# Red Cherry Shrimp, how many is too many?



## snail

I seem to have more RCS ever time I look at the tank. I know they have a low bioload but is there a point when there will be too many for the tank? How do you know, it's not like I'm going to be able to count them! They are in a 15 gallon tank with a sponge filter and a couple of small fish. I feed sparingly.


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## katiesoup50

im not sure on how many is too many becasue i dont have any but i came really close to buying some....but i had some questions that werent answered...
do they help keep the tank clean?
Where do you buy them?
how willl my fish react?
How many should i buy at first? 
thx!


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## Alasse

When i cant see plants for red or when i feed it turns the sand area into a red mass of shrimp i remove some *L*

They definately help keep a tank clean
I bought mine privately
Fish love em (tasty)
I bought 50 1st go


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## hanky

katiesoup50 said:


> im not sure on how many is too many becasue i dont have any but i came really close to buying some....but i had some questions that werent answered...
> do they help keep the tank clean?
> Where do you buy them?
> how willl my fish react?
> How many should i buy at first?
> thx!


what size tank do you have and what else is in there?


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## katiesoup50

hi me again from the second comment...my tank is only 14 gallons and as of now i only have 3 platys ...two mickey mouse and 1 sunburst thx!


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## snail

Alasse said:


> When i cant see plants for red or when i feed it turns the sand area into a red mass of shrimp i remove some *L*


The tank is heavily planted so when I look in it seems like a reasonable amount but when I feed they all come out then they form a thick carpet of red.


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## Bob-O

They do a great job cleaning up algae and leftover fish food. I got "thirty" from the theshrimpfarm.com. I put the quotes on thirty because there were more than thirty. No complaints here. =) All of them arrived alive and I haven't had a single shrimp die yet. They ship them very small since they aren't locked into specific water conditions, so I would (and did) add them to a tank with no fish at the beginning. Let them grow enough that they won't easily fit in a fishes mouth. After about a month they were big enough that I was comfortable with moving my cardinal tetras into the tank and all is well so far. I'm gradually going to move other tetras, hatchetfish, and corys into the tank. I like these shrimp a lot more than the ghost shrimp I have in my other tank. They look better, they seem to do a better job of cleaning and they readily breed without having to deal with brackish water and all that. I think every planted tank should have these.


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## Mr_Pat

getting ready to thin my shrimp tank and toss some to the 90 do they can start doing some work there. they are fun to watch.


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## whitetiger61

Mr_Pat said:


> getting ready to thin my shrimp tank and toss some to the 90 do they can start doing some work there. they are fun to watch.


LOL Pat if one or to of those just happens to make it into the moss you have for me..it wouldnt hurt my feelings any  just kiddin tell Red i said hi

Rick


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## seaecho

RCS are the greatest! I agree that every tank should have some. I ordered 10, and I've seen 6 at a time, and its been a month, so I'm pretty sure they are all still alive. They do love the moss. I have a bit of guppy grass, Subwassertang and Hornwort, and they hang out in it and in a very bushy fake plant. They should have places to hide. I have a sinking log that is about 8" long that they hide in, and a small terra cotta flower pot that I stuffed a bit of moss into so they have ample places to hide. I find that they come out more and more often when they feel safe. I never knew shrimp could possibly be so entertaining! I have one ghost shrimp and he's pretty entertaining too.


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