Algae Eating Shrimp in our 10 gallon guppy tank

[Liane]

Just posted on the main forum about my son's 10 gallon guppy tank.  We've been very pleased with it and included two Algae eating shrimp in for fun.  They are apparently flourishing because in re-scaping the tank the other day we saw larval shrimp!  I love watching the shrimp cleaning the tank.  They are definitely fun.  I think some Cherry Reds are in our future.   My son takes great delight in trying to find the shrimp in the tank since it contains a fair amount of plants and hidey places.  Kind of the aquatic equivalent of "Where's Waldo?"

Given that the tank is only 10 gallons and contains 6 guppies, plus the two Algae eaters, would I be pushing my luck in adding some Cherry Red shrimp to the tank?  If you're curious about the parameters on the tank you can look at my other post on the main forum.  All the nitty gritty details are there.

Thanks and enjoy!

Liane and Ian (it's his tank really!)

[RussGB]

Re: Algae Eating Shrimp in our 10 gallon guppy tank

er...what kind of algae eating shrimp? Amanos and Bamboo won't breed successfully in freshwater. If you have Ghost or Glass they are predatory to small fish and shrimps.....They breed well, but will be problematic if your guppies breed, or if you add cherries in.

Are you sure they were larval shrimps and not scuds or similar?

BTW tank looks awesome!

[Liane]

Re: Algae Eating Shrimp in our 10 gallon guppy tank

That's a good question.  We bought them at Aquatic World on Jones near 290 and the tank was simply labeled Algae eating shrimp.  We did have two ghost shrimp (that have since died) and these two don't look anything like them in coloring.

As for interaction between these guys and the guppies, they ignore the guppies (including the fry).  I've seen fry actually hang out right around the shrimp.  So whatever kind they are, they don't seem too predatory  

As for larval shrimp, maybe I'm wrong, guess I need to go research what scuds look like versus larval shrimp.

Thanks for the info!
Liane

[Ellen]

Re: Algae Eating Shrimp in our 10 gallon guppy tank

Those are Amano Shrimp.

Ellen