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Only day 2 but I have seen 6 of the new taiwan bee shrimp I got so that is looking hopeful, previously I saw no shrimp the next day after putting them in the tank so it is an improvement, but I am having to not get too excited and order more at this point??? All 15 may be alive but th tank is so densely planted I will never expect to see them all, and anyway they are new to the tank so would expect them to hide a lot more than when they are settled! Stunning shrimp though from an ebay sale, but too small and few to photo at this point, we will have to wait a while for those. I assume from this that maybe they were poisoned by something in the tank before but after a few years of water changes/running that is not now a problem??? Tank still isn't green and lush like the other tanks though so I definitely wouldn't use that substrate again! Fingers crossed I am back with the Taiwan bee shrimp for good....... Simon

I am mainly buying the bloody mary shrimps, to top up red shrimp in that old tank but thought I may as well try some taiwan bee in the other tank as it must have been 2 years since I tried, and as I say, there have been wild type red cherry living in that tank! I am getting blacks mainly (and couldn't resist some blue bolt) as they won't be as visible to the fish as reds, but if it goes well I will get some red taiwan bee shrimp at some later date (probably next year though)! I must have fished out about 50 wild type red cherry so far from the old tank to make room for the new ones in that tank! If the taiwan bee work out, then I will have those wild type cherry to remove from that tank as well, there aren't that many though, I don't even feed those shrimps in that tank! I will post updates............ Simon

Hope you have better luck with this lot.

I have ordered some bluebolt, black taiwan bee and black KK shrimp (5 of each) to see how this goes now, the parameters are perfect for Caridina shrimp and there have been wild type cherry shrimp living in that tank for about a year or more with no problems, so am going to give it another go! Decided to get a delivery done before winter sets in here, and also getting 20 bloody mary shrimp for the old tank so will try and fish out as many of the wild types over the next few days to make room for the new red shrimps? I am getting this lot from ebay so will be interesting to see how that goes as it has been years since I used that for any shrimp? I prefer red taiwan bee but will just see how these black ones go first, obviously red will be much more visible to the fish? I guess I can rule out poisoning or disease as a tank issue as there have been shrimp living in the tank for a long time now! It still doesn't look nice and green though with this different substrate, and the fish may be an issue - hopefully the shrimp that are sent will be big enough to reduce the risk of that, the listing states they will be 15mm? Simon

Otos really do like it in a big group. I had 10 in my 4ft tank once, and they would swim together. The problem with Otos is that, they compete with shrimp for the same food, ie. the biofilm on the surfaces of the tank. If you are okay with that and prepared to feed them regularly when the biofilm runs out, then Otos are great companions to shrimp. Of course they will both eat the same foods, so feeding both together is not difficult. Lot's of blanched veges like zucchinis, peas, carrots.

That sounds like a good plan, I might even get 5 ot 6 as they are quite small! Simon

Thanks I’ve no problem with waiting it’s part of the hobby really. I was actually looking at the Ottos on line and was thinking of getting some so to have you guys mention them makes me happy. However it says online that they are happier being in a group rather than just one or two so do you think that I could have say 3 or 4 in my 64ltr tank

I have 3 tanks at the moment, Tank 1 - bloody mary shrim with neon and ember tetras, though 90% of the shrimp are wild type now! Tank 2 - the old taiwan bee shrimp tank, has 11 mosquito rasbora and 1 killie with wild type cherry shrimp, I have just done the maintenance on that tank and there are definitely shrimp still doing well (I don't feed shrimp in there) but they are clear or brown so VERY difficult to spot! I tested this tank last week and parameters were ideal for taiwan bee (PH6, TDS 140, KH 0-1, GH 5-6 (a bit high)) as it has been since set up. Tank 3 - male betta with wild cherry shrimp, again just done that tank and there are shrimp doing well in there but again, I can ony see them with a strong light and magnifying glass due to their lack of colour. I am looking at maybe just stocking up before winter so may get a job lot of bloody mary shrimp for tank 1 (and discard lots of wilds) and have a final try with the taiwan bee as the tank 2 is at the moment. The parameters are perfect but the plants are still not nice and green with this substrate, as they were before with the other substrate but obviously shrimp are living in there, albeit not ones I wanted, so I can rule out disease and poisoning. As you say, the taiwan bee are much easier to see so may be preyed on by the fish so I won't buy expensive ones (ebay probably) or a large quantity (if I get any at all of course, though it is now or wait until next year). It would be the last lot I try until the fish die off and the tank is reset with the other substrate! Simon

So do you have any Taiwan bees going right now Simon? Or just the red cherries/wilds? I forget some of the stuff that you and jayc have. Depending on the type you get, they could be targeted a lot more than your wilds are currently. Also I’m not too sure how the parameters would work, for neocaridina and taiwan bees. But I’d be very interested to see what comes of it if you try.

I agree with crabby, having fish in a tank tends to draw the eye away from the shrimp, and of course the shrimp won't be out and about quite so much! If you can resist the urge to get fish (for now at least) except a few ottocinclus (they don't move that much) that would be best and give your shrimp colony a better chance of growing quicker, but obviously the final decision will be yours! I have fish (tetra) in my oldest tank mainly as that tank is 5 or 6 feet from where I normally sit so wanted something I could see from a distance. I have rasbora and killie in the specialised shrimp tank because I was having difficulty with shrimp in that tank anyway and covid started so I quickly grabbed some fish before lockdown etc so there would be something in that tank - I am thinking I may try and get some taiwan bee shrimmp for that tank next week, before winter gets here, though whether it will work tankwise or with the fish??????????????? Simon

I’ve never kept shrimp with tetras, so I can’t speak from experience on that one, but I can say that I’ve found shrimp are more enjoyable without fish in the tank (through recent exploration). Maybe an Ottocinclus or two (or three even) could be an unobtrusive addition? They’re one of the best ‘suckers’ out there. Very cute too.

Thanks for the advice yeah everything is going good I’ve got 7 shrimp left one that’s carrying eggs and another that got a yellow patch just behind her saddle so I’m thinking that she’s going to produce eggs soon. Sadly no the cherry coloured one died absolutely no idea as to why it was fine swimming about eating when I went to bed and in the morning it was dead. The baths worked I think I’ve not seen any signs to say otherwise and I give them a good check every day so soon as I see anything I can hopefully sort it.

I keep ember tetra and eon tetra with bloody mary red shrimps and that works fine, though the tank is densely planted, and most of the shrimp have reverted to boring wild colour now. I exect the fish get some of the newborn shrimp should they come across them though, so the tank should be well stocked with plants/moss/hiding places. Dwarf Corydora should also be ok with shrimps. Snails are ok as well! I also keep wild type cull shrimp (from the bloody mary tank) with dwarf (mosquito) rasbora (and a killie) and they seem to be ok together but again it is a densely planted tank and the shrimps are very difficult to see, being clear and/or brown! Again though I expect the fish will eat any small/baby shrimps if they come across them. I wouldn't recommend guppies as they have quite large mouths and will go everywhere in an aquarium whereas rasbora/tetra prefer mid to top of an aquarium! The brighter the colour of the shrimp the more likely they are to be seen by the fish and if the shrimp are small enough they are likely to be preyed upon. With your dark blue shrimp and dark subsrate I think you will be ok, how many shrimp do you have left and is the berried one still doing well? Has the salt treatment been successful? Simon

Hey just thought I’d check in and say hi I’ve got a new tank cycling and I have some shrimp that’s going to be going into it but I was wanting to get something else to go into it I was thinking about some little tetras what is your thoughts also I would like to get a couple of suckers don’t know any proper names that’s just what I call them. If anyone has any advice I would love to hear thanks in advance 😁

Great to get an update with no horrific stories, look forward to seeing some photos in due course! I had a shrimp try to make a dash for it when I first got in to shrimps, I saw it crawling across the carpet, I don't actually know how it got out but as JayC suggests, lowering the water level will make it harder, however they try to get out? They can jump out or even climb up power cables. Really pleased your heater problem didn't cause you any big problems! Simon

Yeah it’s right up near the rim, I didn’t realise they could climb (I’ve had shrimp in this tank a few times before) and preferred the high water level look. I’ll drop it down a tad in that case.

Great essay on your adventures. It felt as if I was there 😄. Too bad about that one shrimp that was found outside the tank. Is your water level close to the rim of the tank? If it is, reduce the water level a bit to avoid shrimp climbing out.

Alright, so for the first update: I’m really loving the shrimp. I’ve spent ages just sitting in front of the tank and watching them. I really surprised myself actually; I thought I’d enjoy them more in the tank with fish, as an addition to the stocking. But I’m REALLY loving them on their own! If all goes well for another couple weeks, I think I’ll move them all into the ‘fry’ tank. Luckily it sits next to a sink, which I normally use for water changes, so it’s extraordinarily easy to do small and often water changes. I’m going to do one once the water comes back on. I’ve got a couple things to cover. Firstly, I still haven’t found the shrimp with the brown head. The shrimp in that tank are hiding a lot more than the ones in my shrimp-only tank. Conversely, the CPDs are much more active, so I guess the shrimp are acting as dithers? In the shrimp-only tank, I’ve had a couple of mishaps. Firstly, my heater seems to not like me much anymore. After moving houses, it was out of use for 6 months. When I started using it again for the betta breeding project, the set temperature was different from the actual temperature, by about 3 or 4 degrees. By the time I started raising my first batch of CPD fry (which unfortunately didn’t go so well), I had it set at 27, and it was giving me 24°, which was what I wanted. But when I tried to drop it down by a couple degrees (placing it on 25° with the intention of getting it to give me 21 or 22), it just gave up. I woke up the next morning and checked on the tank, and I was shocked to see the temperature at 15°!!! A tiny freak-out ensued, and I set my heater back at 27°, because surely 24° is better than a frigid 15°. The water has slowly (painfully slowly) heated up over the last day to sit at about 22°, so I’m hoping it sticks there and I don’t have to mess around with this hellish heater any more. I’ll replace it next time I order something or go to my LFS. Thankfully it doesn’t seem like there was any problem that followed from that. All the shrimp in there are doing very well still. Except for one. I found him dried out on the counter, next to the tank, just this morning. I was shocked, and a little heart-broken. I’m not sure what could’ve happened… did he somehow climb onto the lid last night when I fed, and he fell off of it when I took it out of the tank, and I somehow didn’t notice? Did he climb out of his own accord, through the tiny hole in the corner where the airline comes in to the tank?? Did I somehow accidentally flick him out of the tank??? I’m flabbergasted, and rather upset. Anyways, it seems that at least everything else is going okay. I’m looking forward to the opportunity of perhaps moving the other CRS over to the shrimp-only tank, and having another go with CPD fry as well. That’s all for now though. Photos definitely coming on the weekend, because I totally can’t wait to bring out the camera and get some nice shots of them.

Hopefully you are over the problem and all goes well from here onwards, as JayC says, just keep a close eye on them for a while. I did have rust on a few in my mixed tank, always red ruby bizarrely, none of the others and they were all shrimps I had for about a year so can't blame the person I bought them from! It went on for a while with me just culling the odd shrimp every few weeks (1) and didn't seem to spread, so hopefully that will be what happens with yours and the remaining will be fine. All the taiwan bee have long antenae normally so as above just keep an eye on them, the antenae may grow back with time. I think it is usually down to poor water quality and/or nitrates which weaken the shrimps immune system and then the bacteria attack! That may explain why the large water change you did helped/stopped it? Or it may have not been properly cycled and hopefully it now is? A lot of times the bacteria are always in the tank but harmless to healthy unstressed shrimp! I see from your first post you were doing 20% water change each week and so that should be ok, as long as you add the new water very slowly (a dripper is best) and the parameters of the old and new water aren't too different. You could reduce that to 10% each week as shrimp aren't very messy and that should reduce any fluctuations? I hope it all continues to do well, keep an eye on the shrimp for now and let us know if you are still having problesms, hopefully you have a mix of male and female, and they will help replace the dead shrimps and increase your colony! Simon

Hi Simon, the one that had the rusty shell already dead... Hope everything gonna be okay, really desperate having high death rate in the tank.. may I know what causing the bacterial infection? The antennae is short.. is bb antennae is short or long?

If the deaths have stopped, then that is good news. Keep a close eye on them and look for brown spots, like the shell is rusting. All you should do know is make sure the tank parameters are stable and give them a clean, cycled tank.

Hi Simon and jayc After I read the shrimp disease topic I think my shrimps are having bacterial infection.. loss of colour, and the antenae, and when the shrimp dead their head have brown colour... The bb is still dying every week, than my friend ask me to water change for 40% and put seachem stability routine.. it have been almost a week now, and 0 death.. oh btw the bb is 5 left in the tank. They seem happy now and actively, but I don't know maybe I'm wrong.. Really sad having a lot of death in the tank...

Yeah they probably will be at a little bit of risk. Fortunately, I don’t have any fry currently in the tank, although I’ll have some in a couple weeks probably. We’ll see how it goes. There’s a heap of moss, and I’m sure it’ll grow loads, so by the time I have fry large enough to eat shrimplets, the moss should be dense and large enough that the fry can’t get to the little guys. Oh good spot Simon! I didn’t even notice that. I’ll see if I can find that shrimp today when I turn the lights on, and get a better look at whatever that is.

This photo is making me smile... The fish think "thank you master, my snack is coming, and look delicious" While the shrimp one the left think "OMG I must runaway from this..."

They are very pretty and they look happy enough! The last photo shrimp in the centre, what is that brown patch on the head or is that on the glass? Any newborn shrimplets in the fry tank wil be at risk as well, especially with a bare base, not a problem yet clearly, but if the water parameters of both tanks with these shrimp in are close in parameters maybe you could just move berried shrimp into the other tank until they hatch so the babies have a better chance when first born! Just noticed the brown on the second from last photo as well, I would quarantine that shrimp for now? You don't want to risk the others? Simon