Community Tank Shrimp

I've been enjoying my shrimp's antics and their varying personalities, and I'd really like to get more. Are there any other reasonably hardy shrimp species that you guys would recommend? Right now I have:

Two cherry shrimp
Two amano shrimp
Four ghost shrimp

I don't mind if breeding with the cherry shrimp may occur to create 'wild types'. Anything cherry shrimp size and over is safe in my tank, and my fish never pester my shrimp. My LFS pretty much has all of the 'fancy' colored shrimp.

Thanks!

 

are you wanting for just ornamental? or trying to breed? cuz in a community tank you will never have babies so don't worry about wildtypes in your tank; id be surprise if any babies make it past 2mm. box stores will likely only have what you already have. if you wanted something exotic like crystals, you may have to special order, but even though they look like cherries they are more difficult to keep and they are an expensive feeder for your fish so be wary.

in order to have true success with shrimp, a dozen or so is good to start off with. while mixing shrimp species is fine like youve done, I have noticed they don't seem to thrive and given enough time theyll disappear and you'll be left with one species observed in large population set-ups), but you have so few individuals you may not run into this issue.

now to share, I have a 23gal with only cherries, started with 12 indv, now there's 100s I suspect.

 

are you wanting for just ornamental? or trying to breed? cuz in a community tank you will never have babies so don't worry about wildtypes in your tank; id be surprise if any babies make it past 2mm. box stores will likely only have what you already have. if you wanted something exotic like crystals, you may have to special order, but even though they look like cherries they are more difficult to keep and they are an expensive feeder for your fish so be wary.

in order to have true success with shrimp, a dozen or so is good to start off with. while mixing shrimp species is fine like youve done, I have noticed they don't seem to thrive and given enough time theyll disappear and you'll be left with one species observed in large population set-ups), but you have so few individuals you may not run into this issue.

now to share, I have a 23gal with only cherries, started with 12 indv, now there's 100s I suspect.

I just like to look at them; don't really mind if they're drab and I don't care if they breed or not. I know some species are very sensitive to any nitrates whatsoever and should be kept alone, which is why I'm asking.

Haven't had any of my shrimp disappear yet and they all stick to different areas of the tank. Might get more cherries and see if they increase their population at all.

I checked my LFS's website and they just got shipments of 'Black Sakura Shrimps and Orange Sakura shrimps'. Is this one of the very sensitive types or no?

 

these are highly derived cherry shrimp, so yes they are gonna be a bit more sensitive since they are of inferior genetic stock. with these delicate varieties I cringe a lil at the thought of them being put in a non "shrimp only tank" because harassment can cause sudden death

I'm curious what kind of community fish you have. even neon tetras despite their peaceful demeanor can be ravenous when they spy a small shrimp

 

these are highly derived cherry shrimp, so yes they are gonna be a bit more sensitive since they are of inferior genetic stock. with these delicate varieties I cringe a lil at the thought of them being put in a non "shrimp only tank" because harassment can cause sudden death

I'm curious what kind of community fish you have. even neon tetras despite their peaceful demeanor can be ravenous when they spy a small shrimp

A guppy, three platys, and some corys. It's a 20 high. My fish always keep to themselves, and the cherry shrimp have their own spot; a high silk plant that they love to sit on. I'll look into getting more cherry shrimp as those have done well. Might try breeding them in a free 5 gallon I have. Any tips on breeding and how to tell male from female cherry shrimp?

 

Well I have similar stock as you ( Guppies/Platies/Cory's ) I've tried putting some of my RCS in my main tank and none of them survived past a few weeks. But, I DO have 1 lone Ghost shrimp ( was a freebie hitchhiker ) from a Black Friday sale in 2015!!!! The shrimp is very much alive and hardy; roams the tank like he owns it and no one bothers him. Not sure why - maybe the fish can't see him as easily?????

I have a 5 gallon tank and the RCS just breed. Nothing special added ( temps at 74/75 ) and they breed out of control. The females will have a saddle - that's how I tell them apart.
Here's some examples:


Female


Berried female


Male

 

Well I have similar stock as you ( Guppies/Platies/Cory's ) I've tried putting some of my RCS in my main tank and none of them survived past a few weeks. But, I DO have 1 lone Ghost shrimp ( was a freebie hitchhiker ) from a Black Friday sale in 2015!!!! The shrimp is very much alive and hardy; roams the tank like he owns it and no one bothers him. Not sure why - maybe the fish can't see him as easily?????

I have a 5 gallon tank and the RCS just breed. Nothing special added ( temps at 74/75 ) and they breed out of control. The females will have a saddle - that's how I tell them apart.
Here's some examples:

View attachment 281755 Female

View attachment 281756 Berried female

View attachment 281757 Male

View attachment 281758

Maybe because mine were older before I threw them in? I don't know. I could see babies being eaten, but I don't think my platy could fit one in her mouth and she's pretty big. Maybe the strain at my LFS is a bigger strain of them?

Thanks for the pictures! Do you think my current two are both females? I've never seen them berried, even when they were in their own tank.

 

Maybe because mine were older before I threw them in? I don't know. I could see babies being eaten, but I don't think my platy could fit one in her mouth and she's pretty big. Maybe the strain at my LFS is a bigger strain of them?

Thanks for the pictures! Do you think my current two are both females? I've never seen them berried, even when they were in their own tank.

Well my platy's couldn't fit them in their mouths but that didn't stop them from constantly picking at them and going after them. They probably killed them and then someone else came along and ate them. They never survived but my Ghost is pretty large so he never gets picked on. Plus, anyone that gets close gets whipped with his antennae

From the looks and angle of your pics, they both look like males. the 2nd picture is questionable......

 

Well my platy's couldn't fit them in their mouths but that didn't stop them from constantly picking at them and going after them. They probably killed them and then someone else came along and ate them. They never survived but my Ghost is pretty large so he never gets picked on. Plus, anyone that gets close gets whipped with his antennae

From the looks and angle of your pics, they both look like males. the 2nd picture is questionable......

Maybe I've selective bred the craziness out of my livebearers. LOL My fish never interact with shrimp unless it's an amano trying to drag a shrimp pellet somewhere.
I'll try to get another picture of shrimp #2.

Edit: Got one. I wish I could get better pictures with my phone.

Also, what kind of lighting does Java moss need?

 

View attachment 281766

Haha, yours is so cute! Mine have weird white eyes.

 

Also, what kind of lighting does Java moss need?

My java moss grows out of control. Its in a 5 gallon with a 25 watt CFL bulb. The lights are on a timer for 9 hours a day. I do not use any ferts and usually take out a handful every other month to distribute to other tanks.

 

My java moss grows out of control. Its in a 5 gallon with a 25 watt CFL bulb. The lights are on a timer for 9 hours a day. I do not use any ferts and usually take out a handful every other month to distribute to other tanks.

That's awesome! I just got a big bunch of Java Moss for $5 today!

Sadly my LFS jacked up the prices on the RCS. LFS went from $2.50 each to $3.50 each, and the Petco they were $4 each! No differentiation in the colors, either. My dad said I could order some online, so I'll look into that in the spring when it's warm.

 

You might try aquaticarts - I got my RCS from them back in January/Feb 2016. They also put in the strand of Java moss with the order and this is the strand that grew out of control in my tank in the first picture.
The company is really good about DOA shrimp and replacements. Really nice people to work with!

 

You might try aquaticarts - I got my RCS from them back in January/Feb 2016. They also put in the strand of Java moss with the order and this is the strand that grew out of control in my tank in the first picture.
The company is really good about DOA shrimp and replacements. Really nice people to work with!

I'll check them out and I'll keep an eye out on the forum; I know people here sell RCS sometimes. Thanks for the tip!

 

Well if you lived within 25 miles or so of me I would sell you some of mine for cheap - unfortunately I do not ship ( I usually give them to my lfs for trade on their stock, etc )

 

Well if you lived within 25 miles or so of me I would sell you some of mine for cheap - unfortunately I do not ship ( I usually give them to my lfs for trade on their stock, etc )

Yeah I'm in, TX. Definitely not within 25 miles. lol
Thanks for offering, though! I appreciate that! I'll just keep an eye out on Ebay and here and aquabid and such.

 

You might try aquaticarts - I got my RCS from them back in January/Feb 2016. They also put in the strand of Java moss with the order and this is the strand that grew out of control in my tank in the first picture.
The company is really good about DOA shrimp and replacements. Really nice people to work with!

I looked into aquatic arts. Unfortunately it would be $19 to ship to me. I'm not getting enough shrimp to offset the cost.

 

I looked into aquatic arts. Unfortunately it would be $19 to ship to me. I'm not getting enough shrimp to offset the cost.

Ah too bad... Hope you will find a local supplier - its always best when you can find someone locally - unfortunately most of the good stuff not sold in petsmart/petco have to be ordered. My lfs loves that I bring shrimp and other fish to them and I like to get store credit and stock as well so its a win-win. I'm sure there must be someone in Texas that's close by on FL

 

Ah too bad... Hope you will find a local supplier - its always best when you can find someone locally - unfortunately most of the good stuff not sold in petsmart/petco have to be ordered. My lfs loves that I bring shrimp and other fish to them and I like to get store credit and stock as well so its a win-win. I'm sure there must be someone in Texas that's close by on FL

I did find one person that seems to have a good shipping rate. The price will be better than my LFS as long as I get 7+ shrimp. They had some nice plants, too. I'll just have to wait until they reply to see if it's what I'm looking for.

 

I ordered 20 from aquatic arts in July/aug... I now have well over 200 spread throughout 4 community tanks. I too have been bringing in my extras for credit at lfs. I keep mainly guppies in the community tanks, but depending on the tank there are neons, bristlenose plecos, Siamese algae eaters... I think that's it. Oh, and I have some in a betta tank as well. I've even tossed some (ten to be exact) into my Goldie tank... two are still in there after two months.
Some communities will be fine with shrimp, worth a shot!

 

I ordered 20 from aquatic arts in July/aug... I now have well over 200 spread throughout 4 community tanks. I too have been bringing in my extras for credit at lfs. I keep mainly guppies in the community tanks, but depending on the tank there are neons, bristlenose plecos, Siamese algae eaters... I think that's it. Oh, and I have some in a betta tank as well. I've even tossed some (ten to be exact) into my Goldie tank... two are still in there after two months.
Some communities will be fine with shrimp, worth a shot!

I'll likely be making a shrimp only tank at some point in the future. I can throw any that I don't want in the shrimp tank into my community tank so they can live out a good life.