# Red Cherry Shrimp Hiding



## Smoothtinge

I purchased 20+ RCS online and placed them in a tank with no fish. When i first placed them in for the first two days they all seemed pretty active I have only been able to find the body of one shrimp and that was within the first couple days. My problem is that when I am looking into the tank I can only count at the most 5 shrimp at any time. I was wondering since the tank is pretty heavily planted if they are really good at hiding or if they all have just died? Do you think I should remove the plants to see if they are still alive?


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## Rony1107

I had the same problem within 24 hrs they go into hiding. May be a shrimp or a few shrimps died due to stress of shipping. U may not find all the bodies coz shrimps usually eat the dead. After a week or so they feel comfortable in their new home. Usually u can see they when they come out to feed. If u have a heavily planted aquarium u cannot see them very often. Do u have any fish in the tank coz fish cause stress to the new shrimps. An advice pls check yr tank water parameters. How big and old is yr tank ? Do u have weekly water changes ? Can u give the relevant inf.so we can try and help further.
I have a 12.5 gallon tank with guppies n denticulata its a yr old they're living together for 6 months and the shrimps swim along with the fish. I check the water parameters once a week. Every month I see females with eggs and 1.5 months after releasing the shrimplets I tiny green shrimps in the aquarium. I have a 8 gallon tank 2 mths old with Sakura shrimps (who r very shy) with Gold ancistrus L-144 and a black spotted ancistrus. Both my tanks r heavily planted yet I see them when they come out to eat as I place the sera natural shrimp pellets or hikari pellets in a place where I can see they clearly.
In the first month of introduction to their tanks I barely saw these shrimps. It takes time but they get used to the surrounding and once they feel safe they come out of their hiding places.


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## neilshieh

i've had no problems with my fish and shrimps in my pretty heavily planted tank. my yellow shrimps are seen wandering around with my ottos, SAE, and pygmy cories in my 20 gallon long with lots of plants and 2 big pieces of driftwood. check your water parameters, usually if you're dosing too much ferts or don't do enough water changes it won't support life. what i like to do is net one shrimp before putting them all in and leave the net in the water, later i come back to check if that one shrimp is alive or not and that determines if i put in the others.


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## niko

Welcome to the wonderful world of shrimp reality!

Shrimp react to a bewildering number of factors. The water quality is only one (and complex).

Trying to figure out why the tiny buggers act funky is very frustrating. Try to be reasonable about it and not worry too much. 

Simply put - if the shrimp are not happily flying all over something is stressing them. From here you are on your own figuring out how to please them.

Also - shrimp are masters in hiding. An example with larger shrimp - 200 Amanos in a 55 gallon tank will never let you see more than 20-30 at a time. The rest hide so well that you will swear they are all dead or jumped out and crawled away, far away.

--Nikolay


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## Smoothtinge

For some reason I think they like to come out at night. If I wait a few hours after lights out and turn it on they I notice a bit more shrimp but they head right for the safety of the plants. Oh well I guess if they really bread like everyone says I should have my numbers up in no time. Now I just have to sit back and wait. Also do you think fry could eat baby shrimp?


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## Rony1107

Yes fries do eat baby shrimp therefore it is better to keep fishes in a separate aquarium. The most preferred fishes in a shrimp aquarium are otocinclus, ancistrus. I have sewellia lineoleta in one of my aquariums but it is a difficult fish coz it needs certain conditions like PH 6-7 temp.22-24 very clean water, an old aquarium so I would not advise this fish. You can always add nerite snails-algae cleaners and Applesnails-Pomacea bridgesii who eat of rotting plants n left over food.
In short if u really want to keep fish along with shrimps choose the quiet ones otherise shrimps r stressed out. You do not want that.


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## neilshieh

not neccessarily, as i mentioned i keep yellow shrimp with 11 pygmy cories(very active) (got them from niko, great fish and quality!) and a very active SAE and couple of endler fry, and one otto (ill be getting more) the shrimp have no problems with the other fish. i see all of them walking around just like they do in a shrimp only tank (i used to have a shrimp only tank with cherries)


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