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Overstocking? Ghost and Cherry Shrimp?

5K views 57 replies 11 participants last post by  Gallium 
#1 · (Edited)
I was wondering if this seems too overstocked. I have a 10 gallon dived tank, 1 mystery snail on each side and 2 ghost shrimp on each side. Would adding a cherry shrimp on each side would be too much?

Just wanted to add this picture of one of my ghost shrimp because it seems like there's more than one type of these guys. They're really small:
 
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#33 ·
You know what, I cannot guarantee anything. But I haven't had many casualties, I have only found dead adults so if babies are dying I don't know. However, I see baby shrimp and planaria on the glass all the time and they ignore each other. My shrimp tank's maintenance is pretty simple though, I don't scrub the glass (only near the top if I have any evaporation and the plants stick to it and dry in) and I only remove water and poop with a turkey baster (very gently) so I'm thinking the planaria don't have a reason to kill the shrimp bc there's enough food for them all.

I don't feed my shrimp very often but I read somewhere that you cn manually remove planaria by lowering a piece of red meat into the water and turning off the lights. Planaria will swarm it and you can remove that. I have not tried this bc I'm too afraid of what red meat can do to my water lol
 
#34 ·
Red meat? That is different lol! I'll have to read up on planaria, never heard of it before!

Also I swear the shrimp find my snail like some sorta attraction ride at a carnival. It's entertaining to watch my snail make her rounds around the tank and the shrimp climbing on top of her. :



These guys are really red and already eating!
 
#37 ·
Ah okay, they are roaming around some were hanging out on the filter eating. They seem really healthy! I just looked at parasite guard and it isn't safe for them. Looking up what planaria is it seems like mixed reviews on whether its harmful or not. Some are saying its usually confused with another type of worm too?
 
#38 ·
You can use a turkey baster to suck them up. Planaria are often caused by overfeeding. Remove any food not eaten within an hour. A turkey baster can be the best friend of a small tank.

BTW, if you have live plants, the shrimp will get plenty of food. Oh, those on the snail shell are probably cleaning it of algae.
 
#39 ·
They're so tiny I'd have no idea where to begin lol! Thank you, I'll have to go get one. I do have two live plants in there and plan on getting more. Does this mean that I shouldn't throw in some algae discs for them too? My snail eats a whole algae disc so I usually throw that in and break one up and give the shrimp a half of it.
 
#40 ·
Plnaria are usually confused with nematodes, I certainly made that mistake! But I also had both so...

I don't know where all this info is coming from, I might have over fed my shrimp when I got them but I have since removed their gravel and stopped feeding them almost altogether (they eat off the glass and live plants) and I also suction out the planaria when I see them. They still multiply. So I am one of the minority whose planaria thrive without the tank being overfed lol
 
#41 ·
I actually saw a bigger one aside from the tiny ones that I see and I think they're detritus worms, all the pictures I looked up of planaria the things seem to have arrowheads. The big one that I saw was really long and thin. Trying to find out more, it seems like you can't really use any chemicals as they're either dangerous for the shrimp or the snail. I just did a water change and vacuum of the gravel yesterday.
 
#42 ·
#43 ·
since you only have 10~ shrimp, only feed them about twice a week
and remove all food after 3 hours. Or else you'll have a BUNCH of pest, because there is no fish to eat them.

If you plan on breeding the shrimps, make sure u have a prefilter sponge if you are using a HOB filter, or else the baby shrimplets will get sucked in.
 
#44 ·
I really truly appreciate all the help, its been amazing! The little shrimp are doing well, you can see them eating off the plants, decor and the algae disc I threw in there. I will only feed twice a week now!

I'm also going to look into that prefilter sponge!
 
#49 ·
That I am, they were too tiny to see half of them too! I had to wait until I got them all in the tank to really see them. They are some really dark red shrimp! It's funny because the ghost shrimp are flying around the tank and these guys are just chilling, eating off the plants and decor lol.
 
#52 ·
I was seriously disappointed at first because I really thought he didn't send me 10 shrimp. However now I love seeing the little babies in the tank, they are doing so well and you can tell how red they'll be as they get bigger!

I've never owned any kind of shrimp before so I had no idea that you're not supposed to be feed them that much. I guess that explains why I have whatever is in my tank. I'm glad I at least vacuumed the gravel often but now I know now to add that much food often.
 
#54 ·
Okay I'm giving up, there is so many things living in the tank right now. I see seed shrimp (those things fly around at the top like drunk bees, they're all so tiny), copepods and those worms. I think they came in on the plants or shrimp because they weren't there a week before the shrimp or plants that I got came. I'm going to be buying a whole new tank (most likely a 37 gallon) as a kit. I'm excited because I've never had that big of a tank before, but I'm concerned about the process of moving all the itty bitty shrimp in. I'll figure out a way when the time comes. The shrimp are all happy and healthy but I can't stand seeing all the crap living in the tank lol. Honestly I stopped overfeeding and I think that's what made them all come out.
 
#55 · (Edited)
You're living with me on the bugs, man. I've come to accept them as part of a healthy ecosystem. All you can do is provide a good sponge filter (which is where I think have of my bugs are living when I attack the tank with my turkey baster) and periodical food. Honestly, with live plants (java moss, marimo moss) that are such slow growing you won't need to feed your shrimp pellets. The planaria are still there but I have mostly rid the seed shrimp (I spotted one yesterday) and there's no nematodes and the cyclops I like.

You'll have to be careful because when you transport shrimp (vie net) they will jump. It's too scary for me. Then you might take up some of the bugs you're trying to get rid of, plus the shrimp are probably also carriers. I've given up on the thought of trying to eliminate the other bugs in my shrimp tank. But a 37L is large enough for the small fish that eat tank bugs. I forget ehat they're called: something sort of rare like.
 
#56 ·
My filter is terrible, it's what came with the 10 gallon kit so I can't really complain too much. I have a 30-40 gallon filter downstairs that I could use but I have no idea if it would fit on the tank or be way too strong for it. I was looking for a sponge filter yesterday and couldn't find one. I probably didn't look hard enough but I wasn't too concerned because my filter isn't that strong. I don't have either in the tank but are you talking about the moss balls? I can get one of those for them. I don't think the worms are planeria, but those other type (the ones that resemble earthworms) I forgot the name.
 
#57 ·
Yes, sorry! Marimo = moss balls! lol Mine love playing on my moss balls and the babies like to play on the java moss.

Whatever output is usually fie because they'll avoid the stream but the input valve needs to be "baffled" so they cannot get stuck on it when they feed. Because of the bacteria on filters, shrimp like to feed on them- which is why sponge filters are always recommended for shrimp.

If you can put together a sponge filter (usually this can be done for 5$) they'll be a lot happier eating the things they're meant to eat. Since you have a 10g you can use a regular 10g filter but a sponge filter attachment should be made available for the shrimp. This can even be as simple as using the 30-40g filter and attaching a clean sponge or double layer of panty hose to the input valve with an elastic band.
 
#58 ·
The terms ghost and glass shrimp are a catch-all name for many species of clear shrimp, so them looking a bit different from each other is pretty normal. The only concern is if you get one with long arms and blue claws, as that is actually juvenile predatory prawn, and will get pretty darn big and hunt other shrimp and fish. I've gotten them twice from major chain stores, and they can get mixed in pretty often. The good news is that you can house them separately and grow them to eatin' size! ;)

Ghost shrimp are not biofilm or algae eaters. What this means is that they pretty much just eat uneaten fish food and dead animals in the tank. They may also eat microbes and occasionally catch and eat smaller invertebrates in the tank like baby snails and copepods.

They don't have a very high bioload, and can be kept in the numbers suggested above (10 per gallon) for tanks 30 gallons and under. Generally for a standard 10 gallon tank I suggest 5 per gallon or less, unless heavily planted to provide foraging space.Tanks 35-75 gallons can house 15 shrimp per gallon, and tanks larger than 75 can generally house 20 ghost shrimp per gallon, provided proper filtration is provided.

RCS are biofilm eaters, and I believe they will also feast on diatoms and some types of aquatic fungus. They have very low bioloads, and can be kept in high numbers, though it's not suggested to pack them in tightly.

A good max point is 15 shrimp per gallon for tanks 15-30 gallons. I normally suggest less than 5 shrimp per gallon for tanks that are standard 10g size, as there's not much floorspace, and these guys breed very quickly. Because RCS are mainly biofilm eaters, they need a lot of foraging space, so if you only plan to be low or moderately planted (low planted is 20-30 plants of moderate size), reduce the number accordingly.

I don't know what your whole tank looks like, but judging from your photo I'm going to go with the assumption that it's very lightly planted. In this case you'll want to go with ghost shrimp, and not cherries, since you may not have enough biofilm for the cherries and will end up needing to feed them additionally. you'd be fine adding two more per side, but you can probably go as high as 10-15 per half. I'd just get a handful more (2-5) as they will actually breed and fill in pretty quick.

I had 20 gallon guppy breeding tank that started out with 10 ghost shrimp and ended with about ~400 or so by the end of the summer, even with me constantly taking them out to feed off to my other pets!
 
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