Tank Mates

[LillianPip]

I recently bought a few (cherry maybe?) shrimp to go into my 10g tank and I wanted to make sure none of my other fish would pose a problem. I have 2 glofish tetras, one fancy guppy, and a small bristlenose pleco. I have a piece of driftwood, an anubias, and some java moss for them to hide in, but in the past my shrimp have never bred and have all died off within a year and I wanted to make sure they aren't getting harassed or eaten. 

[JT_Redmist]

Hi Lillian,

Others might feel differently, however if you want your shrimps to feel safe and breed I wouldn't keep them with any fish.  The bristlenose might be ok, but the glofish and guppy I'd say no.  People have successfully kept fish and shrimps together, and have them breed, but with lots of hiding spaces.  Personally if you like shrimps to breed and thrive I would keep the shrimps by themselves. Remember.  Fish eat shrimps.  

[JSak]

I agree with JT_Redmist, it ultimately depends on what your goal is for your shrimp and aquarium. If your goal is to breed as many shrimp as possible I wouldn’t recommend putting any kind of fish in the tank. The rule of thumb is that if a baby shrimp could fit into the fish’s mouth there’s a risk that they’ll eat babies, and shrimplets are very tiny so I’m not sure that there’s any type of fish that won’t go for them except maybe the micro rasboras. You can definitely keep and even breed shrimp with fish, but you most likely will have less babies as the fish will most likely pick off a few with each batch. Having hiding spaces is definitely important for the shrimp to feel safe and secure, especially when they’re most vulnerable after molting. If you’re concerned about your fish attacking your shrimp I’d recommend sitting and watching your tank for 5-10 min to see how they interact once they become used to your presence, or you can watch from a distance to see if the fish show any kind of aggressive behavior towards the shrimp. If you haven’t noticed the fish attacking the shrimp in the past I’d say it most likely isn’t happening too often.

 

The fact your shrimp haven’t been breeding and slowly dying off could also mean that there is something that might be off with your water parameters or tank conditions. Have you tested the water recently for things like ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite?

[wyzazz]

Yep, shrimp tankmates are pretty much snails, thai micro crabs...   ...yeah, that's about it.  😐

[Shrimp Life]

I agree with the others, no fish with shrimp for best results