Are vampire shrimp happy to live alone?

[xZaiox]

Hi guys,

I wanted to know if vampire shrimp (Atya gabonensis) are happy alone or if they prefer company? I have a 180L densely planted aquarium, and I've always loved these shrimp. I'd love to get one in my current set up, but the tank is already pretty heavily stocked with fish, and space is limited due to dense planting. These guys get pretty big, so I don't know if I'd want to get multiple.

I've searched for answers to my question, but answers online are completely contradictory. I've read from "they prefer to be alone", to "they like company" to "they're social creatures and require company". I wouldn't want to get one by itself if it wouldn't thrive.

Many years ago in a different scape, I had 3 of these, and they would often hang out together, but I couldn't tell if that was a social thing, or if they just all liked the same area in the tank.

 

[Hufsa]

I've searched for answers to my question, but answers online are completely contradictory. I've read from "they prefer to be alone", to "they like company" to "they're social creatures and require company". I wouldn't want to get one by itself if it wouldn't thrive.

Ive had various filter shrimp species, i wouldnt say im an expert on them but i can write my personal experience at least. I also saw the conflicting advice about groups or not.
I've had one shrimp and several and honestly saw no difference in their behaviour if they were alone or not. They didn't seem to seek each other out and if one was in a nook another one wanted into, it would evict the first one rather than share the space if it was a bit crowded. My impression is that they didn't care much about this aspect.
Far more important to them was access to good spots with flow, mine were sometimes a bit shy so they wanted dimly lit spots with a strong current where they could post up and fan the water. They dont seem to like bright lights. They dont like tangly plants or long-stranded mosses, they would get very annoyed trying to navigate through such sections of the tank. I often felt a bit bad about not being able to get them (seemingly) more comfortable.

I think they should be somewhat considered specialist species like hillstreams, and one should consider very carefully if their setup is a good fit for them. For instance the water should not be too polished (clean of particles), unless you're dedicated to target feeding them powder food every single day. And those spots with high flow are critical. They should not be made to scavenge the substrate for food, then they are truly desperate.

Many years ago in a different scape, I had 3 of these, and they would often hang out together, but I couldn't tell if that was a social thing, or if they just all liked the same area in the tank.

Im sure it was the area they were attracted to. But they may possibly be less skittish about moving from the spot if there are many present, I dont know that for sure.

I would carefully consider if your other livestock will bother the shrimp. They are giants but very gentle and very easily bullied. They're magnificent creatures and deserve to be thriving 😊

 

[xZaiox]

Hey @Hufsa , thanks for the reply

I think you've perhaps made me reconsider. I have no doubts I'd ensure it was target fed accurately, and my fish are all small harmless community fish, but this part:

They dont seem to like bright lights. They dont like tangly plants or long-stranded mosses, they would get very annoyed trying to navigate through such sections of the tank.

You've just made me remember the same - my previous ones weren't out much in the light, and my current tank is much brighter than my old setup. It's also chock full of plants, so perhaps it's not the best environment for vampire shrimp. I wonder if maybe bamboo shrimp might be a better fit? I always remember them being much more confident, and they don't get as big.