Ghost Shrimp??? Do they get along with Cories?

[Mantis_22]

At Wal-Mart I have seen these little guys, they look pretty cool other than well.. they are clear lol. I was wondering. In my cycled 10 gallon im about to switch out all Four of my cherry barbs for 5 cories and I was wondering if 2-3 Ghost shrimp would be a good addition? I mean how much living space do they need? I dont know much about this specie but also do they get along with corys? Will my cories eat them lol?

[Sumpin'fishy]

I have 6 corys and 3 Ghost Shrimp (had 6) in my 20 gallon tank. They get along fine, but I'd be careful about adding so many bottom dwellers to such a small tank. My tank looks very busy along the bottom. I sometimes wonder if they get enough food for longterm survival. I also have 8 Neons, 4 Ottos, and 1 Betta in this tank. It looks great but I wouldn't want to add any more bottom dwellers. I have noticed that they scour the surface of the substrat for a few hours after feeding, then they seem to look elsewhere for food until fed again. (eating algae, and rummaging along plant leaves, etc.) I heard corys work best in small schools of 6 or more, so I tried to go with that minimum number. So far things are going great, the fish look plump, and I have plenty of activity going on, but I just wonder about long term. They do grow you know!;)

[GEV83]

Stick to the five cories by themselves you want to add more I know how you feel but you already have it over stocked even though you dont have them yet.

[dethjam316]

i would think you should be fine. i have 10 small cories in my 29g with 3 ghost shrimp, they've been getting along fine for a month like that.

[Mantis_22]

well yeah.. i love cories and I would like to have lots of them. I guess ill just keep 4 baby cories in my new 5 gl and maybe to reaarachnge fish in the 10gl do this

Keep 2 of my smaller Cherry barbs to scan the top/bottom.
Get 2 Peppered cories...
and 2 ghost shrimp? Would that be a fair deal for this tank? I think so.. If not minus all the shrimp and i'll go with shrimp in the 5gl lol

[dethjam316]

if you only had a couple ghost shrimp, i wouldn't even count them against your bioload. they will likely clean up extra food and such to counteract their minimal waste.

[Mantis_22]

i know what you mean :)

[Sumpin'fishy]

If you are set on that five gallon, I'd either go with ONLY 4 or 5 corys (tops), or go with 2 or 3 mid-top level swimmers and 4 or 5 Ghost Shrimp. Personally I think a 5 Gallon full of nothing but Shrimp would be quite interesting enough! Just fill it with some decorations and you should be able to go with about 10 shrimp and have excellent water quality for them. Maybe you can start breeding them in there!

If you want to mix corys with other fish, I wouldn't go smaller than a 10 gallon have about 4 corys and some other fish.

[dethjam316]

i would put the 4 small corys you have along with the 4 cherry barbs in the 10g. this might be a tad overstocked, but provided you do regular water changes and maybe add a plant or two if possible, your tank should do just fine like that.

maybe try a betta or something in the 5g with some ghost shrimp? you *could* add a couple a peppered corys to the 5g as well after it cycled if you approached it in the same way as above. you also could try the all ghost shrimp extravaganza proposed by sumpin' fishy. i have read that they can be bred in a small tank like that with a sponge filter, as a power filter will suck up the babies, but i haven't tried this myself.

i'd also maintain that ghost shrimp really don't add significantly to the bioload, and you could probably add a couple to either tank in addition to those fish, no matter what you choose.

[Skittyfish]

My .02 is don't buy them at Wal-Mart. Go to Just for Pets. They will be healthier in the long run, and the clerks will explain anything you need to know!

[Mantis_22]

I added 3 cories/2gold barbs and 2 shrimp to the 10 gallon today, I switched them out with the 4 cherry barbs which are not in the 5gl cycling. I did the math on volume, they should be equal on waste.