Nate McFin

Here is the scoop....
So I ordered 10 assassin snails from a guy on another forum and he accidently sent the wrong package to me. I was supposed to get snails but he ended up sending them to another guy. Instead, I got a box of 50 Red Cherry Shrimp!*&#%$!@
So he said I could ship them out to the other guy and he would pay me for my time as well as shipping or I could have them at a discount. Here is my info
Tank 20 gln cube
pH 7.4 (water is fairly soft though)
Heavily planted
2 watts per gallon of light
Penguin 150 HOB filter
Larger pebble-stone type substrate
I dose ferts as well as excel
Current fish is only 8 Cardinal tetras
Is it possible to keep them in these at all? I have to admit I am pretty hesitant as this was not part of the plan but I feel bad about sending these shrimp all the way across the country in this box. Any info would be very helpful!! I have already labeled the box with his address and will ship it tomorrow unless someone can convince me to keep them. I know NOTHING at all about shrimp!

Jaysee

As long as you have enough cover, they'll be fine with the tetras IMO. Most fish will try and eat cherry shrimp though.

Nate McFin

Is 50 to many for a 20 gln though? I knw I dont have much of a bioload right now but that seems like alot of shrimp!

iloveengl

I had a single rcs in a tank with gups, mollies, and a honey gourami. He was fine. He hid in plants and whatnot and then sometimes out of the blue he'd come zooming out and fly all over the tank. It was cool. They're easy to take care of - they eat leftover food particles off the substrate. I'd say keep them...but they're really difficult to come by in my area, so having an accidental box of 50 rcs would be like striking gold. It may different in your area. It's really up to you.

*I don't know if the copper in plant fertilizer will kill the rcs, but that's a possibility. Hopefully someone can comment on that.

*I think you'd be fine. You'll actually get to see yours with that many in a 20g. They have a negligible bioload, so that's not much of a concern.

peacemaker92

Hi Nate.

20 rcs? wow! That's a lot. How much did you pay for the snails? I'd agree with iloveeng to keep it. They don't really carry much bioload and I doubt cardinals would try to eat them. As long as you have a lot of plants and hiding spaces to hang out, they'll be happy

For the copper issue, check out this link.

at what point does copper become harmful to shrimp?

Hope it helps. Good luck and keep us updated on your decision.

Nate McFin

Speaking of copper I did use Coppersafe previously in the tank for ICH. Any concerns with previously treating copper?
I am really tempted but the fert thing does make me worry some. The excel especially as it is nasty stuff.

Jaysee

Copper is lethal to inverts, so if you've used anything with copper I wouldn't keep them.

Nate McFin

Thanks for everyones help!
I decided to send the box on to its intended owner. I had never really thought about shrimp in the tank and while it does sound interesting starting out with 50 of them unprepared and uneducated just didnt seem like the best thing for them. I learned alot reading about them and I may give them a try in the future.I appreciate everyones help!

penance

But if you ever do decide to get RCS they really are a lot of fun I did a bit of reading and educating myself before I finally bough my shrimp and it paid off ^^ In fact I would even say they are easier to start off then with fish lol