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Tank mates for shrimp?

Ben Cox

Ben Cox

Member
Joined
10 Nov 2023
Messages
40
Location
Farnham
Hi all,

I would really like to get some feature fish for my tank. It currently has Cherry shrimp, Green Neon and Cardinal Tetras, Corys and Otos in it, but I would like some bigger, interest fish. Any thoughts on what might leave the shrimp alone? Ideally a S American species,but if not then open to suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Ben
 
South American species, such as cichlids will absolutely decimate shrimp, as will most bigger fish than the ones listed above.

If you aren't worried about keeping a breeding population of shrimp, you could go for mid-sized tetras etc depending on tank size, these will eat shrimplets, but likely leave adult shrimp alone.
 
Aqua360 said:
South American species, such as cichlids will absolutely decimate shrimp, as will most bigger fish than the ones listed above.

If you aren't worried about keeping a breeding population of shrimp, you could go for mid-sized tetras etc depending on tank size, these will eat shrimplets, but likely leave adult shrimp alone.
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That was my worry. I asked my LFS and they suggested maybe dwarf Gourami but I guess there's always a risk with those and the shrimplets. Maybe I'll just get more smaller fish.
 
Ben Cox said:
That was my worry. I asked my LFS and they suggested maybe dwarf Gourami but I guess there's always a risk with those and the shrimplets. Maybe I'll just get more smaller fish.
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There is a lot going around about Dwarf Gourami disease, and even someone recently on this forum fell victim to it. Certainly would avoid to prevent heartbreak!
 
Bradders said:
There is a lot going around about Dwarf Gourami disease, and even someone recently on this forum fell victim to it. Certainly would avoid to prevent heartbreak!
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Thanks for the heads up :)
 
OllieTY said:
Also every Anabantoid I've ever kept has enjoyed pulling shrimps heads off....
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☹️ I think my only option is to stick to smaller fish. Ah well, better prepare the wife for a second tank with no shrimp in it then 🤣
 
OllieTY said:
Also every Anabantoid I've ever kept has enjoyed pulling shrimps heads off....
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LSD usage is rife in the Gourami community. Really shocking.
 
Ben Cox said:
☹️ I think my only option is to stick to smaller fish. Ah well, better prepare the wife for a second tank with no shrimp in it then 🤣
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You could consider getting "a lot" of Cardinal Tetras in there to make it look very active. They are great little fish, low bio-load and the more you get the more they make the aquarium dance. :)
 
Bradders said:
You could consider getting "a lot" of Cardinal Tetras in there to make it look very active. They are great little fish, low bio-load and the more you get the more they make the aquarium dance. :)
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Yeah. I have 7 Cardinals and 20 Green Neons in there at the moment. It’s a 138litre tank with a Fluval 307 (pimped with Biohome media) so has plenty of filtration. I will take a look at the LFS and see what small tetras they have.
 
Ben Cox said:
It’s a 138litre tank with a Fluval 307 (pimped with Biohome media)
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You could pimp it even more if you slowly replaced the Biohome with a sponge or static media like K1. In comparison, Biohome is not as effective.
 
Hi all,
Ben Cox said:
I think my only option is to stick to smaller fish.
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Ben Cox said:
Ideally a S American species
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You could have a fancy Ancistrus spp., something like A. "Wabenmuster" <"PlanetCatfish.com - Ancistrus sp. WABENMUSTER (Loricariidae) Cat-eLog"> or Dekeyseria picta <"PlanetCatfish.com - Dekeyseria picta (Loricariidae) Cat-eLog">.

Rineloricaria L10A <"PlanetCatfish.com - Rineloricaria sp. (L010A) (Loricariidae) Cat-eLog"> might be another option. This might be a bit more active during the day, but it isn't a fish I've kept.

cheers Darrel
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,


You could have a fancy Ancistrus spp., something like A. "Wabenmuster" <"PlanetCatfish.com - Ancistrus sp. WABENMUSTER (Loricariidae) Cat-eLog"> or Dekeyseria picta <"PlanetCatfish.com - Dekeyseria picta (Loricariidae) Cat-eLog">.

Rineloricaria L10A <"PlanetCatfish.com - Rineloricaria sp. (L010A) (Loricariidae) Cat-eLog"> might be another option. This might be a bit more active during the day, but it isn't a fish I've kept.

cheers Darrel
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Thanks mate. I’ll take a look.
 
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Threadfin Rainbows? They aren't that much bigger but the fins when displaying give them presense that makes them a bit centre piecey, but they have tiny mouths. No threat to shrimp at all.
 
tam said:
Threadfin Rainbows? They aren't that much bigger but the fins when displaying give them presense that makes them a bit centre piecey, but they have tiny mouths. No threat to shrimp at all.
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Oh cool. Will look those up. Thx.
 
tam said:
Threadfin Rainbows? They aren't that much bigger but the fins when displaying give them presense that makes them a bit centre piecey, but they have tiny mouths. No threat to shrimp at all.
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Have just got my local Maidenhead to order me 6 Threadfins. Thanks for the suggestion. 😀
 
Ben Cox said:
Have just got my local Maidenhead to order me 6 Threadfins. Thanks for the suggestion. 😀
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You're welcome. They do genuinely have tiny mouths so you'll probably need to grind/crush your standard food to make sure they can manage it. Once they settle and colour up they are fun to watch sparring.
 
tam said:
You're welcome. They do genuinely have tiny mouths so you'll probably need to grind/crush your standard food to make sure they can manage it. Once they settle and colour up they are fun to watch sparring.
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I am using NT Labs micro crumb at the moment for the tetras because they are still quite small so that will do fine. I have the NT labs nano pellets as well.
 
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