# Mixing Shrimps?



## howie (Jan 5, 2007)

I've never had freshwater shrimps before. Can you mix different species?

Also do you know if a large angelfish will make a meal out of some amano shrimps?


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## fish newb (May 10, 2006)

howie said:


> I've never had freshwater shrimps before. Can you mix different species?
> 
> Also do you know if a large angelfish will make a meal out of some amano shrimps?


Welcome to the shrimp side! Theres no going back now !

You can mix different species but you don't want them to interbreed so it's best to mix shrimp that won't interbreed with each other....

For example a good combination could be: Red Cherry shrimp, Crystal Red shrimp and some Black diamond shrimp, and some amono shrimp. The problem with keeping different shrimps together is that they all are a little bit different so if you really want to breed them you will want a separate tank per species! But yes it can and has been done. Right now I keep CRS with cherries for example since I haven't converted the 10g I have to their tank yet..

A angle fish isn't really an angle, they will hunt down your shrimp Pretty much every type, sometimes the large prawns can hold their own but will also usually eat plants and your fish:boxing:

-Andrew


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## howie (Jan 5, 2007)

Thanks for the quick reply fish newb! How about Discus?

Also what is the temp limit for a shrimp? I want to put them in with some Discus.


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## Shrimp&Snails (Mar 27, 2006)

Some species of shrimp do better in different water parameters (hard water/softwater/high PH/low PH) so that's also something else to consider aswell as interbreeding.

If you're going to try and keep dwarf shrimp with large fish I suspect your fish will enjoy some expensive live snacks.


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## fish newb (May 10, 2006)

howie said:


> Thanks for the quick reply fish newb! How about Discus?
> 
> Also what is the temp limit for a shrimp? I want to put them in with some Discus.


I've seen some people keep things like cherries and ghost shrimp with those dinner plates, and I've seen mixed reviews. USUALLY you want the shrimp in there a few months and to have LOTS of hiding spots!

But I really suggest trying a shrimp only tank if possible since they could always turn into an expensive shrimp cocktail!

-Andrew


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## nswhite (Aug 25, 2006)

I have a 10 gal crs tank and I had a small fish in there with the shrimps and I wasnt getting alot of babies so I took out the small fish and then there was an explosion of baby shrimps so I would recommend putting only shrimps in the tank unless you dont care about breeding and stuff. Good luck.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Most any fish that has a large enough mouth will eat shrimp. You can cut down on the shrimp losses by having a heavily planted tank. But be prepared to lose some shrimp.

As long as you don't plan on selling your shrimp mixing species that intrebreed will be ok, if you don't mind what they look like. I keep Bees, Amano's, Cherry's, Snowball's & Blue shrimp together. I do have some less colorful hybrids from intrebreeding.


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## Cassie (May 27, 2006)

if you do mix species that can interbreed, make sure not to pass the shrimp on, unless telling the other person exactly what it is! 

and, to echo what has been said, if the fish has a mouth big enough to fit the shrimp in (baby or adult) it will. I am able to keep adult rcs with dwarf gouramis, but I don't get any babies from that tank, despite it being heavily planted


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## howie (Jan 5, 2007)

Unfortunately, I made this post after I put my new Amano shrimps with a large german blue ram. Got home from work to find 1 out of four. Took the Ram out right away. Lucky for me the one leftover is a female with eggs.

I have a SAE and 4 pygmy cory in there now. Do you think they will eat the babies?


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## argblarg (Aug 10, 2006)

Amano shrimp will not hatch in freshwater, so I would say no because you will have no babies.


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

They'll hatch, but not survive.


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## howie (Jan 5, 2007)

What kind of water do they hatch in?

Also what kind of filter do you use if you want to breed them?


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

It takes brackish water for the larvae to survive... UniQuaria Articles - Breeding the Amano Shrimp - Uniting Aquarists Around The World


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## fish newb (May 10, 2006)

cydric said:


> They'll hatch, but not survive.


Excatly. Its really hard to get a good system for breeding amano shrimp, but once you do you'll be all set cash wise for a while... 

-Andrew


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## Neon Shrimp (Apr 26, 2006)

> If you're going to try and keep dwarf shrimp with large fish I suspect your fish will enjoy some expensive live snacks.


I agree with this statement! Also, a betta and some other fish will tear a shrimp apart even if it does not fit into its mouth


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## jeff63851 (Feb 23, 2005)

Out of all the fish I put in my shrimp tank, the only fish that left my shrimp alone are the Otocinclus and the corydoras. I'm not so sure about other fishes though.


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