Shrimp In A 10 Gallon Tank

[Angels777]

I am new to this hobby and am so glad I found this site! I have a 10 gallon planted tank which is currently under the process of a fishless cycle. The sticky on 10 gallon stocking suggestions has helped me tremendously! (WONDERFUL idea to provide that information ) I am going to my local pet stores on Monday to look for some spotted rasboras (6 as suggested) and pygmy cories (4 of them). I am also going to put a Honey Gourami in the tank as well after the cycle has been completed.

My son really wants to add a couple of shrimp in the tank if at all possible. Would it be okay to do so? Or would they overstock the tank?

 

[Tommy Gun]

I cannot really say that I have ever kept a shrimp in a heavily stocked FW tank yet - hence, the potential bioload doesn't matter as much - but I believe that inverts are not usually included within any overstocking measurement....but, of course, within reason. However, I may be wrong about that because, like I said, I have never really been prompted to learn more about FW inverts and their impact; but, I do know that we can, in general and within reason, add copious amounts of inverts to a SW tank without becoming hugely concerned about additional waste production - so, I figured it would be a relatively safe assumption that the same holds true for FW. In fact, just like we might add a lot of inverts to a SW tank in order to compile a 'clean-up crew', a similar thing can be achieved in a FW tank. For example, shortly after starting out in this hobby, I decided it would be cool to see if I could breed Livebearers and to my eventual chagrin, wound up with a boatload of fry...which I would have to overfeed my tank with crushed flake food so that all of the fry could eat (I know, I know...keep in mind that I was very much a 'newbie' at the time). Of course, this meant some flake food would go uneaten; so I added a dozen ghost shrimp to make up for that - which they are very good at (it seems as though they never rest or take a break from constantly eating. I was also advised to add one or more Amano Shrimp to my planted aquarium when I was dabbling in that aspect of the hobby because they are great help with algae and detritus - so perhaps this is something you may be interested in for your planted tank as well.

 

[Angels777]

Thanks. My son will be very happy. I was hoping that adding a few shrimp would not overstock my tank. I think I am going to get 2 ghost shrimp and 1 amano shrimp. That is unless someone advises otherwise.

 

[littlest]

One thing I've noticed, although I love my amano shrimp, it can be quite annoying to have shrimp if you ever need to medicate as a lot of medications are dangerous to shrimp. Just a little word of warning.

 

[Angels777]

Thanks for the warning.I didn't know that. Are shrimp hard to remove from the tank if it needs to be medicated? I have an empty 5 gallon tank that I am not sure what to do with.I think I will use it as a hospital/quarantine tank. Maybe I could put them in there if and when I need to medicate my 10 gallon so the medication doesn't harm them.

 

[Tommy Gun]

Littleist does bring up a good point....but I don't think you would have too much trouble catching shrimp in a 10 gallon tank...even ghost shrimp which can be somewhat hard to see. Additionaly, it is not all medications that you would have to be concerned about...mainly those which contain copper as well as some other products which may be used - for example algae "control" chemicals. Otherwise, you can still treat for Ich and use antibiotics in a tank which holds shrimp...which are arguable the more common meds we may need to use. In any event, I believe the same would apply to any invertebrate, not just shrimp. It can also be said that, through the use of quarantine and other precautionary measures, we can do a lot to ensure that we won't need to use meds all that often.

 

[dwarfgourami]

I'd get more than 1 amano shrimp, they are more confident in a group. Just make sure you have a lid, as these little beasties are escape artists. You don't want to find them shrivelled up on the carpet as I have done once or twice when I've forgotten to put the lid back during water changes. But they are great little critters, more character than most of my fish

 

[Angels777]

I'd get more than 1 amano shrimp, they are more confident in a group. Just make sure you have a lid, as these little beasties are escape artists. You don't want to find them shrivelled up on the carpet as I have done once or twice when I've forgotten to put the lid back during water changes. But they are great little critters, more character than most of my fish

Shrivelled up on the carpet? Oh no! I'll be sure to remember to keep the lid closed when I get them! I'll also get a group of them, maybe three or so. I don't know much about amano shrimp and didn't realize that they are very entertaining. That makes adding them to my tank even better. I want my tank to be as interesting as possible since I have so little to work with

 

[Angels777]

Another question..... I have openings in the back of my hood where the filter and heater are. How can I cover up these openings so the shrimp don't escape?

I'm getting algae on my plant leaves and in my tank from the plants so I will most definitely want to get some shrimp but I don't want them to escape.