ISO Advice on Shrimp Tank

[Toby_H]

Hey guys,

I want to start a colony of Cherry Shrimp that can eventually be used as a food source for cichlids. But, even though they’ll be used as food, I want them to be cool looking food. At least before they’re swallowed.

I have a thing for Blue things. Blue fish, Blue lizards, Blue trucks. If a blue chick moves into the neighborhood my girlfriend is in trouble. So, I’m primarily interested in the Blue Velvet (Cherry) Shrimp. To my understanding the color variants are all the same Shrimp, just different colors. Are there any other tangible differences? Harder to breed? more fragile? Prone to illness? Taste too fishy for my cichlids to appreciate?

I have a 40 gallon breeder aquarium that has been established for years that will be converted to their home. It previously housed a pair of Apistos and a colony of Guppies (food). It’s moderately to heavily planted with “Lucky Bamboo”, Java Moss and a couple of hanging house plants that dip into the water (and often take root and grow throughout the tank). So once the threat(s) are removed it should be a good home for them. Oh! and a prefilter on the canister's intake.

The male Apisto killed the female a while ago and it’s gotten boring. I’ll be taking the male Apisto out when the Shrimp arrive.

Here’s my question / concern:
If I keep the Guppies, they’ll be a threat to young Shrimp. Down the road that shouldn’t matter but in the early stages it can be a big deal. So, should I scrap the Guppies too?
If I scrap the Guppies, will a small group of Shrimp produce enough waste to sustain bacteria of an established tank? I’m thinking no.

And… how many Shrimps should I buy to start what is to be a breeding colony?


And... Since everyone likes to see pics... This is the tank as it currently sits...

 

[fishguy1978]

Color variants are same family, neocardina(spelling?). I have read that reds, blues and some others will cross. Not all colorful shrimp are neo's though, there are some other species that don't cross. I have cherry shrimp that are housed with guppies, harlequin rasboras and glass cats. My colony is growing. I would buy as many shrimp as you can afford. Cull the undesirable offspring so that you can sell excess shrimp to other hobbyists.

 

[twentyleagues]

You are right blue velvet were bred from cherry shrimp originally. If you mix them back with red (from my understanding) the offspring will be red or cherry or revert to cherry eventually. Best to keep just the blue if you like blue. Probably should start with 12 or more in the 40b. As for tank mates it can go anyway really. I have a nice breeding colony of cherry shrimp in with my pea puffers, do babies get eaten....maybe. I feed the tank every other day. I don't see the puffers paying any attention to the shrimp but I also rarely see tiny babies, the population seems to grow. I'd say if you want a ton I'd keep them by themselves.
Will the shrimp keep your bio at it current level probably not, but it will still have enough to take care of the shrimp and as the colony grows so will the bio capacity.

 

[Jim bean 20055]

I would like to start a blue velvet cherry shrimp colony as well

 

[Fat Homer]

Toby_H my only advise would be to cover the intake of the filters as well just to maximize your yield of baby shrimp and maybe also throw in a bit more moss for cover and supply of food for the babies as they grow...

 

[Toby_H]

I appreciate the feedback guys.

I'll go ahead with the Blue Shrimp.

As a compromise on the guppies, I'll move them out with the Apisto and get a small group of Endlers. I understand they'll eat some young/small Shrimp. I'll have to work on situating my Java Moss and Bamboo roots to maximize cover.

I'll also ask around and get a couple more handfuls of Java Moss. That batch has gotten out of control for its current set up a few times and I've given away gobs of it. I'm sure I can find someone to give me a gob or two back.

And I'll certainly add a sponge, prefilter to the intake.


critique on that plan or further suggestions are still welcome.

Thanks.

 

[fishguy1978]

I appreciate the feedback guys.

I'll go ahead with the Blue Shrimp.

As a compromise on the guppies, I'll move them out with the Apisto and get a small group of Endlers. I understand they'll eat some young/small Shrimp. I'll have to work on situating my Java Moss and Bamboo roots to maximize cover.

I'll also ask around and get a couple more handfuls of Java Moss. That batch has gotten out of control for its current set up a few times and I've given away gobs of it. I'm sure I can find someone to give me a gob or two back.

And I'll certainly add a sponge, prefilter to the intake.


critique on that plan or further suggestions are still welcome.

Thanks.

Susswassertang is a good option too

 

[Toby_H]

Okay, new plan...

There is an adult male Apisto in the 40 gal. I was going to either rehome him, or move him into a 10 Gal temporarily until I put together something better. Well, I couldn't bring myself to do either one. I've had him for about 5 years and getting rid of him just didn't feel right. And as I started planning decor for a 10 Gal, well as we all know, it's just too small. Even temporarily. So the Apisto keeps the 40 gal...

Instead the shrimps get the 10 Gal (I know that plural and singular are both "shrimp" but "shrimps" is fun to say).

I bought mini crates from Amazon. I've used them before and they work perfect for this application.

https://www.amazon.com/Sterilite-16958612-Crate-Clear-12-Pack/dp/B002BA5F16/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=mini+crates&qid=1614280017&sr=8-1

I stuck some "lucky bamboo" stalks in the crates. The bamboo stalks are years old and have been in a mature aquarium for at least several years. Around the base of the stalks, inside the crate, I put a wad of Java fern. This also came from the previously mentioned mature tank. Just for kicks, I also put a couple of cups of sand from the mature tank.

I have an 80gph pump sitting around that I bought to power a waterfall in a terrarium that has yet to be built. I'd prefer a sponge filter on this but for a handful of reasons that's practical right now.

80 gph in a 10 gal is quite a bit of water movement. As it sits the current flows from left to right across the top, creating enough movement for oxygenation. Hits the right wall, then flows from right to left across the bottom. All things considered, it's quite a bit of water movement... What is ideal when it comes to water movement for these guys?

I ordered the shrimps and a couple of other things from Live Aquaria. I'm not impressed with them so far. They called me on Monday for clarification on a shipping note I included (no Saturday delivery). In that call I asked for an expected delivery date, they told me the shrimp were not in stock so it would be a couple of weeks (not cool!), then said but since the system accepted my order they must have enough to fill my order. Having not heard from them, I called them late Wednesday. I was told the shrimp are in stock and my package would go out late Wednesday for Thursday arrival. Expect confirmation late Wednesday. It's 2pm Thursday and I haven't heard from them. I set the tank up today in case they come today. But if they don't arrive until middle of next beneficial bacteria that transferred from mature tank will have likely died off. This is not an inconvenience I'd expect from Live Aquaria. I guess they aren't as good as they used to be. *rant over*

 

[Toby_H]

And... just a couple of hours after I posted this, Live Aquaria responded to say my order is being placed on backorder. The Shrimp were "In Stock" when I ordered them and I've talked to customer service twice and they confirmed they are in stock. One even gave me a delivery date of yesterday.

Based on my first experience with Live Aquaria after not using them for 10 years is... Screw Live Aquaria. Small hobby breeders will be my supplier every time hence forth. Screw Corporate!

 

[Jim bean 20055]

I ordered from aquatic arts and they are great!!

They gave me way too much hornwort which I appreciated lol. You should try them out if you can cancel your order maybe