shrimps & stocking levels

[slylittlei]

I'm tempted by the idea of adding some small freshwater shrimp to my 25g
tank, currently home to 6 red eyed tetra, 6 peppered Corys, 3 elderly
cardinals & an Otocinclus haroldoi (plus a jungle of bogwood & Java fern),
but I'm not sure how they'll affect my stocking level - should I stock them
in the same way as fish ( I try & stick to 1"/gallon), or can I get away
with more?
I don't have an algae problem, but the Oto is fat & well, so evidently
there's enough, & I can always add spirulina tablets as a supplement if
needed...
(pH 7.2, NO3 0, NO2 0, GH >10, KH 0, temp 26deg C.)

[CanadianCray]

That 1" per gallon rule is BULL IMO. There would be no problem in adding
some shrimp. If you want them for algae eating I would recommend Amano.

"slylittlei" > wrote in message
k...
> I'm tempted by the idea of adding some small freshwater shrimp to my 25g
> tank, currently home to 6 red eyed tetra, 6 peppered Corys, 3 elderly
> cardinals & an Otocinclus haroldoi (plus a jungle of bogwood & Java fern),
> but I'm not sure how they'll affect my stocking level - should I stock
> them
> in the same way as fish ( I try & stick to 1"/gallon), or can I get away
> with more?
> I don't have an algae problem, but the Oto is fat & well, so evidently
> there's enough, & I can always add spirulina tablets as a supplement if
> needed...
> (pH 7.2, NO3 0, NO2 0, GH >10, KH 0, temp 26deg C.)
>
>
>

[slylittlei]

CanadianCray muttered darkly:
> "slylittlei" > wrote in message
> k...
>> I'm tempted by the idea of adding some small freshwater shrimp to my
>> 25g tank, currently home to 6 red eyed tetra, 6 peppered Corys, 3
>> elderly cardinals & an Otocinclus haroldoi (plus a jungle of bogwood
>> & Java fern), but I'm not sure how they'll affect my stocking level
>> - should I stock them
>> in the same way as fish ( I try & stick to 1"/gallon), or can I get
>> away with more?
>> I don't have an algae problem, but the Oto is fat & well, so
>> evidently there's enough, & I can always add spirulina tablets as a
>> supplement if needed...
>> (pH 7.2, NO3 0, NO2 0, GH >10, KH 0, temp 26deg C.)

> That 1" per gallon rule is BULL IMO. There would be no problem in
> adding some shrimp. If you want them for algae eating I would
> recommend Amano.

Yep, it was those I was thinking of.
As far as the 1"/gallon rule goes, I'd say it depends on how often you carry
out water changes, what the turnover of your filter is & many other
factors - I find it a useful rule of thumb, but then I prefer not to cram my
tanks to full capacity anyway; I like to see a bit of water between the
fish! ;-)

[IDzine01]

I have found shrimp to be light on the bioload. I consider ghost shrimp
as freebies. I add about 8 or so to a 10 gallon and didn't observe any
difference.

I would add something for the oto unless you're sure there is enough to
eat already. I have always had to supplement their diets, though I
don't know what others do.

[slylittlei]

IDzine01 muttered darkly:
> I have found shrimp to be light on the bioload. I consider ghost
> shrimp as freebies. I add about 8 or so to a 10 gallon and didn't
> observe any difference.
>
> I would add something for the oto unless you're sure there is enough
> to eat already. I have always had to supplement their diets, though I
> don't know what others do.

The Oto's fine - I've had it for about 3 months now, & I'm sure (s)he's
grown by about a third in that time!
There's a *lot* of bogwood in the tank, some of it has been in my tanks
continuously for years, so there's plenty of algae around. I periodically
clean the front glass when I waterchange, but always leave the back & sides
well alone.
Once a week I put a spirulina tablet in for the Cory's benefit, but so far
the Oto's not shown any interest.
I've read elsewhere that Oto's can be a bit of an "all or nothing" fish -
they either thrive, or die within weeks...
Interesting what you say about ghost shrimp, I'm very tempted now - might
have to scope out my LFS this weekend...

[Richard Sexton]

In article >,
slylittlei > wrote:
>I'm tempted by the idea of adding some small freshwater shrimp to my 25g
>tank, currently home to 6 red eyed tetra, 6 peppered Corys, 3 elderly
>cardinals & an Otocinclus haroldoi (plus a jungle of bogwood & Java fern),
>but I'm not sure how they'll affect my stocking level - should I stock them
>in the same way as fish ( I try & stick to 1"/gallon), or can I get away
>with more?
>I don't have an algae problem, but the Oto is fat & well, so evidently
>there's enough, & I can always add spirulina tablets as a supplement if
>needed...
>(pH 7.2, NO3 0, NO2 0, GH >10, KH 0, temp 26deg C.)

Shrimp ar amazingly intolerant of ammonia. If your water is very clean and
you change a lot of it you can get away with it but your margin of error
is pretty slim.

Shrimp are way cool through and frankly it's worth setting up
a tank of moss and rocks just for them.



--
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[Gill Passman]

slylittlei wrote:
> IDzine01 muttered darkly:
>
>>I have found shrimp to be light on the bioload. I consider ghost
>>shrimp as freebies. I add about 8 or so to a 10 gallon and didn't
>>observe any difference.
>>
>>I would add something for the oto unless you're sure there is enough
>>to eat already. I have always had to supplement their diets, though I
>>don't know what others do.
>
>
> The Oto's fine - I've had it for about 3 months now, & I'm sure (s)he's
> grown by about a third in that time!
> There's a *lot* of bogwood in the tank, some of it has been in my tanks
> continuously for years, so there's plenty of algae around. I periodically
> clean the front glass when I waterchange, but always leave the back & sides
> well alone.
> Once a week I put a spirulina tablet in for the Cory's benefit, but so far
> the Oto's not shown any interest.
> I've read elsewhere that Oto's can be a bit of an "all or nothing" fish -
> they either thrive, or die within weeks...
> Interesting what you say about ghost shrimp, I'm very tempted now - might
> have to scope out my LFS this weekend...
>
>
My otos only eat what has grown naturally in the tank ie. algae. I've
never seen them touch any processed food including algae wafers. I have
seen them starve themselves to death if there is insufficient algae. So,
like you I only clean the front glass - everything else gets left for
the algae eaters

Gill

[slylittlei]

Richard Sexton muttered darkly:
> In article >,
> slylittlei > wrote:
>> I'm tempted by the idea of adding some small freshwater shrimp to my
>> 25g tank, currently home to 6 red eyed tetra, 6 peppered Corys, 3
>> elderly cardinals & an Otocinclus haroldoi (plus a jungle of bogwood
>> & Java fern), but I'm not sure how they'll affect my stocking level
>> - should I stock them in the same way as fish ( I try & stick to
>> 1"/gallon), or can I get away with more?
>> I don't have an algae problem, but the Oto is fat & well, so
>> evidently there's enough, & I can always add spirulina tablets as a
>> supplement if needed...
>> (pH 7.2, NO3 0, NO2 0, GH >10, KH 0, temp 26deg C.)
>
> Shrimp ar amazingly intolerant of ammonia. If your water is very
> clean and you change a lot of it you can get away with it but your
> margin of error is pretty slim.
>
> Shrimp are way cool through and frankly it's worth setting up
> a tank of moss and rocks just for them.

Thanks for the info - think I'll give 'em a go in my main tank... it's
lightly stocked, & I change around 20% of the water every fortnight, which
thus far has kept NO3 & NO2 at a negligible level.

[slylittlei]

Gill Passman muttered darkly:
> slylittlei wrote:
>> IDzine01 muttered darkly:
>>
>>> I have found shrimp to be light on the bioload. I consider ghost
>>> shrimp as freebies. I add about 8 or so to a 10 gallon and didn't
>>> observe any difference.
>>>
>>> I would add something for the oto unless you're sure there is enough
>>> to eat already. I have always had to supplement their diets, though
>>> I don't know what others do.
>>
>>
>> The Oto's fine - I've had it for about 3 months now, & I'm sure
>> (s)he's grown by about a third in that time!
>> There's a *lot* of bogwood in the tank, some of it has been in my
>> tanks continuously for years, so there's plenty of algae around. I
>> periodically clean the front glass when I waterchange, but always
>> leave the back & sides well alone.
>> Once a week I put a spirulina tablet in for the Cory's benefit, but
>> so far the Oto's not shown any interest.
>> I've read elsewhere that Oto's can be a bit of an "all or nothing"
>> fish - they either thrive, or die within weeks...
>> Interesting what you say about ghost shrimp, I'm very tempted now -
>> might have to scope out my LFS this weekend...
>>
>>
> My otos only eat what has grown naturally in the tank ie. algae. I've
> never seen them touch any processed food including algae wafers. I
> have seen them starve themselves to death if there is insufficient
> algae. So, like you I only clean the front glass - everything else
> gets left for the algae eaters
>
> Gill

Yup, I've never worried about algae in the tank anyway (provided it's not
blue-green or swamping my plants that is) - it's all part of a natural
system.
My main tank used to be set up in a spot that caught indirect sunlight for a
few hours a day, & algae was a bit of a problem at times, but I eventually
wised up & relocated it to an alcove that gets no natural light at all -
since then everything has balanced itself out nicely!