# Pseudomugil gertrudae (Blue Eye Spotted Rainbow) and shrimp



## Harry Muscle (Oct 17, 2007)

Anyone every keep the Spotted Blue Eye Rainbow (Pseudomugil gertrudae) with their shrimp? They seem very similar in size to the Threadfin Rainbow fish, which is generally considered to be more or less safe with shrimp and shrimplets. My local fish store got some of the these gertrudaes in and I'm thinking of picking them up, but I'm not sure if they will devastate my shrimplets. Eating some is no problem, I just wanna make sure they're not hunters like for example Celestial Pearl Danios would.

Thanks,
Harry


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## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

I've kept them with cherry red shrimp for the past few years. I added them to tackle a planaria infestation, which they did very well. They are very good hunters, picking off even tiny little bugs. I've never seen them eating shrimplets, but I have noticed I don't see any now, and the shrimp population is slowly shrinking. I don't know whether I'm not seeing any shrimplets because they hide with fish around, or because they're being eaten. The fact that they were so good at picking off the planaria and the other various bugs in the tank makes me a little suspect...

In hindsight, I honestly wouldn't keep any fish with shrimp if you really want a large, active, visible shrimp population.


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## CRS Fan (Nov 25, 2008)

I would not recommend Pseudomugil gertrudae, Pseudomugil furcatus, Celestichthys margaritatus, or Iriatherina werneri for a shrimp tank. These guys will all hunt for shrimplets. The only fish I know that are shrimp safe are Boraras brigittae and Boraras merah. These guys are fine for lower grade CRS/Tigers and all Cherry variants. This comes from personal experience. I also would not mix fish with high grade shrimp species (CRS/Tigers) that have lower shrimplet survival rates. 

Good Luck on finding a suitable species.

Respectfully,

Stuart


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

My P. gertrudae definitely "control" my shrimp population. They don't seem to bother the adult shrimp in any way, but they will pick off shrimplets. 

Of course, their hunting ability will go down in a larger and more planted aquarium. 

GL!


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