Schooling fish for shrimp tank

**bernie** · 17th Mar 2011, 09:13

Is there any schooling fish that's can goes well in a shrimp tank ? Not too worry about shrimplets yet there aren't any, there's plant for cover anyway. More worrying will be the fish nibbling and stressing the adult shrimps. If tetra are not ok, how about hatchets (though they are not schooling) , I just want a mix of shrimps and peaceful fish.

**Aquanoob** · 17th Mar 2011, 09:25

You may want to look into Boraras brigittae or Mosquito Rasbora, they grow to maximum size of only 3.5cm. Also can consider White Cloud Mountain minnow which I had before in my tank. There are the normal and golden type, both very nice when they flap their fins.

**bernie** · 17th Mar 2011, 09:38

Thanks Aquanoob for the suggestion. Where can I get these fishes from LFS?
Will want to get them tonight.

**Aquanoob** · 17th Mar 2011, 09:46

If I am not wrong, C328 selling Boraras brigittae at 3 for $2, I maybe wrong on this. For White cloud, they are very cheap. The normal type is only 0.20 per piece and the golden type is slightly higher. You can get them at Y618, I saw them last week.
Another small but very pretty fish is Celestial Pearl Danio fka Galaxy Rasbora, maximum size about 3cm. It used to cost about $2 per piece but the cheapest is about 0.70 in the fish farm, can't remember which one. Although the fish are small, they will still take a chance and attack the shrimps and if the shrimplet can fit into their very small mouth, it is also gone case.

**saltynay** · 17th Mar 2011, 09:51

Endlers, tetras, danios, minnows, swordtails, guppys, rasboras and a hundred others.

**bernie** · 17th Mar 2011, 09:54

Oh I just went Y618 yesterday. I didn't take note of it because I don't know of it. I saw Boraras brigittae pictures on the web, looks nice. I will get Boraras brigittae and some hatchets from C328. Hope they have.

**Aquanoob** · 17th Mar 2011, 09:58

Y618 has a constant supply of White cloud. Their distinct feature is the black dot near their tail and their flapping fin that look like the flying fish. It is known as the poor-man tetra now.

**eviltrain** · 17th Mar 2011, 10:03

Originally Posted by bernie

Is there any schooling fish that's can goes well in a shrimp tank ? Not too worry about shrimplets yet there aren't any, there's plant for cover anyway. More worrying will be the fish nibbling and stressing the adult shrimps. If tetra are not ok, how about hatchets (though they are not schooling) , I just want a mix of shrimps and peaceful fish.

err, if next time your shrimps got bellied and shrimplets appear, won't there be a problem protecting the shrimps from nibbing by the fishes??

**bernie** · 17th Mar 2011, 10:12

there's plant for cover anyway and let nature take its course.

**octopus** · 17th Mar 2011, 13:10

Competing for food with fishes will be another area of concern. I have tetras , shrimps and guppies in my tank but get around the problem by overfeeding. Not sure if fellow hobbyist will approve of this though. Dont worry abt shrimplets they will survive as long as there are plants.

**saltynay** · 17th Mar 2011, 14:07

I use to keep in a tank:

Flora:
Draceana sandarina (lucky bamboo)
Japanese hair grass

Fauna:
1x HMCT Betta splenden male
4x albino Corydoras
3x striped Kuhli loaches
3x black Kuhli loaches
10-20x Endler males (breeding stock and selling to LFS)
4x African Dwarf Frogs
40x Cherry shrimp
2x Horned Nerite snails
3x albino Apple snails
4x Assassin snails
100+ Malaysian Trumpet snails
50+ Ramshorn snails
50+ Pouch snails

Feeding:
Sinking algae pellets
Sinking protein pellets
Tropical flakes
Betta pellets
Live Bloodworms
Live Daphnia
Live Mosquito Larvae
Frozen Bloodworms
My own frozen jellied food
Blanched mashed peas
fresh Vegetables and Fruit (no citrus fruits)
Cooked seafood finely sliced

The shrimplets thrived and the shrimp readily bred even though the ADF's predated on them

**PKB** · 17th Mar 2011, 16:19

Originally Posted by octopus

Competing for food with fishes will be another area of concern. I have tetras , shrimps and guppies in my tank but get around the problem by overfeeding. Not sure if fellow hobbyist will approve of this though. Dont worry abt shrimplets they will survive as long as there are plants.

You may feed the fish before you feed your shrimps or you can feed your shrimps 15 - 20 mins before lights off.
Fish sleep when there is no lights but shrimps will be guided to the food by the sense of smell.

**octopus** · 17th Mar 2011, 23:15

Originally Posted by PKB

You may feed the fish before you feed your shrimps or you can feed your shrimps 15 - 20 mins before lights off.
Fish sleep when there is no lights but shrimps will be guided to the food by the sense of smell.

In that case why not feed shrimps while light is off and fishes are asleep instead of 15 to 20mins before?.

**PKB** · 18th Mar 2011, 00:42

Originally Posted by octopus

In that case why not feed shrimps while light is off and fishes are asleep instead of 15 to 20mins before?.

Like that I can check on my shrimps for illness, do a quick count and watch them feed for a while. I notice that my fishes don't disturb my shrimps when I am sitting in front on the tank. It's only when I am out of their sight that they start "Sharing" the shrimps food. So for that 10-15 mins shrimps still feed in peace, after that lights off and they still feed in peace.

**bernie** · 18th Mar 2011, 08:16

Thanks for sharing. Now I have got shrimps, cardinal tetras, rummynose , golden white cloud and rasboras...all these fishes are top feeding right ? I fed them floating flakes. For the shrimps I placed mosura on a plate at a corner of the tank, the fishes never disturbed it. Feeding them seems very straightfotward for me.