[Owen Stubbs]

First of all, thanks to this forum, and another, I am getting very little else done these days! :thumbsup:

My 8 year old son has started a 10g tank as something of a 3rd grade project. Have already placed some plants in there, including some great contributions from DanePatrick, and some moss soon to be on the way from Fresh_lynny.

We started this project without intent for plants.... that quickly changed. We started with only fish in mind, but once he saw all these cool photos of shrimp, he decided he would like to INCLUDE them (ie, not shrimp exclusive).

The originally intended fish were to be something as small as possible (danios, tetras, etc) for maximum fish count, plus maybe an otto.

While I realize that any potential future baby shrimp will always be at risk, is there some particular small schooling fish that would be the safest bet and least likely to snack on the babies? If these RCS truly breed like rabbits, I'm not concerned about anything close to 100% survival, but it would be nice to get a reasonable rate.

 

[Solstice]

My suggestion is 3-4 ottos and 6-8 small tetras (neons are good). I've kept neons and ottos with shrimp and have never lost a noticeable number of baby shrimp to the neons....

 

[sethsmom5702]

I have never had a problem with my neons or danios with ANY kind of shrimp. The neons, IMO, are the better choice as they are WAY more appealing to the eye, though. There are also Cardinal Tetras you can buy. They're basically the same as neons only they have a brighter, more defined red color.

 

[spypet]

assuming you can find them :icon_wink

7-9 Galaxy Rasbora as display fish - aka Celestial pearl danio
7-9 Corydorus hastatus as debris cleaners also habrosus or pygmaeus
1-2 Otocinclus Affinis|Vittatus also Hisonotus leucofrenatus(niger) or Cocama(zebra) as algae cleaners

 

[Owen Stubbs]

So, 6-8 danios or tetras, PLUS 3-4 ottos? Wouldn't that be a serious bio overload, or is that merely factoring the plants into the equation?

We saw these cool pink-ish fish at the LFS. The tank had them labeled "tetra glolight", but they looked MUCH more like a longer-finned danio than any tetra I have seen. Downside was that they mostly stayed at the top of the tank. Was kinda hoping for a schooling (or is that shoaling) fish that took advantage of more of the aquarium space than just the top.

 

[spypet]

1-2 otto's is all you need for a 10gal
glowlight tetras grow to over an inch.
don't judge behavior by what you see
in the LPS, best to research online
where & how a fish normally behaves.
glowlights only linger on top to feed.

 

[Solstice]

1 to 2 ottos are all you would need, but they're also schooling fish and are happier in groups. And, no, that is not necessarily a bio-overload.

 

[Owen Stubbs]

Spypet - that is definitely not the fish at the store. I think they have it mismarked. Like I said, looks like a pink long finned danio, if there is such a thing.

Would guppies be a comparable choice to tetras & danios for a tank that might have baby shrimp, or better/worse for whatever reason?

 

[cjyhc4]

Would guppies be a comparable choice to tetras & danios for a tank that might have baby shrimp, or better/worse for whatever reason?

Depends on the guppies. Common/feeder/wild would probably be alright. They stay smaller and spend most of their time chasing each other around. Fancies will eat just about anything they can and try to eat some things they can't (like whole snails). Just keep in mind that you should get all males unless you want LOTS of babies

 

[eklikewhoa]

If you can find some Boraras/Microrasboras I think are perfect for shrimp tank.

 

[Leeanna]

Guppies do have the possibility of outcompeting shrimp if you have a male and female. Neon tetras will eat their own eggs if they breed. RCS do not eat their young, but the neons will eat very young RCS if they are hungry. Neons generally will not hunt RCS down like some fish will. BTW, I've seen 1/2 inch size neons try to eat whole ramshorn snails, but they spit them out. lol

 

[justme]

Endlers.
small, colorful, and very active fish.

 

[Owen Stubbs]

Thanks everyone for input on this - hope the thread also helps others down the road.

Endlers are beautiful fish - but I have never seen them in a half dozen LFS I have visited. It would probably be best to have something easily replaced in the event of loss.

Pygmy rasboras - same thing. Never seen 'em. Seems like a good choice.

Guppies - not sure about these. Lots to appreciate about an individual, but seem like to big a risk for potential baby shrimp. Also do not seem to say in a group.

Danios - best I have seen is some leopards. Man, all these danios really move around, don't they? Leopards at my LFS seemed to be just as much at the bottom and middle as the top. Zebras seemed to be mostly top level.

Neons - read many things about these that lead me to believe it is not a particularly hardy fish, wanting lower PH and temps. Am I reading wrong?

My own observation: Saw some "Bloodfin Tetras", or so labeled by the LFS. Never seen a fish in such a tight group! These things stayed tight, although, they seem to be easily spooked. Maybe that would be a good thing - perhaps a bit timid around anything that moves, like baby shrimp! Problem is that the tag said they grew to 1.5-2.0 inches. Since I wanted 6-8 of something, plus some ottos, plus the shrimp, it seemed like that would overload my 10g.

Further input appreciated!

 

[intermision]

I would say galaxy rasboras, but they are kind of pricey. Some gold white clouds . I think they're very pretty fish.

 

[guitardude9187]

i'm not too sure about the danio's, i thought they were pretty mean community fish... i'm not sure, so someone could give some input on that

neon tetra's will do fine, i've had them in pH of 6.8 up to 8.2 but make sure the temperature doesn't get too hot (78+). they won't school for you though, well atleast for me in my 10gal...it's still to small for them.

if you want schooling fish in a 10gal, you probably want to look up some microrasboras but you will have to order them and they're a bit on the pricey side after S/H.

and if you just want some nice looking fish that stick close together, get some heliquin resboras (sp??), i think the espei rasboras are a bit smaller but a little harder to find at a LFS, i've seen petsmart having the espei labeled as heliquin but you have to look extra hard and it's pretty rare on occasion

 

[Cardinal Tetra]

Galaxy rasboras might not be so safe...they actively go after baby shrimp. I've got some with cherry shrimp and the rasboras are always looking around in the moss for shrimplets and I've noticed that the shrimp population hasn't increased much since I've gotten the rasboras...
IME Boraras are a much better choice if you want your shrimp population to grow faster. Mine never showed any interest in shrimplets even when they swam past the fish.

 

[Owen Stubbs]

Stopped by a few LFS. None seemed to have any of the tiny rasboras. Not sure why, but a fish that caught my eye was the green fire tetra. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1113

Only thing that concerns me is under diet at F&S, it says "carnivore". It was, however, very timid, and they swam tight in a group.

 

[66 north]

I have threadfin rainbows with mine, good choice since their mouths are so tiny and upturned they really can't eat shrimp.

 

[eklikewhoa]

I have Celestials and white clouds and they will eat babies and I am sure flame tetras being similar will do the same.

In my shrimp tanks there are Boraras Merah/Brigittae and those being 1/3-1/4 size of the others will still pick at the babies but the most they eat is one a week or so.

 

[davej]

Last week I placed two galaxies in my shrimp tank. Now they are as fat as can be, and I don't have any of the really new baby shrimp on the glass like I always used to. So just a heads up, I don't recommend them.
The other 10 I placed in my planted tank are doing good but nowhere near as fat.