Best Shrimp for Community Tank

[AnimalCrazy]

HI!

What are peoples opinions on the best shrimp for a freshwater tank?

Ghost? Amano? Neocaridina davidi?

Also-is there any reason not to keep different colors of Neocaridina davidi together?

I don't need them to be great at eating algae because there will be other clean-up crew members in the tank.

It will be heavily planted with guppies, tetras, and other possibilities including GBRs, mollies, platies and more. I will also be getting a few mystery snails and POSSIBLY african dwarf frogs.

I don't have a problem with some of the shrimp being eaten by the fish, or guppy fry being eaten by the shrimp.

Thanks for any replies!

 

[Searching]

In my opinion I would have Amanos, they're non aggressive and would work if you decided to get smaller Neocaridina davidi ect. I would watch the African dwarf frogs though. I kept them with a few ghosts. The 3 shrimp lasted approximately 3 days. Depending on the size of your tank and frogs it might be ok though.

Note: Don't keep Neocaridina davidi of different colors together because interbreeding will result in their natural grey/transparent coloring.

 

[AnimalCrazy]

In my opinion I would have Amanos, they're non aggressive and would work if you decided to get smaller Neocaridina davidi ect. I would watch the African dwarf frogs though. I kept them with a few ghosts. The 3 shrimp lasted approximately 3 days. Depending on the size of your tank and frogs it might be ok though.

Note: Don't keep Neocaridina davidi of different colors together because interbreeding will result in their natural grey/transparent coloring.

Thanks for the reply!

You mention the amanos being "non aggressive." Are you implying that the ghosts would be aggressive? And to what extent?

The tank will be at least a 55 (I already own it) but I am looking into larger ones on craigslist.

Assuming I have a large colony of shrimp and only a few frogs will the frogs wipe out the entire population or only a portion of the young shrimp? I'm ok with some population control...

One more question: On live aquaria (where I will be getting most of my stock) they have "grass shrimp" for sale. The scientific name is Palaemonetes paludosus. I have never heard of these. Do you have any info regarding them?

Thanks!

 

[Searching]

You're very welcome!

When people say "Ghost Shrimp" or "Grass Shrimp" ect. they are really referring to members of the Palaemonetes family of shrimp (Palaemonetes paludosus, Palaemonetes pugio ect.). In my opinion Palaemonetes paludosus are the most tank friendly. Unfortunately the species is usually mixed with multiple members of the Palamonetes family when in aquarium trade. As I have not ordered from live aquaria before I cannot verify their authenticity, as I'm sure other members of this forum would be able to. All members of the Palamonetes family that I've kept have been aggressive to smaller shrimp, fish, ect. If the fish in the tank are bigger than them, and the younger shrimp and fry have a hiding place, it should be fine (they’ll eat most the baby shrimp and fry they come across).
As for the African dwarf frogs. I personally wouldn't risk it. However, if you’re determined, the frogs tend to stay in the corners of larger tanks. If the shrimp are intelligent enough to stay away from dark alleyways, and the frogs don't go on a hunting spree, you should be fine.

 

[AnimalCrazy]

Ok thanks. The "ghost shrimp" on the website are labelled Palaemonetes sp. What is your opinion on these vs Palaemonetes paludosus? I will probably go with amanos or cherries but I am still wondering...

 

[Searching]

You're welcome. Palaemonetes sp. is another way of saying the shrimp are of the Palaemonetes species. In other words, they could be any of the Palaemonetes species members. If you are completely new to shrimp keeping Ghosts is a good start (they're inexpensive and can be hardy). For community I would go with Amano's or Cherries. Just my opinion though. Good luck! make sure to send a picture of your finished tank!

Sincerely,

J.Searching

 

[AnimalCrazy]

You're welcome. Palaemonetes sp. is another way of saying the shrimp are of the Palaemonetes species. In other words, they could be any of the Palaemonetes species members. If you are completely new to shrimp keeping Ghosts is a good start (they're inexpensive and can be hardy). For community I would go with Amano's or Cherries. Just my opinion though. Good luck! make sure to send a picture of your finished tank!

Sincerely,

J.Searching

Thanks! I will!