5 gallon shrimp tank stocking questions

[ddmiddle7]

So I have a 5gal with some ghost shrimp in it, and will be picking up some Red cherries today. How many can I put in a 5 gal? It is going to be an invert only tank and would like to get multiple kinds and colors of shrimp. Are there any out there that don't mix or can I pretty much do whatever? What about some Amanos down the line when I start getting some algea? Right now I have all plastic plants but I want to start to change it to a planted tank. I have river rock pebbles for substrate, can I keep this or do I need to change it?

There is actually some driftwood beind the plants on the right. I have done a little rearranging to make the driftwood more visible.

Thanks for all the help and am looking for all the advice I can get!

 

[blue2fyre]

Ghost shrimp and cherry shrimp are a good place to start. How long has the tank been set up? Shrimp are very sensitive to water parameters so be sure to keep an eye on your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. For numbers I think the general rule is 10 per gallon. It's usually best to get a few and let them breed to fill that number. Shrimp have a very low bioload.

For mixing you want make sure you know what species of shrimp you are getting and not mixing ones from the same genus.

For example cherry shrimp are Neocaridina denticulata sinensis. They are a neocaridina species so cannot be mixed with other Neocaridinas like yellow shrimp, snowball shrimp or blue pearl shrimp. These are all color morphs of the same species and will cross breed. The sad thing is when they cross breed you don't get a neat new color, you get brown wild type shrimp.

Cherry shrimp can be mixed with species from the Caridina sp. Like crystal red shrimp, tiger shrimp and so on. The down side to his is most Caridina species like softer water than cherry shrimp and will not always thrive in the same set up. There are a few exceptions like Caridina Babaulti sp "green", and malawa shrimp(Caridina pareparensis parvidentata).

Hopefully that all makes sense.
Here's a nice chart that makes it a bit more simple.

http://www.theshrimpfarm.com/articles/dwarf-shrimp-compatibility-chart/

 

[happypoet]

Good info up above.
If you're doing Cherries, I'd recommend Malawa as a good pair. Perhaps the Babaulti green as well, but I don't know as much about them.
You won't NEED Amanos to take care of algae. So only get them if you want them.
I love Amanos personally, but I think they might really throw off the scale in your tank by dwarfing the... uh... dwarf shrimp.

 

[ddmiddle7]

Thanks for all the help, especially the chart...my tank has been going for about two months. I was going to pick up the cherry shrimp but sadly they were already gone, and the only thing I can find are amanos and ghost shrimp right now...so I guess I will just wait and try to order some a little later...wanna do some more research first and get these plastic plants outta here. Will plants hold in this pea gravel I have in there now or should I change or add something?

 

[DestinyCall]

The gravel should work fine for plants, although you are going to want to be careful to choose hardy low-light plants, since the more demanding plants don't do well under a basic florescent hood.

If you want to try live plants, I would personally recommend Java Ferns. They are a great, undemanding plant that will grow and spread under almost any conditions, no special care or lighting required. They can also be trained to root onto rocks or driftwood. Just strap them to your piece of wood with a little piece of string or a rubber band. In a few weeks, the roots will anchor the plant in place. They don't require substrate, although you can half bury the rhizome (thick main root) to keep them from floating around in the current.

Some other easy low light plants include Java moss, Hornwort, Water Wisteria, Japanese Moss Balls, Banana Plant, some Anubias and most Cryptocorynes.

These plant types are easy to find at the local fish store and don't require much light or fertilizer to stay green. Hope that helps!

 

[ddmiddle7]

Thanks so much DestinyCall, I am going to head up to my LFS today and check out their selection. Last time I was there they were running pretty low on plants hopefully they have restocked.