Can I Keep Shrimp In My Community Tank?

[Ben M]

i have always liked shrimp and i wondered whether i could keep and possibly breed them in my community tank.
it is a 4ft tank that has been set up for about 18 months, it is not heavily planted, but i'm hoping to add more plants (if my parents will let me), the plants i have are mainly crypts with a couple of taller plants, the fish i have are about 30 small tetras, cardinals rummy noses and serpaes, 5 otto cats, 5 siamese algae eaters, four dalmatian mollies and 4 kribs. would any of these eat the shrimp?

if i could keep shrimp any suggestions of species would be of great help.
and also what could i feed them, and were could i get the food from?

cheers.

 

[Geoff1991]

What kind of shrimp?

If they can fit in a fishes mouth, they will probably get eaten.

 

[mcgrimes]

The shrimp getting pregnant is very possible providing there are places the shrimp feel comfortable, however, when the babies are released, they are tiny, speaking 1 or 2mm. While juvenile shrimp may survive, my experience of freshly born baby shrimps is that they are very active, and with 40 opportunistic mouths on the go, i feel chances will be slim.
Do you ever feed your fish live food? if your fish are comfortable even eating daphnia, then i reckon a baby shrimp will be on the menu.
Im not saying its impossible, but i think you'll need a lot of hiding places/mosses if they are to survive.

 

[saltynay]

They will breed but nothing will survive. Apart from that pretty much any Atyid shrimp species will be fine in that tank.

 

[21rm]

They will breed but nothing will survive. Apart from that pretty much any Atyid shrimp species will be fine in that tank.

Hey saltnay, thanks for that ink. very heplful as ive just added shrimp to my betta tank

 

[Ben M]

i feed frozen food weekly, but never live food except earth worms occasionally.

 

[saltynay]

Pretty much all fish love shrimplets as they are small, nutritious and not particularly hard to catch. Shrimplets survive by large amounts of dense vegetation hence why mosses are good and impenetrable cave systems, then natural selection allows the smartest or strongest to survive. In that tank though I doubt any shrimp will survive to adulthood due to the large amount of small fast fish (tetras) fish that rummage along vegetation (ottos and algae eaters) however a couple may survive from each spawn but not a noticeable amount.

 

[Ben M]

would the original shrimp survive?

and could i catch the baby shrimp and put them in a breeding trap?

 

[Ben M]

are there any particular species that you would suggest that are hardy, cheap, easy to find in shops, will breed readily and don't need any special food or care?
maybe the red cherry shrimp?

 

[Ben M]

are you sure that the kribs wont eat the original shrimp, and could i get the babies to survive by adding more plants and some moss.

 

[saltynay]

There is an edit button.......


The adult shrimp will survive but never really heard of people breeding trapping shrimp don't really see any practical problems with it except that shrimplets are particularly small.

RCS are the cheapest hardy species or Anchialine Shrimp which are available in the ecosystem globes they are pretty much the hardiest shrimp on Earth.

I don't know your fishs temperamnet they might lurve adult shrimp from being fed them previously or may not realise they are food I can only advise with what is the general case. Adding more plants/moss will increase the chance of survival but still I doubt you will be harvesting large populations of shrimp.

 

[Ben M]

thanks, i think i'll go for the red cherry shrimp. i'll add some more plants/moss and hope to breed a few shrimp. i don't want loads, i just find their breeding habits fascinating, and i would like to keep quite a few because i've read that they only live for about a year, so i don't want to have to keep buying them. how many do you suggest that i buy to start off with, for them to breed? and can i just feed them flake food, algae wafers and occasionally blanched veggies such as courgette, peas and broccoli?

 

[saltynay]

How big is the tank?

 

[Ben M]

the tank is 4ft, 216 litres

 

[saltynay]

50-60 and I would contact the member on here called Drewry to get them from he may throw in some black corydoras which are gorgeous!