A lot of you keep shrimp, do they serve a purpose? will they attack healthy fish, I have neons in a planted tank? How do you weigh their foot print?
shrimp, functional or just for show
- Thread starter Linda S
- Start date
They can serve a purpose. Some people use them as a clean up crew, others for currency and others use them too spruce up the tank. It depends on the species of shrimp, most bigger shrimp or territorial shrimp will attack sick fish. Also their bio-load is very small.
They're omnivores. I keep em in my tank as a clean up crew also since i feed pretty heavily since im too lazy to measure out food 
Some shrimp will eat algae, but i wouldnt depend on them for algae removal. If you want to remove algae, try a small algae eater like an oto. Shrimps are also great since they'll eat dead fish and dead plant matter and they convert this into energy pretty well.
Some shrimp will eat algae, but i wouldnt depend on them for algae removal. If you want to remove algae, try a small algae eater like an oto. Shrimps are also great since they'll eat dead fish and dead plant matter and they convert this into energy pretty well.
thanks, I have ottos, cories, and neons and very tiny snails. they're about the size of pencil lead. I am just curious about shrimp, they sound intesting. Would they eat food for bottom dwellers?
Amanos are algae eaters, as are longirostris/gracilirostris. The rest are all omnivorous but will pick all day long at algae/plants (not harming them)/substrate, etc.
The most common small species like Red Cherries and Crystal Reds are harmless. Check the species before you buy.
I keep a RCS shrimp only tank because I didn't wanna risk my fish eating my shrimp. Now after some experimentation, I have found my betta completely ignores them as tankmates. I will be combining their tanks soon. I keep them because they are fun to watch zooming around their tank. Also, the RCS's breed like mad, so when I need to reduce my numbers I feed them to my larger fish. It may sound cruel, but I know they are disease free and very nutrious for my big fish because I only feed my shrimp the best! 