Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

Well,

For those following any of my posts, the nitrite did not affect my new cherry reds, but it looks like my penguin tetra has eaten several of them. I did not think a tetra of that small size would bother them. I also found 2 in my canister filter (they were fine...in fact, thriving there), despite putting a foam sleeve on the intake. So I think that from 10, I am now down to less than 4...although I've only seen them a few times in the last week or so.

I love the color and ease of breeding with the cherry reds, but I think I am switching to Yamatos until I can raise cherry reds in a separate tank.

As long as some survive, your population will grow, but just more slowly than in a species-only tank. Lots of fine-leaved plants (Java moss, hornwort, riccia, najas) help give the babies somewhere to hide where the fish can't get them.

Don't forget that Amano shrimp need a lot of care to raise them from larvae.

I hope I do have some cherry reds that survive. I do not plan on breeding Amanos...I just need some to get teh algae under control. If they live their 1 or 2 year lifespan, I'll be happy. By then, I should be a pro at raising cherry reds.

I have a pretty good assortment of hiding places. In particular, I have a piece of driftwood that has a "cave" in it with lots of nooks that would be perfect for small shrimp to hide. I also have lots of fine leaved plants like Diandra, Stargrass, Glossostigma and Rotala.

You should establish a shrimp only tank and have yoru population grow first before sticking any shrimp in with your fish. With only 10 shrimp the fish are more likely to eat them all, whereas with more (provided you have thickets of plants as hiding places) you stand more of a chance to have a constant supply of offspring keeping the population going.

However, the best thing for these shrimp is still to be in a shrimp only tank. They are very interesting creatures on their own right and many here in the forum have established species only tanks after they had originally bought some shrimp for their community tanks. You'll find that shrimp can be very interesting creatures to observe.