mixing different types of shrimp?

[lee_in_corpus]

in my tank i have a cleaner shrimp.  but ive always loved the coloration of a fire shrimp.

according to my invertibrate book, i can't see any reason why the 2 cant coexist, especially in a 180 gallon tank.

has anyone seen a good reason for or against?

ive also read that shrimp need to but added to a tank in pairs...but i havent seen it stated anywhere other than that book....which seems to be error filled anyways....

any thoughts on that?

[Just_Greg]

some, not all, shrimp will eat each other if they can catch a smaller one.  one of the worst of these are genus Stenopus (coral banded shrimp), then again, there are plenty of tales in the hobby of CBS getting downright nasty.

IME, it's a matter of what you're mixing, not necessarily when they're added. 

if you mean a "skunk cleaner shrimp", adding a blood shrimp to the existing setup should be no problem.

[Bergy]

i actually think it is also a matter of timng


shrimp are very teritorial by nature, although they dont seem to be able to protect/defend thier homes too well, they are more successful against other shrimp, especially smaller ones.

so, if you have a larger shrimp, especially the cbs or the skunk cleaner, then adding a smaller one, at a later date, will probably be a lot of 'action', as teh bigger one keeps chasing the smaller one...


if the smaller one survives, it will be cool as they will prolly pair/mate, (same species)... my pair were constantly carrying eggs... i was lucky enough to see a hatching once... it was friggin amazing to see a bazillion eggs hatch in about 3 seconds...


(btw, they carry the egg around thier back legs, tucked under thier tale... you can see them up close with a flashlight, and as they get bigger the shrimp are constantly groomin and flexing thier legs to fan out the eggs)

[OCtrackiepacsg1]

what about mixing cleaners and peppermint? I heard those CBS are no-no with those big pinchers.

[lee_in_corpus]

yes, its a skunk cleaner.  wow, i hadnt considered the possibility of breeding a pair of cleaners!  that might be a fun experiment!  :)

im worried that the current cleaner is already quite a bit bigger than the ones i see for sale at the fish store. 

again, thanks for the input!  i love having something new to think about in my tank!  :)

and i would never add anything with those giant pinchers to my tank.  i dont trust them!

[Bergy]

the shrimp will breed if there is a male/female but you prolly wont get any to survive from hatchlings.... but they do make tasty treats for all the other tank mates...