Cherry Shrimp Tank

[makatak123]

Lately I have beed wanting to set up a Cherry Shrimp Aquarium. I have a few question before i get started: Where can I buy Cherry Shrimp? What plants to they like? Food they eat? Fish they are compatible with? What kind of light they need for the shrimp and plants? And one final one can i make one in a 5 gallon aquarium or less? Thanks for the help!!

[armthehomeless]

Lately I have beed wanting to set up a Cherry Shrimp Aquarium. I have a few question before i get started: Where can I buy Cherry Shrimp? Many people have them locally including myself. Fish Gallery currently has a tank full of them as well.What plants to they like? Anything will work really . . . they don't need plants. Shrimplets have a greater survival rate with lots of plants IME . . . especially if there are fish in the tank as well. Food they eat? They'll eat pretty much anything. I feed mine flake, spirulina pellets, NLS pellets, and shimp pellets.Fish they are compatible with? Not many. Microrasboras should be fine. I keep guppies in with mine. They don't eat the adult shrimp, but will pick off the shrimplets. What kind of light they need for the shrimp and plants? The light depends onthe plants - not the shrimp. And one final one can i make one in a 5 gallon aquarium or less? Yes. Thanks for the help!!

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[mnemenoi]

Where can I buy Cherry Shrimp? Quite a few folk on here have/sell them and some stores stock them regularly (Houston Aquatics, Fish Ranch 2, ect.)

What plants to they like? They appreciate nearly any plant, though I have found that they do great when given copious amounts of Java moss or any variant.

Food they eat? They mostly consume algae and bio-film, but any spirulina based sinking tablet will do. There are quite a few shrimp specific foods available, I myself use Shirakura.

Fish they are compatible with? That depends upon the amount of offspring you wish to have. O-cats are the only safe bet, nearly any other fish will consume their young (about brine shrimp sized). Micro rasbora, Endlers, Celestial Danios, Threadfin Rainbows, and Pygmy Corydoras have all been kept with them with good success, but it depends on the amount and cover you provide for the shrimp. They do reproduce quite rapidly and a few of the above mentioned can keep a colony in check and will still likely grow with time.

What kind of light they need for the shrimp and plants? The shrimp do not require any, but your plant selection will. Low light plants (Crypts and moss) do not require much beyond a normal hood lamp, while High light plants will require much more. I would recommend starting low and working your way up as you decide what works in your tank. If you can get a higher spectrum bulb replacement for a standard it helps (6000K-8000K). Most hardware stores sell plant growing bulbs that are perfect and cheap.

And one final one can i make one in a 5 gallon aquarium or less? Yes, I have had them in as little as 1 gallon, though your colony is limited in growth and any additional residents at that point. 2-3 gallon pico tanks are great for them.

Hope that helps and feel free to ask away should you have any other questions, I'm certain that quite a few others will weigh in as well.

[makatak123]

I have 2 of these 1.5 gallon aquariums laying around that i got for free and was wondering if i can put some use into this. Should i use its little filter and put a sponge over its intake or use a sponge filter?

http://source-www.petco.com/assets/product_images/0/046798291329contentsB.jpg

[mnemenoi]

A sponge over the intake would be fine, honestly they appreciate a tank with some "age". I'd recommend setting it up and running it for a few months and tossing some moss in it. Then after it gets cycled and starts developing a bit of scum on the walls and algae you will be set for adding shrimp to it. A simple pair will explode into dozens in a few months under the right conditions and they love the water here or some bottled water.

[makatak123]

I was thinking of making it look kinda like these 2 tanks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_1QdBRum08&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT32u2sxfD4&feature=related

[fishman1]

if you plan to have tanks like those which has dhg or dwarf hairgrass prepare to use lots of lighting and use some co2 to fight the algae

[reetblak]

It depends on the amount you wish to have offspring. O-Cat is the only safe bet that almost all other fish will consume their young . Micro rasbora, Endlers, celestial Danios, Threadfin rainbow and Pygmy Corydoras are reserved and they have good success, but it depends on you and payment of the amount provided by the shrimp.