Cherry Shrimp

[nc0gnet0]

Was curious how many members have Cherry shrimp as part of there clean-up crew, how they do and most importantly, are there any concerns with disease being transferred to the discus from the shrimp. Sure you could quarntine them, but then what would you be looking for?

[deepflyball]

My discus eat them . So i dont put them in the tanks anymore.

Jerry

[jball1125]

I have them in my planted tank wich didnt have discus for a while, I recently put my discus in after QT and they didn't notice them at first. After two or three days I could see the discus trying to peck them for the heck of it because they wouldn't even eat them. IMO the best shrimp for clean up are Amano shrimp, they are bigger than cherries which gives them a better chance at survival and they are algae eating machines.

[rickztahone]

I have them in my planted tank wich didnt have discus for a while, I recently put my discus in after QT and they didn't notice them at first. After two or three days I could see the discus trying to peck them for the heck of it because they wouldn't even eat them. IMO the best shrimp for clean up are Amano shrimp, they are bigger than cherries which gives them a better chance at survival and they are algae eating machines.

+1, the other day i picked up my lg dw and there were 5 huge amanos back there that i had thought were all dead, lol. i keep cherries but i keep them in a small tank right next to my 125. they breed like crazy and i occasionally put some into the main tank and see how long they last...not very long. IMHO you need to have a fully planted tank for being able to keep cherries with discus.

[prolude006]

yeah planted tank they will reproduce like crazy, bare bottom they will become snacks. the fish wont eat them if they are well fed, but I cant seem to keep my discus full for very long.
If you have to medicate a tank for any reason most will kill the shrimp.

DAvid

[nc0gnet0]

LOL,

I should have given a bit more detail. I am primarily concerned with if or not the shrimp can carry disease, not whether or not they survive long term in the discus tank itself. Should the discus aquire a taste for them all the better, that is as long as they are not bad for them. I do know that these things are great at cleaning small bits of uneaten food out of the hardest to reach places. A while ago I purchased a 1/2 dozen of them and placed them into a non-discus tank. Now that tank has become overrun by the little buggers. If they survive, great, if they get eaten, great, providing they won't do any harm to the discus. Soon I will need some sort of population control in place for the orginal tank!

[nc0gnet0]

bump

[DerekFF]

Im sure like everything they can bring in parasites, but i dunno really if you can med them as they arent as hardy as most fish.
http://www.crustaforum.com/board/cmps_index.php
This is a great website i read and ask on about shrimp when i started my crystal reds and pearl blues. I didnt ever ask about parasites and the such. You can go ask there or i can and get back to you later.