New to shrimp...

[MLH Fish]

Hello everyone. I am new to shrimp, i don't have any yet, but am trying to learn as much as i can about them. I have a few species in mind and while i have found a few webpages(like this discussion forums webpage), i have found that personal experiences enhance the knowledge found on the webpages.

My current tanks and their inhabitants are as follows(with PH levels, temp's etc.), so that maybe you can help me decide which shrimp would be the best for my tanks.

I currently have: Four 5.5 gallon tanks, one is planted with 2 Lobelia cardinalis. The other 3 are currently plantless but i am thinking of buying some more L.cardinalis for one, some anacharis for another and in the third i would like to put some green hygro. Also in all 4 tanks i would like to add 1-2 algae balls(aka marimo balls)and some java moss floating on the surface. I also have an empty 10 gallon tank, that i plan to put the above plants in as well Cryptocoryne becketti and some guppy grass. All of my tanks have a neutral ph. In the 5.5 gallon tanks are male betta splendens(one per tank, of course) & their temp's are 80°F. I haven't decided on what i am putting in the 10 gallon, but i thought about possibly 3-4 female betta splendens. 10 gallon has the same ph and will have the same temp, unless i go with different fish for it, then it will have the temp appropriate for those fish.

So, what i would like to add are some relatively small, but large enough not to be eaten(keep in mind that adult betta splendens of both sexes can and do eat neon tetras so the shrimp would need to be bigger than neons), peaceful shrimp. Shrimp that would eat both algae and uneaten food would be great...but also shrimp that i won't have to worry about bothering my fish too.

The species i had in mind were: amano shrimp, ghost shrimp(which i know are very small so they are probably not a good choice) or cherry red's. Also, i would be open to any other type that is available in the US, without having to order internationally...but so far those are all i have found available. I also thought about setting up 5.5 gallon tanks just for the shrimp, but that's really only if i can not put any of the above shrimp in with my bettas, safely.

So, can anyone share any personal experiences on care, housing, temp's, etc of the above shrimp and also any other webpages that have info on them as well.

Thanks!

[Mustafa]

Welcome to the Forum!

I would really recommend that you have a separate tank for the shrimp. No algae eating shrimp will do well in the long run with bettas. As to species...the Red Cherries are a great shrimp to start out with as they will also reproduce in yout tank. Do a search in this forum and look at the shrimp varieties page to learn more about them and other algae eating shrimp. You could also go with the "ghost shrimp" (I assume they are Palaemonetes paludosus), since they can also reproduce (large floating larvae) in pure freshwater.

I would not get Amano shrimp since currently they are all harvested from the wild and they do not reproduce in freshwater. Until more people succeed in breeding them domestically and offer them for sale I would not buy any as pets unless you have enough experience to give a shot in breeding them yourself.

As to finding other websites (especially in English) that give you accurate information about aquarium shrimp, all I can say is good luck! I personally don't know of any that I would ever recommend.

Take care,
Mustafa