystery or nerite snail.

 

[Amlyel]

I have a 10g at work and I have 3 guppies and 7 ghost shrimp. There are 4 neon tetras as well but I am considering rehoming them as I feel they don't have enough space to swim. I LOVE my ghost shrimp! They get excited at feeding time and even swim upside down at the water surface to grab food! I think it's just neat in general to watch them swimming around. They enjoy hiding in my plants as well. With 7 though they are always around! Everyone gets along great and they always get food when it falls or I'll sink some to be sure. I've had this lot for 4 or 5 months with only 1 loss. Before that I had a couple goldfish in the tank who didn't let them live very long so longevity for me is still unknown.

 

[Mebbid]

I really prefer Red Cherry Shrimp over ghost shrimp as they add a nice splash of color. Is there a particular reason you only want 1 shrimp?

 

[Pearly]

Ben The Betta, to answer couple of your questions. 1) ghost shrimp are not ugly to look at, to the contrary, they are very interesting creatures. Try feeding defrosted blood worms and see how those little see-through guys grab a hold of a red warm and keep moving it along their body until the last of it gets inside real fun to watch. Or after algae wafer or frozen food, their stomach is green. Or pregnant females will have their black eggs and you can actually see that. I think that is soooo cool!

 

[Pearly]

"Sent" too soon, sorry! Going back to ghosts eating long food particles (ie warms) I've seen them do same thing with long pieces of my fish poop. I know! Disgusting! But... yet another reason to have them in your tank! Won't have to vacuum the bottom as much 2) they are very cheap (I pay 0.25$ a piece at my lfs they sell them as feeder shrimp) so great for beginner in inverts. This is what I decided to do to get my feet wer before going into Cherry shrimp and Crystal Reds (which is my ultimate goal) 3) about supplemental feeding... You'll have to find that fine balance between hungry animals and dirty tank. Personally it makes me feel better knowing I don't starve my animals so I drop sinking shrimp pellet 1-2 x week depending on what fisg are having. Sometimes they'll eat it, other times I'll have to tweeze it out untouched the next day. Maybe they would eventually get to it but I've have enough issues with ammonia during cycling to get back to that c... 3) From what I hear they add VERY LITTLE to your tank bioload so I wouldn't be stingy getting just one. Get a few!!!! Make sure there are plants and places to hide for them. Chances are some will drop off depending on a batch you get. Some may get eaten by your fish (which is ok too) none of my fish (male bettas, mollies, platies) have ever bothered my ghosts. If worried about overwhelming bioload check your parameters for a while to be sure all is ok. I've never had any issues. I have 2 very small (1 gal!) filtered, planted, heated tanks as transition homes for my rescue bettas. My lfs friend told me to put few (5-6 in each) ghosts and snail in each tank which I have.... It never messed up the cycle or anything. The only difference is that I hardly ever have to vacuum the gravel or scrub the walls (snail takes care of that). I definitely recommend you try them, get a few, they are easier to spot when there are more, kinda fun to watch too

 

[Surfer]

I think I'm just a party pooper about ghost shrimp because I've bought so many, with perfect water conditions and they end up dying. The longest I've kept one is 7 days while all of my amanos have been alive for 1.5 years. They're cool don't get me wrong but... I think if your going the shrimp route get something hardier.

 

[DeathclawRowe1]

Ghost shrimp our usually intended as fish food not pets (in most LFS) however if you get one they are very sensitive to nitrites and will die if your tank is not well established, although I agree you should try maybe a bamboo shrimp or some flavor of crystal or cherry shrimp. Maybe even a Pinocchio?

 

[951socal]

I think I'm just a party pooper about ghost shrimp because I've bought so many, with perfect water conditions and they end up dying. The longest I've kept one is 7 days while all of my amanos have been alive for 1.5 years. They're cool don't get me wrong but... I think if your going the shrimp route get something hardier.

if your ghost shrimp only live for 7 days you're doing something wrong.

i've had ghost shrimp live onto be 4 months with little to no maintence in several tanks, ranging from filtered 10 gallon, to non-filtered half gallon. 4 months becuase thats how long i've had them.

are you sure you know what you're doing/talking about?

Ghost shrimp are amazing creatures, i do recommend them, and yes they feed themselves, they just take the food that fell to the ground.

careful though becuase they like to jump during cleanings

 

[Mebbid]

Ghost shrimp our usually intended as fish food not pets (in most LFS) however if you get one they are very sensitive to nitrites and will die if your tank is not well established, although I agree you should try maybe a bamboo shrimp or some flavor of crystal or cherry shrimp. Maybe even a Pinocchio?

There's a big difference between those that are bred as pets and those that are bred as food. Generally the pet bred ghost shrimp live longer because they are kept in healthier conditions, fed better, so on and so forth.

 

[951socal]

There's a big difference between those that are bred as pets and those that are bred as food. Generally the pet bred ghost shrimp live longer because they are kept in healthier conditions, fed better, so on and so forth.

thats only part of it, something tells me that he has a bad setup, too powerful filter, too much crap ie bubbles, heaters etc, or a low quality substrate (painted rocks from a cheapo fish store).

i mean people buy feeder shrimp in food tanks and can keep them for up to 2 weeks...

 

[Mebbid]

thats only part of it, something tells me that he has a bad setup, too powerful filter, too much crap ie bubbles, heaters etc, or a low quality substrate (painted rocks from a cheapo fish store).

i mean people buy feeder shrimp in food tanks and can keep them for up to 2 weeks...

I bought 10 red cherry shrimp to be kept in a 10g fry tank that was well fed and kept immaculately clean. All but three died. There is a lot to be said for buying quality stock.

Bubblers - Shrimp don't care about them
Cheapo painted rocks - Coated, as long as they aren't boiled they are perfectly safe
Heaters - If heaters were causing it other stock loss would have happened
Too powerful filter - You would have to put a TON of effort into getting too powerful of a filter. I'm running 2 70g filters on a 55g and on my other 55g I am running a 60g filter, 150g filter, and a powerhead as well. My fish and shrimp couldn't care less.

 

[951socal]

I bought 10 red cherry shrimp to be kept in a 10g fry tank that was well fed and kept immaculately clean. All but three died. There is a lot to be said for buying quality stock.

Bubblers - Shrimp don't care about them
Cheapo painted rocks - Coated, as long as they aren't boiled they are perfectly safe
Heaters - If heaters were causing it other stock loss would have happened
Too powerful filter - You would have to put a TON of effort into getting too powerful of a filter. I'm running 2 70g filters on a 55g and on my other 55g I am running a 60g filter, 150g filter, and a powerhead as well. My fish and shrimp couldn't care less.

shrimp like low current.....mine didn't start breeding until i moved them into a no water movement environment...literally no water movement. it may seem fine to fish that swim, but shrimp are more sensitive to it and probably stressed out.

second time i have a pregnant ghost shrimp in 4 months of owning them...

and here is where the bad stock fish comes in, these are $0.46 cent shrimp from walmart, purchased on a whim (girlfriend wanted them) while picking up ammo/ a movie to watch that night.

 

[Mebbid]

shrimp like low current.....mine didn't start breeding until i moved them into a no water movement environment...literally no water movement. it may seem fine to fish that swim, but shrimp are more sensitive to it and probably stressed out.

second time i have a pregnant ghost shrimp in 4 months of owning them...

and here is where the bad stock fish comes in, these are $0.46 cent shrimp from walmart, purchased on a whim (girlfriend wanted them) while picking up ammo/ a movie to watch that night.

In my second 55 I started with 7 shrimp. The last chance I had to count them I had 43.

 

[Pearly]

I really prefer Red Cherry Shrimp over ghost shrimp as they add a nice splash of color. Is there a particular reason you only want 1 shrimp?

I love the "Cherries" too, and i will be getting some once I feel I know what I'm doing with the inverts. My ultimate goal is having a Crystal Red and Black shrimp tank but those are sensitive and expensive so for that one really needs to know what they are doing, at this point I'm trying out different live plants. The shrimp tank will have lots of different mosses (those little shrimp seem to love hanging out around the mosses). I'll be looking into other plants and ways to scape the tank to make it aesthetically pleasing.

 

[Pearly]

Ghost shrimp our usually intended as fish food not pets (in most LFS) however if you get one they are very sensitive to nitrites and will die if your tank is not well established, although I agree you should try maybe a bamboo shrimp or some flavor of crystal or cherry shrimp. Maybe even a Pinocchio?

I would not recommend Crystal shrimp for an "invert novice". Personally have no experience with them but hear (from my lfs friends and research) that they are sensitive and I do know how much they cost (18$ and up depending on a grade in my area). They are beautiful and my ultimate goal though for the future the Red Cherries are hardier then Crystals but still not that cheap (8-9$) which is aside from my lack of experience with inverts the reason why I've chosen ghosts (25 cents a piece). By no means are they "disposable" to me due to low price. The ones I buy are feeder shrimp and I was taking a chance of my bettas eating them, and that would have been ok (nice fresh addition to their diet) but I guess all 5 of my betta boys must be testosterone deprived bcs they never bother anything I put in their tank. 3 of my tanks went through mini cycle after round of Quick Cure, and I lost couple of my ghosts in the nitrite spike period (the snails were easy to take out before treatment, the shrimp turned out impossible to remove, way too quick for me in heavily planted tank there was just no way but most survived which tells me they are not as delicate as believed to be. On of the tanks ammonia went up to 2.0, then nitrites got pretty high (never saw that shade of purple since the initial cycling). I did testing and water changes twice a day for over 2 weeks and kept dosing my tanks with Prime and Stability which is what I believe saved my fish and most of my ghosts. Definitely recommend them! They are great! My next step will be Red Cherry Shrimp, and then the Crystals.

 

[Surfer]

I love the "Cherries" too, and i will be getting some once I feel I know what I'm doing with the inverts. My ultimate goal is having a Crystal Red and Black shrimp tank but those are sensitive and expensive so for that one really needs to know what they are doing, at this point I'm trying out different live plants. The shrimp tank will have lots of different mosses (those little shrimp seem to love hanging out around the mosses). I'll be looking into other plants and ways to scape the tank to make it aesthetically pleasing.

I feel like you should start with Amanos or cherry reds first, I've always had much more success with them. There's even a bamboo shrimp in my 55 that has been alive for a few months now, showing beautiful red coloration none of the "crap" is necessary seeing as I don't use any of it. The shrimp will definitely benefit from plants though, mine love the Marimo balls

 

[Pearly]

In my second 55 I started with 7 shrimp. The last chance I had to count them I had 43.

Goodness! Cherry Shrimp did that???? What's your secret??