shrimp question

[SConrad]

lol
well i have been thinking of getting some shrimp to clean my 10 gallon tank. right now i have 4 redeyed tetra and 1 dwarf gourami in it... i want to be able to have a lot of shrimp so they'd have to be somthing small and i don't want to spend too much money either*less than 10$

would ghost shrimp do the job well?
thanks--sconrad

 

[Tempestuousfury]

I wouldn't use them as cleaners, though some people do. They still require food, and even if they could digest feces and scraps of uneaten food, they wouldn't remove the nitrogen and the like from the water. You can't buy animals in order to replace regular water changes and maintenance.

Anyways, you could add a few to start, but try taking care of them.

 

[SConrad]

I think I'm going to get a few tomorrow from the LFS....Don't worry, I'm not trying to replace water changes in all I just want somthing that can help out so that the water changes aren't so darastic.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Well, then it's a good idea.

A little diversification and getting creatures in all strata of the tank is a good idea, IMO.

 

[Teelie]

Ghosts will eat nearly anything and everything they can, even algae although they're not what I would call "good" algae eaters.

 

[SConrad]

are there any other kinds of shrimp that would be 'good algae eaters'?

 

[dixaisy930]

I have amano shrimp (although they were sold as algae eating shrimp). I think they do a better job of cleaning, and they eat quite a bit of algae.

There are also cherry shrimp...alot more colorful than amano and ghost, but not sure if they eat algae or not. Hope this helps.

 

[Teelie]

Cherry eat algae. http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...=21&pCatId=1898

 

[parker313]

Do they only eat the green algae or the brown algae too?

 

[Teelie]

According to that site, several types but I don't know what all they'll eat.

 

[SConrad]

I looked at those too and trust me if I could, I would get them...but not when they cost 8$ a piece

 

[dixaisy930]

What about bamboo shrimp? They are considerably larger though, and you said you wanted to have alot of them. Maybe one bigger shrimp would be alright. I don't know much about these shrimp, though. I think they are peaceful, but they sort of creep me out in lfs (being a big shrimp and all lol).

 

[SConrad]

lol, well i jugt bought 20 ghost shrimp for 1.50 so im gonna stick with these unless they all get eaten..
thanks
Steve