Which of my tanks for trying shrimp?

[PineSong]

I have ordered some cherry shrimp and have to decide which of my tanks to put them in when they arrive. 

My goal is to breed enough to keep a family of shrimp in each of my two 20g livebearer/community tanks.

I'm trying to figure out which is the lesser of the available tank evils: snails, small tank size, active fish populations.

All of my tanks are between 4 and 6 months old, have gravel substrate, planted plants and floating plants, wood in the tank, sponge filters. Whichever tank gets the shrimp will also get a woodpile of cholla and driftwood pieces I've kept in my endler tank while I waited for shrimp.

My actual 20 gallon tanks are heavily planted, have guppies, platies, otos, mollies and one of them has white clouds.

My 10gs and 5g have either guppy colonies or are guppy fry grow out tanks.

The guppy fry grow out tanks have the smallest/least-able-to-eat-shrimp fish, and the most moss and algae, but also have a lottt of snails and they are smaller than the 20s and heavily fed because of the fry, so maybe more variable in water chemistry.

My only option for a no-fish setting would be half of the divided 10g and I would have to move the fry and a million snails out manually. Which I could do, but it would still leave the shrimp in a 5g space shared with heavy-feeding fry on the other side of the matten filter. 

Established shrimp people: where would you put my new shrimp? 

 

 

 

 

 

[CalmedByFish]

I won't pretend I'm established. I've been struggling for months. But that also means I've watched a zillion videos, taking notes. 

Snails are great to have with shrimp. As long as that tank keeps ammonia near zero, it sounds like your best bet to me. In fact, shrimp eat (or just pick through?) snail poo to get what the snails didn't digest. It's also recommended to keep snails with a small shrimp population just so the cycle doesn't crash.

Small tank size also might be good. For the shrimp to mate, the males need to be able to find the female in the few hours she's able to mate per month. I finally got a berried shrimp when I put them in something with a small floor space.

Fish mouths, on the other hand, are likely a problem.

So between snails, small tank size, and fish populations, I think the only one to have any concern about is the fish.

[T. Payne]

I would lean toward the tank that has been set up the longest.

[Wonder Boy]

Our platys snack on culls. I’m guessing the platys and mollies will make a very expensive snack of your shrimp.  
 

I’d try the guppy fry tank or divided tank. 

[PineSong]

On 12/28/2021 at 10:25 PM, Wonder Boy said:

Our platys snack on culls. I’m guessing the platys and mollies will make a very expensive snack of your shrimp.  
 

I’d try the guppy fry tank or divided tank. 

Oh no. The whole reason I wanted shrimp was to add them to my community tanks... I definitely do not want to watch my shrimps get eaten.

I thought lots of people keep shrimp with fish if they aren't trying to breed shrimp in large numbers?

I guess I will start out with them in the side of the fry tank with the tiniest fry and the most moss/algae, since @CalmedByFish said the snails are not a problem--IDK why I thought they would be--I was picturing snails gliding up to baby shrimp and eating them.

 

[1moretank]

I have shrimp in every tank I own except the one with an Angel fish and no hiding spots.  They are with mollies, platys, guppies, plecos, snails, white clouds, corys, endlers, otos, kuhli loaches, and several types of tetras.  To be successful you need a couple things,  (1) a place for them to hide from fish & feel safe - usually this is a rock pile (think rocks bigger than a golf ball and at least 8 of them stacked in a pyramid-ish shape)  it could also be a pile of cholla wood or thick plant growth  (2) a "seasoned" tank so there is algae, mulm and other stuff for them to snack on 24/7 - even though they will eat whatever you feed the tank, they need to eat all the time.    If I was choosing from your list of tanks - I like your fry grow out (no divider needed) since you over feed it, or your oldest constantly running tank.  Good luck and enjoy your new shrimp, they are wonderful to watch.

[CalmedByFish]

On 12/28/2021 at 9:37 PM, PineSong said:

Oh no. The whole reason I wanted shrimp was to add them to my community tanks... I definitely do not want to watch my shrimps get eaten.

I thought lots of people keep shrimp with fish if they aren't trying to breed shrimp in large numbers?

My plan is to breed enough of them in their own tank that I'm in no danger of losing them all, then experiment with putting a couple big ones in each tank I'd like them to live in. I'm thinking surely at least 1 tank will turn out to be a safe place for them to live. At that point, maybe I can put them all into the safe fish tank(s), and no longer have a shrimp-only tank.

[PineSong]

On 12/28/2021 at 11:54 PM, CalmedByFish said:

My plan is to breed enough of them in their own tank that I'm in no danger of losing them all, then experiment with putting a couple big ones in each tank I'd like them to live in. I'm thinking surely at least 1 tank will turn out to be a safe place for them to live. At that point, maybe I can put them all into the safe fish tank(s), and no longer have a shrimp-only tank.

Sounds like what I was thinking of, too. Fingers crossed for our success!