# how many ghost shrimp



## yellowfox (Nov 14, 2006)

How many gost shrimp can i put in a 55g tank with 2 clown loches 2 to 3 in.and 5 gourami 2-2 1/2 in.and 1 2 in. pleco?The tank is hevely planted. I know the loches will slowly eat the shrimp but the shrimp help a lot with keeping every one and every thing in the tank healther.even if i have to replace them because of predation.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I agree having shrimp does add an additional clean up crew for food, detris, and some algae. Factoring loach and gourami predation, I would stick in at least 40 ghost shrimp. Ghost shrimp are pretty cheap ($.25), so get a bunch cause they will be eaten eventually. 

-John N.


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

When I had my 55 community tank set up (no loaches, but gouramis), I would add 100 at a time. I purchased them as feeders at 100 for $12.00 or 15 cents a piece. After about six months, I'd add another 100 even though there were some left. Then, I got smart and loaded the bottom of the tank up with moss. I never had to buy ghost shrimp again because so few were eaten and the babies could survive.


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

yellowfox said:


> How many gost shrimp can i put in a 55g tank with 2 clown loches 2 to 3 in.and 5 gourami 2-2 1/2 in.and 1 2 in. pleco?The tank is hevely planted. I know the loches will slowly eat the shrimp but the shrimp help a lot with keeping every one and every thing in the tank healther.even if i have to replace them because of predation.


I'm not sure what exactly you mean by your question. I'm guessing either you want to know how many to put in to handle the algae/cleanup in a 55g...that I wouldn't know. Or...the question is how many you could safely keep in a 55g without crashing the tank due to added bioload. As for the second questions, you could probably have a 1000 in your tank and not have much impact...they take up very little oxygen and the bioload is minimal...you can really pack them in. Good luck keeping them with clown loaches.


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## yellowfox (Nov 14, 2006)

Thats what I wanted to know. I know the fish will eat them. but there cheep , good for the fish and help with tank mantance. and if i by them 100 or more at a time I wont unbalance my tank. as my nearst LFS will only order 500 or more.


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

yellowfox said:


> Thats what I wanted to know. I know the fish will eat them. but there cheep , good for the fish and help with tank mantance. and if i by them 100 or more at a time I wont unbalance my tank. as my nearst LFS will only order 500 or more.


Glad to know I could help. As far as bioload, 100 is no problem for a 55 gallon. You could add in 50 at a time to reduce the impact....just in case. Just buy two bags of 50 at a time...add one bag, wait a day and rip open the other bag. That's only if you want to be super careful but I really can't imagine it being much of a problem to dump in a 100 shrimp. Just keep an eye on your tank the first time you do it and see how everything reacts but you should be fine.

The real problem is how pissed off the LFS is going to be trying to count out a 100 ghost shrimp :heh:

And your right, everything will be healthier...the plants and your clown loaches.


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