Are My Cherry Shrimp Stressed?

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Destroyer551

Gambusia
MFK Member
Mar 19, 2009
548
0
16
Orlando, Florida
Hey again guys, I just recieved my order of 20 cherry shrimp. All arrived well. Nice, small, and healthy. After adding them to my 10 gallon tank they immediately went to work on my tanks algae. They also ate a bit of my algae wafers. But after a few hours of being in the tank, they are constantly swimming around. A few are still picking at the wafers, but most are swimming along the glass. I'm just a little worried whether this is normal. And another big problem is, I just ran out of my test drops a week ago. All I know is that the temp sits at 74 degrees. The resident ottos, MTS, and pond snails are all fine. Could something be bothering them? I havn't fed the tank for over 2 weeks till today. The tank is almost 6 weeks old. Thanks.
 
Hmmm. Shrimp are normally foraging on the algae/microfauna inside of a well established tank. It may be a problem that your tank is six weeks old but as long as nobody is dying I think it is okay. They could just be getting to know your tank also as you just added them. I would suggest keeping the lights out for a day. Was/is your tank fully cycled? Did you use filter materials from another filter when you set this tank up?
 
No one seems to be dying. No drunk looking shrimp. The otos are fine, and if something is seriously wrong I would think the otos would be the first to tell. Yes, I seed all my tanks with mature filter media. The HOB on there now is currently 2 months old, it was on another tank before adding it to this one. I also did water changes with lake water several times. There's a bunch of anacharis, and a few other small Floridian pond plants.
 
When I first got my shrimp they swam all over. It took them about a day to settle down. Usually they will molt soon after being a new tank. Sometimes after the molt the females will be ready to breed and you will see the males swimming around the tank.
 
That is very normal. They will likely molt in the next few days as well. Be cautious of overfeeding as they graze 24/7. I feed my shrimp tanks no more than twice a week about 1/4 algae wafer per 10 shrimp.
 
and over feeding lead to flat worms. which sting and kill dwarf shrimp. trust me i know :(
 
Overfeeding won't be a problem considering the otos, MTS and pond snails. The algae wafers are gone now, only after 2-3 hours of being in the tank. I'll only feed once a week anyways. I'm relieved to hear that it's normal. I thought maybe something was wrong with my water.

Now how fast is the growth rate on these guys?
 
that depends on tank temp, usually they will molt frequently until about 1/2" at which point they hit sexual maturity and slow down. Typically within 3 months of birth they are at that size and reproducing.
 
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