# Successfully housing red cherry shrimp with Angelfish



## valthegreat (Jun 14, 2016)

Hi Everyone!

When I gt my red cherry shrimp, I already had a couple of angelfish, one sunset platy, one golden molly and 2 zebra danios in the tank. I however wanted the shrimp so badly that I decided to risk it anyway. However as soon as i introduced the shrimp into the tank, the angelfish went after them. So i took them out and placed them in a transparent plastic box and let the box float on top of the tank water. The angelfish tried to take regular nips at the box for the next 24 hours and soon got tired of it! (These shrimp are sour!-they thought) and decided to leave them alone. That's when I released the shrimp into the tank. I did so at night so in the morning all fish were accustomed to having each other around. The shrimp stayed hidden for a week or two and then slowly became bolder. Now they are not shy and pretty much at ease with the bigger fish. And the angelfish also just leave them alone!

That's one experiment in conditioning 'am proud of!:laugh2:


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## jaymyess (May 13, 2016)

To make you feel better I actually have Red Cherry Shrimps in my Angelfish tank. They'll be fine if they have lots of hiding places. Mine make their homes between the roots of my Philodendrons and Peace Lilies or in my Hyrophilas where no fish can reach except fries. They do come out at night which baffles me - are they nocturnal or are they plain smart? Lol.


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## valthegreat (Jun 14, 2016)

Thanka Jaymyess! I did feel better...My shrimp recently gave birth,...so now am looking forward to them growing upto an adult size so I can house them in the tank...your shrimp are not nocturnal as far as i know...mine did the same thing for the first 2-3weeks...i would find them swimming about freely in the night time while they remained hidden all day...I have put in a small clay pot covered with moss and they used to sit inside..now they are fine...social and scavenging during the day!


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## studentclimber (Apr 11, 2011)

Actually, Id be more worried about the molly than the angels. Leave your filter intake with a normal end on it. baby shrimp can hide in the filter and grow (this also prolongs time between needing to change filter). Just make sure to dump them back in the tank when you clean your filter. They don't do well in clean filters - not enough food. I have successfully had them with angels, they are angels compared to mollies. Mollies are constant breeding livebearers. They are eating breeding machines. The one I had wiped out an entire tank of RCS. Granted wasn't that heavily planted. The thing hunted all day long.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

My colony of RCS made it through a number of tank iterations. Congo tetras, Angelfish, Rams (Bolivian and German), Rainbows, even Synodontis cats. Now they are in my 75 gallon tanganyikan tank with Multi's, Calvus, and Julidochromis. As long as the colony is a decent size and good amounts of wood, rocks, and plants the RCS will do just fine.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Mollies are the devil's spawn of aquarium life.
All the other evil fish at least have well known reputations.
If mollies don't get sick and take your whole tank with, they are busy pestering the joy out of anything they think might be weaker than them. I've seen them nearly kill an angelfish.


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## studentclimber (Apr 11, 2011)

Amen to that. There are few fish I dislike as much as mollies.


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## number1sixerfan (Nov 10, 2006)

I have Red Cherries in my 92g with Congo Tetras, and eventually there will be 6-7 discus or so. It's really heavily planted and like another poster above, I also have a pothos plants floating near the top. The RCS like to hideout in the roots of the pothos or stay in the densely plated areas near the bottom of the tank. Before I added the pothos and the rest of the plants, the congos did try and search them out. Since then, they've left them alone. 

I intend to add some rock to increase the amount of hiding spaces for them, and am starting a small shrimp tank to always have some on hand. I think it's definitely a risk, and if you don't have plants or plenty of hiding spaces it's almost cruel. But if you do, it can work just fine for the most part.


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## valthegreat (Jun 14, 2016)

Hey nordic and student climber,

You were right about the molly.
She jumped into the breeder box one morning and ate up 10 of the shrimp babies!!
Then I removed her but i also moved the babies to a separate nano tank....now i have only 14 surviving babies...otherwise they were doing so well


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Hahaha, I just found a red cherry shrimp in my cory tank. Little bugger is cleaning the outside of the breeding net the fry is kept it.
I would not have thought it possible, but it travelled from the store in little fish bag with no water. I know the tanks and stock in that shop as well as my own tanks so there was no need for quarantine.

I'll take it back tomorrow though, they are quite expensive (by my standards)


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## valthegreat (Jun 14, 2016)

That's an adventure for him!


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## Gnick (Dec 5, 2016)

I have a 29 with an angelfish and corys. Was going to add shrimp and snails this week. Is this planted heavy enough? Do you think 10 shrimp and 3-5 merits snails would be a good start?


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Yes, that would make a decent meal.


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## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

If you can see more than ~10% of the substrate it's not dense enough.


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

If the bottom looks like a dense jungle, it should be okay to try out a few shrimp.


You need more plants.


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## Gnick (Dec 5, 2016)

Any suggestions for plants that could help hide them or any certain plants they like?


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## Gnick (Dec 5, 2016)

Was going to try cabomba, Java moss, and dwarf hair grass. Any reason these would not be a good idea?


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## Bananableps (Nov 6, 2013)

Gnick said:


> Was going to try cabomba, Java moss, and dwarf hair grass. Any reason these would not be a good idea?


Dwarf hairgrass in particular is good. My larger fish can hover down into it, but it's too thick and stiff to swim through. I'm not sure cabomba would provide enough cover. Something with larger, wider leaves like hydrocotyle (also low growing) would be better. Java moss can be okay, depending on how unruly you let it get.


RE: OP
Thanks for the post - interesting idea to acclimate inhabitants, not just for water parameters, but socially as well! Side note: have you considered buying more danios? They are a schooling fish.


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## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

All those plants would be good. Cabomba can be great shelter if planted densely enough. My shrimp also love Belem hairgrass in particular with its downward curving leaves.


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## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

The Dude1 said:


> My colony of RCS made it through a number of tank iterations. Congo tetras, Angelfish, Rams (Bolivian and German), Rainbows, *even Synodontis cats*. Now they are in my 75 gallon tanganyikan tank with Multi's, Calvus, and Julidochromis. As long as the colony is a decent size and good amounts of wood, rocks, and plants the RCS will do just fine.


Do Synodontis eat shrimps?


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## Fissure (Jun 29, 2014)

Well depends on the angelfishes size. They are skilled hunters and will eat most things smaller than themselves. When I decided to get rid of my 4 large angels was when I saw a 4cm Amano shrimp sticking out of its mouth.

Bump:


Matuva said:


> Do Synodontis eat shrimps?


Very likely


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## Duncan (Dec 5, 2019)

valthegreat said:


> Hi Everyone!
> 
> When I gt my red cherry shrimp, I already had a couple of angelfish, one sunset platy, one golden molly and 2 zebra danios in the tank. I however wanted the shrimp so badly that I decided to risk it anyway. However as soon as i introduced the shrimp into the tank, the angelfish went after them. So i took them out and placed them in a transparent plastic box and let the box float on top of the tank water. The angelfish tried to take regular nips at the box for the next 24 hours and soon got tired of it! (These shrimp are sour!-they thought) and decided to leave them alone. That's when I released the shrimp into the tank. I did so at night so in the morning all fish were accustomed to having each other around. The shrimp stayed hidden for a week or two and then slowly became bolder. Now they are not shy and pretty much at ease with the bigger fish. And the angelfish also just leave them alone!
> 
> That's one experiment in conditioning 'am proud of!:laugh2:


Very good idea. I'm going to give it a try with the shrimp that my son, a fellow aquarist, is going to gift me for Christmas. Hopefully they will survive and forage for the fine particulate waste from feeding the Tetramin flakes.

Best regards,

Duncan


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