# Fish and shrimp



## fyns (Dec 22, 2011)

So, i understand that fish eat the young, and in some cases adults. i also understand that fish add no3 to the water, which is bad. Knowing all this, even as an amateur i feel that i will put some rcs in my new setup as a clean up crew, and mix them with fish. so what if they eat some of the young? keeping enough cover in the tank for hiding would still allow them to breed, no? as in the wild... i don't plan to breed for profit more for a balanced life/eco system. with enough cover ( plants ) i would imagine they could cover their losses. anyone tried it?

edit: i have a 30 g i could convert to a breeder tank to top off the population if my fish are over feeding on them.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

I had pretty much the same thoughts as you when I first started keeping Cherry shrimps. Here's what I learned from experience:

1- The tank must be cycled, and nitrates should be kept as low as possible, though cherry shrimps are pretty hardy and can tolerate 20ppm of NO3 without any problems. For a long time, my tank had NO3 hovering around 40ppm and my RCS looked fine, but when I reduced it to 20ppm, I noticed a population boom. Where before I could never find a single baby shrimp, I was now seeing them everywhere.

2- Don't have any fish larger than a guppy. I've seen my guppy eat adult RCS, so any fish (with a mouth) bigger than that will decimate your shrimps.

3- Have lots of plant cover. Thick mosses are ideal, but other options include water wisteria, thick mats of hair grass, or even driftwood and rock piles with lots of nooks and crannies.

4- Start with a large population. 50+ would be ideal. The smaller your population, the slower the colony will multiply, and the more vulnerable you are to losses of adults.


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## fyns (Dec 22, 2011)

very useful info. thanks a bunch! i will have to wait and see how this tank turns out before i decide to throw some shrimp in. in the beginning i won't want my no3 that low for plant growth. perhaps once the vegetation meets my vision and the tank is more established.


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## RCode (Dec 12, 2010)

I keep my RCS with my guppies, cardinal tetras, and high-fin catfish, and everyone seems to get a long. I have them all in a 20g. I've made a cave they can hide in, and leave lots of floating plants in the top. The tank has about a 50 baby guppies that manage to survive too.

I think the trick is to keep everyone fed, and not let them go find food.


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## Black Pearl (Dec 27, 2011)

I had the same idea - my setup was 10 gal with 2 pairs of Betta Channoides and half a dozen Cherry shrimp and vegetation so dense you could hardly see anything else in there.
One month later there were about 20 Betta and zero shrimp (I mean, not even the bones).
The live and let live depends on the yummyness factor, I guess.

Now, however, I have a 29 gal with a dozen shrimp - and I'm seeing babies - and when they're going to reach a hundred-ish I'm going to toss a guppy fry or two in there, see who's eating who. Maybe if they grow up together the fish won't eat the shrimp? Or they'll get intimidated by being severely out-numbered? We'll see..

Another bad idea for the cleanup crew was a Chinese algae eater. Grew up being the fastest to get to the protein - and beating everybody else trying to eat, too. Ended up giving it away. I guess the name was a metaphor for something else..

Next on the to do list is try a Pleco.


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