Angelfish v shrimp: the sad and entirely predictable results

[PineSong]

My 29g had approximately 500 red cherry shrimp in it. Every surface at every time of day was bedecked with shrimp.

Then I decided to move my baby angelfish in there as backup in case of any livebearer fry after discovering I'd had stealth males in with my female guppies 😞

There was already a lot of cholla and rock piles for the shrimplets to hide from the livebearers, but I added even more to give the shrimp more places to chill without harassment. They can basically go the entire back two inches of the tank without being exposed, due to cholla and coconut husks.

Not good enough!

One week in, when I look into the tank I see 3 shrimp. If I drop in an algae wafer after dark and pop the lights on, I see maybe 20. 

My angelfish used to be a pale little dude, silvery with just a bit of yellow toward the front. He has grown visibly and appears much more yellow with orange up front and running up his dorsal fin now.

I have learned a hard lesson about the hunting prowess of baby angelfish. I hope the shrimp population can hang on undercover until the fry threat is past and Kevin can be relocated. Meanwhile I will add more fry hides.

 

 

 

[Guppysnail]

Don’t lose hope. Shrimp are unseen ninjas. Many have most likely found stealth hiding. Once Kevin is moved more will start slowly making themselves visible. When I added my guppies to a shrimp tank I thought they got wiped out. After awhile I almost suddenly noticed there were a plethora again. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/14/2023 at 7:16 AM, PineSong said:

I have learned a hard lesson about the hunting prowess of baby angelfish. I hope the shrimp population can hang on undercover until the fry threat is past and Kevin can be relocated. Meanwhile I will add more fry hides.

I've kept one angel, his name was Logan, after wolverine.

Definitely good at finding food even after a big meal.

[PineSong]

On 1/14/2023 at 12:23 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I've kept one angel, his name was Logan, after wolverine.

Definitely good at finding food even after a big meal.

Right!? I feed the tank 2x a day and Kevin still must have eaten dozens per day?

[Lennie]

I want to keep Angels. Why do they have to be bullies smh. 😠

[mynameisnobody]

Cichlids are gonna cichlid. I love them, you just gotta love them for what they are. 

[PineSong]

On 1/14/2023 at 2:32 PM, Mynameisnobody said:

Cichlids are gonna cichlid. I love them, you just gotta love them for what they are. 

I have such mixed feelings about him. On the one hand, I know he is doing nothing wrong. Shrimp are fish food, if you're a fish. On the other hand, I hate the feeling that shrimp are sitting ducks in an unnatural environment while he treats the tank like a buffet. On the third hand, he is awfully cute and the way he hovers and darts around is adorable. 

He's like a koala bear hitman.

[mynameisnobody]

@PineSong all you can do is live and learn. Now you’ll know what to add and when not to add inverts. I’ve been through it and the hunting doesn’t bother me as much as having to shell out top dollar for RCS dinners, all the while I haven’t had a decent steak in a year or so. 

[JettsPapa]

You said you're going to add more hiding places.  You probably already know this, but adding dry fallen leaves from hardwood trees like oak is one of the best things for shrimp.  They do double duty by providing hiding places and food for the shrimp.

[PineSong]

On 1/18/2023 at 9:23 AM, JettsPapa said:

You said you're going to add more hiding places.  You probably already know this, but adding dry fallen leaves from hardwood trees like oak is one of the best things for shrimp.  They do double duty by providing hiding places and food for the shrimp.

Noted. I actually have an oak stump that has sprouted some suckers I can get leaves from, thank you.

Edited January 18 by PineSong

[jwcarlson]

My kerri and cardinal tetras will occasionally eat one of the full grown ones.  In part of a pretty... violent... process.  I know they've got to be eating the smaller ones too.  Which I am OK with.  I would imagine a growing angelfish could make really short work of a shrimp colony, though.  I've found that a coarse sponge filter does a good job of hiding the shimplets (I call them shrimp motels).  But if it doesn't take a very big mouth to eat an adult shrimp like a burrito.