# Shrimp.. opinions?



## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

I originally just got a few shrimp to be a cleanup crew, but have found myself really enjoying the little guys, and now I'm trying to decide between practicality and.. well, fun! I've got a 10 gallon that will be a grow-out tank for my guppy fry, and it currently houses about 8 Yellow Shrimp. The "fun" option would be to add another 15-20 Yellows and hope that the population slowly increases (I know there will be losses to the guppies, but there's also lots of places for baby shrimp to hide). The more practical option would be to just get a few Amanos (maybe half a dozen?) to hang out and do their housekeeping thing.

What are your thoughts/opinions? Keeping in mind that I will be moving in 6 months to a year, hoping to salvage at least one tank and take it with me.


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## Sploosh (Nov 19, 2012)

Do any of your yellows have saddles and/or are berried? 
If so I'd say there's no need to get more - until after you move. My population of blues (in an invert only tank) went from 5 to 250 in 3 months...... 
In my community tank, over the past 4 months, my blue shrimp population went from 1 pair to over 30 at the moment. There are fish in that tank that enjoy shrimp far more than my guppies do 

So 8 shrimps (let's say 1 is female) - with guppies - best guesstimate would be 30+/- shrimp in 3-4 months. (If 1 is berried now) Depending on the guppy - they might not go after the shrimps (once they get bigger) - all shrimp fry are at risk - although you've got lots of spots for them to hide in. 

Hope this helps


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Well, I originally had 9 shrimp and 2 were females, they both berried, but neither produced any babies (which I was told is not uncommon for first-time shrimp moms). Since then, I lost one shrimp that I know of, but don't know if it was a male or female. The little guys are managing to stay VERY well hidden in this tank and I haven't even seen them in a week or two.


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## Sploosh (Nov 19, 2012)

I would say you'll start to see some babies fairly soon. There is a possibility the previous eggs did hatch - if the adults are able to hide that well - the fry should be next to impossible to find.
In my community tank, I know there's shrimp fry - I haven't actually seen one in over 3 months. The population keeps climbing though 
I personally would wait it out - you might have more shrimp than you know what to do with soon.....
I found they berry/hatch once every 3-4 weeks, takes 2-3 months before the fry are breeding.


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

I currently have guppies, PFR's, Norman's lampeyes, and Getrudae rainbows in a 15 gallon tank. It is heavily planted and babies often make it through to adulthood. I like the community feel of the tank.

Best Regards,

Stuart


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Sploosh said:


> There is a possibility the previous eggs did hatch - if the adults are able to hide that well - the fry should be next to impossible to find.


I know at least one of the females dropped all of her eggs.. I watched her do it, lol. But you're right, I'm sure it's possible that there could be little ones hiding out. I hope so anyway!


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Put moss in your tank, lots of them. They will hide there and feed off the microorganisim and then they will grow. Put a sponge pe-filter at your intake or else they could get sucked into your filter. If you dont have it, just tie some filter floss around the intake may work.
I would not get amano as they are bigger. Yellow shrimps are nice, you can have lots of them in a 10 gallon.
You dont need to get a lot if you want more, jsut get a couple females with a saddle and you shold be good.
Bump up your hardness with equilibrium, they like minerals from how I understand it, so do your guppies.
Have fun!


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## sunshine_1965 (Aug 16, 2011)

The shrimp fry are so small that they are almost impossible to see until they get a bit bigger. Usually take a couple weeks. I have not had much luck breeding my yellows but my RCS & PFR are breeding like crazy. Make sure you have a prefilter on your filter intake so the babies do not end up inside the filter. Good luck.


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## Shiyuu (Apr 9, 2011)

My RCS berries all the time, but I never saw the shrimp fry... It's been like that for 1/2 year already... 
But probably becuz I got couple assassin snails in the tank.... lol

Other members told me to remove the assassin snails, and fry will pop~
So yeah... don't put assassin snails in there, you should be fine~


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## Smallermouse (Jan 28, 2012)

Do assassin snails eat shrimp? I always thought they ate pond snails.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Actually, my Amano Shrimp ate my assassin snails...


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## fxbillie (Dec 12, 2010)

My crs used to die one after another slowly, but after I remove the AC outside filter and just use air stone, they explode. Have about 100 of them now.


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## TigerOscar (Sep 10, 2012)

fxbillie said:


> My crs used to die one after another slowly, but after I remove the AC outside filter and just use air stone, they explode. Have about 100 of them now.


I am fascinated by shrimps, I want to get more and perhaps breed them as well. pass along some of your routines if you don't mind. Perhaps I can even buy some of your many shrimpys and i can start a colony of my own.


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## lar (Apr 21, 2010)

just got 25 cherry yesterday. I have tried to breed them couple years ago with no luck. I want to give another shot.


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