# Phoenix Rasboras compatible with shrimp?



## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

I am upgrading my 5gallon shrimp tank to a 10gallon. There are only 7 shimp (3 amanos and 4 RCS) in the tank right now but will be getting CRS in the future. 

Would it be alright to add a school of 8 Phoenix Rasboras? The tank will be planted with HC, wisteria, pellia, and riccia and possibly more. Substrate will be Aquasoil so the pH should be around 6.5. I want the RCS to breed and hopefully the CRS will as well once they get settled in. I know the Phoenix Rasboras won't eat the adult shrimp but would they eat most of the newborns? There will be lots of cover for the shrimplets but I don't know if the rasboras will go out of their way to hunt the shrimp. Its alright if they eat a couple here and there. 

Anyone that keeps phoenix rasboras I would love to hear your experiences with keeping them.


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

They should be more than fine. I have kept them (though I think they are actually called Boraras Maculatus- someone correct me if I'm wrong), and B. Merah, as well as B. Brigattae. All of them are more than suitable for a tank that size, as well as for being housed with shrimp. You might find that a few of the shrimplets might dissapear, but knowing how CRS populate and the small mouths of the fish, you should still see a steady increase in shrimp numbers.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

appreciate it *searun *, I am now choosing between the b.morah and b.brigattae. I like the brigattae deep red color but it doesn't look like all of them show this color, only the dominant male. Does anyone know which one schools better? or are they very similar to one another? I don't know I may have to just flip a quarter.


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

From my experience, all of them will school pretty good. I've fround they are usually mid water to surface dwelling fish too. Right now I have a group of B. Brigattae and have noticed its mostly the males who are coloured up (pretty equally too) and the females are more drab, yet still colourful. You will notice this though wtih most of the Boraras sp. The only thing I've noticed differently between the two is that I believe it was my B. Merah that grew just a little bigger than the other Boraras sp., but not by much.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

alright, you convinced me, i'm going with the Brigattae.haha I am in the process of setting the tank up, do they like to hide in plants or are they usually swimming all over the place? Most of the plants I plan on using are shorter, but im looking for some background plants. any suggestions? I was thinking some dwarf hairgrass or similar.


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## erijnal (Jun 19, 2006)

Just going to offer a second opinion here.. my brigittae actively hunted shrimplet when they were housed in my 20 gallon tank.

They were just RCS, so it didn't matter too much though. It was actually pretty fun seeing them stalk the tank *shrug*


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

The larger the tank, the more active they're going to be. This goes for most of the smaller fish. I've kept Celestial Pearl Danios, B. Merah, B. Maculatus, and B. Brigattae. I at one point did keep them in various nano tanks (5.5gls), heavily planted nature aquariums. Yeah, they had lots of plants to hide in. They did just that- hide.
Eventually I moved them to a 10gl planted tank where they proved to be way more active. Right now I have the B. Brigattae in a 5.5 nature aquarium QT tank and they are active, but they stick strong to the hardscape and behind the wall of Eleocharis Vivipara.

For plant choice though, they're pretty neutral in what they prefer, from experience. I've noticed they hang around the hardscape alot, sort of like how Bass hang around log jams and dock pilings. Then sometimes they're laying really low and tight to the carpet of H. Polysperma. Whatever they chose, they're chosing a plant though. Hardly do I ever see them out in the open. If you keep them in a species only tank, with the shrimp, maybe provide some bushier plants as you'll notice in the mornings when the daylight starts to hit the tank that the males will drive the females into the bushy plants to spawn.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I've got a school of B. brigittae in my 10gal RCS tank, too. :icon_smil

Mine are little beggars, always up at the front surface of the tank telling me they're hungry ROFL

I definitely noticed that my RCS population does not grow to the same #s as before I added the rasboras, and I never actually see newly-hatched shrimplets any more, but some of the shrimplets do survive (I have shrimp of all ages in the tank now) and the RCS population seems pretty stable.

I'd recommend making sure there's moss in the tank for the shrimplets to hide in.


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