How many shrimp are good for a 55gallon?

J

JCKey618

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Dec 28, 2010
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I got 5 algae-eating shrimp to go in my 55 gallon and they've been MIA! I have no clue if they're all still alive, but I see one once a week or so. I'd like them to be more visible, so I was thinking of getting more.

In terms of stocking, I'm already pretty fully stocked. I don't know how much bioload shrimp have, but keep that in mind.

Also, I am using Flourish Excel (1.5 caps per day). I've heard some shrimp can die from that. If I make sure not to overdose, is this true? Should I avoid certain kinds?
 
Shrimp are extremely good at finding the smallest nooks and crannies to hide in, so chances are that some are probably still alive. What is your current stocking? And what kind of shrimp? A lot of fish will relish at the chance to get a tasty shrimp meal in, and the rule generally is "if it fits in the fish's mouth, the fish will eat it". Shrimp generally have very little bioload, so I think you'd be pretty safe adding more.
 
The fish I have with the biggest mouths are angels. They aren't full grown and I don't think they're mouths are big enough for the shrimp.

Other fish include roseline sharks, rummynose tetras, cory catfish, and a very timid betta. Also, I should mention I have a HOB filter plus a canister filter. I've heard of them crawling in to filters, so maybe that's what happened?

Anywho, would getting 15 more (for a total of 20) be too much? And, more importantly, will getting that many increase their visibility or will I basically have 20 shrimp who all hide in the same place?
 
IMHO, get more shrimp, stop the excel, reduce your lighting "on" time (photoperiod) by 20%.

I'm presuming you have plenty of plants for cover, since you are using excel. If not, get more plants.

Red Cherry Shrimp will do a reasonable job on algae if not otherwise fed.
Problem is, if you underfeed the tank, the fish may go after the shrimp...you have to compromise a bit there...
 
As for making sure your shrimp or any other critters aren't sucked into your filter, you should get an Aqua Clear filter sponge and tailor it to fit over you filter intake. I do this on all my tanks to make sure no snails, shrimp or fry are sucked into the "black hole".
 
:iagree:
 
For clarification, my filter's slits are way too small for them to be sucked in. I was more thinking of them actually crawling in to the HOB because some of it is in the water.

Also, why should I get rid of flourish? I don't have a CO2 pump. I'm also running 56 W on my 55. Most/all of my plants are low-light, though.
 
JCKey618 said:
The fish I have with the biggest mouths are angels. They aren't full grown and I don't think they're mouths are big enough for the shrimp.
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Not sure how big your Angels are, but with cichlids always figure they can eat a shrimp if a portion of it can fit in their mouth. I saw a 1.5-2" Mayan Cichlid wipe out a small group of Ghost Shrimp. Was a bit of a mystery until one day I looked in and saw shrimp feelers sticking out of the cichlid's mouth. It basically would grab the tail and just expand it's mouth to make the shrimp fit. Probably took 10 minutes or even longer, but he managed it with about a dozen medium sized GS. My Buffalo Head has also made an art out of making large pieces of krill fit down it's throat.


If GS are threatened then they will generally hide as much as possible. Adding more may make them more visible, but it depends on how much hiding places there are. For me they always end up grouping around the heaters or filter intake, even if I put in a couple dozen. But that is probably because the last place a shrimp wants to hide out in my 40g is in the plants/rocks. :laugh:

It can't really hurt though to add some more. They have next to no bio-load and are pretty cheap. At worst your fish will thank you.
 
Can you give us more info:

Is the flourish excel helping significantly with plant growth or retarding algae vs not using it?

What is your photoperiod? Have you tried reducing it ~20%?

to ask again, again,
WHAT KIND OF SHRIMP DO YOU HAVE?
ghost shrimp. red cherry shirmp or?
Makes a BIG difference....
 
I don't know, really. I got it around the same time I got the plants and upped the light. The plants have been doing really well since, so I don't know if it's because of the lights or the excel. I have some algar buildup in this one part of the tank on the glass, but I wipe it off frequently.

Right not the lights are on 10 hours a day.

Also, as stated in my first post, I have 5 algae-eating shrimp, but am open to getting other kinds...
 
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