[Lesley]

Hi Everyone
I'm new to shrimp & should be getting my first lot of 10 RCS soon so I'm excited about that!!!

I'd like to keep them with my fish in a 30g tank & was wondering about aggression of my fish. I have the following:

3 Albino Cory
4 Swartz's Cory Cats
2 Panda Cory
2 Zebra Danio
1 Celestial Pearl Danio
2 Serpae Tetra
3 Red Wag Platy

I think they should be safe with these guys but please advise.

Are there certain parameters I should be aware of? PH level, ect.

What's the chances of the 10 I get breeding & making lots of babies?

Can I keep different species of shrimp together & are there any consequences by doing this like cross breeding?

Thanks for any info you can share.

 

[shrimpzoo]

Here are two links that answer your question of what different species of shrimp you can keep together. And the consequence of cross breeding shrimp is that you can get some really ugly ones (wild nature coloured).

For example, you can't expect to get orange if you breed red & yellow shrimp together... you'll probably get an ugly brown one lol.

Charts:

http://www.theshrimpfarm.com/articl...hart.php?sid=E0380817952BFA599FBF01C625678183

http://www.planetinverts.com/Shrimp-Chart3.jpg?sid=E0380817952BFA599FBF01C625678183

More info on interbreeding:

http://www.shrimp-tank.com/interbreeding

 

[diwu13]

Lesley, for the fish you mentions I have heard from others that cory's will get along with shrimp. However, the danios are super active and will cause the shrimp to hide. The danios might also eat shrimplets but will not generally harm the adult shrimp.

Basically if you provide your shrimps with plenty of hiding spots they will still breed with the right conditions. If your tank is not moderately or heavily planted purchase some type of moss as those provide the most surface area for grazing and a lot of hiding locations. The 10 shrimp you purchased should be able to breed well as long as you acclimate them to your tanks parameters. Great link here (http://www.planetinverts.com/Acclimating New Shrimp.html). Your tank's parameters should be suitable for shrimp with your type of fishes. You just have to make sure ammonia and nitrites are zero as shrimp are much more susceptible to spikes than your fish.

 

[shrimpzoo]

Also, if you ever run into any fish illnesses or what not... be sure not to use medicines that are high in copper content.

High dosages of copper will kill the shrimp.

 

[johnny313]

they would breed but the chances of babies surviving may be low unless you have lots of moss and plants

 

[Lesley]

Just want to take a minute & Thank all who have responded. The information you provide is worth allot to me. I'd like to learn as much as I can so not to endanger the shrimp I start out with or any offspring. Thanks again

 

[johnny313]

thats what everyone is here for! im sure you will get more responses later in the night too!

 

[madness]

One thing that is usually mentioned that I haven't seen here is that you will need some sort of sponge-like pre-filter on the intake of your filter before the baby shrimp arrive or they will get sucked up into the filter.

Your shrimp (if of breeding age) might take a month to acclimate and for the females to molt and become berried. ~30 days after that you should have tiny little specks floating around your tank and from then on they are a breeding machine.

 

[madness]

I would definitely recommend a floating plant like frogbit. It helps soak up nitrates (which your filter will not get rid of but which fish are generally much more tolerant of than shrimp are) and the shrimp love to play in the roots that hang down from the frogbit. Especially the pregnant females it seems like to hang upside down from stuff which is always sort of cool to see in the tank.

Floating plants help protect against spikes in water quality by using up some of the chemicals that fish waste produce or result in. The shrimp also seem to love them. Win-win.

 

[shrimpzoo]

A plant that I think is a must have for shrimp is Java Moss now that we're on the topic of plants...

Java Moss will provide a good amount of biofilm (food for shrimp) and offer them a hiding place for both adults and baby shrimplets (since you are keeping fish with them it is a super must so they won't not be stressed or eaten from the fish).

They like a place to hide when they molt and it provides shade from the lighting.

 

[Lesley]

I'm planning a 10 gallon "Shrimp Only" Tank to start out with so no worries about fish eating them. Also my filter will be sponge & I'm actually thinking about changing my 30 gallon fish tank to a sponge filter. I have a Marine Land 200 now & the Bio Wheel never seems to work right. I've cleaned & cleaned & it still only works for about 12 hours after a cleaning.

I need to get the 10 gallon tank & get setting it up. Since I'm planting Live plants, what is the best substrate for that & the shrimp?

 

[Buff Daddy]

I'm planning a 10 gallon "Shrimp Only" Tank to start out with so no worries about fish eating them. Also my filter will be sponge & I'm actually thinking about changing my 30 gallon fish tank to a sponge filter. I have a Marine Land 200 now & the Bio Wheel never seems to work right. I've cleaned & cleaned & it still only works for about 12 hours after a cleaning.

I need to get the 10 gallon tank & get setting it up. Since I'm planting Live plants, what is the best substrate for that & the shrimp?

I really like Fluval Shrimp Stratum. In my two shrimp tanks, I have mostly FSS with an area of sand in each. I like pool filter sand and Tahitian Moon from CaribSea. Shrimp love to "sift" sand.

Here's my 10G:

Left side substrate is FSS (growing everything from crypts to myriophylum) and the Tahitian Moon is to the right growing the same plants.

I have filter sand in my Ebi along with the FSS that came with it. The PFS is very white and is a great contrast to the FSS. If you get FSS for your 10G, get a 4 kilo bag (8.8 pounds). That will give you plenty for a 10G, with or without another substrate.