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Enneacanthus and Caridina shrimps

Started by Guest_JamesGordon_* , Sep 09 2011 07:51 PM

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7 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_JamesGordon_*

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Posted 09 September 2011 - 07:51 PM

Hi, does anyone have any experience (good or bad) of keeping Enneacanthus sunfish with algae-eating shrimps (Caridina multidentata)? I am wanting to include either E. chaetodon or E gloriosus in my planted temperate aquarium which already houses 9 of these shrimps, of which I'm quite fond! Thanks.

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#2 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 09 September 2011 - 08:07 PM

Hi, does anyone have any experience (good or bad) of keeping Enneacanthus sunfish with algae-eating shrimps (Caridina multidentata)? I am wanting to include either E. chaetodon or E gloriosus in my planted temperate aquarium which already houses 9 of these shrimps, of which I'm quite fond! Thanks.

They love to chase and eat ghost shrimp! I know these are different, but not really to the eyes of the hunter. Even in a heavily planted aquarium the dwarf sunfish will win. If you really like the shrimp you need to pick a different tank mate.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#3 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 09 September 2011 - 10:24 PM

Are you looking for a really small sunfish-looking fish? The Elassoma are a different genus than Enneacanthus, but they're called 'pygmy sunfish'. Elassoma don't eat shrimp, or at least my Elassoma gilberti didn't.

Edited by EricaWieser, 09 September 2011 - 10:24 PM.

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#4 Guest_FirstChAoS_*

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Posted 10 September 2011 - 12:30 AM

Though I never mixed ennecanthus with cleaner shrimp, I tried putting japonica cleaner shrimp in with lepomis, rock bass, killifish, and minnows. All of which found them delicious.

I am not sure why, but it seems north american native species are all hardwired to see shrimp as food and devour them as soon as possible.

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#5 Guest_JamesGordon_*

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Posted 10 September 2011 - 05:19 AM

Thanks for everyone so far. The aquarium also contains rainbow shiners, florida flag fish and Gambusia holbrooki. I did try some cherry shrimps but the flagfish made short work of them. I don't think this mix would be suitable for Elassoma (which are only sporadically available in the UK anyway...don't lknow why I singled out Elassoma, all of the sunfish/North American natives are uncommon). Thanks again.

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#6 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 10 September 2011 - 12:03 PM

How about small crayfish like one of the Cambarellus species (Cajun or Mexican dwarf)?
I have Amano shrimp (C.multidentata) living 2+ yrs in a 10 gal with rainbow shiners that dont mess with them.

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#7 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 11 September 2011 - 08:16 PM

If you had ever tried eating a shrimp yourself I think you would know why the fish regard them as food

Small crays will be fine with Enneacanthus, but it's likely that neither will be able to spawn. That may or may not matter to you, but crayfish are efficient scavengers of eggs in the confined space of an aquarium, and sunfish of any variety will enthusiastically hunt down small crayfish.

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#8 Guest_JamesGordon_*

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Posted 15 September 2011 - 04:50 PM

Unfortunately the only legal 'exotic' crayfish in the UK is the Australian Redclaw Crayfish or Blue Lobster (Cherax quadricarinatus). Flags, shiners and gambusias mixing fine with the shrimps so guess I'll just have to rethink things! Thanks again.