Going back to the original topic:
Unless you already have crustaceans in the tank you intend to introduce new shrimp to, it is not *essential* to quarantine (shrimp-fish and shrimp-mollusk disease transmission is rare), but I would do so just the same for purposes of general vitality confirmation. In the event that shrimp are already present, I would consider quarantine procedures mandatory.
As for your algae problem, kill two proverbial birds with the single stone of some Amano (after the renowned “Nature Aquarium” designer) algae-eating shrimp (a.k.a. Yamato numa-ebi [literally, “Japanese swamp shrimp”], Yamato shrimp),
Caridina japonica, which hails from the subtropical freshwaters of Japan (it tolerates wide temperature variation and will thrive in both temperate outdoor pools and tropical aquaria), reaching around 6cm/2" in captivity. This shrimp primarily grazes on algae (of all sorts, including blue-green “hair”, “carpet”, and rusty-brown diatomaceous growth, to give a selection), and is capable of clearing every surface of visible algal growth very soon after introduction to a tank. However, if algae is scarce, it may turn its attention to soft plants, but this is only usually noticeable if there is a very large group of shrimp in the aquarium; algae wafers and
Spirulina-based foods can be used to supplement the diet under such conditions.
C. japonica tolerates most all types of water (even light brackish), but its larvae require estuarine to full marine salinity to develop proceeding to adulthood in freshwater. “Amanos” are most commonly kept in heavily planted aquaria as a natural algae combatant; a fairly large “herd” of shrimp is required to keep algae completely in check. The species cohabits well with fish, provided that they are relatively small and non-predatory.
Join the discussion board of
www.petshrimp.com for any further inquiries – I have found response to be prompt and well-informed.
I know that several species of the
Caridina/
Neocaridina clade may rival or exceed Amanos in algae-eating potential and range [but, being considerably smaller, must be stocked at a proportionally greater density] (look into “Shrimp Varieties” of the linked website under the heading of “Algae-Eating Shrimp”).
