# Bolivian rams and shrimp



## Skimboarder_07 (Mar 3, 2005)

Was looking at some bumble bee shrimp and crystal red shrimp the other day and was just curious as to how they would do with 2 bolivian rams ina planted 20 gallon???


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## under_control (Jan 9, 2008)

They'd be an expensive snack.


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## Donfish (Dec 24, 2007)

Besides being a snack they would not be quite temperature compatable with the high for those shrimp, mid 70's, being at low end for the rams.


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## edburress (Jun 9, 2007)

Dutch Dude has a huge colony of Cherry shrimp with his bolivians, and when I broke down my bolivian ram tank, I took out 350 cherry shrimp  . The bolivians eat the young shrimp but not the adults. I don't know about the bumble bee or crystal red shrimp, but the cherries reproduce enough to cope with the losses. Bolivian rams are not a high temperature species like Blue Rams, they are fine in the mid 70s. But to give the shrimp even a fair chance to establish themselves, you'd need at least 50-60 shrimp starting out, because a lot with be eaten during the initial drop into the tank, and a lot will be weak and die anyway. I think my group got down to only about 6-8 adult shrimp before their population recovered and exploded. You'd need a lot of java moss or comparable shelter for the shrimp as well. IME bolivian rams are not very predatory, they'll pass up shrimp they could easily eat.


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## Donfish (Dec 24, 2007)

CRS really should be around 70 to get good color and breeding. They are also more sensitive to nitrates and need very clean water.

Cherries on the other hand are the guppies of the shrimp world. A 10 gal tank set up for cherries can feed all your other tanks and yes they will breed in community tanks but not at 3 bucks each is it worth taking a chance, breed them and get free babies and it's great.


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## Greeneye (Dec 30, 2008)

I have a 30gallon tank and I have two bolivian rams..2 cichlids.....1 algae eater and 1 silver molly. Lt me tell you that my molly chases all my fish around. He loves messing with the cichlids-he chases them- runs into the sides of them he sometimes even acts like the ram fish. 
My coolest fish is my molly. He isnt scared of nothing.


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## under_control (Jan 9, 2008)

Greeneye said:


> I have a 30gallon tank and I have two bolivian rams..2 cichlids.....1 algae eater and 1 silver molly. Lt me tell you that my molly chases all my fish around. He loves messing with the cichlids-he chases them- runs into the sides of them he sometimes even acts like the ram fish.
> My coolest fish is my molly. He isnt scared of nothing.


I'm sure there was a point to this, but I'm not sure where it fell into this thread.

As for others comparing CRS to cherries... that is like comparing arrowana to guppies.


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## edburress (Jun 9, 2007)

I didn't mean to compare, I meant to suggest them as a suitable alternative.


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