Question: Shrimp in the tank?

Okay, question time:

1 - how long do they last?
2 - what do they eat?
3 - What do they need?
4 - What type do I get if I expect my wild type to eat them? LOL

thanks in advance!

Red cherry shrimp are a popular choice. They grow to around 4cm and live for 1-2 years (if your axie doesn't eat them before then! ). They're good breeders and easy to keep. Ideally, to breed, they need a higher temperature than axolotls - 22-23 deg C. I keep mine in a kiddies first tank set up - a 2 litre tank with airpump and a small heater. Plants, especially java moss are a good idea as the shrimps will use them to lay their eggs in. I feed them algae wafers, but you can buy special shrimp food if you want to.

As for how long they typically last in the same tank as an axolotl, I can't really help you with that as my axies are still larvae (so they're about the same size as the shrimp right now roud. Shrimps are more of a treat though, so once you've established a colony, it's something to feed now and again alongside the staple earthworms.

I would go for ghost shrimp,

they feed off of algea, can live for 2 years grow to around 2 - 4 cm and they live in colder temps, so perfect for axolotls.

Breeding i think is similar to RCS

Thanks for the replies!

RCS?

1 - how long do they last? Not long once your axies realise they taste nice I've put in 6-12 at a time and usually most of them are gone within a few days to a week. You'll get the odd rambo shrimp who seems to be able to survive for long periods on his own, but eventually the axies get 'em all. My theory is that if i get enough shrimp in there they will breed and be self sustaining. Hasnt happened yet, i either havent put enough in at first, or the temp is too low for them to actually breed. They survive in the cold axie tank, but im yet to see if they will breed

2 - what do they eat? Scraps, algae, fish flakes if need be - they are good tank cleaners. I dont actually feed my shrimp anything specifically, they just survivie on cleaning up the tank and left over fish flakes

3 - What do they need? ??? You mean tank set up? google it, plenty of fact sheets out there - but suffice to say my red cherries survive fine in my axie tank. The only thing i dont know is if they will breed in the cold water - they prefer 25 celc or so, but survive much lower

4 - What type do I get if I expect my wild type to eat them? LOL - Cheap ones. If you grow live plants you can go to aquarium plant or shrimp forums (google is your friend) and swap, sell or buy. Thats probably the cheapest way, but you can get them at your LFS for $3 in AU. People who breed shrimp will gladly swap with you to freshen the blood lines, they breed so fast that inbreeding is inevitable and new blood every 3-4 months is a good idea.

Bren

RCS= abbreviation of red cherry shrimp ( shortened version)

Okay thanks for all the info! I will see if my parents would let me get some in the tank...

glass shrimp are like seethrough, they would never knowww ... Shhh i didnt tell you this!

huh? LOL

Are you saying that glass shrimp are also compatible?!

Even more compatible that RCS.

RCS live in tropical conditions 22 - 25 degrees,

glass/ghost shrimp live in cold water conditions 15 - 18 degrees.

Thus more suitable, exactly the same care as RCS just with colder temps,

Are glass or ghost shrimp also known as Amano shrimp?

Also, does anyone know where I can get some cheap ones in UK, hertfordshire?

Pets at home sell them for like £1.99,

im sure you could get some elsewhere, try your near pet shops and just ask

pets at home, interesting

is that expensive for shrimp? or normal? lol

There are quite a few in on ebay, there might be someone local to you selling. I got some low quality cull stock and were a bargain for 50p each, but unfortunately the seller is a bit far for you.

It depends, in america they sell them for like 10 cents, like 8p xD

just look around for the best price

okay.

I looked and no one selling is nearby, so I will have to buy from a shop...

Some people will post shrimp. As long as they have some plant material, or some filter sponge to hold on to, they cope really well with it. I bought 50 + had no DOA, then recently bought 40, with only 1 DOA. I did nearly kill all my original batch with a live plant last week though - I obviously hadn't rinsed it well enough. THINK I got away with only losing a few of them though

Why not post us some mojo?

Always happy to pay postage XD!

lol. Yeah, why not?!

The Aquatic place down the road from me sells river shrimp by the £1 for approx 25. My 'lotls love 'em. I just place them in the tank with my 'lotls, and any that don't get 'et' immediately then set to work scavenging bits of waste etc to eat (or as I call it, cleaning the tank for me! lol).

The river shrimp I get are see-through, so I don't know if they're the same as glass shrimp or anything else mentioned above - I ain't no shrimp expert I'm afraid!

Hope this helps!