Freshwater Shrimp?

Hawkian

OK so I've heard many talk about freshwater shrimps and now I'm curious. How many types are there? how big do they get? How many per tank should someone get? What do they eat?

So many questions...

Angel079

A ton of different ones, not so much variation in the bodies like in the fish world, but in coloration, anything blue, green, red, red/ white, white, clear, orange ....TONS

Here's a good site that has some on them with pictures Blue Pearl Shrimp
Also if you're interested in keeping different once, make sure to check here which you can house together and which you can't Dwarf Shrimp Compatibility Chart - Freshwater Shrimp - TheShrimpFarm.com

Personally I use 10g's to be set up for shrimp only. For one I do this cause many fish will regard them as food, so not only do you get rid of your shrimp, but also you don't have no babies that way. Second reason, the very first shrimp I had with some Guppy way back when I then moved to a 10g alone and the change in the behavior made me have shrimp-only tanks after that. They get so active if no predators are around and I find it bunch fun to watch them. Specially if you use some dark sand as substrate, so for one their colors look better and for two them lil guys working & sifting through the grain of the sand is fun to watch.

Depending on which exact shrimp you plan on getting, they grow anywhere's from 1-2" long.

For food I always use dried pumpkin, sperulina pills, or lil bottom feeder tab's; they will "clean" the ground for any left over flake food too. But just like fish are, a good diet makes a healthy & shiny colorful shrimp.
If you wanna house them with fish, offer them hiding places to not permanently stress them out. As far as how many, I usually start out with a gang of 10 shrimp per 10g tank and let nature do the rest from there.

My personal fav's are Red Cherry's and Crystal Red's. Often found in stores (here at least) are ghost shrimp.

Oh and when you do that, just as a hint/ friendly advise...Allow your existing tank to be WELL established first, they do not do well in newly set up tanks. They also don't appreciate tanks that get administered lots fert's and the Filter's is usually their death sentence, so either cover the intake up with a fineeee netting or place them ideally in a tank with a sponge filter (that's what I have, works great).

Hope this helps out for the moment

Fishin Pole

good post by Angel, but one thing worth mentioning also, do NOT mix the different color variations of the Neocardinia species of shrimp.........They will breed together and the offspring will be colorless............When you set your shrimp tank up, place a few fish in it for a few months to season (or establish), then remove the fish and stock your shrimp........Alot of plants are a very good idea also..........Nana Grass has worked well for me, as the shrimp climb all over it..........Given a little time you will literally have hundreds of shrimp........I posted a few pics of my blue pearl shrimp tank.........Its been up and running for over 2 years now and they are thriving!

Attached Images

	10 blue shrimp-overall tank shot 01.jpg (117.5 KB, 32 views)
	10 blue shrimp-feeding 01.jpg (108.3 KB, 31 views)
	10 blue shrimp-pregnant female 02.jpg (94.2 KB, 32 views)

Angel079

That's why I posted him a compatibility chart

Niceee tank fishing pole!!! Love the Stargrass, but I can't find it here anywhere so changes are atm, my new shrimp will have to go w/out. REALLY love the coloration of your guys! You don't by chance want to hand some off next year do you?

Another thing they really love is fall leaves, collect them, biol them, dry 'em and put a few in the tank ever once in a while.

Fishin Pole

Well we have heat paks and bags on order for shipping.....Should arrive early next week.......we are gonna do a trial run to a member from California to see how the shrimp do thru shipping......Once i feel comfortable on shipping them, i will be listing some for sale on the classified section of the forum.....If you order from us, i will throw in some of the nana grass for you.....The nana grass in that tank, started from a 2 inch piece, it grows like a weed with no intervention or ferts.........

Angel079

I know, love the stuff, had it int he prior shrimp & cray tanks - Gotta love it and them guys loved it too for climbing lol
For the moment the tank i think is definitely not established enough, its been cycled and going for few weeks now, but IMO that is too immature for shrimp just yet, so maybe if you still have some next year, then I feel more confi putting them in and be sure they're happy to

Mikaila31

I like cherry shrimp.

Here's one of my females.

Hawkian

Wow guys! That tanks looks amazing FP!

And.. Mikaila... I like that shrimp!

Thanks for the replies all.