Newbie, I'm thinking about getting some shrimp.. suggestions?

[Colin_T]

The rasboras eat shrimp too, in fact any fish that is big enough will have a go at shrimp with the exception of algae eating fish. Algae eaters will eat dead shrimp but don't actively hunt the live ones

There is another option, rather than getting small shrimp, how about some of the bigger shrimp (Macrobrachium species) or even small freshwater crayfish (aka crawfish). It depends on which country you live in but Macrobrachium are found in most tropical areas around the world and there are freshwater crayfish in virtually every country with freshwater creeks or rivers.

Even the common glass or ghost shrimp would probably be ok and are cheap, you might even be able to collect your own if you find a clean creek or river. They hide in the grass growing in the water along the side of the bank.

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Potential tank mates for tiger barbs and scissortail rasboras include: big tetras like Congo Tetras, African Longfin Tetras, any barbs that are as big as the tigers or bigger, Filament barbs, Golden Barbs, Giant Danios. Maybe blue, gold, pearl or kissing gouramis. Bumblebee or Hoplosternum catfish, but make sure they have something to hide under during the day.

 

[NickAu]

Heres a comprehensive list of fish that are safe with shrimp

1. Otto

 

[Colin_T]

Heres a comprehensive list of fish that are safe with shrimp

1. Otto

LOL

 

[seangee]

Heres a comprehensive list of fish that are safe with shrimp

1. Otto

Was going to suggest that I have CPD with mine. But then I remembered I had to create extra hiding spaces because the little cherries like nothing better than launching themselves out of their nooks and crannies to chase the fish

 

[Leinhit]

There is another option, rather than getting small shrimp, how about some of the bigger shrimp (Macrobrachium species) or even small freshwater crayfish (aka crawfish). It depends on which country you live in but Macrobrachium are found in most tropical areas around the world and there are freshwater crayfish in virtually every country with freshwater creeks or rivers.

Even the common glass or ghost shrimp would probably be ok and are cheap, .

Alright, now we re getting somewhere, I didn't know there were bigger shrimp so I will research these, thanks! I'm in the U.S.

Dumb question.. Shrimp eat their own food food out of one of those petri dish looking clear dishes?

I'm on the hunt for shopping for those bigger shrimp now.. does Amazon have them?

and I will print that fish lost for my next trip to petco

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[Colin_T]

There are a number of freshwater crayfish that naturally occur in the US, they are sold as crawfish tho. They are the same thing just slightly different name. Most petshops carry them or can order them in for you.

The Macrobrachium are native to Indonesia, New Guinea & Australia. Good petshops should be able to order them in from time to time.

Shrimp & crayfish/ crawfish are general scavengers that eat plant or animal products. If you drop a fish pellet to the bottom of the tank they will eat that. Most of them are nocturnal so hide in caves, plants or under rocks during the day, and come out at night. If there is lots of cover (plants, ornaments) in the tank they will be more willing to come out during the day.

 

[thrujenseyes]

Heres a comprehensive list of fish that are safe with shrimp

1. Otto

hahaha funny and sadly close to true, although I have had a wonderfully peaceful existence (knock wood) with my neocardinia and ember tetra.
No one bothers anyone and everyone is active, out and about all day long.
Basically any fish that can fit a shrimp in its mouth will have at it.

But if you have tons of live plants and give the shrimp a safe place to hide they will multiply and you can usually keep a nice little colony even if you do have a fish or two that pick them off.

As stated above, mixing colors will eventually lead back to wild type coloring (brown). I actually have multiple colors but I carefully selected each of mine knowing they're male (which is very difficult). And I keep waiting for the day that I discover I was wrong (yet that hasn't happened...again knock wood).

You can however mix species as they won't breed so you're safe from wild type offspring but that gets into really being careful with water quality as they tend to have slightly different needs.

I also have a Amano shrimp which is much bigger than the dwarf shrimp. He's awesome.

 

[Leinhit]

So I finally made the trip to the pet store in the city and I ended up purchasing additional tiger barbs for a total of six.

I also identified my other fish as a rasbora and purchase another three of those for a total of six.

I then purchased a blue gouramis, sorry about spelling,.

Interesting enough I asked if I could buy some Barb's other than tiger to have other things to look at, they told me yes but they would not school together since they did not look the same. Seems like fish are kind of racist.

They did not offer any large shrimp only had the small ones, they did have ghost shrimp cheap enough that I could have bought as an experiment however I was running out of time and they could not actually catch the little guys so I opted just to wait until I return and I'll purchase a bunch and see how it goes.

I figured at $0.50 a ghost shrimp I don't care if they get ate but it would be a nice experiment.

They said they they have never heard of ordering the large macro shrimp so I will have to keep looking. I asked about buying crayfish and they said they had them but they required Brack-ish water.

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[Colin_T]

Freshwater crayfish/ crawfish are normally purely freshwater but some will tolerate brackish water. If you can find out what species they have, then google them and find out where they naturally occur. If they live in the upper reaches of rivers then they are freshwater. If they live in lower reaches or estuarine areas then they need some salt.

There are also marine crayfish but they live in the ocean and get quite big.

 

[Essjay]

Unfortunately, tiger barbs and gouramis are not a good mix, for 2 reasons.
Tiger barbs are boisterous fish which will stress sedate fish like gouramis.
Gouramis have long 'feelers' (modified pectoral fins) which tiger barbs will nip, stressing the gourami even more.


Fish are not racist. The other barbs are different species, so it would be like us mixing with chimpanzees and gorillas, or even cows. However, there are are several different colours of tiger barbs, which would shoal together. Besides orange with black stripes, there is a pale orange with white stripes (the albino form), an almost black colour, a dark green, and a pale silvery blue. I have seen orange/black stripes, orange/white stripes and dark green forms in several shops, though not the others.