[driftwoodhunter]

So, I'm finally getting curious about shrimp. I saw a pic here of a community tank, and there were four or so shrimp walking along the driftwood in the background. They really looked rather neat!
What do shrimp do for a tank? Are they part of a cleanup crew? What do you feed them and what are their parameter/temp needs? My tanks are mostly tetras - I hope to get a tank of harlequin rasboras and rummys, too.
I see ghost shrimp at Petsmart all the time, but I was wondering if any of the colors like yellow, cherry, etc are hardy? Lastly do they breed like snails? I wouldn't want a bunch!
thanks
~ Cindy ~

 

[Betta Maniac]

Cherry shrimp are pretty hardy, and yes, they breed like snails (though a lot of the babies will be eaten a community tank). If you end up with too many, sell them or give them away.

I have Crystal shrimp in my community tank and hoover around and clean up extra food and algae.

 

[driftwoodhunter]

see, they sound very useful to me. I'll have to look into cherry shrimp. The clear ones at Petsmart are cheap, but I can't really see them! lol If I'm going to get a few shrimp, I'd at least like to be able to see them...

 

[Betta Maniac]

Look in the SnS here. There are almost always cheap cherry shrimp for sale.

 

[driftwoodhunter]

Yes, I've been seeing a lot on SnS - but I need to learn what shrimp need to be healthy & happy!

 

[chiefroastbeef]

Cherry shrimp are very easy to keep, they adapt to all sorts of water temps and ph levels. Start with a colony of 30 or so, they should then breed like crazy, outbreeding deaths of predators if any. Feed them a shrimp wafer everyday or so and that is it. Of course, they love a well planted tank, with plenty of moss to graze the algae, micro organisms off of.

 

[Danimals]

see, they sound very useful to me. I'll have to look into cherry shrimp. The clear ones at Petsmart are cheap, but I can't really see them! lol If I'm going to get a few shrimp, I'd at least like to be able to see them...

Those are Ghost Shrimp, generally just used as feeder shrimp and IMO not too pleasing to look at.

Amanos and Cherrys will do a significantly better job of cleaning up your tank and are amazing to look at to boot :icon_smil

I actually think Cherrys (PFR's especially) are very aesthetically pleasing.

 

[driftwoodhunter]

Who is PFR?
Someone did pm me with an offer for cherry shrimp, but I don't even have water in my tanks yet! I'm thinking ahead...lol
I didn't think about whether or not some shrimp are better at cleaning a tank than others...

 

[Danimals]

Who is PFR?
Someone did pm me with an offer for cherry shrimp, but I don't even have water in my tanks yet! I'm thinking ahead...lol
I didn't think about whether or not some shrimp are better at cleaning a tank than others...

PFR's (Paint Fire Red) are a specially bred strain of Cherry Shrimps that are significantly redder and the coloration is usually covering their entire body as opposed to patches of it.

Cherry's are an excellent starter shrimp that will readily propagate in any tank with good water parameters so you'll only need to buy a few too!

I actually used to have several Ghosts in my community tank as a clean up crew as well but they only really seem to go after the leftover food and not really algae. That and they grow to be fairly large and look more unattractive with every molt =[

 

[driftwoodhunter]

Hmm
Molting. How often do they molt, and if I don't get the molts (what do you call them?) vacuumed out will they ruin the water quality?

 

[Danimals]

Can't really say on how often they molt, they do do it on a regular basis tho and you should always leave the shell in the tank so that they can re-absorb the calcium/nutrients

 

[driftwoodhunter]

well that makes clean up easier!
I hate to say it, but all of this talk about shrimp is making me want lobster - lol

 

[jameslibtech]

Cherry shrimp are fairly bomb proof, they clean fairly well, but most of all they are pretty awesome and are a nice contrast to all of the greens in a planted tank. They will breed and most of the off spring will probably get picked off by any sort of fish. However some may survive if you have a pretty heavily planted tank or thick carpet of some sort. There are some killer deals for descent cherrys around. Good luck!

 

[jameslibtech]

Oh by the way, as far as molts I have never taken them out they seem to actually like eating their own molts. I've never had an issue with the water quality, so I'd assume its not a issue. Also with about 20 shrimp in a tank previously I noticed a molt every other day or so. From what I've read and learned molting is a good sign and is speculated to be part of the process prior to reproduction for females.

 

[driftwoodhunter]

This sounds very interesting - when the tanks mature, I'll def try some!
thanks for all the info!

 

[wetworks]

If you want shrimps that will not breed and will be good tank mates for a community tank, I really like Amano Shrimps. Amanos need saltwater to breed, so they will not over-populate your tank. They also get to be a bit larger than Cherry Shrimps, and this makes it a lot less likely for the shrimps to fall victim to hungry fishes. Or, you could add both Cherry Shrimps and Amano Shrimps. I have several tanks set up for both, and they are my favorite display tanks. Just make sure that there is plenty of hiding spaces.

 

[comet]

I also have both Amano and Cherry shrimp in a community tank. The Amano shrimp population has actually increased in my tank. Not by much, but some are surviving to adulthood.
Amano shrimp are great for helping keep the tank clean, are bigger and put on a great show when they zoom around the tank together. They are less likely to be eaten by fish, unless the fish is much bigger and aggressive.
Red Cherry shrimp are good tank cleaners also, add some color to the tank, but they are much smaller. With Cherries, I would start up their own tank (they love java moss) and as the population grows add some to your community tank. You'll always have a supply of them to add if some get eaten.
Both do well in water temps from 72 to 82 for me.
What is the Ph of your water? Mine do very well at 7.6.
And you will definitely want a sponge to cover your filter inlet.

 

[driftwoodhunter]

Very good info - thanks everyone!
My ph runs at 8 usually.
If I get cherries, the idea of a 10g tank to raise what I need to replenish the tanks is a good one. So is the sponge for my intakes - I forgot about that.
I'll look up Amanos tonight, too.

Thanks everyone!

 

[deleted_user_12]

i know this is so off topic but i love seeing my shrimp molt the day before they do it they wont be moving very often and hide in plants, then the next day the are back to swimming around and if the cories don't mess with the shell it looks like a second hollow shrimp.
i love it when they molt its like a snakeskin

 

[driftwoodhunter]

So now let me ask about suitable tank mates...
Here is a list of the fish I already have, and the fish I hope to be stocking with as I get tanks set up. Let me know if there are any red flags!

Harlequin rasbora, Black tetra, Neon tetra, Cardinal tetra, Diamond tetra, Eyepot rasbora, Celebes Rainbow, Tiger barbs (I can figure out this might be a red flag! lol) Rummynose, Cherry barbs, otos, and lastly corys.