ghost shrimp or cherry shrimp?

[soritan]

my LPS gets only two kinds of shrimps in: ghost shrimp and cherry shrimp.

i really want them as a tiny cleaning crew. they don't need to eat algea. i just think shrimps are neat to look at. i'd love it if they could simply wander about and eat rotty plant bits and fight over fallen food (i would probably ensure that food actually falls to them, no matter what occupants wind up in the tank, you know, wouldn't depend on my overfeeding for their survival). to that end, what would be the difference between the two, and would either one be better suited for life with me than the other? I am starting to have the sneaking suspicion that both would require about the same level of care, and act about the same, and eat about the same things, and that it's just a matter of cost and aesthetics. i do understand that cherry shrimp eat more algea, would this be the defining difference from an owner's perspective?

at the moment, it's an empty 10gal in the middle of a very buggy fishless cycle. all sorts of tiny creepy crawlies in there, including some sort of snail that seems to eat the creepy crawlies and NOT the plants.

possible occupants include:

-1 dwarf puffer
-5 ghost shrimp

OR

-1 betta
-5 (?) shrimp

OR

-1 betta
-3-4 adfs
-3 (?) shrimp

in the case of the puffer, the shrimp would definately be ghosts, since puffers are mean little guys and i couldn't be sure the shrimps would live unmolested. the tank itself is more nookish than the picture seems to imply it is, because i have a fair bit of driftwood from front to back, and my rocks on stage right are bigger than the perspective makes them look.



i'm going to be adding a clump of java moss and some hornwart to the tank, after that, it's basically done - unless i decide to opt for sand and replace the substrate. in which case, i'd have a whole new set of possible occupants and the shrimps would be put on the backburner.

[badflash]

Ghosts are better garbage cleaners, eat more and are hardier. You can get 20 ghosts for the price of one cherry. They will breed too if you have the right stuff in the tank to feed the larva and give them someplace to hide. They eat algae, but it isn't their favorite.

Ghosts require no care other than needing to eat. They are much bigger and easier to see also.

[soritan]

Thank you for answering, I asked a bunch of people and researched all over the place, but couldn't seem to find information that'd make it easy to select from my two options. I really like ghost shrimp, and every time I hit the fish store, the cherries are either passed on or sold out, so I've never even seen them. Just their sign.

I doubt they'll breed for me, and it's not really mandatory either. I'm just seeking the pleasure of their company.

[badflash]

I've got around 40 ghosts spread over 3 tanks. I've only been keeping them about a month. 3 tanks I have them in by themselves keeping my riccia clean. In another tank I have small guppies and they get along fine. They are much bigger than the guppies and they don't seem to be bothered. Only 3 have died, none recently and I give them no special care unlike my amanos and cherries.

One of my females in the tank with the guppies is starting to get a yellow saddle, so I'll be moving her to a shrimp only tank soon in an attempt to raise some from eggs. Considering the low cost It probably isn't worth it, but I'd like to try.

[soritan]

*laugh* I honestly have a fear of any of my livestock breeding. I just don't consider myself responsible enough to care for tiny young things.

Oo I just impulse purchased a 5gallon tank and I'm suddenly dizzy with possibilty, but I think in any case, ghost shrimp will be included.

I was thinking around 3-5, and then I'd name them. I'd name them all "Past", since I can't tell ghost shrimp apart... and the thought of a ghost shrimp named "Past" entertains me greatly.

[badflash]

If you keep any sort of fish, like a guppy in with them, any larva will be gone in minutes of hatching.

As to telling them apart, I find mine are quite distinctive. Males are much smaller than females, and some are hump-backed some are not. If you have only 5 you'll be able to name them all. Why not get 7 and name them after the 7 drarfs? I have 12 in my 5 gallon tank and they seem to be doing fine.

[soritan]

I would be hard pressed not to call 3 ghost shrimp "past", "present", and "future".

*rimshot*

I think ghost shrimp are fun little guys. I owned one once, for a single day, I loved staring at him as he moved about and ate. It was rather sad, since I finally figured he wouldn't pass on, and so I named him. In the morning, he was gone. I think it was because my water parameters weren't steady enough for him, and perhaps I didn't acclimate him for long enough.

Ever since him, though, I've had an utter fascination for shrimps, with a particular soft spot for those little mutts, the ghost shrimp. Once my 10gal is cycled, they'll be in there, since that would be the tank with the most stable parameters.

[soritan]

I know I am asking a newbie question times infinity, but would ghost or cherry shrimp eat hydras?

My tank, in its fishless cycle, has aquired a population of worms, fleas, hydras, and snails.

Snails, I don't mind as much, worms and fleas, I know will pass with time, but hydras? I am starting to worry.

[badflash]

Very few things eat hydra. Pull out any animals you want to save and be sure there are no hitch hickers on them.

One place I saw said that just raising the temperature to 105 for a few hours will kill them. Sounds like something worth a try.

The next step would be to bomb the tank with a chemical that kills them, like a little chlorine bleach, before you put in your shrimp. Be sure to get all the chlorine out before the shrimp go in. If you don't get carried away with the bleach you can use a dechlorinator to remove the chlorine. Be sure to test & give it a day or two before you put in the shrimp.

You need to check the sensitivity of your plants to chlorine. I think most plants are more tolerant than most hydra. The plants need to be clean as the hydra will hide there.

[GunmetalBlue]

Here's a link discussing them, Soritan. viewtopic.php?t=182 I've personally not yet had a problem with them, but I rather liked the Hydrogen Peroxide/syringe method shot right on the hydra idea. I guess you have to be careful though, of any toxic accumulation.

There were some other links too, when I searched "hydra" on this forum, which you could try checking out, but this thread seemed the most comprehensive.

-GB

[soritan]

Very few things eat hydra. Pull out any animals you want to save and be sure there are no hitch hickers on them.

......

The next step would be to bomb the tank with a chemical that kills them, like a little chlorine bleach, before you put in your shrimp. Be sure to get all the chlorine out before the shrimp go in. If you don't get carried away with the bleach you can use a dechlorinator to remove the chlorine. Be sure to test & give it a day or two before you put in the shrimp.

I don't really have access to chlorine, at the moment, and thankfully the tank is totally empty save for a few pond snails (fishless cycle). The tank itself finished cycling today. So I'm keen on keeping the tank cycled, you know?

The least 'offensive' treatment I've read about, as far as hydras go, is the vinegar treatment. Apparently, all it really does is change the PH of your tank, and leaves livestock alone. If that doesn't work, I'll probably try the copper method, if the lps has anything I can use... if that doesn't work...

Another site recommended simply changing out the water completely, with city water. Since the city water has chlorine in it already, it would dose the tank up with chlorine. After a few days, you treat the tank with whatever your flavor of water treatment is, and add fish/shrimps/whathaveyou. That sounds like a good/cheap solution, except... wouldn't that uncycle my tank?

I'm obsessed with keeping my tank cycled. Took me ages to get it completely cycled, fishlessly. I don't want to lose all that time. I'd go mad.


edit: oh, and thanks for the link. i found it very helpful in my searches, it really jumpstarted my search for a 'cure'.

[Mustafa]

The least 'offensive' treatment I've read about, as far as hydras go, is the vinegar treatment. Apparently, all it really does is change the PH of your tank, and leaves livestock alone.

Actually, depending on how much vinegar you use your PH might drop so low so suddenly (in some cases under 5) that most (if not all) of your livestock will die.

[soritan]

Then I'm quite glad I have no livestock (exept for the pond snails).

So far, I haven't seen it actually do anything. People advise it takes 24 hours to work, so at this point it's sit and stare.