# Shrimp With Boesemani Rainbows



## Tommy (28 Oct 2018)

I would like to have some of the crystal bee shrimps in my tank, would these be ok with boesemani rainbows? or will they get eaten? Thanks


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## mort (29 Oct 2018)

I've not tried it and I'm always surprised when people mix larger species with shrimp as even small tetra can wipe them out but i'd imagine that it would be hard to mix the two. Adults might be alright but smaller ones would be a tempting meal. The normal advice is make sure it is heavily planted so that some may survive.


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## Tommy (29 Oct 2018)

mort said:


> I've not tried it and I'm always surprised when people mix larger species with shrimp as even small tetra can wipe them out but i'd imagine that it would be hard to mix the two. Adults might be alright but smaller ones would be a tempting meal. The normal advice is make sure it is heavily planted so that some may survive.



I will do more research, I don't want to add the shrimp if they are going to be eaten.


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## TBRO (29 Oct 2018)

Would Echo the above. Even small fish can and will eat baby shrimp. The trick is having lots of stems and moss to shelter the little ones. I’ve got small rainbow fish (ribbon tail) they show no interest in the adult shrimp. 


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## Tommy (29 Oct 2018)

I think if I am going to attempt this I need to have some carpeting plants down to provide adequate hiding places. Don't think my tank is suitable at the moment.


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## goldscapes (29 Oct 2018)

Getting enough light to the base of your tank might be a challenge for carpeting plants. I tried Monte Carlo with low light levels and the little growth I had was upwards rather than spread out. Others with more experience might be able to give you some better tips though.

I settled for increasing the amount of leaf litter instead. This tea stained the water for a while but I grew to like the “blackwater” effect and miss it now that it has faded. So will probably start adding new leaves every so often again. This also reduced the pH slightly but not by much.

Your tank is really developing well by the way, good job!


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## mort (29 Oct 2018)

Nice scape. I would also consider the differing water parameters bee shrimp and the rainbows prefer. Rainbows are happiest in harder alkaline water whereas bees prefer soft water. You might be better off with cherry shrimp, or rili shrimp if you want the stripes. These might breed faster for you and give a better chance of the project working.


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## Tommy (29 Oct 2018)

davexcape said:


> Getting enough light to the base of your tank might be a challenge for carpeting plants. I tried Monte Carlo with low light levels and the little growth I had was upwards rather than spread out. Others with more experience might be able to give you some better tips though.
> 
> I settled for increasing the amount of leaf litter instead. This tea stained the water for a while but I grew to like the “blackwater” effect and miss it now that it has faded. So will probably start adding new leaves every so often again. This also reduced the pH slightly but not by much.
> 
> Your tank is really developing well by the way, good job!



Thanks Dave, might have to go with the leaf litter as the light isn't the best. I would like one of those Twinstar led lights, the colours they bring out of the plants and fish is excellent, but I don't know if one would be able to go under the lid of my tank. I believe these lights are adjustable and you don't need to run them on full power.


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## Tommy (29 Oct 2018)

mort said:


> Nice scape. I would also consider the differing water parameters bee shrimp and the rainbows prefer. Rainbows are happiest in harder alkaline water whereas bees prefer soft water. You might be better off with cherry shrimp, or rili shrimp if you want the stripes. These might breed faster for you and give a better chance of the project working.



Thanks mort, I will look into rili shrimp. Seen some cherry shrimp today but they were tiny you could hardly see them, they must have been babies.


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## rubadudbdub (30 Oct 2018)

I had some blue shrimp in with bosmani rainbows and they disappeared very quickly, presumably eaten. Amanos were fine.


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## Tommy (30 Oct 2018)

rubadudbdub said:


> I had some blue shrimp in with bosmani rainbows and they disappeared very quickly, presumably eaten. Amanos were fine.



Looks like I will have to choose my shrimps carefully, best not get any too small


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## TBRO (30 Oct 2018)

Amano’s are pretty big and won’t reproduce so probably worth a try. They are pretty quick too


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