RachelG
Aquarium Advice Activist
I had three cherry shrimp in my tank with female platies and was planning to buy more eventually, but now when I go to take them out of the tank while I medicate it, the shrimp are nowhere to be seen. Not hiding in the plants, not in the wood, and not even in the filter. I suspect the platies ate them. I was told platies would not eat cherry shrimp. I would not have bought them if I had known that that was a big fat lie!
What kind of bottom feeder/scavenger could I replace them with? This is a ten gallon tank, heavily planted, and has only two female platies at the moment. (my smallest female platy has ALSO disappeared! What is going on here? I looked behind the dresser with a flashlight, but she isn't back there. Maybe she flopped somewhere I couldn't see...I'll have to cover the holes in the tank hood now.)
Would amano shrimp do the job? A local store sells them, and they look quite large for a platy to eat. if I do not get more platies or other fish, could I try adding a small group of kuhlis? I know a ten gallon might be a tight fit for them, but if it is possible...
Or should I just cheap out and buy some ghost shrimp?
And are there other fish besides a third platy that I could add to the tank? Nothing that schools, of course. No room for a school. A single small fish that would eat fry would be an awesome addition...
I won't be adding these very soon, of course. I need to treat my platy with ick and cotton mouth first. She also just gave birth to a million tiny fry and looks like she lost ten pounds. Hopefully most get eaten. I removed all the plants on driftwood so they wouldn't be harmed by treatment, so the fry don't have many spaces to hide now. Don't get me wrong, they are cute and I love them, but I can't keep them. Maybe someday I will have ample supplies to breed some fish. Then I can officially be the crazy fish lady on the block.
What kind of bottom feeder/scavenger could I replace them with? This is a ten gallon tank, heavily planted, and has only two female platies at the moment. (my smallest female platy has ALSO disappeared! What is going on here? I looked behind the dresser with a flashlight, but she isn't back there. Maybe she flopped somewhere I couldn't see...I'll have to cover the holes in the tank hood now.)
Would amano shrimp do the job? A local store sells them, and they look quite large for a platy to eat. if I do not get more platies or other fish, could I try adding a small group of kuhlis? I know a ten gallon might be a tight fit for them, but if it is possible...
Or should I just cheap out and buy some ghost shrimp?
And are there other fish besides a third platy that I could add to the tank? Nothing that schools, of course. No room for a school. A single small fish that would eat fry would be an awesome addition...
I won't be adding these very soon, of course. I need to treat my platy with ick and cotton mouth first. She also just gave birth to a million tiny fry and looks like she lost ten pounds. Hopefully most get eaten. I removed all the plants on driftwood so they wouldn't be harmed by treatment, so the fry don't have many spaces to hide now. Don't get me wrong, they are cute and I love them, but I can't keep them. Maybe someday I will have ample supplies to breed some fish. Then I can officially be the crazy fish lady on the block.