Shrimp

[mike47517]

I havent kept many shrimp in my life and i was wondering what kind of shrimp i should get, and pretty much anything i should know before getting any. If possible i would also love to see some pics (not reqired though). Thanks for all help.

 

[mike47517]

Anyone?

 

[runninwoof]

Petshrimp.com, a quick google search can find you wonders!

 

[mike47517]

uhh it says "page cannot be found"

 

[neilanh]

Try this link
www.petshrimp.com

What tank are you wanting to put them in - i.e. what other inhabitants do you have?

red cherry shrimp are among the most common and easiest to keep and breed.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Red Cherries and Ghost shrimp are probably the easiest (and cheapest) to keep.

There aren't many fish you can keep shrimp with, so keep that in mind.

 

[bs6749]

Red Cherries and Ghost shrimp are probably the easiest (and cheapest) to keep.

There aren't many fish you can keep shrimp with, so keep that in mind.

Many people keep them with Endlers, guppies, platies, swords, danios, ottos, BN plecos, (other plecos too but generally they are in a small tank), cories, loaches (smaller ones), SAE's, neon tetras, cardinal tertas, black tetras, tons of other types of tetras, and even discus. There are quite a few that can be kept with shrimp actually. You just can't expect the smallest ones to survive if they can fit into a fish's mouth.

 

[elwaine]

Many people keep them with Endlers, guppies,...

On Petshrimp.com, the advice is not to keep them in a planted aquarium, for a number of reasons. Since they are reportedly good algae eaters, that would be a shame, if true. Have any of you had success keeping RCS in planted aquariums?

TIA -

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

On Petshrimp.com, the advice is not to keep them in a planted aquarium

Where does it say that?

Almost everyone here and elsewhere that has RCS keeps them in a planted tank, myself included. I personally would not have them in a non planted tank.

 

[JasonC]

Here's another site with a wealth of good info:

Planet Inverts Home .:. Freshwater Aquarium Shrimp, Crystal Red Shrimp, Red Cherry Shrimp, Crayfish and more.

 

[ILspeed3]

Can anyone recommend a good place to purchase shrimp online? It seems that petshrimp.com is temporarily out of stock and I couldn't find any rcs in the classified section.

Thanks
Ed

 

[JasonC]

AquaBid.com - Sell or buy aquarium related equipment and fish in an auction format!

they seem to always have a ton of inverts

 

[shrek_vn2002]

I like this site http://www.theshrimpfarm.com/
I ordered 20 red cherry on ebay for 23.5$ (use cashback with live.com will save you few $) and 10 yellow strimp also on ebay. They are doing good in my 14GL tank. Those like planted tank....

 

[elwaine]

On Petshrimp.com, the advice is not to keep them [RCS] in a planted aquarium, for a number of reasons.

Where does it say that?

As I indicated, on their website. There is a section containing articles - one of which is entitled How to keep dwarf shrimp -- An Introduction. Here is the direct link:
Petshrimp.com -- All about shrimp

Keep in mind that this fellow's business is raising and selling shrimp; so he has a vested interest in selling RCS. It seems implausible that he would look to decrease sales just for the heck of it. I'm sure he has a few valid points.

Almost everyone here and elsewhere that has RCS keeps them in a planted tank, myself included. I personally would not have them in a non planted tank.

I respect your experience - and I'm encouraged by it (especially since I've an order of RCS on the way). If you have the time and inclination, I hope you will read the above referenced article and let me know what your thoughts are. For example, are you extra careful about the levels of fertilizers?

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

OK this is what I see from that article, there are many more quotes that I dont feel like posting:

If you would like to plant your shrimp tank, you can do so with various undemanding species of plants. The plants, if not planted in excess, will help in keeping water parameters at healthy levels (along with the biofilm). Just keep in mind that you have a shrimp tank and not a planted tank and keep your priorities straight. It will be much harder for you to keep shrimp alive and breeding in the long run if you run a heavily fertilized, high-tech tank. A heavy fertilizer regime is just not compatible with the water parameter needs of shrimp over a long period of time.

He never once says, "do not keep shrimp in a planted tank". He does says many times that they will not do as good in a "high-tech" tank, or a community tank. Basically what it says or means is this: If you want to have the best home for your shrimp, then its obviously a shrimp only tank, normally planted but lower tech w/o CO2 and no ferts. This will result is the most shrimp possible. Shrimp love plants, mainly mosses, which are mostly found in lower tech tanks. Mosses are deff great for shrimp as they love it.


What I get from it is this, there has been some info on the internet that says shrimp may have issues with higher levels of ferts and CO2 or even Excel. Like this:
Dosing Ferts w/ RCS


Point is, RCS are very hardy shrimp. They will readily breed in "heavily fertilized, high-tech tank" and thrive contrary to what these articles say.

Other less hardy shrimp, like CRS are more sensitive to water parameters.

Anytime you put shrimp in a community tank, you will be putting them at risk of being eaten.

Myself and many others have RCS in "higher-tech" tanks and they breed just fine. Also we have them in community tanks where its a fact that many smaller shrimp do get eaten, but they still reproduce fast enough that you can sell extra's if you wish. Also that article says that "cories" are safe, but they have been known to hunt and eat babies.

So my opinion is have a nice planted tank so the shrimp can hide and feed. RCS will be fine in a high tech community aquarium, but other shrimp are best kept by themselves in a lower tech tank.

 

[elwaine]

Gottcha, Speed. Thank you very much. I appreciate your help... and I'm looking forward to the arrival of my RCs for my planted aquarium.

 

[mike47517]

Thanks for all your help guys. Is/Has any one here keeping/kept shrimp in with fish? If so what type did you keep them with? Do you think i could keep them with my mollies? How many is a good number for a 10gallon tank?

PS sorry for not answering for so long my computer was messing up and i had to fix it.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Ok to clarify something I said on the other page of this thread......there aren't many fish you can keep with shrimp if you are wanting them to breed. Many fish will eat shrimplets, which are very tiny. As long as the shrimp are large enough not to get eaten, they should be safe.

That being said, I keep my red cherries with CPDs (Celestial Pearl Danios) and they breed. The CPDs don't eat the shrimplets (if they do, they don't eat many of them because I have seen alot of tiny shrimplets).

When you buy shrimp from places/people online they ship them at around 1/4" to 1/2" in size because adults don't ship as well, so they will be small when you get them.

I think you could keep them with Mollies, but I would get the shrimp first, let them grow a bit, then add fish.

Put some moss in the tank (Java moss is easy) because the shrimp love to eat critters off of it.....and the shrimplets will hide in it.

I would start with about 10-12ish in a 10g.

 

[mike47517]

Ok thanks. How many glass shrimp do you think i should start with in a 10g (not saying im going to get glass shrimp {possibility though} just wonderin). Do you think i could 10-12 RCS in a 1g tank till they are ready to be put in the 10g with my fish?

 

[JasonC]

Thanks for all your help guys. Is/Has any one here keeping/kept shrimp in with fish? If so what type did you keep them with? Do you think i could keep them with my mollies? How many is a good number for a 10gallon tank?

Not anywhere near an expert, but I have 3 Amano shrimp in my 20Gal community... other occupants are in my sig. I specifically bought Amanos because they could not breed in freshwater... didnt want them to overrun the tank. I also specifically bought grown shrimp (all 1"+) so they would be less tempting to the other tank inhabitants as an easy gulp.

I have not had any issues w/ my other fish... they pay the shrimp no mind. We will see what happens with them when I get my next batch of fish (most likely serpae tetras, though I am starting to waffle on whether I want them or not...)