Do you have Cherry Shrimp?

[Fishmanic]

As the population grows the rate of reproduction decreases. When the population decreases the reproduction rate goes back up so over time the population is fairly stable. Unlike guppies they are not wired to reproduce at all costs.

Thanks for the info. Glad to hear that.

 

[Essjay]

I have a 6-ish gallon cherry shrimp tank. The colony started in 2013 in a 54 litre tank with small fish but I had to close that tank, catching 92 shrimps from adult to new born shrimplets. The shrimps were put in my main tank. Then my last betta died and I caught as many shrimps as I could find and moved them into the current tank. I have no idea how many shrimps are in there as many of them are in the plants.

When cleaning the tank, check the old water for shrimps. Newly hatched babies are tiny and easily sucked up with a siphon. So are adults, come to that.

 

[Fishmanic]

I have a 6-ish gallon cherry shrimp tank. The colony started in 2013 in a 54 litre tank with small fish but I had to close that tank, catching 92 shrimps from adult to new born shrimplets. The shrimps were put in my main tank. Then my last betta died and I caught as many shrimps as I could find and moved them into the current tank. I have no idea how many shrimps are in there as many of them are in the plants.

When cleaning the tank, check the old water for shrimps. Newly hatched babies are tiny and easily sucked up with a siphon. So are adults, come to that.

what do you use for food and how are you feeding them?

 

[Magnum Man]

I'm trying to start a colony in a 10 gallon I'm going to try supplementing my feeders...so, I have some Platy's in there right now as well... I only have one predator fish... so it wouldn't take much to supplement the feeders I'm buying... my thought on the shrimp, is Cherry's will be easy to see when added to the tank to be fed, & in my reading, the shrimp should really be culled to remove all but the brightest colors, to keep the colony bright, and not lose the vivid color... so I'm hoping to target the shrimp with poor color, to use as feeders, when or if I ever get to the point, that I'm netting a fish or two to go into the Bichir tank

 

[connorlindeman]

I don't feed my shrimp at all. There are plenty of naturally occurring food sources in my tanks.

 

[Whiskyfish]

My low tech (light only) 30L shrimp and snail tank.

Been going a couple of months. Started with 10 and no babies yet.

Snails are reproducing quicker.

All occupants feast on algae, biofilm, algae wafers, zucchini and garden peas. Occasional treat of frozen insects when I prepare too much for the Bettas tank.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

@ pheonixking
What did you feed your shrimp. I fear that my larger gravel substrate wont allow much food to sit on the surface.

i fed them a mixture of crab cuisine and fluval bug bites pleco pellets, but they love the crab cuisine. (but they ate any left over flakes/pellets that my fish didn’t eat, that’s why i loved having them around because they were a good clean up crew)

if you have basic aquarium gravel they’ll have no issue digging and finding the food.

 

[Essjay]

I feed my shrimps Dennerle Shrimp King Complete - a small amount every other day. The dose rate is 5 mm of a stick per 30 shrimps. I feed less than that each time.
All that's in this tank is shrimps, one Clithon snail and a few pest snails.

 

[Fishmanic]

I feed my shrimps Dennerle Shrimp King Complete - a small amount every other day. The dose rate is 5 mm of a stick per 30 shrimps. I feed less than that each time.
All that's in this tank is shrimps, one Clithon snail and a few pest snails.

Do you just place the stick food on the substrate? What kind of substrate is in you tank?

 

[Essjay]

I have sand substrate.
I usually crush the portion of stick in a fish food only pestle and mortar, then empty the bits onto the water surface. They sink quickly. If it's put in as a single 1/8 inch piece of stick it takes ages for each shrimp to get some, but if there are lots of bits scattered everywhere, they all get a chance. The bits do fall into the plants as well as onto the substrate, but the shrimps do find every bit.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

You can use any kind of saucer type dish to put shrimp food in, especially since you have a gravel substrate. You can buy specific glass shrimp feeder dishes - some with a long pipe that reaches the surface so you can drop food from the top straight into the dish, but I never bothered buying any of those fancy things! You could use any small dish with a raised edge.

Since it's your five gallon (that has/had the indestructible tetra?) and it's well established with live plants, they'll probably find plenty of food in the tank itself. I did feed my shrimp when the colony was first getting established, but honestly, now I don't! They just find the food they need in the tank. I fed the Shrimp Cuisine foods (or Shrimp King? I forget) but being scavengers, they eat pretty much anything, and aren't fussy!

They never overpopulated the tanks I've had them in, for a few years now. I had the same concern, after keeping guppies, and @seangee assured me that they do self regulate according to how much food and space is available to them, and I've found that to be true in my case as well.

 

[Fishmanic]

I have gravel substrate. What type of substrate do you have. @ Essjay

 

[Fishmanic]

I have gravel substrate. What type of substrate do you have. @ Essjay

 

[Back in the fold]

@Ram419
Maybe your Betta has been eating some of your shrimp.
I just don't want another fry overload like what happened in my 29 gallon which originally had 2 adult BN pleco which spawned and created an expolsion of 48 Pleco fry. I brought most of the Plecos fry to my LFS today. What a relief to rehome them.

Such a problem to have ! We should all have such a problem . Fish so healthy and robust that they reproduce like mice . But , anyway , about the shrimp . I want to hear more from people who have only now acquired them and are just now gaining experience with them . I kinda got a hankerin’ to get some but don’t know the first thing about them . There must be something to them because a lot of folks seem to really like them . They seem , to me , to be prime candidates for their own species only aquarium .

 

[Essjay]

I have gravel substrate. What type of substrate do you have. @ Essjay

I have sand substrate.

They are fine on gravel as well.