I need a lesson in shrimp!

[eco23]

Hi everyone,

I've been tossing around different ideas for a cleanup crew for my 48 gallon. My 2 main priorities are to help keep the substrate free of leftover food and to help keep my (fake) plants clean. I'm having a small diatom outbreak, but I know thats normal for a newer tank. After research, I'm starting to lean towards shrimp.

I originally wanted Corys and Otos, but I have normal aquarium gravel which I've read is bad for Corys, and I also know they won't clean the plants and algae very well. I'd also like to keep my bio-load low.

So, questions for shrimp...

1) How many are best to keep a 48 gallon tank clean?
2) I have very soft water with low alkalinity. I run crushed coral to help, but I don't know if that is suitable to provide the calcium/ minerals the shrimp need.
3) Do different shrimp do different things? I know Amano shrimp love algae, but are they not as good as Red Cherry's at keeping the substrate clean? Should I mix and match?
4) I don't have a suitable QT yet, are shrimp prone to bringing disease into a tank if not quarantined?

BTW, I have small peaceful schooling fish, so nothing that would want a shrimp snack.

Thanks as always!

 

[DragonFish71]

Regular gravel is not as bad for corys as people lead on. I have 12 corys in a tank that has a mix of pea gravel and river pebble. I also have pygmy corys in a tank with regular gravel. No one has lost a barbell.


1) How many are best to keep a 48 gallon tank clean?
Shrimp are a very low bio-load producing critter. Because I'm partial to them, I would keep at least a dozen. It also depends on which shrimp and what other fish

2) I have very soft water with low alkalinity. I run crushed coral to help, but I don't know if that is suitable to provide the calcium/ minerals the shrimp need.
Most shrimp are pretty adaptable. Easy way to get them calcium is get a cuttle bone (used for birds) grind it up and sprinkle into the water.

3) Do different shrimp do different things? I know Amano shrimp love algae, but are they not as good as Red Cherry's at keeping the substrate clean? Should I mix and match?

Amanos are supposed to be the best for algae, but I know my RCS keep their tank spotless. Amanos are larger that RCS, it could pose some problems. Ghosts are good for cleaning up any leftovers, easy to come by, and are cheap. Down side, hard to keep any shrimplettes alive and they don't do anything for algae.

4) I don't have a suitable QT yet, are shrimp prone to bringing disease into a tank if not quarantined?

Yes. Shrimp, clams, snails, all can carry in the nasties. I QT anything and everything these days, even more so that I'm dealing with my second outbreak of camallanus worms, which inverts can bring in.

 

[eco23]

I'm reading that red cherry's are prolific breeders. Is that anything to be concerned about? I don't think I want 100 shrimp in there after a while. Do the fish tend to eat the hatchlings before they take over?

 

[JakeVS]

Hey guys,

I don't mean to poach you're thread here, but im having a similar idea for my 20g, although im more wondering if my gold gourami and rosy barbs would be too agressive for the shrimp?

 

[eco23]

I think I'm gonna go with just red cherry's. Will around 6 of them keep a 48 gallon clean enough without having to add Corys and / or Otos?