Shrimp & Dwarf Puffers???

SumTinsFishy

SumTinsFishy

Vampire Pleco??
Nov 3, 2009
68
0
0
Fennville, Michigan
Real Name
Joel
Alright here is the situation. I have a 120 4x2x2, heavily planted. I want to know if my dwarf puffers will pick on or eat some RCS. I plan on starting a colony in a 12 gallon nano cube. once the shrimp have matured i would like to put them into my 120. my fear is that my puffers will eat or harass them. Anyone have experience with both???
 
The puffers will probably munch on the shrimp. If there are enough hiding places in the 120, some may survive.
 
I second the poor RCS shrimps becoming a nice meal. I'm sure if planted, there will be survivor shrimps. But alas, I wouldn't expect there to be a huge population boom with the shrimps because the dwarf puffers would keep them in check.
 
I have a 12 gallon NanoCube. No matter what I do RCS get inside the filter and get spit back out the powerhead. They are too big to fit through the powerhead so once they're stuck they're gonners. This has happened to every single RCS I put in the tank, probably a couple dozen. I have tried everything I can think of to keep this from happening but I can't control it. I have stopped keeping dwarf shrimp in that death trap.

And X2 on the puffers eating the shrimp. The puffers like to bite off the shrimps' legs and leave them to die.
 
Well I guess that answers my questions about the shrimp with puffers. I have a question for you Dr Awkward. Have you tried covering the intake and top of the filter with window screen? That was my plan to prevent them from getting into it.
 
Yep. I used plastic window screen from Lowes but they still got in. I tried the same thing with a cut up mesh bag. I also tried cutting a sponge down to the same size as the intake, cutting the sponge nearly in half and postioning it over the intake as a prefilter. I also tried adding an extra sponge to the filter chamber to make it completely full and fill in any gaps. That skimmer grate that comes with the tank is a shrimp trap. My Amano shrimp disappeared one day and I found him struggling to get out of that thing. By the way, Amano shrimp have no problems in this tank, only dwarf shrimp like RCS.

Sometimes I found them inside the sponge part, other times in the middle spot with the bioballs and sometimes in the sump. I don't think they were going through the intake but rather jumping over the back wall and into the filter. I figured that out after I had a 2.5 inch long fish get stuck in the sump (she survived). I can't figure out a way to block off the whole back part of the tank to prevent it.
 
I am trying out RCS in my 2.5G DP tank and so far I have had no issues...it's been about 2 weeks and the 5 I started out with are all whole and happy, as far as I can tell. I think it depends more on the puffers. I also have ghost shrimp in the tank, and the puffers pick at their antennae but leave the rest of them alone. It's possible my 2 puffers are just mild-mannered, but there's no reason not to at least try it. I make sure to feed my puffers every day, which I think helps a lot, a quick little shrimp is going to look much more like dinner to a hungry puffer than one with a belly full of bloodworms. Also, my RCS aren't even fully grown yet, they were just the biggest ones at my LFS, they are all under 3/4".

I wouldn't hold out too much hope for babies though, unless you provide lots and lots of plant cover for them. As mild as my puffers are, live brine shrimp are their favorite treat, and I have a feeling baby RCS look a lot like brine shrimp to a hungry puffer.

If I were you, I would add a bunch of plant cover, especially dense stuff like java moss, and put in a few RCS as a trial and see how they do. If they disappear, you know, and if they don't then maybe you don't have to get rid of your puffers after all :)
 
If you do try it, you might consider adding the shrimp after the tank lights have been off for a while. The puffers are so inactive at night that it might give the shrimp a chance to settle in and find some nice hiding spots while the puffs snooze. Let us know how it goes!
 
jbradt said:
If you do try it, you might consider adding the shrimp after the tank lights have been off for a while. The puffers are so inactive at night that it might give the shrimp a chance to settle in and find some nice hiding spots while the puffs snooze. Let us know how it goes!
Click to expand...

Good advice, also feed the puffers a few minutes before adding them so they are nice and full!
 
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