Freshwater Aquarium Shrimp

Keeping freshwater aquarium shrimp in nano aquaria became widely popular across the aquaristic hobby. More people look for new interesting species too show in their small setups and seems like almost every month there s a novelty popping out on the market.

Freshwater aquarium shrimp can be kept not only for their aesthetic value but they perform very important function in the fish tank which is cleaning.

Many available aquarium shrimp species are available in a variety of colors, red, white, green, yellow, blue, and transparent. Some shrimp species have very attractive patterns .

What differs them from fish is their behavior. Having some shrimp will definitely add another dimension to your aquarium. Shrimp keep mostly on the bottom but they can very quickly move through the water.

They like to keep around the any plants in the tank and proper plant cover should be provided for them. All day long they can search through plants and rocks scavenging for tiny bits of food which in their case is mostly algae.

If your tank is not planted enough for the shrimp to feed on , they need to be supplemented with specially formulated shrimp food. As omnivores they will still eat everything they can find as tropical flakes and brine shrimp, worms, but occasional shrimp tablet will help them get exactly the supplements they need.

Freshwater aquarium shrimp sizes can range from 2- centimeters for regular and 10-17 for giant species. The smaller kind should be kept in groups, the bigger the better, most of the species seem to be social. Bigger shrimp tend to be sold as singles or pairs, sometimes only males are available as they posses better colors and stronger legs.

The dwarf shrimp colony or starter group ideally should consist of 10-15 members. But this varies, certain species feel best in group of 3-4 or as pairs only.

Mixing various species can bring interesting results as closely related species can often cross breed. There is a risk however that a stronger kind can dominate over the more peaceful kind and eliminate them. Please check for any compatibility issues.

There are certain precautions you must be aware of when considering keeping freshwater aquarium shrimp.

Certain shrimp can be very delicate and sensitive to water chemistry, especially to copper and pesticides. Copper can be often found in aquatic fertilizers and even a trace of it can be lethal. When buying new plants perform quarantine in shrimp free container for ideally two weeks with daily water changes.

Do not overstock! This can wipe out entire population, reproduction will be affected or suppressed altogether.

Many of the dwarf species can be kept in the same conditions: pH 6.5-7.5 at water temperature of 10-28 degree Celsius, water hardness maximum at 10 degrees KH. Please check required conditions before purchase as those will vary for more exotic shrimp species.

Freshwater aquarium shrimp need lots of oxygen , proper aeration is necessary as well as frequent water changes. You don’t have to warm the fresh water to the tank water temperature, this temperature difference can actually trigger spawning. They like it fresh and cool.

As they outgrow their exoskeleton they need to break out of it and hide for some time to make the new one harden. They are very soft and vulnerable at this stage and may look for a place to hide from predators.

After the purchase you should very slowly adopt them to new conditions adding the tank water to a floating transport bag. It may take them a while to get familiar with their new surroundings but soon they will be out and about looking busy all day long.
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