Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

Hello
My name is Josh - I'm the current webmaster of Guppies.com (Horrible layout, under major construction! Join our forums!!!)

I DID do a search in the forums for some info before i decided to post this.
I just purchased a batch of cherry reds from mustafa on aquabid... I have a 20 gallon tank with a 1foot pleco and many guppies.
About 2 weeks ago I did a Coppersafe parasite madication. I am about to put in a new carbon filter to remove it because i have been told that it is toxic to invertibrates. Do you think it would be ok to put the crushed carbon in a filter net and let it sit on the bottom rocks? I have a undergravel filter and a very strong pump, no where to put the stuff....

Right now my water is very healthy, i have a piece of cuttlebone in the tank for a pH buffer. The guppies are thriving. I also have alot of java moss purchased from JaVaGiRL She is great

Anyway, how am I supposed to introduce them into the tank? I do have a 2 gallon that I can set up with 60% current aquarium water and 40% new water to quarentine them in if needed... Should I do it for a day or so?


I bought alot of ghost shrimp from the petstore a while back, (back when my water quality was not so great, filter was clogged with alot of old poop and stuff) and they mysteriously dissapeared, they also ate eachother!!! Eventually they all dissapeared, i wasnt sure if it was the pleco or not... i dont think he would eat them... I did catch him sucking on a freshwater clam shell though, they died a few days later

Anyway, my water quality is alot better now, i am confident that they will thrive in my tank
Josh

Hi Josh,

Welcome to the forum!

I don't think it would normally be necessary for you to quarantine the shrimp because Mustafa's shrimp are tank raised and won't carry any fish diseases, but I think you should set up your quarantine tank with fresh, copper-free water.

It is very, very important that there is not any copper in your main tank before you put the shrimp in there. I would recommend doing several large water changes and then adding the activated carbon. I don't think it will be as effective if you just hang it in the tank, but it might help a little. Definitely do the water changes though and don't add the shrimp until you've changed enough water that it would be impossible for there to be any copper left.

The pleco should be fine with the shrimp and it was probably poor water quality that killed your other shrimp. Make sure you read the article about keeping shrimp on this website and good luck!

Janis

Thanks Janis
I'm a very active person when it comes to discussion forums, this had to be the warmest and most informative welcome yet

I have always had a problem with keeping pH stable. I used to always use proper pH 7.0, which never worked, so i quit buying it, but the water always stayed at 6.6. I broke off a chunk of cuttle bone the other day and put it in the tank, i just tested water and the pH is at an even 7.0! Which is my goal - I'd personally prefer something neutral, and I've never had any major problems with neutral pH water.

I will do several changes over the next few days, I don't expect the shrimp to be shipped until monday, which is a full week away! It should give me enough time.

Will it be ok to do the changes, but will the plants or the under gravel poop absorb too much copper? I want to make sure its all washed out without having to do a major plant cleaning thing or gravel vaccume - i just did that over the last week and it SUCKED!


Josh

Carbon will not remove the Coppersafe from your water. You need to do lots of water changes. There are copper removing filter media (granules) available, which you might want to use, just to make sure.

Hi JoshGuppy,

Guppies will slowly kill shrimp...
They will rip off one apendage at a time.

TKD

youre kidding me?! well i hope mustafa reads this thread before shipping... I may need to hold out.

OK i have this stuff that is carbon and zeolite granuales - they're supposed to make water healthy and remove impurities... not sure if it will remove copper, it does not say.

I guess I will have to purchase a new filter while im getting something to remove copper, i need a filter that will pass ALL water through the carbon/zeolite mixture, not just a bag hanging in the water...

As for guppies harming the shrimp, i sure hope not... Mine don't seem too aggressive, they are to eachother sometime... I have java moss and plenty of fake plants for them to hide in, and my guppy population is not that high...

Any more advice? I really would love to have guppies and these shrimp together!

When in doubt, go shrimp-only.

fugly wrote:When in doubt, go shrimp-only.

Definately. Your shrimp will be much happier in a shrimp only tank. They won't hide all the time either.

Even if your guppies don't kill the adult cherries, they will definately enjoy hunting down any cherry babies that are born in your tank.

IndianaSam wrote:
Even if your guppies don't kill the adult cherries, they will definately enjoy hunting down any cherry babies that are born in your tank.

Agree. I don't have personal experience with guppies and shrimp together as a combo, but if you consider that guppies cannibalize their own young, that doesn't bode well for your cherries. I would only consider keeping amanos with guppies, because they are tough and larger than cherries (and less colorful, ala less noticeable, imo).

fugly wrote:

IndianaSam wrote:
Even if your guppies don't kill the adult cherries, they will definately enjoy hunting down any cherry babies that are born in your tank.

Agree. I don't have personal experience with guppies and shrimp together as a combo, but if you consider that guppies cannibalize their own young, that doesn't bode well for your cherries. I would only consider keeping amanos with guppies, because they are tough and larger than cherries (and less colorful, ala less noticeable, imo).

Plus baby Cherries are probably as tasty and desirable as brine shrimp for a fish. Not a good combo.

dang, this is a serious letdown
I can't give up my gups, plus i only have one tank thats set up....
Hopefully I can figure out a solution... I do keep the guppies well fed, with frozen food and sometimes live mosquito larvae... Maybe if i purchase more java moss, do you think that if i were to make a nice thick hiding spot for the shrimp, you think theyll be ok?

Hi Josh,

I've never had guppies so I don't know if they would attack the adult shrimp or not, but if you're planning on having baby shrimp the guppies will definitely eat them (especially if they're used to hunting mosquito larvae!). Also, I'm a little concerned because the shrimp you'll be getting from Mustafa are not going to be adults and they still might be small enough to be eaten by the guppies. The java moss will help and they will be able to hide in there a little bit, but then you'll never be able to see them! Most of us have shrimp-only tanks because we really like to watch the shrimp and we can't do that if they're always hiding. It's up to you, as long as the guppies don't start hunting out the shrimp and as long as the shrimp have somewhere to hide if they do get chased then they'll probably be okay, but it's not an ideal shrimp environment.

I hope you're able to figure something out, shrimp are way too much fun to miss out on!

Janis

I have to agree with everyone. Get rid of all the guppies and pleco. They might do more harm, than you think. Plus, your not their to monitor any bad behavior. If you want to have a thriving colony of cherries, have only a shrimp tank.I'm glad I did, their breeding like rabbits in their. Only if I can get my crystals to do the same thing!!! Hope this helps.

i may end up setting up my 18 gallon for the cherries... maybe later on down the line i can introduce some full grown ones to the guppy tank...
Thanks for all of the advice!!!! keep it coming if possible
Josh

Hey Josh !
~ Welcome ~
Mustafas shrimp are AWESOME !! BUT they are VERY small, mine, I have in a seperate tank they about 4 months old, and are still very very small, and do not have color yet. But in a month or 2 I can see myself putting them in my tank.
GUPPIES DO NOT KILL SHRIMP JOSH !! I HAVE AMANOS, CHERRY AND GHOST SHRIMP IN MY 29 GALLON GUPPIE TANK !!
No problems here. Make sure you buy some Iodine Josh. Glad to hear you finally bought the cherries

Muah ! ~ Angel ~