shrimps & stocking levels

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.

"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.)

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! ;-)

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.

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...

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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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

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.

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!