I Said I Would Never Put Fish In My Shrimp Tank

[RyeGuy411]

So from the very start of shrimping I wanted shrimp only set ups.  The other day I got really sick and tired of the worms in my shrimp tanks that are all over the glass and everything else.  I decided the only real way to get rid of them was to add fish.  I went to the LFS who I knew had some Chili Rasboras left over from a special order. For some reason no one wanted them I guess because they are so tiny. Well they had gotten in a handful about two months ago and had one left that they didnt even know they had in a tank with Wild Green Tetras. So I did what I said I would never do and bought the last Rasbora and two Tetras.  A couple questions, does anyone have experience with the Wild Green Tetras like how big they get?  I am wondering if they would be shrimp safe in the long run, they are pretty small now.  And if I want them to eat the worms should I feed the fish on a regualr schedule?

[Greenteam]

What type of worms is it planaria,detritus, or something else?

 

I ask because I have detritus worms that just eat left overs and do no harm with chili rasboras in the tank and the fish ignore them lol.

[RyeGuy411]

Im not positive, they are tiny about 3mm long and flat.  I have them in all of my shrimp tanks, they seem to congregate on the glass and flat surfaces of the tank. Sometimes I see them free floating in the water curled in a C shape.  Im pretty sure they arent detritus worms and from what I can see I dont think they are planaria.  I dosed this tank heavily with fenbendazole before I added shrimp and they were completely unfazed.  They dont have a arrow shaped head and I cant see any eyespots.  But then again they are pretty tiny its hard to make out details even with a magniying glass.  But so far the fish dont seem that interested in them although its only been like 14 hours that they have been in the tank.

[Dendrobatez]

I have some wild caught green neon tetras with a group of chili rasboras, they get about 5-10% longer than the chili's and a little more robust and tubby looking. The rasboras seem to be more efficient micro predators than the tetras, after I put them in their tank I didn't feed them for 2 days and all the visible micro critters were gone and the rasboras were picking at the substrate and glass.

As far as being shrimp safe I wouldn't plan on it they can take some really large food for their size so I don't think shrimpletts will be safe.

I have these hockey stick pencilfish that are about 2" long and have the smallest mouths I've ever seen, I wouldn't mind putting them in with some shrimp to see if they get along.

[RyeGuy411]

Hmm well I guess I will see what happens with my annoying worm problem.  The funny thing is I really like the look of the fish I think when it gets to the point where I have berried shrimp I might have to rehome them, but for now there isnt any shrimp that are newborn.  

[Dendrobatez]

I can't say for certain that they will eat baby shrimp, I keep them with red rilis and their population grows but not super fast and some of the food I feed them is about the same size as the babies

Having 3 shouldn't be a problem to house, I used to keep a small handful in a gallon jar with a bunch of java moss an air stone and leaf litter as substrate with no ill effects, they even bred in there, so they are fairly un demanding

[RyeGuy411]

I was wondering if they breed.

[californiashrimp]

They may ignore adult shrimp but will almost certainly eat shrimplets.

 

Edit: oops didn't see how old the thread is!