Ghost Shrimp vs Red Cherry Shrimp

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Oscars

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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Aug 12, 2014
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I want to stock a 1g desktop aquarium with either GS or RCS. Are there any major differences between them besides color and size? Is one more rewarding to care for than the other?

If it helps, I plan to have an undergravel filter and plants (Java moss and fern).

Thanks.
 
Cherry shrimp are more for decoration than eating algae, and ghost shrimp will eat the algae and other food.
 
Most ghost, Amano, and dwarf shrimp eat algae. Ghost shrimp are generally less expensive but not as colorful. Some ghost shrimp will become aggressive and feed on smaller specimens. Cherry shrimp are rather easy to breed and are peaceful.
The follow site lists the top 5 algae eaters and Amano shrimp came in 2nd behind Otos and cherry shrimp came in 3rd ahead of plecos and Siamese algae eaters: http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2007/03/top-5-algae-eaters-for-planted-aquarium.html?m=1


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well besides the obvious color difference, ghost shrimp don't reproduce (well, they are just harder to breed) cherry shrimp will readily multiply.
 
Both Ghost and cherry shrimp like approx. the same conditions. They like some plants to graze and pick over, a sponge filter is good for this also, as well as controlling ammonia and nitrite. Cherries are smaller and you can safely have more of them in the same volume of water where you could have only half the number or less of Ghost shrimp, which are twice the size of cherries. Try to have a lot more females than males so that females are not constantly harassed by males eager to get on with the business at hand on their agendas.

Ghost eggs hatch to produce larvae, which take about 4-5 days to morph to shrimplets, which then need another couple of weeks before they are big enough to swim around and be seen much. Hatched larvae become zoeys, which live on bacteria and such items until they become shrimplets, after which they hang head down for a few more days, and only take food that comes within reach. Microworms work for this time and later on too. Full grown shrimp like to tear apart live California black worms now and then for treats, and so do Ghosts, frozen blood worms goes over well too. If you want more details on raising Ghosts, I can provide, just ask.

Cherries have babies just like themselves, no larval stage, and may have many broods. They feed themselves from day one, but leaving hardwood or Indian almond leaf litter on the bottom helps provide first foods for baby shrimps. They should have some hiding places on the bottom, it is instinct to tide from things larger than they are, shadows overhead, etc. Floating plants help, mosses, fine leaved plants, as well as anubias or ferns they can also feed from.

Both species will roam a tank, wander plants, climb rock and wood. Adult Ghosts have been known to eat the odd baby cherry shrimplet too, but not many.

It depends what you want to see and and if you prefer a larger, less colourful species to a smaller, more colourful species. Both can swim and will swim, hang upside down off floating plants, and pick sponges for food, as well as rocks, glass, substrate, etc.

An older, mature tank with a lot of biofilm will support any shrimp better than a newly set up tank will. To hasten maturity, use lots of plants, some snails perhaps, or fish or two, even if they are not meant to stay for long. They're contributing organisms to the general biofilm community of the tank and can be removed later on. Never hurts to have a nerite snail or two to help keep glass clear for pleasant viewing, they eat many algaes shrimp don't like.
 
Thanks for all the help guys. The color is an important factor so it seems like RCS are 5he way to go.

Great information fishfur. After reading your post, I'm leaning towards RCS instead of GS as well. It seems like RCS are a lot easier to breed, which is something I'm interested in. Plus having more in the same volume of water also contributes to the wow factor. Thanks for your post.
 
I have a new tank and want to get some shrimp as well. I have never had shrimp or fish in a aquarium (only koi and goldfish ponds). Would you recommend red cherry shrimp to me? If not what kind if shrimp?


NatureFish
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I have 7 RCS, 2 are pregnant and they are my first shrimp and they are easy to care for. JUST MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CUTTLEBONE IN THE TANK FOR MOLTING
 
I have 7 RCS, 2 are pregnant and they are my first shrimp and they are easy to care for. JUST MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CUTTLEBONE IN THE TANK FOR MOLTING

I'm just scared that ill accidentally kill them with my beginner mistakes.


NatureFish
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Ghost shrimp tend to only live a few months ...


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I've always wanted crystal red shrimp but I'm scared I'd kill those too.


NatureFish
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Crystal reds are not cheap. Even the higher grades of RCS will cost some $. I would start out with a lower grade RCS. I cannot recall what the lifespan is (1.5 years?) but they should be reproducing at a rate where that should become negligible.


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What are the best parameters for them? I have heard different things on each website.


NatureFish
????
 
I"d go with cherry shrimp, or one of the colour variants of cherry shrimp. They're quite hardy, tolerant of a fairly wide range of parameters, which is why you'll see differing numbers for what they like. They don't do well in acidic water and they don't do well in water with a low GH or too low KH. They prefer cooler temps than tropical fish do, around 72-74 seems to be very good.

If you have tap water that's hard, with a pH between 7 and 8, cherry shrimp should do very well. The other parameter shrimp keepers tend to look at is TDS, total dissolved solids. A TDS pen can measure this. Large changes in TDS can cause problems for shrimp, this is one of the main reasons for drip acclimation of shrimp. Most tap water is regulated for TDS, usually it's around 180, and that's fine for cherry shrimp too.

Ghost shrimp, just fyi, from my experience with them, appear to live around a year or so. If you make some effort to raise their larvae you can breed your own replacements. But cherry shrimp breed much faster and are less trouble to breed, since you need not make any special effort to keep the babies alive.
 
I have 7 RCS, 2 are pregnant and they are my first shrimp and they are easy to care for. JUST MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CUTTLEBONE IN THE TANK FOR MOLTING

I don't have any cuttlebone and don't have any issues with molting. I currently have 4 berried females. Cuttlebone is useful for soft water. Mine is really hard water so its uneccessay.

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Even in my hard water, at first I gave them cuttlebone. But they ignored it completely. It has very slowly leached away, but two years later, there is still a bit left. Not necessary for cherry shrimp at all.

Even my snails don't eat it, though they do eat their own left over shells, very slowly. I have one that looks like lace, so many holes have been eaten in it and a few of those holes may be due to the shrimp also eating a bit of the shell. I suspect the makeup of the mystery snail shell once the snail is departed, is very similar to shrimp's shells. They sure eat their moults quickly enough.
 
That's for sure. I very rarely ever see a molted shell, only a small piece one in a while. My rcs eat frog skin too. I used to see it skin on things they rubbed on but not anymore. Hell the cherries land on the frogs trying to pick it off them. My adfs don't care for that much, lol.

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