shrimps

[kenneth_kpe]

well i finally found a local person here who will sell me shrimps and i was just wondering ? do they require special care ? umm i mean do i have to shrimp proof my tank ? you know they might get sucked up into my hob or something ? dunno...

 

[cometcattle]

Here's a great article on shrimp keeping:

http/www.petshrimp.com/articles/keepingshrimp.html

HTH

 

[Teelie]

Off the top of my head the two following things help keep shrimp alive more than anything else.

Iodine: They need this to help when molting. Make sure you have some iodine to add to the water for when they molt.
Hiding places: Several and scattered throughout the tank. Leafy plants, rock caves, driftwood, virtually anything to make crevices or holes will do.

 

[gale]

Everything I have found online says that Iodine is bad for fish. I have read that you can give them Hikari Crab Cuisine to provide the calcium and iodine they need but I can just see all of my fish eating this stuff before the shrimp even realize it's in the tank.

 

[Teelie]

Many shrimp are quite fast to get to food though it depends on the species and fish in the tank. I haven't seen anything about iodine being bad for fish myself though.

 

[smithrc]

one of our amano's cooked itself by climbing into the lights... found it about a week ago when i had the hood off

 

[rdd1952]

Does anyone have any experience with Red Cherry Shrimp? I love the red color of these and I want to add some to my 29 gallon tank . According to what I have read, these are better algae eaters than Amano Shrimp. How many do I need for a 29 gallon? As far as the iodine thing, I have read the same thing about it being bad for the fish. Here is a prettty good link on shrimp:

http/www.azgardens.com/shrimpfactory.php

 

[yvez9]

to know how much shrimp you need you basically have to try

i'd start with 4 or 5

if you feel they're not enough, get 4 or 5 more and so

I have 2 amano shrimp in my 20 gallon
I plan on adding 10 or so

 

[rdd1952]

At AZGardens.com, it says 1 per gallon on amano shrimp and 1 per 1/4 gallon on cherry shrimp. That's 116 shrimp (4 x 29), at $4.59 each (anyone giving out loans). That can't be right. Do you buy yours locally or do you order them? I heard they didn't ship well but no one around here has them in stock.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

iodine ??? hmmmm so i should go and look for shrimp food then ? wont iodine be bad for other catfishes like corydoras ?? hmmm or is it salt ? i dont think iodine and salt are the same thing..... im gonna read that article later when i get home so i dont have to trouble myself by shrimp proofing the tank (you know adding a mesh to the intake of my filter ? anything like that ) hmm i think the shrimps cooking themselves would be tolerable ? i think my tank has lots of hiding places since i heavily planted it .. well i hope they like it haha

 

[fuzzyferret]

I keep shrimp (Amano and Cherry) in a tank with other peaceful tropicals (tetras, corys etc) and find that one of the most important things you do need to do is watch your filter intakes.

I have an internal filter, and find that putting the fine 'wool' filter over the intake vents (squeeze it over the normal sponge that fits in the filter) this works well, as shrimp do tend to feed on the stuff on the intakes. The wool acts as a good prefilter too.

Gale - don't worry about your shrimp not realising Hikari Crab Cuisine is in the tank. Once they have had a piece of that, they turn damn vicious next time you drop it in!
Mine swoop on it as it's falling through the water when I drop it in, like small hawks! And woe betide any shrimp who tries to share! It's mine, mine, mine, mine!!!!

One thing though - shrimp are dirty little beasts (even if they do scoff all your algae) and a good filter and a regular vaccuum is needed for these little beasts!

I must admit though, they are very amusing and I wouldn't be without them now!

 

[kenneth_kpe]

ic ic, so i simply cut out a cirular shape foam with a hollow center and stick the intake of my hob btw i have 2 mollies and a buenos aires tetra, will those fish attack my shrimp ?

 

[rdd1952]

I don't have any mollies so I can't say about them but tetras can be nippy if you have less than 5 or 6 but as long as the shrimp have plenty of hiding places, they shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Teelie]

Iodine is not the same as salt. In fact there is salt with iodine added (usually sea salt IIRC) which means either iodine is safe for fish or safe for saltwater fish only. Either way, I've never heard of iodine being bad for fish but always recommended as an addition for shrimp regardless of fish in the aquarium or not.

 

[rdd1952]

Teelie, can you recommend a iodine additive. I saw something on line about Kents Marine brand but don't want to screw up my tank.