# new to shrimp; starting a tank for 'em



## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

First off I am new to shrimp. I have 29 gallon tank that I just added 3 red cherry shrimp too. It’s been about a week and I haven’t seen any shrimp for a few days now. I know they are small and have tons of places to hide in the tank so I don’t expect to see them all the time. The last time I did see one was two days ago and I wasn’t the only one who saw it, my male Dwarf Gorami saw it too. The Gorami thought it looked tasty and tried to eat it, the shrimp was faster and got away. The guy at my LFS said the Gorami would not eat the shrimp, well big surprise but I think he was wrong. I don’t know if any shrimp are alive in there or not but I hope they are. The only fish big enough to eat them is the Gorami. I bought a Marineland Eclipse 3 3gallon tank today that I plan on letting the shrimp grow larger in that before adding them to the 29 with the rest of the fish. What are the chances larger shrimp will survive the Gorami? How many shrimp can I start with in a 3 gallon tank? I think I will put a live plant in the shrimp tank but I don’t know what yet, maybe some sort of moss, any suggestions? Since the tank is so small I like to use a substrate specifically for plants any suggestions on that? My last question is how often and how much water should I change in there, I would like to have about 10 shrimp and maybe 1 beta. My hope is that once the shrimp get bigger I will move them to the 29 and they won’t get eaten then the beta can have the 3 gallon to itself. :fish-in-bowl:


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

sschreiner5 said:


> 1. What are the chances larger shrimp will survive the Gorami?
> 2. How many shrimp can I start with in a 3 gallon tank?
> 3. Maybe some sort of moss, any suggestions?
> 4. Since the tank is so small I like to use a substrate specifically for plants any suggestions on that?
> 5. My last question is how often and how much water should I change in there, I would like to have about 10 shrimp and maybe 1 beta.


Gotta be quick cause I need to get to class, so sorry for curtness:
1. Bigger, the better, and they will survive
2. Depends on size. RCS ~ 10-20
3. Java or Christmas moss, and lots of it!
4. Fluorite, Eco Complete, Floramax, etc.
5. I do 50% weekly, but it's up to you. Don't put the betta in there - they're as bad if not worse than your gourami.

Lastly, avoid power filters - use a sponge filter if you can. Less chance of sucking the shrimp up.

Hope this helps!


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

Gizmo said:


> Gotta be quick cause I need to get to class, so sorry for curtness:
> 1. Bigger, the better, and they will survive
> 2. Depends on size. RCS ~ 10-20
> 3. Java or Christmas moss, and lots of it!
> ...


Great, thanks that does help. Ok so no betta untill the shrimp leave. I think the tank has a power filter, its integrated into the top/cover. It has a biowheel so I assume its a power filter, I'll give it a try. I've got foam to put over the intake so shrimp dont get sucked in.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

sschreiner5 said:


> I've got foam to put over the intake so shrimp dont get sucked in.


+1

That's what I use for the in-tank power filter in my 10 gallon


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

Alright I have great news: last night I saw all three shrimp at the same time! I unfairly blamed the Gourami, he didnt eat them afterall. I guess I kinda riped ol' father time at my LFS too so sorry to both of you. Its been a pretty good week for my tank; on Monday I saw the Kulhi Loach for first time in two months and it wasn't even in the middle of the night! He didnt come all the way out of hiding but he came part way out and then I could see him swimming around in the inter-connected caves created by large rocks. On Tuesday my light blub burnt out which isnt really a good thing but I have been working on my own light fixture so this was the motivation I needed to finish it so now I have 2 T12 20 watt plant bulbs for the day and 3 blue leds for night. I copied another users LED moonlight (typeyourtexthere's DIY Moonlight) using an old phone charger and its awesome. Anyways after putting on the new light all three shrimp came out for a few minutes. I am pretty excited about all of this. 

I havent started a little shrimp tank yet cause I screwed up when I ordered the tank, I got just the tank, no hood light or filter so I'm going to have to wait untill I get it swapped for the full setup, oh well.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

You have a loach in with shrimp? You know loaches eat shrimp, right?


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

Gizmo said:


> You have a loach in with shrimp? You know loaches eat shrimp, right?


Well I didnt know that. Here is my story. Its a Kulhi Loach. I was told they are different from other loaches in two ways, one way is they dont get as big and the other is they dont eat snails. I believe that and I'm pretty sure it doesnt eat snails cause I have pond snails that came in on a plant and I dont mind if they are in there so I let them be, some are getting big, almost a half inch and there are tons of them. The Kulhi Loach was in the tank when I got it, I rarley see him. 
I think I asked the guy (father time) at my LFS about the Kuhli loach and shrimp together and I think he said the Kulhi loach would not eat them, I asked because I remember standing in line waiting for help the day I got the shrimp and I was talking to the guy behind me and he said the loach might eat them too. But I think we (father time and guy behind me) decided it should be ok, I mean I left the store with shrimp and I would not have done that if I thought they would get eaten. I'm cheap so I dont want to spend 15 dollars on stuff thats just gonna get eaten. So far its been about 20 days and all three are still in there so I dont know. I'm gonna do more research on Kuhlis because I would like to add a couple but I'd rather have shrimp.


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## Fish042099 (Jan 28, 2012)

Loaches will kill the shrimp...


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

Ok so I did some more research and all I could find talked about brine shrimp. Kuhli loaches will eat brine shrimp. I have Red Cherry shrimp. I've had three shrimp for about 1 month and I saw 2 of them yesterday. A week ago I saw all three of them, so far the kuhli loach has not eaten them. I have put the shrimp only tank on hold and will be adding 10 more shrimp the the tank soon. I am not worried about the Kuhli loach, its the Dwarf Gourami that I saw trying to eat a shrimp.


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