So I have a 6 week old freshwater tropical aquarium with 2 swordtails, 2 dwarf gouramies, 5 GLOfish, and 1 angelfish. I have read MANY threads regarding angels in a 29 gallon tank, but in the end I decided it would be ok (although not "ideal"). Anyway, I want to add some inverts in the next 2-3 weeks mostly for visual appeal more than any algae issues. There is really no algae that I can easily see and no direct sunlight gets to the tank. All the plants are artificial as well. After reading about cherry/ghost/bamboo/amano shrimp, I think I would like the Amano mainly because they are a little bigger and seem a bit hardier. How many of these guys should I really get though if I don't have algae? I have seen people say 1 shrimp per gallon, but I'm assuming that's for a planted tank or one with lots of algae. At first I was thinking 2 or 3, but I wouldn't mind more. I also wouldn't mind a snail (or more, but I here they can take over the tank when breeding), or possibly a freshwater clam. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure if/how I should be taking these additions into consideration for the "inch per gallon" rule as when the fishes grow up the tank will already be nearly "maxed out". Thanks a lot!!
How many shrimp, or other inverts for my 29 gallon - also AMANO vs. GHOST?
- Thread starter ShockwaveCT
- Start date
Hi,
First of all I would highly recommend getting some real plants. Your shrimp need them.
I would recommend 10-30 shrimp in your aquarium, based on what you have in it already. 2 or 3 won't stand out much.
First of all I would highly recommend getting some real plants. Your shrimp need them.
I would recommend 10-30 shrimp in your aquarium, based on what you have in it already. 2 or 3 won't stand out much.
i agree with the above about plants. i also believe algae wafers will be able to supplement for lack of algae. someone please correct me if i'm wrong, as i just use them to vary up the diet in my aquarium.
Well, no offense, but I would rather have no shrimp, then have the plants. I know it would look great, but I am really not looking for anymore maintenance than I currently perform and don't want to add more to the bioload from possibly decaying or dead plants. If I can have a complete diet from just algae wafers, then I would consider that as an option. If I have NO live plants at all, how many shrimp should I add, and will the addition of the shrimp plus algae wafers adversely affect the ecology of the tank? I just wanted a little extra visual appeal, so I don't want to put the tank in any kind of downward slide.
Also, what should or can I do about snails or fresh water clams? I would like a snail (or more), but worry about the multiplication factor, and don't know enough about freshwater clams as well.
I would recommend against most inverts until your tank is a little more mature. Do you mean it's been cycled for 6 weeks, or are you still in the cycling process?
Uh, 6 weeks since birth. Pretty stupid right? Hopefully I don't regret it with a crash of some kind within the next 4-8 weeks. I actually picked up 2 mystery snails today, before I read the last post. I will definitely wait on any shrimp though. I picked up a male rosy barb as well, which was really an impulse buy and I kind of wish I better thought out what I wanted my "last fish" to be. Originally I wanted a Botia loach, but don't really want an inactive bottom dweller, then I was thinking of a red/black shark, but I don't know if it's little too aggressive. I really shouldn't have picked up a fish today, hopefully it was a bad decision.
Shrimp don't add much to the bioload of a tank. Those mystery snails however when full grown will add some. You don't have to have live plants for inverts. Most people do...but it's your tank. How big is your angel? Cuz he will eat those shrimp unless he is a juvie and you can find some bigger shrimp. I would go with one of the species that gets a little bigger like the amano. You can feed algae wafers. Ken's fish has algae sticks with extra calcium which I feed my snails. I would wait until your tank is a little more established before adding the shrimp.
Definitely don't get the red tailed shark...they get too big for your tank and are more on the aggressive side.
Definitely don't get the red tailed shark...they get too big for your tank and are more on the aggressive side.
Shrimp don't add much to the bioload of a tank. Those mystery snails however when full grown will add some. You don't have to have live plants for inverts. Most people do...but it's your tank. How big is your angel? Cuz he will eat those shrimp unless he is a juvie and you can find some bigger shrimp. I would go with one of the species that gets a little bigger like the amano. You can feed algae wafers. Ken's fish has algae sticks with extra calcium which I feed my snails. I would wait until your tank is a little more established before adding the shrimp.
Definitely don't get the red tailed shark...they get too big for your tank and are more on the aggressive side.
Definitely don't get the red tailed shark...they get too big for your tank and are more on the aggressive side.
Thanks for the help. I did get some algae wafers, and I dropped two into the tank today, however all the other fish are going crazy over eating them (even chasing each other around to stay away), and the snails haven't even fully come out of their shells yet. The angel is quite small, one of the smallest when I bought it (maybe 1.5"-2"), and I definitely want to go with Amano shrimp. I will probably stick with 3-5, nothing crazy. All of the fish seem a lot more active since adding the snails and Rosy barb, but I am guessing it's more due to the algae wafers. I don't know if getting the barb was the right choice as he's kind of spastic and seems to be frightening the other fish, but we'll see what happens