Shrimp Questions.

[HollieDahhrlinn]

Hey,
I have a 4.5gallon and i was wondering how many shrimp i could have in my tank, i have a paradise and 1 danio cos the other one just died from a fight so i'm torn what to do with the danio.

I was looking to mix ghost and cherry reds.
Would this be an okay think to do? And if so how many could i have of the shrimp. Its a room temperature tank btw.

Thanks for any help.
Reputation will be gained from helpful answers.

 

[Blueiz]

My suggestion to you, as I have said in your other threads, is to not add anything else to your tank. I say this because you are having a lot of problems with it that I honestly feel are due to putting to many fish in such a small tank. Allow your tank to stabilize and have at least a month without any deaths, then think about adding something else to your tank.

This will save your wallet, and the lives of the fish.

 

[HN1]

Great advice!

 

[HollieDahhrlinn]

Thanks,
When i think i havent done that bad.
2 died with no imput from me - they had a disease from the LFS,
They Had Dropsy. And my danio only died from having a fight.

If i leave my tank to stabilize for a month - what should i do about the shrimp?
All i would have is shrimp and the paradise.

 

[mfdrookie516]

ime, gouramis eat shrimp... i even fed them shrimp... if you ditched the paradise, you could have 10 or so rcs, but shrimp like plants, so it would be best to get a light over that tank and get some plants to provide cover for them

 

[HollieDahhrlinn]

ime, gouramis eat shrimp... i even fed them shrimp... if you ditched the paradise, you could have 10 or so rcs, but shrimp like plants, so it would be best to get a light over that tank and get some plants to provide cover for them

They eat shrimp? But how they're not as big as a shrimp?
I have a light over the tank, 2 rather big fake plants at the back of my tank and then like a twirly fake wood and bushie type plant wood thingie madgie - hahaa. its hard to explain, so by ditch - i am not getting rid of my fish though because i love her ha - 'finley' she's called.
Would the danio be okay? it says in all the websites that gourami's are cool to have with shrimp? So if i get the red cherrys could i have them? how many? i was thinking about red cherrys and blue neons? Opinion?

Solution? Could i see how they go do you think and then i could take it from there or am i almost certainly setting my shrimp up for death? if the shrimp out weigh the fish that could work do you think?

 

[bs6749]

In my shrimp breeding setups I keep 30 shrimp per gallon of water. I know for a fact that I've had over 300 RCS in a 10g tank before. It was planted with Java moss and they were fed 2-3 times per week and they thrived. 30 per gallon is a good "rule of thumb" for shrimp that get ~1" max. For Amanos, filter feeding shrimp, etc. you should keep less per gallon.

 

[HollieDahhrlinn]

BS6749 - So do you think i could keep shrimp in this tank??
And approximate how many? I dont want to overstock!! 30 per gallon??

Maybe 10? Would that be an okay amount?

 

[joy13]

A word of caution about mixing fish and shrimp when the shrimp molt they become dinner for a fish as larg as a paradise fish.

 

[bs6749]

It sounds like you are having or have recently had issues with your tank so I can't really recommend any at this point without knowing all of the details, however 30 of them per gallon (with Neocaridina species) is very doable. I keep this many per gallon and I know that many other breeders of these shrimp stock that many as well. Shrimp don't have anywhere near the impact on the bioload of the tank as a fish does and that is why so many can be kept per gallon. In my case where I had over 30 per gallon they were breeding and I had very little for nitrates (under 5ppm) due to all of the plants in the tank, which also provided a surface for the biofilm (a shrimp's favorite food) to grow. If they weren't happy, they wouldn't be breeding.

The paradise fish will most likely go after little shrimp that it can fit in its mouth. I wouldn't keep a paradise fish in a tank that small and would move all fish out and make it a shrimp only tank.

Also, I would start out with between 12 and 20 shrimp (red cherry shrimp and no ghost shrimp) in a tank that size because they breed rather quickly and you will want room in the tank for the colony to grow. Ghost shrimp aren't a great mix with RCS in my experience. Ghost shrimp can get nearly 2" long and they will eat baby RCS (small fish fry too) if they can cath them. They aren't useful if you are looking for algae eating shrimp because they are scavengers of leftover food and dead fish for example. I say go with RCS or another Neocaridina species/color morph.

 

[HollieDahhrlinn]

If i'm honest i really dont want to make it shrimp only tank.
What type of fish are compatable do you think?
Would the Danio be okay to keep and maybe add afew more danio's?
I'll be so upset about getting rid of my Paradise.

Problems with my tank?
Not really, 1 fish died from a fight recently but thats it.

Its a biorb btw.

 

[bs6749]

I can't recommend any fish for a tank that small unless you are temporarily growing out fry. In my opinion that tank is far to small for even a danio. Just because the fish is able to "fit" physically into the tank doesn't mean that it is "fit" for the tank. Danios like swimming room and would do much better in a 20L or a 10g at the least.

Maybe an otto or two would be okay in that tank and they should leave the shrimp alone, but most other small fish prefer swimming room and a 5g tank just doesn't provide enough of that in my opinion.

 

[mgamer20o0]

check CL for a larger tank and use the 4.5 as a qt. sounds like that would solve a lot of your problems.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

I paid £69 for my 64 litre (17g) tank from Pets at Home at the Metrocentre (Hollie will know where I mean!) and yet they are charging £55 for the 15 litre biorb.

They are way overpriced, they want £95 for a 30 litre (8g) biorb! What's more the picture on the website shows four goldfish in there!

Now looking at this picture as a beginner

Wouldn't you get the impression that tank was big enough for four goldfish?!

 

[bs6749]

The tank IS big enough for four goldfish, however they obviously shouldn't be kept in a tank that size long-term because they produce more waste than the biofilter will be able to handle.

 

[HollieDahhrlinn]

Thanks for all the advice,
I do belive the tank is big enough for them but as they grow they will need to be rehomed to another tank,
Biorbs are reccommended only for small fish and for fish that arent going to produce alot of waste.

I will see what i'm going to do.

 

[kemosabe]

I'm thinking about adding shrimp to my 20-gal tank. Currently has zeb danios, neons, platys, guppies, and 1 rubber-lipped pleco. Will that work and how many/what kind of shrimp?

 

[bs6749]

No, platies will go after them and female guppies have been known to gang up on shrimp and eat them.