Shrimp with tetras?

[SaraB]

I have a 20 gallon tank with 7 pristella tetras (x-ray fish). Its heavily planted on one side with open space on the other side.

Yesterday I went out and bout 3 blue cherry shrimp thinking that tetra mouths were too small to eat them. I made the mistake of not researching it before I bought them. Of course as soon as I put them in I read all these horror stories of tetras eating peoples RCS.

My question is: Since they are not bright red and 2 of them were actually black and blend in, will my teras eat them? Or is one of those depends on the attitude of the fish type of thing?
I can't put them in my other tank because it has a betta and assassin in it. Should I try to take them out (assuming I can even find/catch them) and put them in a vase for now?

EDIT: I saved one and put it in a vase for now. I haven't seen the other 2 since last night.

[spacepops]

Originally Posted by SaraB

I have a 20 gallon tank with 7 pristella tetras (x-ray fish). Its heavily planted on one side with open space on the other side.

Yesterday I went out and bout 3 blue cherry shrimp thinking that tetra mouths were too small to eat them. I made the mistake of not researching it before I bought them. Of course as soon as I put them in I read all these horror stories of tetras eating peoples RCS.

My question is: Since they are not bright red and 2 of them were actually black and blend in, will my teras eat them? Or is one of those depends on the attitude of the fish type of thing?
I can't put them in my other tank because it has a betta and assassin in it. Should I try to take them out (assuming I can even find/catch them) and put them in a vase for now?

EDIT: I saved one and put it in a vase for now. I haven't seen the other 2 since last night.

I have a tank with 3 tetra and a barb. They eat the shrimp I put in there and they are bigger than rcs I feed em ghost shrimp. They can hide all the want but eventually will be eaten

[DTWGulo]

I've kept several types of shrimp with various types of tetras and danios. Yes, the fish will eat the shrimp. However, I always had enough shrimp reproducing that the population stayed reasonably stable or increased. Keep the fish well-fed and have lots of hiding places for the shrimp that the fish can't get into if you want to maximize survival of the shrimp. Amano shrimp can also usually be purchased at sizes bigger than most tetras will mess with, and as the Amanos get bigger I don't think you'll have any trouble.

[Autumnsky]

People with lots of shrimp in their tanks, often have good luck of many reproductions and can sustain the shrimp in the tank.

The saying if it can fit into the mouth they can eat it is true, but frequently fish will just take bites of the shrimp in attack style which will of course also cause death and shrimp snack bits for lots to share.

When having the shrimp in a bowl, be vigilant in water changes or at minimum checking for the water parameters. Light feeding is important and you can grow algae on pebbles/stones in a glass vase/container in a warm sunny window and add to the bowl as additional food which shouldn't change the water parameters.

Shrimp are great!

[SaraB]

Thanks, I love shrimp and always wanted them. I only got 3 because that pretty much all they had in blue and wanted to make sure they would survive without spending too much money. I found another live one in the tank.
I am wondering though. Can I move the betta into the tetra tank? She is pretty chill (lazy) and that way the shrimp can have a tank to themselves.

[Autumnsky]

Yes mostly that goes well, sometimes a personality trait will prohibit the community aspect off a Betta. I would venture 1 in 10 no way, and 1 in 10 maybe feeling worried about their aggressive behavior but they get used to the tank and other fish swimming around.

Then there is the bossy type Betta wants to charge at the other fish and try to scare them and get their way, like get out of my corner but doesn't act in an attack way. I had a female which was the boss of the tetras and Guppies and and they knew it.

Another, a male, which would charge the fish once in a while but then swim around and shoal with the male guppies until he got tired and would go lay in his log to rest.

Just make sure you have a day to watch them all and make sure things are okay. And of course keep an eye on them anyway. Try doing it and leaving the light on low or off to allow a bit more calm, and I would feed him first as well as the other fish before adding them together. You don't want them "hangry". Then a little more later on.

[SaraB]

I've started to test it this morning after writing it. I even did a test "feeding" (treats) to make sure they wouldn't rush her when giving them food.
So far so good. No aggression, no nipping, no bullying and they don't seem to be afraid of each other either. Then again the tetras were kepts with larger black skirts in the store when I bought them.
I have the betta tank empty right now in case I have to move her back. If it stays alright then i'll buy more shrimp and move them all into the betta tank (8.8gallons).

[Autumnsky]

That all sounds great!

[SaraB]

It's actually working out great so I moved the shrimp into the 8.8 gal. I'll buy more shrimp once the store has more.