How Many Shrimp Is Too Many?

[itsEmma]

Hello everyone,
I hope someone can help, I've gone from previously having a real problem with my Cherries never getting pregnant (as detailed in my Thread "males can't catch females")
to, thanks to all the great advice I was given, having the opposite problem!
I only had about 10 shrimps in a 20 litre (approx 5 US gallon?) tank.
Now, I've had two sets of babies, about 15 each time. The first batch are nearly 2 months old and I presume will start reproducing themselves in a month or so.
So, my question is, how many shrimps will a tank this size house happily? I've searched online and can't seem to find any guidance (as you can with fish stocking)
Do they naturally stop breeding if they are becoming overcrowded and 'regulate' themselves or just keep on going?
I've got lots of plants etc in the tank and do a 20% PWC every week/gravel vac every 2 weeks.
Any help, advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

 

[Initiate]

Shrimp don't have big bioloads so the tank can support heaps of them. They will regulate how much they reproduce usually due to the amount of food being fed. I'm not a shrimp expert though

 

[aussieJJDude]

Yep, agree with above. Keeping shrimp the amount of shrimp will be determined by tank space and also the food available. 'Cut one', and the population will be decrease/stay small.

 

[SFGiantsGuy]

And also, do be mindful and wary if and when it starts to get TOO overcrowded! And provide enough food for everyone. Get some Java moss as well, they always love that stuff. : ) They're also sometimes not like snails: Over population...then less food, means less snails...then more food comes around...more and more and more snails...then less food rolls around...then suddenly less snails. What most people fail to realize is: Even if you have an insane amount lot of snails and/or shrimp, usually after a while, you end up with a comfortable amount. And food usually is a major factor that corresponds to the population count. This usually holds more true with snails though. I agree, shrimp in general are not much of a bio-load. However what's more important in the long run for them is: the tank space.

 

[itsEmma]

Thank you so much everyone , as I said, I wondered if it was the case that they naturally control their own population (maybe that's why there's not much information on stocking levels-it's not necessary, the shrimp just sort themselves out!)
They certainly don't look overcrowded at the moment and I'm very disciplined when it comes to feeding so thank you for the advice that that is a way to help control the population.
Enjoy the weekend!

 

[Junne]

Ive had over 200 + in my 5 gallon at one time ( I weed them out every few months and give them to friends/lfs )
The tank is 2.5 years old now and I am in the process of letting them thin out so I can start another variety.
I also have a ton of java moss ( this was started from a strand I got with the shrimp and it gets weeded out every few months as well as it grows out of control )
The shrimp have very little bioload - I usually clean the tank every 2 weeks without as much as a change in ammonia, etc

 

[itsEmma]

Wow-200!
I certainly don't need to be worrying about overstocking for quite a while then.... I think I'm probably only at around 40.
That's a lovely looking colony you have, that's exactly I'm aiming for!

 

[Junne]

Wow-200!
I certainly don't need to be worrying about overstocking for quite a while then.... I think I'm probably only at around 40.
That's a lovely looking colony you have, that's exactly I'm aiming for!

I started with 4 shrimp and got to about 50-75 in less than a years time! They breed out of control but I noticed after 2 years, the colors started fading ( they were grade A red sakura shrimp ) to a more lighter red ( due to inbreeding ) so that is why I am thinning out the colony now.
I'm going to try my hand at the Blue dream shrimp

 

[itsEmma]

Well, if you have the same success rate with the Blue dreams-you'll soon have another thriving colony,
Good Luck!

 

[Rtessy]

The main stocking guide I've read repeatedly was 10-15 per gallon, but I've just seen that disproven over and over... I remember one person who moved their colony from a 5 gallon to a 20 (I think?) and ended up moving over 500. If it's shrimp only and you have a good deal of plants, just let them do their thing, and good luck!

 

[BillynJennifer]

Since you're having such good luck with reproduction, you can use that as a good excuse to need a new a new tank.

 

[WTFish?]

Hi I started my 5g with 6 (because 15 died the first week) that was in November....those 6 are well into the hundreds now! I’ve been told they will control their own population when overcrowded, not sure, they just keep on doing it, lol...I added an assasin snail due to the bladders that came in with plants, I also have 4 ember tetras in there...everyone is thriving. I noticed a huge population boost when I started using bacter ae...

 

[itsEmma]

The main stocking guide I've read repeatedly was 10-15 per gallon, but I've just seen that disproven over and over... I remember one person who moved their colony from a 5 gallon to a 20 (I think?) and ended up moving over 500. If it's shrimp only and you have a good deal of plants, just let them do their thing, and good luck!

500!!! The numbers are getting bigger!
I'm so glad though, that everyone is pretty much saying 'just leave them to it". I guess Mother Nature knows best!

Since you're having such good luck with reproduction, you can use that as a good excuse to need a new a new tank.

I must admit that did cross my mind-I spotted a sale on some lovely Jewel aquariums last week.... The only problem is, I already have a cupboard full of tanks from previous 'upgrades' and currently have three aquariums, two shrimp, one fish. My partner has threatened to move out if my hobby gets any bigger! (it is taking over the Living Room a bit) I guess I could always move him out instead!!

View attachment 433494 View attachment 433493 Hi I started my 5g with 6 (because 15 died the first week) that was in November....those 6 are well into the hundreds now! I’ve been told they will control their own population when overcrowded, not sure, they just keep on doing it, lol...I added an assasin snail due to the bladders that came in with plants, I also have 4 ember tetras in there...everyone is thriving. I noticed a huge population boost when I started using bacter ae...

They're brilliant!
I'd love to get up to that many!
And I'm certainly going to stop worrying about my little population boom (for now) as it looks like my mini colony still has a very long way to go to get up to these sort of numbers!

 

[Bithimala]

Definitely don't worry about the population, but be warned, you may end up wanting to get a bigger tank for them in time, not for them, but for you Shrimp are great for getting to play with how the tank is set up because they don't destroy how you have it. I have 3 different primarily invert tanks going, a 20, a 29, and a 30. Started them in a 10, but they're always all over the bigger tanks.

 

[Junne]

One thing to remember, while I have had a massive explosion in the almost 3 years I have had these shrimp, the quality after each batch gets degraded over time. Mine started out a deep red and by the 2nd year, I could tell the colors was more "orange" than the reds I had. I had actually thought about buying more of the Red Sakura shrimp from a different breeder to get the quality back up but then decided that I was going to let these thin out and start over with the blue.

 

[itsEmma]

Definitely don't worry about the population, but be warned, you may end up wanting to get a bigger tank for them in time, not for them, but for you Shrimp are great for getting to play with how the tank is set up because they don't destroy how you have it. I have 3 different primarily invert tanks going, a 20, a 29, and a 30. Started them in a 10, but they're always all over the bigger tanks.

I'd LOVE to get a bigger tank for them, but am just running out of room!
I've got my two shrimp tanks (cherry/amano) on our big wooden shelves where my partner houses his CD/DVD collection. As the shrimp tanks have got bigger, I've gradually had to 'weed out' (aka throw away!) more and more of his collection! Think he's finally starting to notice.....

One thing to remember, while I have had a massive explosion in the almost 3 years I have had these shrimp, the quality after each batch gets degraded over time. Mine started out a deep red and by the 2nd year, I could tell the colors was more "orange" than the reds I had. I had actually thought about buying more of the Red Sakura shrimp from a different breeder to get the quality back up but then decided that I was going to let these thin out and start over with the blue.

Yes, I've read that the quality will drop over time. I think that I was lucky with my first offspring as it looked like the female must've mated with one of the redder males (they were just regular cherries from my lfs, nothing fancy.) The babies are actually much redder than most of the original shrimp!
I know that this won't last and will probably end up what you're doing in a couple of years time!