Bamboo shrimp Compatibility

[natalie.kelly]

Would a bamboo shrimp be compatible with a heavily planted tank with a betta, neon tetras and an Amano shrimp? The betta won't eat it, but I am worried about the Bamboo shrimp hurting the betta or tetra with its claws, or bothering the Amano shrimp.

Natalie

[badflash]

Bamboos are shy and harmless to anything bigger than a water flea. I'd be far more concerned with those fish harming the bamboo.

[natalie.kelly]

My mellow fish don't even hurt the Amano. The Bamboo shrimp at Petco are actually bigger than the tetras.

Thanks for the reply.

[YuccaPatrol]

I keep mine in a tank with neons and hatchetfish. All inhabitants are perfectly happy.

[badflash]

Size isn't always important. Pihranas are a lot smaller than cows.

If you keep them with no fish, you'll see a lot more of them.

[Neonshrimp]

badflash is right about bamboo shrimp being harmless. They are however vulnerable after they molt and may be injure/killed if attacked.

[AnneRiceBowl]

I keep (well, kept, for now, had to move the shrimp out for medicating the tank) 5 bamboo shrimp with female bettas. I made a shrimp area under the filter outflow (that's where the current was its best). The female bettas didn't bother them, and the shrimp didn't bother them.

[natalie.kelly]

What do you mean by making a shrimp area?

[YuccaPatrol]

What do you mean by making a shrimp area?

In their native streams, they cling to large rocks in swiftly moving streams. You want to make it possible for them to perch in an area of fast moving water.

I have an arch shaped piece of driftwood that has some good hiding spaces near the top. The flow from my filters goes across the surface and then straight down the front glass. My shrimp are perched there most of the time filtering the water.

Here is a pic of this tank back when it was more of a fish tank than a shrimp tank.

[Sprogg]

Nice tank Yucca Patrol, how many gallons. Natalie.kelly How big is your tank.

[Neonshrimp]

I agree, very nice work with the wood and rocks. It makes the tank look like it has multi levels and compartiments. I also like the fish especially the hatchets, I have a few of my own. Thanks for sharing the picture!

[YuccaPatrol]

Sprogg and Neonshrimp,

Thanks for the nice comments on my tank. I still have hatchets and neons in the tank along with the bamboo shrimp. This is a 37 gallon (same footprint as a 29 but taller).

Now that I think about it, there is a chance that hatchets might be compatible with dwarf shrimp since their mouths are specialized for feeding off of the surface. Mine always swim at or near the surface and I've never seen them eat anything that was not floating.

Maybe when my cherry shrimp population gets larger, I'll remove the neons and add some cherries to this tank.

[natalie.kelly]

My tank is 10 gallons. I am putting off getting any shrimp for now, as one of my neons suddenly lost an eye, so I won't make any changes for now. My chemistry levels have been normal, and I don't have any predatory fish, so it must have been a freak accident. My daughter noticed it Saturday morning. The fish is still swimming around, but not eating, so I'll have to wait and see.

Natalie

[Neonshrimp]

The fish must still be in shock and has not adjusted to the vission loss or pain . However, many fish have recovered from such injuries so just wait like you planned. Is there anything sharp or looks like it could have caused the injury in the tank surroundings? Best wishes and please keep us informed .

[natalie.kelly]

There is nothing really sharp in the tank. There are a bridge and cave aquarium decorations, but they appear to be painted ceramic with no sharp edges that I can see. There is a plastic hang-off the back filter with a squarish part hanging into the water (outlet trough), plus the inlet tube. Other than that, just aquarium gravel and live plants. The poor guy was spinning and doing headstands in the middle of the aquarium when my daughter first pointed him out. Now he is swimming almost normally, but has been hiding under the bridge when the other fish are swimming around grabbing flakes at feeding time. It's possible he could be eating flakes that fall to the bottom or on plants/decorations while I'm not looking. I'm just going to wait and see.