Hi all new here and to shrimp keeping also. I have a planted nano (12x12) about seven gal. Bought ten cherries to start a colony and so far so good reproducing good. Now the question is how many is too many, will colony set its number based on available food or will it just crash?

You have to look at the amount of filtration that you are running. I did read somewhere that 4 or 5 a litre is safe.

 

Thanks for the response.

my tank has a seven gal capacity. I have a finnex 360.  It is filled with bio filtration and has a flow rate of 25 gph. With his means the water is filtered abut 5 times an hour.  The tank was cycled and has been up and running for about 8 months.  Regular water testing is part of the maint. Plan.  Question is, will they over populate or will food supply limit there breeding?

This is a question I have wondered about too. Is there a saturation point in a colony?I have had a large colony in a large tank that never seemed to stop breeding -there were several thousand shrimp in the tank with very few deaths. It stayed that way for 3 years before I pulled it down. To me it looked like it was getting close to overcrowding but the shrimp seemed very healthy. I guess we need to look at whether the shrimp are thriving or merely surviving. If they have to climb over each other and can't find hiding places -especially newly moulted females- then you should definitely start thinning them out. I would think in the wild when food is scarce and water conditions poor they would stop breeding? In a tank situation I doubt food would ever really be scarce as we try to keep optimal conditions for the shrimp so there would be sufficient biofilm plus the food we give them. 

I have read somewhere that the recommended stocking level is 10 shrimps per gallon. Some have reported twice or 3 times more with no issues. Personally I try to stick to 10-15 shrimps per gallon and have no issues. Of course assuming ample filtration and a healthy environment is provided for them.