What comes to your mind when you think about an aquarium? It is probably the bright colored fish floating around, maybe some reefs and plants completing the perfect aquatic habitat. But what your fish tank may be missing is the shrimps! That’s right. Shrimps are not always linked with food recipes; you can also add them to your fish tank for diversity.
To tell you the truth, freshwater shrimps make the best choice for an aquarium. Not everyone knows the real value of keeping shrimps in a freshwater aquarium. These shrimps are the scavengers that help to clean the water and make the environment favorable for other species. Now you understand why aquatic pet shops have those best shrimps for sale boards? Let’s discuss the five best choices in shrimps to add to your tank.
What is a Freshwater Aquarium Shrimp?
Shrimps have so many types, and based on their colors, nature, and roles; they are different in many ways. You are not wrong if you have only seen the best shrimp for sale signs at seafood markets; many of the shrimp species are edible. But when it comes to aquariums, shrimps can be your best water buddies.
Some of the shrimp species are so exclusive that they can’t live with fish or other species. Introducing shrimps to your fish tank without a background study is a bad idea because fish can eat these shrimps. However, you may introduce home shrimps to your fish, and they can co-exist together. Just make sure that you are feeding all your aquatic pets on time and taking care of the water conditions.
How to Pick a Shrimp for an Aquarium?
Picking a shrimp is not easy. The first thing that it requires is to consider the tank water and quality and look for suitable options. Shrimps are highly sensitive to water type and changes, and they can only survive if it matches their parameters. So stabilizing the water condition should be the top priority while keeping shrimps in a tank. Freshwater shrimps can eat any organic waste, but exposing them to a large amount of organic waste can kill them. It means that the tank should have a full-fledged filtration system to maintain water quality and filter the excessive organic matter.
In addition to this, there are many other requirements for keeping shrimps. For example, some shrimp species live in alkaline pH, while others may prefer acidic pH. Most freshwater shrimp species like warmer temperatures, but it may not always be the same for others. All this suggests to search for shrimps and find a species which can easily live in your tank. For feeding, shrimps mostly scavenge for their food. They can dig into the substrate inside the tank and live on any organic particle which they may find. But if you keep them in a diverse tank, make sure to feed them with food flakes or small plant materials.
The Best Shrimp Species to pet
There are so many types of freshwater shrimps which you may add to your tank, but only a few of them can live inside a tank in artificial conditions. Most species can’t cope up with the enclosed aquatic environment and are likely to die. The following are some options that require less care and are easily manageable if you add them to your aquarium. Let’s see what shrimp matches your style!
Bumblebee Shrimp
These are the bright, striped shrimps that you commonly see in pictures. The most common color scheme is red and white or black and white. These are usually tiny and grow to 1.5 inches only. The water conditions for bumblebee shrimps are warm with a pH not less than six and not more than 7.2. These are incredibly calm and non-aggressive shrimp species that live best with small fish. It is better if your fish are non-aggressive, or else they may end up preying on bumblebee shrimps.
Red Cherry Shrimp
Do you remember those bright red shrimps, which are often a part of bigger aquariums and even shown in cartoons? These red cherry shrimps are most desirable for their beautiful color, which adds to the beauty of an aquarium. It can only grow to 1.5inches in size.
They are non-aggressive, easy to keep, and require less care than many other shrimp species. They are the best natural scavengers and can survive on organic matter, debris, algae, and so on. If you plan to breed them, make sure to add both male and female shrimps into your aquarium.
Ghost Shrimp
If you are not into shrimps but want to add them into your aquarium just for variety, the best is to choose ghost shrimps. As its name may indicate, this shrimp species is not even noticeable because of its transparent body. The ghost shrimp likes to hide at the most challenging spots in an aquarium. They may grow up to 2 inches in size and are the quietest shrimps you will ever see. They are also natural scavengers like other freshwater shrimps and live by eating the leftovers from food and organic wastes. You can easily keep them with small and friendly fish species that don’t eat shrimps.
Grass Shrimp
These are also calm and peaceful shrimps, which require less care. They are bigger than many other shrimp species, and their length can extend up to 2 or 2.5 inches. Like other shrimps, they also live on debris and leftovers, making the aquarium water clean. These grass shrimps are transparent, but they contain small pigment granules inside their bodies, which can help them camouflage.
Like other freshwater shrimps, they like warm water and a neutral pH. Grass shrimps can not live without hiding places such as plants, reefs, rocks, and pebbles. You can also easily breed them at home without any help. But for breeding, add a small group of males and females so that they can pick their partners. If your tank size is medium or large, breeding shrimps is a good idea as there is more space available for them to float and hide.
Blue Dream Shrimp
Have you ever seen a blue-colored shrimp? The blue dream shrimps are the red cherries species but blue. Sometimes they are sold as fantasy blue velvet shrimps or ‘blue dreams.’ They require the same conditions as red cherry shrimps, but their color makes them appear different and astonishingly catchy, especially when you have a vibrant aquarium. The best thing is that they go well with almost every non-aggressive species, including other shrimps, fish, and snails.
Can you Keep Shrimps With Other Animals?
Freshwater shrimps are peaceful and nonviolent, which is why they can live in any aquarium. But there are some considerations to take while choosing the tank partners for your shrimps.
Non Carnivorous Species
If you are keeping any aggressive or big size fish in the tank, there are chances that your poor shrimp buddies will become prey to them. If you want all of your water pets to live in harmony, choose the species which are non-aggressive and non-carnivores; this way, they can go well with each other.
Tank Conditions
Be clear about the water and tank conditions while choosing fish and shrimp species. This way, all of them will live together without creating trouble. Most water species, especially shrimps, are water sensitive. Make sure that you meet their demands.
Community Fish
One way to ensure that your fish will not eat all the shrimps is to keep the community fish, i.e., tetras, livebearers, etc. Shrimps are petite and delicate, which is why they can easily become stressed if you keep them with fast-swimming, hyperactive or boisterous fish.
Classic Shrimp Tank
You may make a small tank for shrimps only and install it in your home or workplace. Cover the tank base with the dwarf grass and place any of your favorite, i.e., cherry red shrimp, to this tank. You may also add pebbles, moss, and small plants to this shrimp tank.
The Final Word
Adding shrimps to a freshwater tank may not always be a good idea, especially if you have aggressive, violent, and carnivorous fish inside. In that case, don’t introduce shrimps to your tank or pick those shrimps species which are aggressive and can defend themselves. If you are interested in keeping shrimps as a pet, be careful while choosing other tank mates. Most pet shops with the best shrimps for sale usually deal with the gentle and sensitive species, so make sure to check all the conditions mentioned above before buying them.
We hope this blog was informative for you! Shrimps are adorable sea creatures that you must have in your aquarium. Let us know what species of shrimp you found the most fascinating!
