Lots of shrimp questions

[PUNISHER VETTE]

I was reading someone elses bio on their tank and they had a 50g tank with about 25 Amano shrimp in there among other things.

At one point i had 3 and haven't seen all them at once in a while but they might just be hiding. I was thinking about getting a bunch more of those to help with my algae. whats a good number to keep algae to about....ZERO!?

I was also wanting to get a LOT more cherry shrimp and maybe some blue pearl shrimp but didn't know if all 3 went well together and if they would do okay in a tank like mine. I bought a bunch of cherry shrimp from Algenco a while back and i think they might have just been too small as i can only see maybe 4 or so at a time.

Now that i have my 30g up and running without any fish in there i was thinking of getting a ton more and seeing if i can get a population running this time.

[kaoticice]

I'm not an expert about this, but sometimes mixing shrimps are not a good idea. Both the blue pearl shrimp and the cherry shrimps comes from the same family (neocardina) and thus it has a chance of interbreeding with each other. though, I'm pretty sure you're aloud to keep cardina and neocardina species together.

[richberstler]

I agree, dwarf shrimp will interbreed. Not from experience, but from everything I read when I wanted to mix like you. Amano, Ghost, and one of the dwarfs will work.

HOWEVER...

My experience with CRS, they are the only ones which will reproduce like guppies. If you have plants which will allow the REALLY small babies to hide, you can keep them forever.

I got 30 or so from Algenco a year or so ago for 1 tank and now I have 50+ in 3 tanks EACH! The others you get from stores (Ghost/Amano) require brackish water for young. The CRS/red warf, or whatever you find them as, will do well anywhere you have a healthy tank with plants for hiding (I used Hornwort)

They clean everything along with my snails. I haven't had to seriously change water since adding both (snails/shrimp) in almost a year.... But I also have live plants.

Somehow it all works out for me. But never assume. i always test the water.

Hope that helps!

[PUNISHER VETTE]

I'm not too concerned with interbreeding because that means at least they're breeding.. unlike the ones i have now. I guess i can get just cherry ones and leave it at that but i liked the blue looking ones as well and figured i'd ask. I know i even got a pregnant cherry and obviously they didn't make it or i would have seen the new ones by now.

I'll probably just go with cherry and keep it simple. Plus i'll keep them in my 30g till they are big enough and reproducing in there to allow a proper survival.

What do you think the proper number of Amano shrimp would be for a 110g tank?

I think i'll get the few cherrys i have now out of the big tank and see if i can at least keep them alive in the 30g.

[Sasquatch]

Well, I have 8 amanos in a 10g ... so whatever you budget can handle? :laugh1blue: You can easily have 3 dozen in such a large tank ... but around here they're 3$ each, which would run about 120$ with taxes.

If you can get them small, amanos will live in your tank several years. But be certain your lid is on tight and there aren't any gaps. We've had a few escapees from our tank and if you don't notice it right away ... they stick something nasty.

[PUNISHER VETTE]

Yeah i have floating plants now so i try to keep my water line about 4-6in from the top so you're able to see those. I've seen them swimming around the tank and don't doubt they could get out if the water was higher.

[Sasquatch]

Yeah i have floating plants now so i try to keep my water line about 4-6in from the top so you're able to see those. I've seen them swimming around the tank and don't doubt they could get out if the water was higher.

Be careful anyways, they can climb up airlines or the hoses from canister filters .... but with 4"-6" of space, they should get the idea and head back down. :c2:

[richberstler]

[QUOTE=PUNISHER VETTE]I know i even got a pregnant cherry and obviously they didn't make it or i would have seen the new ones by now.QUOTE]

Don't be so sure they're not hiding somewhere. When I had my first batches of babies I actually had to go from store to store looking for a magnifying glass. You can see them with the naked eye, but they are really tiny.

Which brings me to my cautionary suggestion: Most filters will suck in babies if you don't cover the intake with a sponge or cheese cloth. I cut up a sponge for my shrimp tank, keeping it as thin as possible for the water to intake properly. My 20long I actually found super cheap gloves at the dollar store made of cloth. 6 pair for a buck and all i do is replace really old coverings with another cut off finger.

Just be sure to check these frequently because they clog with debris and algae in a few weeks to a month.

Happy shrimpin'!

[richberstler]

In case the question came up, here is a quick shot of the gloves I bought, when they stretch over the intake, it looks like fishnet.

[PUNISHER VETTE]

shrimp should be here tomorrow and i'm excited.

I'll work on a filter cover just to be sure.

[kaoticice]

Usually... interbreeding will result in batches with wild-strain color which is pretty much colorless(hint of brown i think) and transparent. Not sure about it though.
But good luck with your cherry shrimps, they do breed like rabbits. I have about 10+ big frys + more tiny ones + more berried females in a 3 weeks time frame :c1: