# Crystal Red Shrimp Tank mates



## bgodwin1987

What types of small fish would be good tank mates for Crystal Red Shrimp? I have them in a 10 gallon planted tank. I would like to throw a few Zebra or Leopard Danios and some Platies in there. Do you think enough baby shrimp would live? I just want my shrimp to be able to sustain themselves. Any other small fish that would be good? Thanks I'm new to Shrimp keeping until now iv only kept ghost shrimp.


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## spypet

10gal is already pretty small, so don't get carried away with too much new bioload.
you also need to distinguish between shrimplet(baby) safe fish, and shrimp safe fish,
since you may get entirely different answers to such questions. if you search forums
for shrimp safe fish, you'll find years of discussion on this. if you want baby shrimp 
safe fish, your choices will be very limited, but in that case I'll be glad to help you 

BTW, CRS are not a good "new to shrimp" species,
as water must be high quality and high consistency.
IMHO you should be focused on keeping them alive
and breeding, than stressing them with more fish.


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## bgodwin1987

Sorry I didn't clairify its an already established tank I just got the Crystal red shrimp I bought them at petsmart there are only three of them. They seem to be doing well. I have had them for 6 days. I have 1 platy that was already in the tank I was wanting to get him a friend cause he acts strange being alone, either that or ill move him to my 55 gallon there are like 6 platies in there. Fish I was thinking about were Oto's, White Clouds, Danios, possibly platies. I just want fish that wont eat adult shrimps, and wont be heavy predators on the shrimplets, the tank is planted and has lots of java moss so it has a lot of hiding places, I just want the shrimps to be able to sustain themselves if they breed. Also any other fish you would recommend to live with crystal red shrimp.


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## spypet

it's rare to find a live-bearer tank clean enough to house CRS,
so I must first congratulate you on your tank keeping skills 

_sorry to sound so "tough" but a forum like this gets new people
showing up almost daily with "what can I keep with that" questions.
it's hopeless to help them since we never really know their tanks,
and most fish compatibility is anecdotal, with few stead fast rule._

I can already tell you that half your potential tank inhabitants
will eat CRS fry (as well as their own fry) if given the chance.
so livebarers, and most dainios and tetras will eat fry, most small
fish will leave adults alone with cover plants and good feeding.
thinking what's typically sold in LPS, I would avoid getting any
gouramis or widemouth catfish, as they will even harass adults.

if your main focus is to make the CRS Fry feel comfortable, you 
will notice RCS keepers hosting various other invertebrates, and 
various small rasping mouth (oto) or small barbel mouth (cory) fish.

you will occasionally see other small fish that are CRS fry friendly,
but experiences vary widely due to tank conditions, cover, and 
how well the tank is being fed. for example, one poster my write
his ember tetras don't eat fry, while another will say they do. so
it often boils down to tank scape and feeding, not the fish choice.

most with 2 tanks like us, keep the small tank invert only, and the large
for community fish. some occasionally leave adults in the large tanks,
then move only berried females to the small tank to save the shrimplets.


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## aquarliam

zebra danios will tear apart any shrimp that moves... I can speak by experience here.


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## bgodwin1987

Anyone Have experience with Sparkling Gourami's or Threadfin Rainbows with CRS?


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## TAB

thread fins will go after the babys, I know I have both. I have no idea about the sparkiling gouramis.


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## spypet

all gouramis even tiny sparkling ones are adult shrimp killers.
i know this first hand - notice them in my signature photo


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## gBOYsc2

TAB said:


> thread fins will go after the babys, I know I have both. I have no idea about the sparkiling gouramis.


That is surprising to me. I would have thought they wouldn't be able to eat them because my Threadfins wouldn't even eat the larger of the sized daphnia.


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## TAB

they don't have to be able to eat them to try and eat them. remember the babys are super tiny. 

Then again I have some huge threadfins. The males are 2"


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## spypet

I wonder if among the variables is shrimp fry vs. daphnia behavior.
for example, I notice bumblebee goby would go nuts hunting live
mid water brine shrimp, yet left surfaces dwelling RCS fry alone.


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## spypet

I'm reading many anecdotes of shy Celestial Pearl Danio NOT prying on shrimp fry.
can anyone with CPD's in their shrimp breeding tanks confirm this?
I ignored the CPD craze a few years back, so I have no experience with that fish yet.
I know from other Danios I've had that their mouths are very small,
but they go after live Brine Shrimp, so I only assumed shrimp fry would not be safe,
but I also assumed that about bumblebee gobys till I observed otherwise.


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## mfgann

Even guppies and neons become ferocious predators with shrimp fry. Your choices are pretty limited if you want to breed them up. If you have lots of cover, and breed up the shrimp colony to a good size first, you might have better luck adding an occasional fish, but be ready to pull it out if you notice your colony shrinking.


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