I would like to keep some shrimp with my zebra plecos and golden nugget pleco. The zebras are omnivorous and the golden nugget is a vegetarian.
My tank has a lot of hiding places for the shrimp but my main problem (and I've already researched through the species page) is that my tank's temperature is at 86F.
Here's picture of my tank:
It is a 50g wet/dry tank that is mainly focused on being a home to zebra plecos.
There are two bubble wands in the back of the tank to increase oxygen levels when the lights go out. All plants shown are real.
I'm curious because I would like to keep a warm tropical aquarium and I've had a lot of trouble finding any other tank mates for the zebra plecos. Everyone's advice would be welcomed!
If you have a place where you have a good flow of water, bamboo shrimp may be worth a shot. 86 is a little above optimal, but you might try one and see, These are very interesting large shrimp. Very peacefull and good tank mates.
Water flow shouldn't be a problem, zebra plecos love to have lots of flow because their natural habitat is in the rivers of Brazil. I've even debated on adding a power head in my tank but I've noticed that my fish are staying on one side of the tank right now, which would give me the impression that there might be too much flow on the other side hehe.
Is there a difference between the bamboo shrimp and the flower shrimp? My lfs has some but they label them as flower shrimp and then petsmart labels them bamboo shrimp and they actually put in bamboo in the tank. Is this necessary, or just for looks?
Is there a way to research warm tropical shrimp species that may exist in a region's ecosystem? I've always been curious but couldn't figure out how and trying to Google "warm tropical shrimp species" doesn't bring up much
It will actually just get all mushy and denigrate fully submerged its just a gimmick type think as far as I know
That tank looks like a Happy place to be if I were a pleco I would love to live in there I bet the shrimp would also other then the temp.
I also was thinking about putting a power head in one of my tanks I was wanting to do something similar to what you have with the driftwood I had never seen it done though again looks great
I have 4 bamboos and they are terrific shrimp. Very shy but very interresting. I would not put real bamboo in with them. They like rocks with big holes in them to hide in with water flowing over the rocks. I feed them powered algae flakes and live monia.
I raise mine at 78 degrees and pH 7.5. Doing research on where they come from it would seem the water could easily go into the mid to high 80's.
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/shrimp2.htm says they like temps in the mid 80's. I've not got a lot of experience with them, but they are all eating well and molting, so that is a good sign.
Check the pics on the shrimp varieties page and see if these shrimp matc h what the LFS has.
Yes, Atyopsis moluccensis would do well in a tank with 86 degrees and so would Red Cherry Shrimp and all the shrimp that I have listed on my shrimp varieties page as coming from India, Sri Lanka and South Asia, which are all tropical. Although the Red Cherry shrimp is a temperate zone species it has a wide temperature adaptability, almost like desert pupfish.
Hope this helps. I love zebra plecos myself and would get some if they weren't so darn expensive right now. I think people should make a conscious effort to breed these plecos since their wild populations are extremely threatened. The same applies to many shrimp species actually, but people just don't realize it. In the meantime, millions of shrimp perish in the animal trade. .
Thanks Earthgoddess for the compliments I hope my plecos love it in there too!
I'm actually waiting on receiving a new light fixture that will be more appropriate for the plants in there, but won't be too overpowering for the zebras.
Thanks for all your input Mustafa! The prices are a bit high but with patience you can find a nice deal, especially for those in for keeping the species going in our hobby. Ever check out zebrapleco.com? Mainly a UK based group, but has the same intention as this site.
hehe.
