Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

First post,

I have a 6 day old setup, 2.5 Mini Bow. Power Filter, 14w 5500k, C02, Planted, 78F.

Currently has 1xOto, 3xAmano, 3-4 hitchhiking Pond Snails...

I was going to go fish, killis, male endlers, rasboras, something...

But now I'm leaning towards all shrimp (except for a lonley oto) & no fish.

To this setup, I wanted to add 4-5 Red Crystals and 1 Bamboo as the centerpiece.

My questions: Will these guys all play nice? I dont want to breed them, but I certainly dont want to hurt them. Is this tank overstocked? Is the bamboo okay solo or do they need the company of their own kind?

Aloha, Monte

They will play nice, but I don't think the bamboo shrimp would be happy in such a small tank and a tank so new. Bamboo shrimp require large areas with a lot of water movement to be happy. They also require an established tank with a lot of particulate matter floating in the water column as food.

They can be kept in smaller tanks but it is not recommended.

in a larger tank, they like to be solo or in groups?

Bamboos are very peaceful. They are fine solo or in grups, but need lots of space. Ottos are a good tankmate. Lots of space means 30 gallons+.

A 2.5 gallon mini is not fit for any shrimp. These are designed for a single Betta. They are also good for selling lots of fish as they keep going belly-up.

I agree with badflash. Bamboos also need to have the water stirred with something like a power head in the tank.

It takes much more time to keep a 2.5 shrimp tank healthy than a 10g tank. In my well established 10g shrimp tanks, I do a weekly 10-15% water change, and biweekly water checks. When my tanks were younger I checked the water about every four days and did water changes accordingly. My larger tanks get the biweekly tests, but I only do monthly water changes.

If I had a small shrimp tank, say less than 10g, I'd check the water two to three times a week.

Pix - I'm not using the UGF that came with the kit. I'm using a Hagen Elite internal power filter, it's a 30gph power head with a sponge on it.

It's not about time or what's easiest. If I wanted easy, I would get a pet rock. It's a hobby, it means I enjoy it because it takes time and energy, not because it saves it.

Flash - Actually, it says it's for a goldfish believe it or not. How horrible! If you went to a betta site, they'd say 10 gal minimum. So on the shrimp site, I expect to hear something similar.

Okay no bamboos, I'm glad I asked because I was this close to buying them tonight. But ANY shrimp? Dwarf shrimp are the ideal nano tankmate. They have less bioload than a pond snail. Where are you getting your information from? Have you ever kept a nano?

alohamonte wrote:It's not about time or what's easiest. If I wanted easy, I would get a pet rock. It's a hobby, it means I enjoy it because it takes time and energy, not because it saves it.

My wife says shrimp keeping is an obsession with me.