As a goldfish keeper, you must have wondered about adding shrimp to your tank as it helps keep the tank clean as goldfish are messy fish that produce a lot of waste. But can your goldfish and shrimp live together? Let us discuss this below:
Goldfish and shrimp can live together as they have similar tank requirements. However, goldfish can easily feed upon the smaller shrimps if your fish is starving. We advise introducing Ghost and Amano Shrimp first to the tank as they have better chances of survival than other shrimps.
Let us dive into the article to know more about the survival of shrimp in the goldfish tank. In addition to this, we will also discuss the benefits of adding shrimp to your goldfish tank.
Contents
Can goldfish and shrimp live together?
Goldfish and shrimp can co-exist together, but you have to take specific measures like adding aquatic plants in the tank to create hiding spots for the shrimp. You should also feed your goldfish regularly as your goldfish can feed upon the shrimp if they are starving.
So, to avoid any threats to the shrimp, you should always feed well to your goldfish. We want you to know that goldfish will ignore the shrimp if they are not hungry.
Also read: Can Goldfish Live With Angelfish?
Do goldfish eat shrimp?
Goldfish can eat whatever fits in their mouth, so yes, your goldfish can eat if there is any smaller shrimp in your tank. Goldfish are omnivores animals that can easily feed upon the smaller shrimp in your tank.
But, they will ignore the shrimp if they are well fed and are not starving. So, your goldfish will only try to hunt the shrimp if it is hungry.
How to protect shrimp from your goldfish?
Here are how you can protect shrimp from your goldfish:
- Add aquatic plants
- Maintain the ratio of shrimp and goldfish
- Regularly feed your goldfish
- Introduce shrimp first
- Feed your shrimp properly
Add aquatic plants
Adding aquatic plants in the tank is one good option to protect the shrimp from your goldfish. Aquatic plants help to develop hiding spots for the shrimp and help keep the tank oxygenated.
Therefore, we want you to know that plants with dense growth provide a lot of space for the shrimp to hide when your goldfish tries to hunt them down.
Some of the best aquatic plants for your goldfish tank are as follows:
- Java fern
- Java Moss
- Anubias ( Anubias barteri)
- Anacharis Plant ( Water seeds)
- Cryptocoryne Plant
These are the plants that can be an ideal option for your goldfish tank.
Also read: Do Goldfish Eat Plants?
Maintain the ratio of goldfish and shrimp
You should always maintain the ratio of goldfish and shrimp in your tank to increase the survival of the shrimp.
If there are more goldfish and less shrimp in the tank, it can be a big threat to your shrimp as your goldfish can hunt the shrimp down.
Also, smaller shrimp will be in more danger than the bigger ones as goldfish will always try to hunt the smaller ones.
Regularly feed your goldfish
Your goldfish will not prefer to attack the shrimp if they are not hungry. So if you regularly provide all the nutritious food to your goldfish, then your fish might ignore the shrimp in the tank.
Therefore it will be advisable to feed your goldfish with all the healthy food like leafy greens and some live foods like blood worms to keep your fish fit and healthy.
Also read: What Do Goldfish Eat?
Introduce shrimp first
You should introduce the shrimp first to the tank as it will help them explore the tank and find some hiding spots.
Adding shrimp first to the tank will also give baby shrimp enough time to develop and protect themselves from goldfish.
Feed your shrimp properly
We want you to know that shrimp prefers to feed on the leftovers, but it is not possible in the presence of goldfish as your fish will not leave any food for the shrimp.
In such a case, the shrimp will have to feed upon the decaying plants in the tank with no nutrition. Feeding on the decaying plants will affect the growth and development of your shrimp.
So, it will be advisable to provide your shrimp with the right food and nutrients to grow properly.
Breeding shrimp in a goldfish tank
It is nearly impossible to do as the female, and baby shrimp are vulnerable, making your goldfish easily hunt them down.
In addition, pregnant shrimp are not active enough, making them easy prey for your goldfish. Therefore if you want to breed your shrimp, it will be advisable to breed them in a separate tank rather than your goldfish tank.
Also read: Are Goldfish Aggressive?
Types of shrimp you can keep with your goldfish?
Goldfish can eat all shrimp that fits in their mouth. So, you should always add large shrimp to your goldfish tank to avoid any threat to the shrimp as goldfish will ignore the shrimp that won’t fit in its mouth.
Adding freshwater, cherry, and bamboo shrimp to your goldfish tank is not a good idea as your goldfish can easily hunt them. The types of shrimp that has a better survival rate than these are
- Ghost shrimp
- Amano Shrimp
Ghost shrimp
Ghost shrimp is an ideal option for your goldfish tank as they are bottom feeders and usually prefers to stay at the bottom of the tank.
If you have a large tank with lots of aquatic plants, it will provide enough space for your ghost shrimp to hide from goldfish. The best way to add ghost shrimp in the tank is to introduce them first to the tank to explore the tank properly.
If you do this, then it will be a task for your goldfish to find them. However, if your goldfish discovers the shrimp, then they have no chances of survival. But ghost shrimp has a better chance of survival as compared to other shrimps.
Amano Shrimp
Amano shrimp also can be an ideal option for your goldfish tank. Amano shrimp are transparent, so they have a better chance of survival than the other shrimp.
It would be best to introduce the Amano shrimp first to the tank as it will help them explore the tank and locate some hiding spots.
Whereas if you add them after your goldfish, then your goldfish will hunt them down soon.
Therefore, we want you to know that if you feed your goldfish well, they will not prefer to eat the shrimp in the tank.
So, always provide your goldfish with healthy food like leafy greens for their proper growth and development.
What are the benefits of keeping shrimp in your goldfish tank?
Here are the benefits of keeping shrimp in your goldfish tank:
- Shrimp will help keep your goldfish tank clean by feeding upon the leftovers and decaying scraps of the food.
- Shrimp helps to keep the tank’s water clean by eliminating the wastes from the tank.
- Adult shrimp is a good algae eater that also eliminates the dead plants from the water.
- Shrimp makes your goldfish tank look attractive.
- Shrimp always maintain a good environment in the tank by consuming all the unwanted debris from the tank.
These were the benefits of adding shrimp to your goldfish tank.
Conclusion:
- Goldfish and shrimp can live together as they have similar diet and tank requirements.
- You must add lots of aquatic plants in your tank to develop hiding space for your shrimp.
- Goldfish can eat anything that fits in their mouth, so you must avoid adding smaller shrimp to your goldfish tank.
- Your goldfish will avoid eating shrimp if they are not hungry.
- You should always make the shrimp breed in a separate tank to avoid any threat from goldfish.
- There are many benefits of adding shrimp to your goldfish tank like they help maintain the cleanliness in the tank by eliminating unwanted debris.
Reference: NCBI