Shrimp with fish, or a separate shrimp tank?

If you want to establish a Neocaridina colony and follow its young, preferably start without fish. This removes fish predation as a risk and makes feeding and behaviour easier to assess. A community setup may suit keeping adult shrimp, but their presence does not establish that juveniles survive too.

Assess three different outcomes

• Survival: are the adults still present, with changes in numbers accounted for?
• Behaviour: can shrimp graze calmly and reach food, or are they chased?
• Colony recruitment: alongside egg-carrying females, do juveniles of different sizes grow up?

A lack of visible juveniles can also reflect age, sex ratio or insufficient food. It does not prove a fish ate them. However, observed hunting or injury is enough reason to separate the animals without waiting for further losses.

Check the actual combination

Consider the exact fish species, adult size, feeding behaviour, group needs and required tank size. A small mouth or a “peaceful” label does not guarantee safety for newly hatched shrimp. Check that temperature, water and current suit both species. Do not add fish to a small shrimp tank merely because they are sold as small juveniles.

Large or predatory fish are not a sensible choice for a dwarf-shrimp colony. Even a fish that previously ignored shrimp may behave differently later. Arrange a suitable separation option in advance if unsure; an unfiltered temporary jar is not a long-term housing solution.

If you combine them

• Provide dense planting and inaccessible refuges without blocking circulation.
• Protect filter intakes against small shrimp.
• Check that shrimp reach food before fish take it; do not compensate with large amounts of leftovers.
• Observe during quiet periods too. Record repeated chasing, injury and declining numbers.

Adult Amano shrimp may serve a different purpose from a Neocaridina breeding group. Their larvae do not form a lasting colony in an ordinary freshwater tank. This distinction does not make them safe with every tank mate. Likewise, assess bee/Taiwan Bee, Cardinal and fan shrimp by their own water and feeding requirements, not size alone.

Sources and scope

• LICG: Zoetwatergarnaal
• UF/IFAS: Cherry shrimp, Neocaridina davidi
• Kondo, Hamasaki & Dan (2021): Caridina larval performance

LICG describes predation on young shrimp. The species-tank recommendation and observation checklist are our risk judgement. We give no experimentally established survival percentages or list of guaranteed safe fish.