lyndatu

Hello

We ordered and bought two Red Cherry Shrimp for the local pet shop, but they're still young, but not fingerlings, and at the size of about 1.5 cm(0.7 inches). The shop also has a new shipment of neon tetras, and neons are part of my fish list. The two little shrimps are now in my 20 gallon plant tank. I was wondering if I bought a school of neon tetras(1.5 inches in size) and put it in the tank with the shrimp, will the shrimp be harassed or eaten by the neons? Or should I wait until the shrimp has grown to a good size before adding fish? I can't afford losing the shrimp, because they're incredibly rare and expensive in our area! Your replies are appreciated.

carlos413

You should be ok, however the general rule of thumb is if the shrimp fit in a fishes mouth than they could be a potential meal. That being said I have seen people keep neon’s and cardinals and cherry shrimp with no problems. If you want to play it safe wait till your shrimp are close to full grown. Hope this helps good luck!

lyndatu

Hello

Thanks, carlos413! I see that I could keep neons with the juvenile shrimp, but I might do better if I don't introduce the fish just yet. My shrimps are too precious to me!

Although I was wondering if neon tetras also eat shrimp fry. Since I would be keeping only neons and shrimps in my tank, if the shrimps breed, their babies might be consumed by neons, probably mistaking them for baby brine ones. The tank has lots of plants. Will the future fry be safe in the main tank with the neons, or should I set up a separate fry tank?

Thanks in advance!

carlos413

I dont think the shrimp fry will be safe you might get some to survive if you have plenty of hidding places. but i would not hold my breath.

lyndatu

Hello

Ok, thanks. I would set up a separate fry tank to keep the fingerlings safe. I hope I do well on taking care of the shrimp. Thanks again!

Ricardo_NY1

First, you should try to get yourself some more cherry shrimps ......

Take this from someone who keeps neons and dwarf shrimps in the same tank......Neons will harrass the fully grown dwarf shrimps as well. They won't kill it or damage it, but when they swim close, they act like the shrimp are food and chase them.

If your shrimp are 7/10th's of an inch, they should be fine. I've kept shrimp that small around neons and none were ever lost. I do recommend you get a few more shrimp (A dozen). With enough plants and hiding spots, you may get babies to survive and you won't have to spend more money on getting more shrimp.

If I were in your place, an optimum scenario would be to set up a small 5 gallon tank and place my shrimps in it until they have bred so that I don't have to worry about buying more. You can pretty much create a colony of shrimps in a few months, but you're going to need a dozen to get that going. They breed very well. Those two you have are more than likely females if you got them from Petco and such. They get their shrimp from importers which usually send out only the colorful females. It's rare to see any males (Smaller and duller color) at those places. You really need at least 6 shrimps from a breeder who will send you a mix of sexes for you to have a chance at males and females in your batch. Those two you have I am willing to bet are both females.

harpua2002

lyndatu: if you're interested, my husband and I breed cherry shrimp and sell them to other hobbyists. Shoot me a PM if you think you may want some.

Ricardo_NY1

I hope after reading my reply that she does! I'm pretty sure she has two females and is going to need a male. Two is just not enough to guarantee you have both sexes.

harpua2002

Well this is certainly true.

We sell shrimp for $1 per shrimp and ship Priority. It's worked out well so far.

Ricardo_NY1

That is a very fair price......the LFS charge $3-4 per RCS. If she wants to get a colony going, she's going to have to make sure she has males and females......with two, chances are you might be stuck with either two females or two males. At least 6, but a dozen is better.

I btw keep blue pearls, tigers and blue tigers. The blue tiger colony is 14 strong and just started! My fingers are crossed and my $135 are spent!

harpua2002

OMG...... $135! You seem to be a hardcore invert hobbyist, lol. Do you have pics of your shrimp? I have never heard of blue pearls or blue tigers (hubby kept tigers for a while). I'd love to check them out.

I'm glad you think our price is fair. We charge Priority shipping on top of our $1 per shrimp price, and we have received positive feedback overall. I wish we had CRS to sell instead of RCS, but that's the way it goes, lol.

Ricardo_NY1

I'll snap a few............standby.

One photo of where I keep them (Maintenance day), two photos of the tiger shrimps and a couple of some berried blue pearls (One dropped most of her eggs and kept maybe two or three) that I posted here a week or so ago.

The blue tigers are definitely expensive. I have my fingers crossed that I can see a berried female soon. As I was taking the photos, I noticed one died.......so I'm now at 13. He sent 15 but one was DOA in the bag. I think the rest will be ok. So I hope.

A dollar for a RCS is definitely fair in my opinion. That's about what they go anywhere. Why don't you buy a few CRS and get them going? There's plenty of auctions for those going on at AB. Those can get pretty $ based on the fancy grades they market. I think in any grade they are fine. I also have the regular tiger shrimps. I wouldn't consider myself a hardcore with the inverts, but I am looking to increase colony sizes to where I can stock my tanks and sell some off for a profit. Probably in another year or so.

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