# Shrimp choice advice please



## David J (May 2, 2010)

Hello shrimp experts! I would like to add some shrimp to my tank, but I thought I had better get some advice from experienced shrimp-keepers.
Tank details: low-tech heavily planted 75g aquarium, Flourish excel added, pH 6.2-6.4, soft water, discus, SAE, tiger loaches, African dwarf frogs, snails, amano shrimp, and assassin snails. I would like the new shrimp to be able to reproduce in my tank. Any recommendations?


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## Tn23 (Apr 21, 2010)

I would recommend Cherry shrimp as they are easy and very low maintenance however seeing that your pH is soo low, you might be able to keep some Crystal red shrimp as well. However the other fish might go after the offsprings but it seems like your tank is heavily planted which should give some of them a high chance to survive.


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

If you have frogs, they're gonna eat any babies you will get in the future, if not the adults too. The larger shrimp like mountain fan shrimp might work though.


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## wsl (Apr 21, 2010)

Don't discus happily munch on any smaller shrimp as well? I'd say that really limits your choices. Then again, if you get a large enough number of cherries, they might be able to outbreed any losses I suppose.


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

i would agree with the others..cherries are pretty hardy..and not that expensive..they reproduce pretty fast too...and since your tank is heavily planted...but u have some other tankmates that might munch on the shrimps and their babies....maybe get lots of them like the other member said..might be able to sustain the population..just make sure the other tankmates are adequately fed..u should be ok


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## David J (May 2, 2010)

*Thank you!*

Hello all
Thank you for the information. Cherry, Crystal, and Mountain Fan are the suggestions I will pursue. I will try to remember to keep you updated as to what happens. BTW I have never seen my discus, or any of my other fish show any interest in the amano shrimp thankfully.


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

David J said:


> Hello all
> Thank you for the information. Cherry, Crystal, and Mountain Fan are the suggestions I will pursue. I will try to remember to keep you updated as to what happens. BTW I have never seen my discus, or any of my other fish show any interest in the amano shrimp thankfully.


haha...amanos do not breed easily..so good chance babies wouldn't survive anyways(even though u see berried shrimps)..and plus..amanos are pretty big and "feisty"...


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## wsl (Apr 21, 2010)

Yeah, amanos are a lot bigger than RCS/CRS. Crystals are a pretty big investment though. You might want to just get cherries first and see how they fare with their tankmates first. I don't think you should have a problem with mountain fan since they get larger than the amano.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

My word of advice with those tank mates is don't invest in Crystal Shrimp... Just because those tank mates don't eat the bigger amano shrimp doesn't mean they won't happily munch on CRS\CBS.

Cherry shrimp are the way to go if you're looking for breeding, and are relatively low priced (50 cents to $1.50 each). They'll get eaten, but they're cheap enough and will breed enough that their populations should hopefully not get desimated.

Mountain fan shrimp (as they are bigger) are a good way to go, however they won't breed as easily as cherries in such a hostile environment.


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## David J (May 2, 2010)

Thank you for the advice. A couple more questions occurred to me;

1. Where do you get the lowest-priced cherry shrimp?

2. Have BCA members had success breeding fan shrimp?

Thanks in advance.


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## wsl (Apr 21, 2010)

Hmm if I recall correctly, fan shrimp require similar conditions as amano to breed (meaning their young need brackish water to survive), so it's probably hard to breed them in captivity. I don't know if anybody here has managed to do it.

As for cheap cherry shrimp, I'd check the freshwater livestock classifieds. Members here sell them for a lot cheaper than your LFS is likely to offer.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

1) You'll get them here in the livestock classifieds from $1-3.50, much cheaper than your local fish store.

2) IF mountain shrimp are like amanos, they're difficult to breed in my opinion.

If I were you, I'd make a seperate shrimp tank. You can get a 10 gallon fully equiped if lucky for $20-30 off of our equipment classifieds. And you could be up and running in no time. I'd buy cherries to start, and breed those, get used to them, and then move on to Crystal Red Shrimp (upgrading your substrate to ADA Amazonian II or flora base).

If you're looking to breed shrimp, that's the only way I would suggest trying it. I've come to found I prefer my shrimp tank over my planted tank with my fish in it funnily enough.


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

i agree with the others...invest in a small shrimp only tank...get some cherries off the other members(they sometimes post it in the fresh water livestock classified)...buy a small tank..grab a little bit of substrate..add some easy to grow plants..and a small filter with meshed intake or a sponge filter...heater and thermometer...light....some food for the shrimps..and you are pretty much good to go. let the cherries reproduce a bit...then put some of the cherries into the bigger tank if u like....but keep some in the shrimp tank...if you are ready, then upgrade to bigger tank..or add other types of shrimps into the shrimp tank(crystals, green..tiger...yada) btw..read up on the shrimp compatibility before mixing the shrimps up.


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## David J (May 2, 2010)

Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it!


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## Adz1 (Apr 21, 2010)

David J said:


> Thank you for the advice. A couple more questions occurred to me;
> 
> 1. Where do you get the lowest-priced cherry shrimp?
> 
> ...


i would say the lowest priced cherry shrimp are right here at BCA.

and have not heard anyone breed fan shrimp.

also what happen to your mess of cherrys Dave?


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## David J (May 2, 2010)

I got some cherry shrimp from April. The larger ones are doing well, but the bonus babies were only a bonus for my fish!


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Do you think you'll be getting a 10 gallon and start up your own shrimp tank?


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

i think for RCS..u can even use a 5 gallon as long as theres proper filtration and all..i have heard people put the shrimps in a jar..hahaha


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## David J (May 2, 2010)

No more tanks.
No more tanks.
No more tanks.


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