An excellent starting size shrimp tank is a 10-gallon tank. How many shrimp should you put in, and if you treat your shrimp well and your population explodes, what should you do?
How many shrimp can I put in a 10-gallon tank? For a dedicated shrimp-only aquarium, you can keep 100 shrimp in a 10-gallon tank. However, it is recommended to hold a maximum of 50 shrimp. As a rule of thumb, this would be five shrimp per 1 gallon of water.
There is a difference between the number what you can put in and what you should put in your tank to make it livable for your pets. Some choices depend on personal preference and some on the purpose of your aquarium. We will now take a look at what you have to consider to make the best choice in your situation.
how many shrimp for what kind of setup
Determining how many shrimp to buy depends on what type of aquarium do you want? There are a variety of different sorts of aquaria with each their optimum starting number. Depending on the desired purpose, it’s important to keep a balance in numbers.
A Community Aquarium
The recommended number for a community aquarium will depend mainly on the number of other tankmates. For a nice mix, if you want some Amano shrimp to help clean up your tank, I would advise getting somewhere between 5 and 10. Amano shrimp can grow up to 2 inches or 5 cm. If you go for dwarf shrimp, like cherry shrimp (get about 1.6 inches or 4 cm), you can get about 10 to 15. Amanos will be too big to be eaten by their tankmates but tiny baby Cherries can. If there is enough cover for the baby shrimp to hide, their numbers can slowly grow to a nice colony without a significant danger of sudden overpopulation.
A Breeding Tank
To breed or not to breed, a shrimp only aquarium can comfortably house a hundred shrimp, varying from hatching to adult.
An excellent starting size of your shrimp colony will be about 10 to 20 specimen. Try to have some females of even or little over the number of males. Too few males or too large of a tank will mean it will be harder to find each other when it is time when breeding; a bigger aquarium isn’t necessarily an advantage here.
make sure they have plenty of biofilm to graze on
Planted vs. Non-Planted Shrimp Tank
When I say a planted aquarium or a non-planted, I don’t mean plants or no plants. A non-planted aquarium for me still has plants but has the focus on the creatures living in it whereas when I talk about a planted aquarium, I think more about a beautiful aquascape with lost of plants where the shrimp and fish only play a small part in an underwater garden. In this case, I would get a few shrimp, maybe about 10, and probably keep the population from exceeding 20 to 25 shrimp. Though I love shrimp, in this case too many would diminish the overall scene you are trying to create.
Is there such a thing as too many shrimp?
If there is such a thing as too many shrimp, this you can debate. If your population is exploding, congratulations, you are doing something right, and your little freshwater invertebrates are happy. Shrimp have a very small bioload, but when it gets too crowded in the tank something has to be done.
what to do with the overpopulation of your aquarium
Move them all to a Bigger Tank
One thing you can do is Move to a bigger tank. A 10-gallon tank is an excellent starting size, but if you are into the hobby, got the room and the time, it’s nice to have a bigger aquarium. Maybe it is also a great time to make that new aquascape that has been on your mind. I know I have more ideas of designs I like than I ever have room or time for, especially with all the beautiful pictures of aquaria you can find on the web inspiring you. An overcrowded aquarium can give you that reason you needed to justify to yourself to get that new setup. Just make sure you take the time to properly cycle the tank before you move your shrimp to their new dwelling.
Move some of them to a different tank
If you have a large population, you have the numbers to be selective more selective with your breeding. It will help a lot if you have another aquarium where you can put your different species or your less desirable colors of shrimp. This way you can try to breed a better quality or a more beautiful color of shrimp.
Remember, females tend to have more color than males. If you are breeding for color, make sure you are not removing all of the males by selecting only the most colorful shrimp.
Sell Them
When you search for “freshwater shrimp” on Craigslist or eBay, you will find many people selling their shrimp. These can also be you. You could sell off some of your shrimp and make a little extra money to finance your hobby. If it goes very well and you have some sweet quality shrimp you can even consider making a living off it. When you sell them, make sure you got the logistics figured out, shipping live animals require special care.
Give them away
Give them to Friends and Family.
Get your friends and family involved in the hobby. Your surplus could be their starting colony. If you have some people in your vicinity that might like to have a beautiful addition to their homes, you can help them set up an aquarium of their own. Not only is it fun to help someone set up a nice tank, but you can also show them the ropes and enjoy the hobby together.
Trade them on an aquarium forum
Trading them is a good option. You can exchange them with other enthusiasts, maybe even for the same species, to strengthen the gene pool. This way you can try to breed with different colors, or the same colors, to make them even more beautiful. Else you might want to trade them for some nice plant someone has an abundance of or that little school of tetra’s you might wish to have as tankmates for your shrimp.
Bring them to your local pet store
Some pet stores may give you some money for them if they are of excellent quality and color. Others might give you some food or plant as a compensation for your donation. Anything is better than throwing them away.
now, some words of caution
Releasing pets in the wild
There is one thing you should never do, NEVER release them in the wild! You might think the shrimp will be alright, and they might be, but whenever foreign species are introduced in an environment, the balance is disturbed and can lead to disaster for the native wildlife. Invading species can bring unknown diseases with them which can be devastating, and with the absence of a natural enemy of the invading species, numbers can go wild.
Killer Shrimp
An example of invading species are the killer shrimp, although this species is very different from the pet shrimp you find in the pet store, it is an excellent example of what can go wrong and how difficult it is to contain the problem once it’s there. Al the way from Eastern Europe the species has swiftly spread throughout western Europe. Invading and colonizing most freshwater bodies. Despite preventative measures, it now threatens the United Kingdom.
Related Questions
Can shrimp survive out water? Shrimp have no lungs and will suffocate if they are out of the water too long. If they don’t die from suffocation, they might still die from the stress of being out of the water.
Can ghost shrimp live with guppies? Ghost shrimp can live with guppies. Guppies will leave adult shrimp alone, but they will eat the tiny baby shrimp. Make sure they have enough hiding places.
