I promise at some point I'll contribute more than newbie questions to the forum, but for now...well, I've still got a lot of newbie questions.

I've been trying my hand at ghost shrimp for the past few months, and I've had a lot of fun with them, but they're awfully fragile. I'm considering upgrading (within the next month or two, probably) to a slightly hardier and slightly larger species. Naturally, though, I could use some advice. Here's what I'm looking for in a shrimp:

-Reasonably hardy (tolerant of occasional minor water-quality issues).
-Fairly long-lived.
-Fairly large.
-Not aggressive, or at least not dangerous to fish and snails.
-Not destructive to plants.
-No over-specific food/environment requirements.
-Freshwater only.

Anybody got any suggestions?

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"The Communitarium"
10 gallon freshwater tank.
Aqueon QuietFlow 50 cartridge filter.
Apple snails (Pomacea diffusa).
Ghost shrimp.
European weather loaches.
Malaysian trumpet snails.
Physella acuta bladder snails.
Brown Ramshorn Snails.
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"The Cochlarium"
10 gallon freshwater tank.
Marina S15 cartridge filter.
Apple snails (Pomacea diffusa)
Malaysian trumpet snails (Melanoides tuberculata).
Physella acuta bladder snails.
Brown Ramshorn snails.

I guess I'm asking a similar question.

I would like to keep a bigger species of shrimp that will eat decaying plants, food, and poop. Something that won't fit in the mouth of Microglanis Iheringi a.k.a The South American Bumblebee Catfish.

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Hi Thalamus, good question!

If you want to upgrade, and at the same time go for a hardier shrimp, I would suggest going for Red Cherry Shrimp. These are some of the hardiest shrimp you can get for your freshwater aquarium! They are non aggressive, but they may not be as large as you would like them to be.

You may also like Yellow Shrimp or Snowball Shrimp. They are the exact same species, bred for the different colors.

The issue you will run into with the shrimp is keeping fish in the same tank. If the fish won't eat them, it will certainly keep them from breeding, or at least eating the baby shrimp.

Ghost shrimp are a larger shrimp. Not as fun in my opinion, but still nice to have!

Hope this helps!

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Brad
The Shrimp Farm

Shrimp keeping will all depend on the tank mates you have in with them. Most fishies will see a majority of the dwarf shrimp as snacks. There are some execptions such as the Amanos and Bamboo shrimps. Those guys need a little more care but not difficult.

For hardiness factors, I would look at RCS, Blue Pearl or Snowball. Yellows, while in the same family, can be just a tad more on the sensitive side. Next up from there you will be in the Caridina family and this is where you will find some of the more difficult ones.

I've always liked Amanos for big shrimp....

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Amanos are more difficult to keep because they feed on algae? Post wasn't exactly clear... :3

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My Amano shrimp are super tough. They've survived when many of my RCS have died. Only thing is, RCS are much more fun, pretty, and they can actually breed with very little maintenance.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Thanks to everybody for your advice! :D I'm leaning towards RCS now. I've seen some pictures and videos, and they seem like my kind of shrimp, and I like "breed with very little maintenance."

__________________
"The Communitarium"
10 gallon freshwater tank.
Aqueon QuietFlow 50 cartridge filter.
Apple snails (Pomacea diffusa).
Ghost shrimp.
European weather loaches.
Malaysian trumpet snails.
Physella acuta bladder snails.
Brown Ramshorn Snails.
=================
"The Cochlarium"
10 gallon freshwater tank.
Marina S15 cartridge filter.
Apple snails (Pomacea diffusa)
Malaysian trumpet snails (Melanoides tuberculata).
Physella acuta bladder snails.
Brown Ramshorn snails.

I'm leaning towards the Amano Shrimp. But my main concern (other than the shrimp being eaten) is that the catfish will be greedy and eat their food. I know the catfish likes to scavenge at night, so should I feed the shrimp in the day? I have sinking shrimp pellets, freeze-dried bloodworm and flakes. Should that suffice?

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I would seed your tank with algae and let it overrun the tank, plus supplement their diet with shrimp pellets or flake food. RCS love algae, not sure if the cats will eat it though.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!