# Female shrimps have started swimming all over the place



## CornishCactus (Aug 19, 2012)

I've had my Red Cherrys about a month, 5 females ( one berried ), 1 male
The male has always been active, swimming everywhere all the time, the females are happy to just walk around eating.

Today i've noticed 2 females are swimming about all over the place, not really stopping to eat.
They aren't doing the swim to the surface and stop thing, and the others are acting normal.

They were all saddled, right now one swimmer still is, the other appears not to be.

all other tank mates happy, infact my previously very shy Borneo loach is happy moving about the tank, eating stuff it finds.
The Borneo and it's fave algae rock were added 2 days ago.

Any link? or is it just something RCS's do when their ready to mate? tho everything i read the females play hide and seek and let the male come find them.

Cheers


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Generally males will go crazy swimming around the tank. Only times I see females swimming is either
1) water quality could be an issue
2) you just did a water change (all the shrimps swim around then)
3) you just fed them


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## jasonpatterson (Apr 15, 2011)

I'd have a quick check to make sure everything is working as normal (temperature OK, filter/pump still working normally) and otherwise not sweat it. They just go all shrimpy sometimes. They could be freaked out because of the fish, but that usually results in them hiding, and your fish is reasonably shrimp safe.


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## CornishCactus (Aug 19, 2012)

water was last changed monday eve, same as norm, about 15-20%, next due tomorrow
doing twice a week as the tank is still fairly new, the shrimp were the first things in.
all the numbers seem spot on.
last mondays change was the first in a week as i was away, but everyone looked happy enough.

i did feed all the inmates when i came in, but the shrimps normally come across the food later, the rest of the tank is far more interesting to them, and they've never done this.

everything is working fine.

i added a week and a half ago 6 harlequins, the shrimps were a little more reserved at first but didn't hide, within a couple of days they were back to normal. 
they seem to pay the loach no attention 
the swimming seems to have no aim

will have to see what they're up to tomorrow i guess. 

cheers


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

If shrimp feel they are in danger they will hide 24/7. So I don't think it's the fish.

Have you dosed anything interesting the past few days?


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## CornishCactus (Aug 19, 2012)

Only changes are the Borneo and it's rock.
It came from the beach 3 years ago and has been in my other tank where the Borneo and my Danios lived
The starting water and filter goodness came from this tank so biologically they should be the same.

It does have algae on the rock, which isn't yet present elsewhere in the new tank


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## tobystanton (Jun 27, 2012)

Dont put anything from the beach into your tank, it may have minerals in it that may affect your water.


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

You have a loach in a shrimp tank?!?!!!!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

tobystanton said:


> Dont put anything from the beach into your tank, it may have minerals in it that may affect your water.


I have boiled seashells in all my tanks


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## Option (Oct 2, 2010)

Female red cherries (and many of the neocaridinas) begin to do that usually shortly after a molt when they are berried and/or ready to mate. Are there any males in your tank? If so then they should be going crazy at this point to mate.


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## CornishCactus (Aug 19, 2012)

that'll explain then, a couple of molted shells in the tank, and for most of the eve the girls were hiding, saw one come from under a small gap in the bogwood, they've never been in there before
the male might be gay tho, he seems more interested in eating 
was thinking of getting a couple more males to liven things up a bit and spread the gene pool anyway.

only things going crazy are the harlequins, one of who seems to be doing vertical laps of the powerhead 
oddball.

i have taken the rock out, the others collected the same time in there seem fine but the shrimps are ignoring the algae on the one thats been in my other tank 3 years

the loach is a borneo sucker, he might try a shrimplett if he comes across one, but he'd rather run from the adults when they get close.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

So a common misconception is that shrimp eat algae, at least noticeable amounts. While they may eat an occasional bit of algae, they mostly eat biofilm (which grows everywhere in your tank). The only real algae eaters are amano shrimp, and not BBA or any of that sort.


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## Option (Oct 2, 2010)

diwu13 said:


> So a common misconception is that shrimp eat algae, at least noticeable amounts.


Well....they absolutely devour the *algae wafers* I feed them!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Sadly algae wafers and BBA or hair algae are completely different :/


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## CornishCactus (Aug 19, 2012)

the algae is for the loach, tho being a small mouth non raspy type he's not really interested either, the bristlenose and hillstream loach i had before loved it.
i thought the shrimps might have a pick at it, but they land and move on.


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