freshwater shrimp?

[finfayce]

what do freshwater shrimp help with in a freshwater fish tank?

 

[otterblue]

They are pretty good at being cleaners - eating leftover food, dead plant matter & some algae.

 

[finfayce]

They are pretty good at being cleaners - eating leftover food, dead plant matter & some algae.

what kind of shrimp are best?

 

[otterblue]

what kind of shrimp are best?

Amano shrimp, also called ghost shrimp, are the better cleaners & larger and hardier than the other species. Their downfall is that they are less colorful.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Amano shrimp, also called ghost shrimp, are the better cleaners & larger and hardier than the other species. Their downfall is that they are less colorful.

Amano shrimp and Ghost Shrimp, (also known as Glass Shrimp) are different species.
There are also Tiger Shrimp, which are also clear, but with vertical striping. I've learned sellers seem to get their clear shrimps mixed up.
That said, the point still stands in that shrimp are essentially scavengers and will help clear up organic waste. They're also good for most types of algae control.
HOWEVER, if you're only looking for species that may prove useful as tools, doing stuff that you should really be doing yourself, then you'll eventually be disappointed in the hobby.

Whilst so-called 'algae-eaters' exist and are sold as such, if you don't address the actual cause of the excess algae, (excess nutrients and light), then algae eaters will not effectively address the issue.

I have shrimps in my tank to provide activity/life in the lower reaches of the tank and simply because they are so interesting to watch. Getting it right also means that they are self-perpetuating, which is a bonus.
(Note that I've since learned that they are active throughout the tank, at all levels).

 

[otterblue]

Amano shrimp and Ghost Shrimp, (also known as Glass Shrimp) are different species.

My mistake.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

what kind of shrimp are best?

Amano's, Ghost shrimp and Neocaridina (such as Cherry Shrimp) are all good. Amanos are a little better for eating algae and decaying plant matter but generally they are just there to look pretty. Neocaridina are good in that they will rapidly breed and they are great at finding and removing all the little bits of left over food that your fish might miss.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

My mistake.

No worries.
Like I said, sellers themselves get confused.
Having acquired Neocaridina Cherry Shrimp, I deliberately went for the Amano Shrimp, Caridina multidentata, so that they wouldn't interbreed and overrun the tank, (I'd learned that Amano can't breed in a freshwater tank).
I was then surprised to find clear shrimplets swimming around and had to wait until they grew a tad to be able to identify them. These turned out to be Ghost Shrimp, Palaemonetes, and, as these have grown, I've been able to see that some of these are actually Tiger Shrimp, Caridina mariae!

 

[Dajuyu]

My mistake.

Easier to differentiate Amano Shrimp are always more expensive than Ghost Shrimp. As Ghost shrimp are also sold as a feeder food for fishes .

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Easier to differentiate Amano Shrimp are always more expensive than Ghost Shrimp. As Ghost shrimp are also sold as a feeder food for fishes .

Whilst that may be the case in Malaysia, over here in Blighty, neither Pets at Home, Maidenhead Aquatics or my small local fish shop sell any 'feeder' anythings.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Whilst that may be the case in Malaysia, over here in Blighty, neither Pets at Home, Maidenhead Aquatics or my small local fish shop sell any 'feeder' anythings.

One of my local Maidheads sell glass shrimp specifically as feeders so YMMV.

 

[otterblue]

One other thing: I've only had neocaridina davidi (cherry shrimp) and I've found, in my experience, that they will hide a lot if there are fish in the tank. I rarely see mine. Some people may have different experiences though.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Some people may have different experiences though.

As my journal and accompanying videos suggest...I have an almost opposite set of behaviours in mine. All species very active, throughout the day.

 

[finfayce]

Amano shrimp, also called ghost shrimp, are the better cleaners & larger and hardier than the other species. Their downfall is that they are less colorful.

hi and thanks to all for shrimp info.
i have a friend in south carolina,US that volunteers to monitor sea turtle nests during the nesting season. something she told me is quite startling! they found a newly hatched sea turtle with no eyes. ghost shrimp nearby had gotten to it! before it made it to the sea. rather than kill the poor little thing they put him a nearby sea water pond ( overflow water). to this day i wonder about that. it has joined the other 2 things in my memory that make me cry. ok enough said- you guys aren’t psychiatrists
but are freshwater shrimp going to eat the eyes of my small darter fish who live near bottom of tank? darters can swim but mostly hop- ( i guess Google would describe it better).

 

[otterblue]

hi and thanks to all for shrimp info.
i have a friend in south carolina,US that volunteers to monitor sea turtle nests during the nesting season. something she told me is quite startling! they found a newly hatched sea turtle with no eyes. ghost shrimp nearby had gotten to it! before it made it to the sea. rather than kill the poor little thing they put him a nearby sea water pond ( overflow water). to this day i wonder about that. it has joined the other 2 things in my memory that make me cry. ok enough said- you guys aren’t psychiatrists
but are freshwater shrimp going to eat the eyes of my small darter fish who live near bottom of tank? darters can swim but mostly hop- ( i guess Google would describe it better).

I could be wrong, but I doubt the shrimp will hurt your fish. I've never heard of that happening, except when shrimp are eating a fish carcass (that died for some other reason). Mine never bothered my cories. They may eat fish eggs.