Ghost Shrimp and Fish

Ula

AC Members
Jan 27, 2005
7
0
0
I am about to stock my 10 gallon tank. I cycled for 3 weeks with zebra danios, then traded them in for 6 neon tetras. My stocking plan is 8 neon tetras, 1 male dwarf gourami and 2 female dwarf gouramis. I put 2 ghost shrimp with the six neons, but I have only seen 1 shrimp in the past 3 days. The other shrimp was smaller than the one I keep seeing. Is it possible that the neons ate the smaller shrimp? I'm thinking of buying 2 more shrimp to keep the tank clean. Would 4 shrimp be too much with the other fish I plan to stock the tank with (8 neons and 3 dwarf gouramis)?
 
I don't think 8 neon tetras, 3 dwarf gouramis and some ghost shrimp will all fit in happily in a 10 gal.

The first few days in a tank, most of the ghost shrimp moult new shells, and during that time, hide in any caves or plants or other covered areas. They may have been eaten, but fish arent very clean eaters, and you would more than likely find remnants of the shrimp floating around. check all over your tank carefully.
 
I've been told by numerous people that I wouldn't overstock it. I'm curious why you think that it would be overstocked. What if there were only 2 shrimp?
 
who are these numerous people? just curious. numberous people as in some employees at a fish store normally are rather ignorant compared to experienced fish owners, or would enjoy selling you more fish to make a prophit. this isnt all employees, but most hobbyists have run into a fair share. The amount of fish you can put in also depends on the temperature of the tank and how often you feed. more food = more poop and higher temp. = higher metabolism.
You could put in a few more ghost shrimp, as they dont add much to the bio-load, but I'd wait for a few more opinions before putting in some gouramis.
 
People at Aquariumfish.com told me that 3 dwarf gouramis, 8 neon tetras, and 2 ghost shrimp was a really nice set-up. Right now I have 6 neons and 2 ghost shrimp (unless the little one is dead, but I found no shrimp bits). The ammonia is 0. I know not to trust pet store people because I was told I could put 6 zebra danios, 1 dwarf pleco, and 3 german rams in a 10 gallon!! A pet store that is pretty knowledgeable is going to special order me a male and 2 female dwarf gouramis of my choice whenever I want them. I've done lots of research on them. That's why I traded in my danios for neon tetras and ghost shrimp. I've read that these creatures go well with dwarf gouramis.
 
maybe you could do the gourami's without the neons... or maybe the neons and just one gourami...? But i believe that 3 and neons are definetly overstocking... just my opinion. but if you want to have the 3 gouramis and neons (ghost shrimp really don't add much to the bioload so i dont even count them) then, good maintenance practices would be a must.. gravel vac and 30% water changes weekly, i would say...
 
Would it be best just to have 2 gouramis? I would like a male and a female. Since I own bettas and I'm used to doing weekly water changes anyway, it wouldn't be a problem doing weekly water changes on the 10 gallon.
 
Yeah that would be considered an overstocked tank, do make sure you are doing weekly water changes, and you might want to re-arrange the decorations as much as you can when you do water changes, as male gouramis can get territorial especially in a ten gallon tank, where there isn't a whole lot of area.

The neons would really appreciate the frequent water changes also, as they can be fairly sensitive to water conditions.
 
By the way... did you ever find your second shrimp? I had one disappear for about three days. Turns out he was showing up after the lights went out and disappearing later. But there was no way I could find him with the lights on. In fact, I can't find him right now, but I know he's there! (And that's with a betta in the tank, which I heard definitely eats shrimp)
 
AquariaCentral.com