Red cherry shrimp and Amano shrimp

[Anonymity82]

So I got this really, really good deal, 15 for 10 dollars, on RCS. I had to get them. Normally they go for 2 or more dollars a piece! She says she has a bunch more but I'm sure when some savvy sales person finds those they'll scoop them all up and sell them for 3 bucks a piece so I don't know how many more she'll have. Apparently, she was able to keep their numbers under control but once she removed something, a predator, they went out of control. I love these little guys and their hardiness.

So, I've read a hundred different posts, pages, etc... on Amano shrimp and compatibility with RCS. Everyone says something different. (not actual quotes but based on actual quotes that I don't feel like digging up)

"They can live together, the larger Amano shrimp may just steal the food"

"I've watched mine gang up and take out a living skirt tetra"

"They will eat them if underfed"

"They will eat the babies"

"They wont eat the babies and they will live happily together"

"They're peaceful"

"They're monsters"


Okay, you see my problem here? I don't have the money, nor do I know if this woman will have the same great deal in a couple of weeks if my Amano does eat everyone, to buy more right now. If she doesn't that's 2 bucks a pop and I don't know if I can bring myself to buying them marked up x3.

The other problem is I have someone who will take the amano (I do like this big and would like to keep him) but he's going to put it in a turtle tank that also has a red claw crab so it will probably become food. There is another guy who might take it but I don't see him very much and have transportation issues.

Anyone have experience with keeping these two species together?

 

[ShredderEmp]

The larger Amano might steal food.

I doubt they could kill a tetra due to the fact they dont have claws.

The smaller may get eaten.

Same as above.

I do not see them as monsters as they eat algae.

 

[Necromion]

Dude i wouldnt worry about compatability as both amano and cherries are herbivores, exclusivly eating algae. though if your still concerned, follow the link as the site can give you a lot of info. http://www.planetinverts.com/

 

[Anonymity82]

Dude i wouldnt worry about compatability as both amano and cherries are herbivores, exclusivly eating algae. though if your still concerned, follow the link as the site can give you a lot of info. http://www.planetinverts.com/

Thanks! Yeah, I've checked out that site and love it! I've seen the cherries nibbling on blood worms though.

I ended up giving the Amano to a fish GENIUS or encyclopedia. This guy knows his stuff so I know it will be in good hands. I'd really hate to give it away as food being that it was a 5 dollar shrimp! And it was really cool.

Now for the strange part, I removed everything in the tank and only counted about 8 or 9 shrimp. I had 15! So I don't know where they were going unless they're dying and being eaten. They do kind of have claws and can definitely be aggressive with food and I even saw him attack a cherry shrimp but he didn't eat it. At least not in front of me.

Eventually, I'd really like to be able to get a nice healthy tank set up and have some crystal red shrimp and red cherries. Maybe even a couple of awesome filter feeders!

Thanks for the help!

I thought they were herbivores too but then I found like 4 or 5 videos of this:

[YOUTUBE]Twev5dkti0A[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Malhavoc's]

I find most shrimps, rabs et, are all ominivores but mostly savanges, if there is an oppertunity to eat it, they will eat it. their clean up crews.

 

[Necromion]

what kind of filter do you have in your tank? If its a power filter i might suspect that is the cause for the missing shrimp as they can suck them up, killing the shrimp.

 

[ShredderEmp]

what kind of filter do you have in your tank? If its a power filter i might suspect that is the cause for the missing shrimp as they can suck them up, killing the shrimp.

A quick solve is putting sock over the filter, thats what I did for my baby crayfish.

 

[Anonymity82]

I have a prefilter on the intake so I know it's not that. I'm only seeing a few of them now. Like 3. But that's what happened before I put the gravel in. I only saw a few at a time and then I removed everything to put in the gravel and there were 9 of them.

None of them go after the algae wafers either. The wafers just sit there and cloud/stink up the water.

I don't have the money to get more but I don't know why'd I'd even get more if they're dying in my water.

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Well, I took out a few things and there appears to be only four . I need to get my water parameters under control then I'll try again I guess. I was thinking of just going with ghost shrimp because they're fun too but they didn't last too long either. Damn fish tanks...

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Well, after some research I think my frogs are eating the tiny, young cherry shrimp. I have a few left that are a bit bigger than most of them. The fact that I had 11 or 12 die in there without seeing one carcass makes me think that the frogs are eating them. I still have one pale, and 2 nicely reddened cherry shrimp that are a bit bigger. They're not being very active so the water quality may not be doing great... But they're nice and red which is supposed to be a sign of healthiness. I don't know! I'm getting my water tested tonight when I go pick up crickets. I really want to get a couple of ghost shrimp because they were much more active and if I get bigger ones they wont get eaten. But, they'll probably eat the much more expensive cherry shrimp.

 

[Anonymity82]

I added some Java moss and some other floating plant (it's getting crowded in there) to help with the water. I had a low wattage bulb and was trying to change it to some color max bulb. So I took the bulb out and it was full of crust. A piece of metal fell out too... Now the damn thing doesn't work at all! The same day I get plants... I contacted the company. I can't return the whole tank because I have no where to put these other animals.

Oh, and I definitely caught my frog attack a cherry shrimp. Luckily for the shrimp it was big and faster than the frog. But yeah, the frog was super aggressive. Much more aggressive than thought they were.