Why Should I Start A Small Shrimp Tank

[discdogshayne]

I have a 5 gal bow front tank just sitting around (my betta rejected the large size of it so he's back in his little tank). I was searching what i could stock it with and i have seen shrimp suggested a few times for small tanks. I've never had shrimp before... what makes them such a popular suggestion? Are they social creatures with eachother...or are they silly characters... super active? what is the draw to shrimp...

the main reason i have gotten into fish is because i had a funny pair of fish. a betta and a blue gourami that got along so well and were hillarious to watch! they were such characters...so i'm looking into a multi "fish" tank to get more of this interesting and fun mix of personalities/characters....

could shrimp be for me?

 

[dizzied]

People keep shrimp because of their low bioload and algae-eating ability. Some are also easy to breed and used to turn a profit on Ebay/Aquabid. They don't really have much in terms of personality, usually just crawling from one spot to another in search for food.

 

[lilfishie]

i have to disagree, my Amano shrimp has such personality, at feeding time he will sit on the edge of the highest plant and grab the food before the other fish, he is always out exploring even though he is the only one, i can't find anymore but heard they do great in groups

 

[The_Dude]

Check out singapore flower shrimp. They're kinda big for shrimp but that's what Makes them so cool!

 

[cardinal sinner]

Go wiv the Shrimps. They are fasinating to watch. I love mine, even though they scare the hell outa me!!!

 

[The_Dude]

After I get my newt set up, I'm going to get a 5 gallon minbow for an apple snail and some ghost shrimp. I had one but my betta ate it...

 

[iairj84]

It can actually make you a little money if you plan it right... Here in the US the going rate for cherry shrimp are about $1/Piece on ebay (more at the LFS) and for me it's fun to watch them swim around and play... I have about 20 in a 10 gallon tank right now but they're breeding like crazy and the numbers keep increasing. I didn't so much do it as a money making thing but I just enjoy watching the shrimp.... Hopefully it will help me on my path to making the hobby a little more self sustainable.

 

[dizzied]

I don't think grabbing food before fish is really considered much of a personality. Don't get me wrong, I love shrimp, but they just don't do much that's interesting.

I've kept lots of shrimp, the only interesting thing I've seen is my pearl shrimp petting fish. Other than that, it's just crawling and eating.

 

[Invader Xan]

People keep shrimp because of their low bioload and algae-eating ability. Some are also easy to breed and used to turn a profit on Ebay/Aquabid. They don't really have much in terms of personality, usually just crawling from one spot to another in search for food.

*cough*

Excuse me, but some of us keep shrimp because they're vastly entertaining to watch and most certainly do have personalities. If you try keeping shrimp for the sake of the shrimp, instead of just to clean up after your fish, you'll see what I mean.

I'd recommend amano shrimp, cherry shrimp, macrobrachium lanchesteri (glass shrimp/rice prawns) or ghost shrimp to beginners. They're easy to care for and fun to watch -- provided you keep them in a big enough group that they feel comfortable.

Alternatively, if you want an interesting shrimp, you could try and buy a larger macrobrachium (long arm) species. They're generally described as "the chiclids of the shrimp hobby".

 

[The_Dude]

I'm probably going to start a shrimp tank after I get a new betta and a newt. I'm addicted to bettas...
I'm probably going to do a ghost shrimp setup since they tend to be inexpensive and low maintanence.

 

[dizzied]

Excuse me, but some of us keep shrimp because they're vastly entertaining to watch and most certainly do have personalities. If you try keeping shrimp for the sake of the shrimp, instead of just to clean up after your fish, you'll see what I mean.

I've kept lots of shrimps, and not for cleanup reasons. Why don't you explain why their personalities are so interesting? I find most of them are much like automatons.

 

[fatboy]

I've kept lots of shrimps, and not for cleanup reasons. Why don't you explain why their personalities are so interesting? I find most of them are much like automatons.

Personally I find dwarf shrimp quite boring. At foirst their distinct behaviour, things like 'gardening' on plants, was fun. After a while that became so routine I consider them as interesting as small schooling fish like neons.

My long-arm shrimp have always been more fun as they are distictive individuals and have certain personality traits that can be fun over a long period. I had a chameleon shrimp that went from a bold plant-climber to a shy adolescent and then a psychotic killer. His tankmates included 2 'brown swamp shrimp' - I never discovered what species they were - and those two went through similar stages. Watching them grow from clumsy, fear-free babies to paranoid and moody adults was always interesting as they both reacted differently. I wouldn't want many of them as they have limited behavioural traits and would become, as you say, like automatons.

My current long-arm is a m. rosenbergii. She has a grudge against the heater and spends half an hour creeping up on to kill it. She also goes through lively spells where she re-arranges all the plants, builds caves and wanders around all the decor, including poking one long claw out of the water to see what's up there. Her behaviour is intelligent enough that she does seem to have a personality, or at least enough different responses to fake one.

To be honest I'm getting pretty bored with shrimp in general. Even the best ones have limited traits and once I've discovered those I lose interest.

 

[Invader Xan]

While it's true that most dwarf shrimp don't really do much, and fan shrimp tend to ignore most of what's going on around them, I find shrimp interesting for a few reasons.

For one -- if you keep a medium sized group of social shrimp, like amanos, they seem to have a certain amount of social interraction. If you watch the way they behave, you'll notice some (usually larger) shrimp become more socially dominant. As such, I've noticed more dominant shrimp chasing others away from food which they consider to be "theirs". The same goes for females -- the more dominant is more likely to get the girl. The females themselves also think nothing of chasing away males who are bothering them. Conversely, when stressed, scared (or sometimes just because), they'll sit in a close group. If they do feel unsafe, I've noticed them lining up with a few shrimp facing in opposite directions. From an evolutionary point of view, this seems like a rather clever solution, as it lets them see, as a group, through 360 degrees.

On the flipside, territorial shrimp like my lanchesteris sometimes stake out their territory and chase any others away. In my tank, they also fight for dominance. They can be a little aggressive towards new additions, but once an alpha is established, the rest pretty much fall into line. An interesting thing I've noticed is that in settling arguments, a dominant lanchesteri will actually cut of the claw of a challenger, star wars style. It doesn't hinder the defeated shrimp much, but they tend to be rather more placid afterwards. Lanchesteris also, in the same way as a lot of other shrimp and crays, rearrange things (albeit in a smaller scale). I've noticed secluded corners of my tank becoming more secluded, thanks to ridges of substrate gravel. They're quite jumpy things, and if you come near to the tank, they'll usually turn to face you. Quite often I'll be in my lounge juggling, only to glance at the tank and see a shrimp watching me.
Long arms, I've been told, can become tame enough that you can hand feed them.

I think they're interesting, anyway, but that's just me...

 

[The_Dude]

I love shrimp, they're adorable.If I can't find any ADFs around here, then I'll just snatch up a few Ghost Shrimp. They are as entertaining.