actual bioload of shrimp

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mister ben

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Jan 22, 2005
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I know this has been discussed before and I've already searched the archives, but I'm still not satisfied, sorry. Can anybody give me a straight answer on the actual bioload of shrimp? I'm talking about some actual scientific data and some relative comparisons to fish of similar size. The only answer I can ever seem to get out of anybody when I ask about the bioload of shrimp is "they don't add much" or "it's negligible" or some other lame, vague, reconstituted answer. :mad2: Since the answer probably varies between species, if it's necessary lets just consider (for the sake of simplicity) amano and ghost shrimp since they are the most popular, or at least most widely known. Thanks
 

reiverix

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Sep 4, 2004
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Well on this site http://www.azgardens.com/shrimpfactory.php it does give a stocking rate for shrimp. I'm suspecting this is for shrimp only tanks but at least it's a rough guide. For example, stocking the red cherry shrimp is given as one shrimp per 1/4 gallon. That would mean I could have several hundred in my tank but it seems to be an unusually high number.
 

greendeltatke

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Mar 28, 2005
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What a great link! I don't know anything about their fish, but the site is really well written and organized. (Another great place to kill time and daydream about a world without shipping charges.)
 

mister ben

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Jan 22, 2005
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You're the first person I've heard say that and it's nice to get a fresh opinion. You don't by any chance have any suggestions for literature or website I could visit that would validate your claim do you? Nonetheless, the reason I started this thread in the first place was because I got the same impression (that they were kidding themselves) whenever I heard that. You guys know what I'm talking about, when you just have a feeling about something? Well thanks anyways folks.
 

RTR

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Oct 5, 1998
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Simple experience. I run multiple shrimp-only tanks. They need and get the same upkeep as a fish tank comparably stocked. Living mass of animal, whether invert or vertebrate, is bioload. Food is added, waste is produced. Just because most hobbyists keep small shrimp does not mean that they are not bioload, anymore than saying guppies are not bioload and do not need to be counted - you would think it strange if someone said that, right? Just because an individual critter is relatively small does not mean it does eat and poop, and use O2. When someone says somthing like that, ask if they would count guppies, White Clouds, Neons, and other small fish as bioload. Adult Amano shrimp are as big as any of those, Red Cherry shrimp are smaller, but they all contribute.
 

Kissofthegorami

Broke College Student
Feb 24, 2005
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You have to take into acount that shrimp are fantastic scavengers and eat everything. So when calculating their contribution to the bioload, remember that they are eating all those tiny pieces of food, waste, and rotting matter that nothing else will. And no, they do not ad as much waste as most fish of similar size.
 

Veneer

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Dec 20, 2004
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RTR said:
Have you ever kept a shrimp-only tank? They do produce just as much waste/ammonia nitrite/nitrate as a comparably sized fish.
The key consideration is "comparably sized"; the view that shrimp contribute little to bioload is primarily rooted in the relatively small size of many commonly kept species.
 
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