Loaches Online Forum

Hello,

I would like to get an opinion from the "Loach" People on what if any loaches are good with the small algae eating shrimp. Any comments would be great!

Mike

I hate to say it, but I don't think your algae eating shrimp would be safe with loaches in general. Loaches think snails and shrimp are quite yummie!

My crayfish was safe with my weatherloach for a week or so. My brother's shrimp is HUGE and all the fish won't mess with it, either. Including my weather loach.

I have breeding shrimp with hillstream loaches with no problems. I have also kept them with several of the less agressive botinae species(B. rostrata, kubotai, ario, histrionica, Y. sidthimunki, S. pulchra) with no problems either. I suspect, however, that, as anglefish83 said, less well fed botinae might eat a shrimp or two.

I'll second that, Jim. I've got lots of Amano shrimp in my river tank with Sewellia lineolata, Sewellia sp. 'spotted', and Schistura balteata, and have seen no problems (even when some smaller shrimp specimens were introduced).
I wouldn't keep them with any larger species or aggressive Botiine loaches though. Many have a taste for shrimps....

Emma

Jim Powers wrote:I have breeding shrimp with hillstream loaches with no problems. I have also kept them with several of the less agressive botinae species(B. rostrata, kubotai, ario, histrionica, Y. sidthimunki, S. pulchra) with no problems either. I suspect, however, that, as anglefish83 said, less well fed botinae might eat a shrimp or two.

my shrimp went missing in a tank of kubotai, sids, histies and a horseface.
I wouldn't bet the farm on the safety of shrimp.

I kept Amano shrimp in a large tank of mixed Botiine loaches for a long time. Clowns, darios, striata, yoyos, kubotais, and histrionicas. The shrimps made out like bandits. Now I keep the shrimp with sids, batiks, and a wriggling handful of kuhlis. Not a problem.

Previously I have kept ghost shrimp in the loach tank. Not a problem.

how does everyone think a larger shrimp like a vampire shrimp will do with clowns

I beleive its safe to say you'd be taking a chance with shrimp and loaches. I have been advised several times I am taking a chance with mine even though I went with pretty much the largest FW shrimp commonly avaialble - Atyopsis moluccensis - and they are both around 3"-3.5" right now. So far no problems with my 3"-5" clowns.