Thinking Of Getting Red Cherry Shrimp!

[OneOnion]

Hi I'm new to this site I don't have an aquarium yet but I am going to get one and I'm thinking of getting red cherry shrimp. And I have a few questions. So here are the questions.

1. I went to the pet store today just to see if they have red cherry shrimp. And they didn't, they only had ghost shrimp. But on the ghost shrimp tank, it said they required salt water or something like that? Does that apply to only the ghost shrimp or the red cherry shrimp too? I thought they were freshwater.

2. I read on the Shrimp Care forum/sticky/pin that a kind of fish that wont eat the shrimp babies(I'm planning on breeding them) was the Oto fish(I don't know its full name can someone tell me please?). Is it 100% sure that that kind of fish won;t eat the shrimp babies and can you breed shrimps in a tank with fish also?

3. Can they climb on land and can they escape easily?

4. Do shrimp need to dig? Like, to shed their exoskeleton?

5. How do I use a gravel vacuum if the shrimp are on the gravel? And how do I put the gravel back without crushing them?
Thats about it for the shrimp now but I have some more questions about snails.

6. I wanted to get an apple snail but I heard some of them eat live plants? I'd like to know what species of them(by color of shell/body if possible) do not eat live plants?

7. Is it hard to tell between different species of apple snail by shell color/body color?

Okay just one more question...

8. I was thinking of either getting a 2.5 gallon tank, 5 gallon tank, or 10 gallon tank. How many shrimp should I start out with so that they can breed in each one? And is it kind of like the adult ones who breed will die before the baby ones grow up because I don't want it to overpopulate.

So... Thank you for reading and(hopefully) answering these questions! Sorry that there are so many questions, I'm new to keeping shrimp(I dont even have abny yet).

 

[OneOnion]

Bump... Anyone with an answer to at least one of the questions? : /

 

[Shrimper]

Hi I'm new to this site I don't have an aquarium yet but I am going to get one and I'm thinking of getting red cherry shrimp. And I have a few questions. So here are the questions.

1. I went to the pet store today just to see if they have red cherry shrimp. And they didn't, they only had ghost shrimp. But on the ghost shrimp tank, it said they required salt water or something like that? Does that apply to only the ghost shrimp or the red cherry shrimp too? I thought they were freshwater.

A. Cherry shrimp are freshwater. Brackish water ghost shrimp are normally sold as food for predatory fish i guess it is these you saw in the shop.

2. I read on the Shrimp Care forum/sticky/pin that a kind of fish that wont eat the shrimp babies(I'm planning on breeding them) was the Oto fish(I don't know its full name can someone tell me please?). Is it 100% sure that that kind of fish won;t eat the shrimp babies and can you breed shrimps in a tank with fish also?

A: I can't remember their scientific name
They are an algae eating cafish like a mini plec. Thay have a reputation for being sensitive and hard to keep o i would read up on them before getting some. I don't have any! The shrimp will be shyer in the presence of fish but will still breed.

3. Can they climb on land and can they escape easily?

A: They only leave the water if there is something wrong with it such as any ammonia or nitrates.


4. Do shrimp need to dig? Like, to shed their exoskeleton?

A: No

5. How do I use a gravel vacuum if the shrimp are on the gravel? And how do I put the gravel back without crushing them?
Thats about it for the shrimp now but I have some more questions about snails.

A: I always just drop the gravel back in a little bit at a time. it sinks slowly enough that the shrimp get out of the way. If the shrimp are in the way i tend to put my hand in to scare them out of away before i use the gravel vac Its not that much of a problem though.

6. I wanted to get an apple snail but I heard some of them eat live plants? I'd like to know what species of them(by color of shell/body if possible) do not eat live plants?

7. Is it hard to tell between different species of apple snail by shell color/body color?

A: No idea, i've never kept them

Okay just one more question...

8. I was thinking of either getting a 2.5 gallon tank, 5 gallon tank, or 10 gallon tank. How many shrimp should I start out with so that they can breed in each one? And is it kind of like the adult ones who breed will die before the baby ones grow up because I don't want it to overpopulate.

A: I would go for the biggest tank you can afford/fit in the space. With a bigger the tank you will have more stable the water conditions. For a 10G I would look at getting 10 to 20 shrimp. They will not over populate a tank in the same way guppies can, you can always sell the babies if you have too many.

 

[mcgrimes]

Just my bit of advice/experience:
1 - I'd go for cherry shrimp, or atleast another variety of freshwater shrimp. Brackish water is a certain part salt, and im unsure of the cleaning strategies/ maintenance required, but tropical set ups are certainly amongst the easiest to care for.

2 - Otocinculus; they are herbivores, but as Shrimper mentioned, they are highly sensitive to water conditions, and require as mature a tank as can be provided. This is not only to provide stable water parameters, but also a source of algae among submersed surfaces upon which they feed. I got 9 earlier this week for my 100l tank, and even this sort of capacity wont provide them with enough nourishment, and thus im going to provide them with a staple(and varied) diet. My opinion is don't get any of these without any fish keeping experience

3 - Ive seen shrimp jump to the surface of the water (problem with plants laced with pesticides), but in my experience ive never seen any escape. One appeared from my external filter during a routine maintenance and fell onto the bath surface, but he didn't seem to be able to support his weight to walk. When exposed to air however, they do this weird flick as a desperate attempt to get back into the water.

4 - They don't burrow as such, but on a sandy substrate, do sift through sand constantly on the mooch for a snack.

5 - I put my gravel cleaner over gravel with no shrimp, and as the gravel and waste debris begins to climb, i squeeze the siphon, reducing the water flow. This lets the heavier gravel pieces fall while the small pieces of 'dirt' carry on through the tubing.

6 & 7 - I don't like snails

8 - As Shrimper mentioned, the bigger the better; after all, you'll eventually end up with the bigger one somewhere down the line. I have some shrimp sold to me as Green Singapore Shrimp, which turned out to be the hardiest little buggers i've come across. They turned out the be the ancestors of the Cherry Shrimp; their wild version in reality. I started with 5, and 6 months later had no less than 150. Their population grew exponentially, and i ended up taking them to a shop. I had about 5 left which resides in my 100l and 1 is already pregnant.

 

[OneOnion]

Wait I thought ghost shrimp only need salt if they are breeding? I think I miiiight get ghost shrimp instead, only if they can live in freshewater. It is strange because the fish the ghost shrimp were living with were tropical fish(non-salt fish) and I do not think there was any salt in the tank! None of my petstores have rcs. So... about breeding ghost shrimp. i read that it's good to separate the egg-bearing females in a brackish tank. Is it okay if the seperate brackish tank has no filter and heater? I heard the larvae eat algae, anyway. And how much salt do I add to the brackish tank? Thanks!

P.S. I figured out how to tell the difference between a Apple Snail and a real Mystery Snail! and I am not doing otos anymore I think i'll just do rasbaro het or whatever they're called.

Also to mcgrines, do you actually sell them to the store or donate em?

 

[rhostog]

Our cherry shrimp live very happily with trumpet snails. We have sand in the tank rather than gravel, and lots of plants and a few stones, which the shrimp like. The cherry shrimp are very easy to keep.

I don't do gravel vacs, as the shrimp have been breeding since we got them, and there are always tiny babies around - you can't avoid picking them up - so I just scoop or siphon out water when it needs changing. Since we got the snails, the substrate has stayed clean and it hasn't been a problem that I can't vac. I'd definitely recommend the trumpet snails.

 

[tropic_john]

cherry shrimp sell like wildfire, since some lfs don't normally stock them and people on here buy loads [look at piltdownpaul's thread on classified livestock section] Also, not many people buy ghost shrimp compared to the number of people who buy cherry shrimp. ALso, amano shrimp sell quickly

 

[mcgrimes]

Also to mcgrines, do you actually sell them to the store or donate em?

Haha i traded them in for store credit, anything to get rid of that mass of shrimp! I really would not recommend getting ghost shrimp on the pre tense of breeding them. I think they live in freshwater btw, but may require brackish water for babies.
Personally i recommend you maybe travel to other fish shops, or buy from other enthusiasts some of the other tropical shrimp. CRS are relatively expensive, but cherry really should be quite cheap.
Amano are another type which require brackish water for breeding.

 

[OneOnion]

Yeah I called one of the fish stores that was near me and they said something about if I wanted some red cherry shrimp they could special order it and get some in in 3 weeks or something like that. But I'm not gonna do that yet because I dont have a tank yet and I'm going out of town for a week soon so I can't start cycling the tank.

Oh yeah, do you think the rasbora hets will eat shrimp? They swim near the top at the tank, are peaceful, and don't get that big(at least thats what I've heard) so I think those might be good?

 

[mcgrimes]

If anything, it'd be best to start cycling the tank now, and it can continue to do so without your intervention while you go away, seems to be the most time efficient option to me!
If you wish to breed the shrimp, and for the babies to survive, i strongly suggest no fish, other than Otos, but these are out of the question for now. Pygmaeus Corydoras, aka pygmy cories, may be your safest bet compared to other non herbivore fish. They are a group fish, reaching no longer than an inch and half, if that. One of mine once took about 15 mins to finish eating the frozen bloodworm he grabbed, so i dont think they' actively hunt baby shrimp much, certainly not the juvies.

 

[OneOnion]

Really? It cycles without you doing anything? I thought whenever the ammonia level went to 0 you add more ammonia? Please explain, because I'm still not really clear about the whole cycling thing.

How about when the females have eggs I isolate her and when the eggs hatch I wait until they're big enough and them bring them back to the main tank? How long would that take for the babies to become big that the fish won't eat em?

 

[mcgrimes]

Really? It cycles without you doing anything? I thought whenever the ammonia level went to 0 you add more ammonia? Please explain, because I'm still not really clear about the whole cycling thing.

How about when the females have eggs I isolate her and when the eggs hatch I wait until they're big enough and them bring them back to the main tank? How long would that take for the babies to become big that the fish won't eat em?

Well, say if you was to set up a tank, plants, filter heater the lot, except the fish. Get it all running and then maybe add some flake food. This will soon start to rot, possibly turning the tank a bit cloudy but at the same time producing ammonia. After a while, the filter will begin to become home to a certain type of bacteria, which will reside in the ceramic media mainly. This bacteria will start to break the ammonia down, into byproducts, the one we are concerned with is nitrite! This process could possibly take a week until ammonia reaches 0.
This could be performed while you are away for a week. I think its a win win situation if you needn't be present, but save a week of waiting! After this week however, or as long as it takes for ammonia to drop, it is a necessity to keep adding a few flakes of food, to keep ammonia in production, as without it, the filter bacteria will die, resulting in a loss of the cycling stage.
This nitrite however, is extremely toxic, even more so than ammonia, and just a small amount is deadly to fish and shrimp. This is the part of cycling that takes the longest, about 2-4 weeks, set up dependent.

I got to nitrite and realized that there is a plethora amount of resources concerning the cycling of a fishtank around the internet and most certainly in these forums, and im probably just repeating what others have once said Research regarding this cycling, as it can be quite tense, especially if you do a 'fish in' cycling. Any specific questions however and ill be happy to answer.

You speak of isolating the female. One problem is that this will require a separate tank, filter, heater, lights, plants, gravel.... etc this list can go on. It's going to be costy. And the shrimplets may take a month or 2 to reach 'safety size'.

 

[OneOnion]

You speak of isolating the female. One problem is that this will require a separate tank, filter, heater, lights, plants, gravel.... etc this list can go on. It's going to be costy. And the shrimplets may take a month or 2 to reach 'safety size'.

Maybe I could use one of those tank dividers? Wait, the babies would probably be able to go through the holes in the tank dividers!

By the way, great idea about cycling! I should do that! Thanks so much for your help and everyone else here who helped! If there are any other questions I get then I'll be sure to ask.