# Fish or Ghost shrimp in tank with water feature?



## dart345 (Jun 29, 2010)

Curious, I am going to have a false bottom which will allow for plenty of water, however the actual water space for fish or shrimp to freely roam will be apx 2.5 inchs by 36 inches long.

I made a gap to hide the false bottom and allow more water for water plants.

After heavy research I could find Killifish to be suitable.

Shrimp seem to need water changing or cleaning, Was wondering would I be able to add a Killifish to the tank without having to extra water cleaning or maintence?

Really on the fence about the fish or shrimp if its going to be extra work in regards to upkeep. I was hoping the plants be able to be beneficial and break anything down furthermore.

I am more leaning towards keeping the water feature but just heavily planting it with water plants


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## thumbnail (Sep 18, 2005)

My cherry shrimp in the outside pond live in water that the only water changes are given by rain. you can add enough aquatic plants to keep the water pretty clean. It will already get to the proper PH from the soil and leaves in the vivarium. Mini water lettuce, and some others will keep it pretty good. The big issue I would have is not keeping the water up to standard for some shrimp, but over population. If you had a way of collecting shrimp on a regular basis it should be fine, but if you cannot then fish would be your only option.


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## RRRavelo (Nov 21, 2007)

I have only studied frogs and fish together with regards to aquatic frogs and fish in the same water together. Normally this did not turn out too well for the frogs as the fish tended to nip on the frogs. 
The only drawback I can think of to keeping fish with terrestrial frogs would be the greatly increased chance of your frogs escaping while you do water changes which are normally necessary for fish survival. 
Killisfish and bettas would do alright in acidic water with little or no water changing but their metabolic waste would be loading the water up with nitrates and ammonia. You would not want your expensive dart frogs splashing around in that too often. 
I have kept a water feature functional in my very first viv. since '07. I have never changed out the water "per se" but I mist and spray and eventually remove the extra water with a turkey baster at the rate of 16-18 ounces at a time. Maybe some of the senior members can suggest species of fish to keep. The two above and guppies come to mind for me if you are still determined to try.


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## lando (Sep 10, 2010)

The problem with keeping most fish in a viv water feature isn't the water condition but vertical height. Top dwelling fish freak out because the ground is so close and bottom dwellers do the same because of their closeness to the water surface. That all leads to your fish stressing out. Some fish don't mind these conditions though. White clouds don't seem to mind. Don't try to stick a shoal of neons in 3 inch deep water. They will stress out and die. Shrimp don't seem to care either.
Plant the water feature heavily and/or run the water through an external filter to keep it clean and you should never have to do water changes. Just top it off or suck out the excess on occasion. If you plant slow growing, easy to care for plants like Anubias or Crypts, You shouldn't have to worry about trimming much or even fertilizing (actual ferts or CO2).
I have a few White Cloud minnows and a dozen or so red cherry shrimp in a water feature that is 18" x 18" x 3" deep. It holds about 12 gallons counting the volume under the false bottom. I have it filtering through an Eheim canister and a bunch of plants to help keep the water clean. My levels for nitrates, ammonia, PH, everything...are perfect. I never do water changes, just scoop out excess water from time to time. The key is to not overstock the fauna to the point that the plants or the filter can't keep up with cleaning the water. Shrimp have a very low bioload. So do tiny fish like minnows, guppies, and anything getting labeled "nano" these days. Google "nano fish" to find lists of suitable fish if you want. Just remember that you shouldn't "torture" a fish by putting it in surroundings that are unsuitable just to have something neat to look at. I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just see too many people that treat fish as disposable.


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## dart345 (Jun 29, 2010)

Well I was more prone to using Cherry Shrimp, and if folks are able to use it with live plants then I should be able to have 3-5 in the tank without overcrowding. I will also have a mist setup and already have a overflow drain valve installed at the 3.5 inch mark (possibly 4 inch) so anything that goes over simply drains out for control.

Thanks for the feedback, yeah I was wondering about stress with frogs, but the cherry shrimp I couldn't see being a issue I would think they keep to themselves.

I am using a Large Exo Terra tank setup


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## Slengteng (Sep 16, 2014)

dart345 said:


> Well I was more prone to using Cherry Shrimp, and if folks are able to use it with live plants then I should be able to have 3-5 in the tank without overcrowding. I will also have a mist setup and already have a overflow drain valve installed at the 3.5 inch mark (possibly 4 inch) so anything that goes over simply drains out for control.
> 
> Thanks for the feedback, yeah I was wondering about stress with frogs, but the cherry shrimp I couldn't see being a issue I would think they keep to themselves.
> 
> I am using a Large Exo Terra tank setup


I just added 10 cherry shrimps to my pond (4 days ago) and they do very well with 2 corydoras and a group of neons, the pond is 23x20x5! At the beginning the neons chased them a little bit but after half an hour they stopped and now everybody seems to be chillin!


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## dart345 (Jun 29, 2010)

Anyone have links of cherry shrimp in same enclosure with PDf's ? I really like the red cherry shrimp, and LED light def bring out the colors on them.


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