I am looking into getting some dream blue shrimp several questions

[KittenFishMom]

I am looking into getting some dream blue shrimp several questions, They are home grown about 20 minutes from here.

1) Will my betta, neon tetras, peppered corys, kuhli fish, flagfish, scuds, or snails eat them? and the other way around?

2) Do you quarantine shrimp? Is it the same as a fish quarantine?

3) I have a lot of java moss and plants in my tank. Will they need hardscape to hide in too?

4) What is a good number to get for a 55 gallon tank? I was thinking 30, but may be way off. Can I quarantine 30 in a 10 gallon tank?

Anything else I should know or will wish I had known before I get the shrimp?

 

[PineSong]

1) I don't know about all of the fish you mentioned, but yes, your betta and your tetras will eat shrimplets if they can. I do have shrimp in the tank where my green neons and "jumbo" neon tetras live, but the only shrimp I ever see in there are full grown--the babies and young ones hide 24/7 I guess and the population has not grown.  Rachel O'Leary has a video about this:

2) I don't think you have to quarantine shrimp if you are adding them to a tank that only has fish in it, but you definitely should quarantine shrimp if you're adding them to a system that already has shrimp in it. Shrimp and fish don't share diseases but new shrimp can infect your existing shrimp.

3)re: hardscape: My shrimp use cholla wood to hide in from the fish in the tank and they also eat biofilm from the wood. I've seen youtubers use piles of stone instead of cholla wood, to give baby shrimp places to hide. Java moss is good but will not protect baby shrimp from active predator fish the same way a solid material like rock or wood will.

Recently I removed 10 or so juvenile guppies from the tank where I am raising orange shrimp. Before I removed the baby guppies, I only ever saw 7 adult shrimp and about 4 juveniles who looked like 'teenagers'. Within 24 hours of my removing the guppies, dozens and dozens of big kid, little kid, and baby shrimp came out of hiding and began walking around in the open. It was crazy how many there were that I never saw when there were fish in the tank. 

 

[nabokovfan87]

I think @Cinnebuns @Chick-In-Of-TheSea and @TeeJay all have some and can chime in here on what they do, what has been successful.

[TeeJay]

@PineSong said alot of the same things I would have said. I have a bit I can add. My shrimp are in a shrimp only tank so as far as what fish they would be ok with I'm not sure if. But as far as numbers go you can have quite a lot in a tank. My shrimp are in a 10 gal. I would say my colony is easily 65-100 shrimp with no I'll effects on parameters. So if you putting them into a 55, you should have no problem with 30. There bioload is so small that it would take way more than that to have a effect imo.

 

[Cinnebuns]

@PineSong did an amazing job. I can add a little. 

On 12/27/2022 at 5:59 PM, KittenFishMom said:

3) I have a lot of java moss and plants in my tank. Will they need hardscape to hide in too?

Cholla wood doesn't just provide places to hide but it helps to feed them too. It will grow biofilm and other micro organisms that they use to eat. In my tank I do have 2 other hard scape items, but I actually find the panda cory fry I have in there uses it more than the shrimp. Shrimplets absolutely will use a sponge filter both to hide and as a food source. 

On 12/27/2022 at 5:59 PM, KittenFishMom said:

4) What is a good number to get for a 55 gallon tank? I was thinking 30, but may be way off. Can I quarantine 30 in a 10 gallon tank?

That sounds like a solid plan to me. I started with 10 in my 10 gallon. 

On 12/27/2022 at 5:59 PM, KittenFishMom said:

Anything else I should know or will wish I had known before I get the shrimp?

1.  Make sure the tank isn't just cycled but seasoned. Shrimp are grazers and a seasoned tank will be able to provide food that a tank that is just cycled cannot. 

2.  You most likely will lose a majority of your starting shrimp. Shrimp are very sensitive to changing parameters. Even if you try your best to get as close to the paramaters they were born in, you will have losses. The idea is to have enough to survive that the next generation is now born into that tank and will thrive in it. 

3.  Get your shrimp from a breeder and not a store. This way you can ask them exactly what PH, GH and KH they were raised in and try to match that. This will increase your chances of success a lot. 

4.  Don't expect to see a berried female for a few months. That doesn't mean it won't happen, but it's just not common. They tend to not breed until they are comfortable with the new tank. I actually did get a berried female within my first month but then she died and within an hour all the eggs were eaten. Sigh. 

[PineSong]

One other thing I just thought of:  if there are fish in the tank, I feed repashy in the powder form so that it goes everywhere in the tank and baby shrimp who are hiding in cholla or the filter don't have to come out and about to look for food.

In my shrimp-only tank, I rarely feed powder and use shrimp pellets or veggies because it's cleaner. I put it in more than one location so there's not a brawl and even babies the size of an eyelash will come out to eat it.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 12/27/2022 at 10:55 PM, Cinnebuns said:

2.  You most likely will lose a majority of your starting shrimp. Shrimp are very sensitive to changing parameters. Even if you try your best to get as close to the paramaters they were born in, you will have losses. The idea is to have enough to survive that the next generation is now born into that tank and will thrive in it. 

Well, I’m glad this was said. I’m new to shrimp and bought 10 for my very well seasoned 10 gallon. I have 3 left; the others died over time. What seemed to kill them is 10% water changes. So I don’t really change water anymore or if I do I will drip it back in with airline. I was told that if/when they breed the shrimplets will be more resilient and ok with water changes.

I’d suggest having at least one mystery snail in with the shrimp. For one, the shrimp eat the snail poop because it is partially digested food and still contains nutrients. But most importantly the shrimp will ride around on the snail’s shell which is just adorable. And they will clean algae off the snail’s shell too.

Shrimp love floating water sprite and anacharis and are always in it. They also love driftwood.