One lone shrimp 😒

[afromom]

DS's last fish has died today. We have had them for a while, and over the last couple of weeks the two of them have died.

We have a shrimp left though. I'm not sure what to do with it, as IIRC they live off the muck in the tank and obviously without any fish there won't be any muck! Can I give the shrimp to my friend for her tank? I think the 2 fish died of something other than old age as they are only a couple of years old, and I would hate to pass this illness on to her fish, but I don't want to run a fish tank for one little shrimp, especially if it will also kill the poor little thing off!

I don't really want to get any more fish at the moment, so that's not really an option either.

What should I do?

They are scavengers that look for leftover food, they don't really eat poo. So you can just feed them fish food and fresh veg (organic, or rinse it really well).

If you're not sure what the fish died of then I would keep the shrimp. They don't live that long, certainly not as long as fish (a couple of years isn't very long at all for most fish...)

What sort of shrimp is it?

Thanks. Not sure what sort, it's about an inch long and white/see through. I will keep putting some food in the tank for a while then and hopefully it will be ok. I've cleaned the tank out after the dead fish as I didn't want to pass anything on to it. We have had it for about the same time as the fish, maybe a bit shorter, but certainly longer than a year.

Actually thinking about it (haven't done much thinking today ) it should be fine to rehome after a quarantine period. So you could keep it for a few weeks and then give it to your friend.

Ah great thanks. That would be good. It seems a bit much to have the tank going for one poor little shrimp. I will have a chat with her tomorrow and see what she thinks. Thanks for your help, I'm a bit clueless! The fish were temperate goldfish, so we picked the ones that were simplest to care for, due to my dumbness with all things animal!

Temperate goldfish? I think someone pulled a fast one on you.

I don't think that's what they are actually called. They are temperate fish, that look a bit like smaller versions of goldfish. They were from pets at home (I know not great), and in the section for temperate fish.

Ohh, they are probably gold barbs then. They look like little mini goldfish. Sorry, some shops give normal fish fancy names and then bump the price up. It's a bloody minefield in some fish shops.

Ah ok probably. They were very cheap, DS bought them himself with his birthday money. I think the tank, filter and 2 fish cane in at under £40. I will google and see what they were.

Can't find what they are on a google search, not golden barn though I don't think. I've hot a picture but can't post as I'm on my phone. Ah well the mystery continues

Could they have been gold white cloud mountain minnows?

www.google.co.uk/search?q=white+cloud+mountain+minnow&rlz=1C1LENP_enGB532GB532&espv=210&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=vjQFU7TGKbDe7Ab-oIGYDA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=667#q=white+cloud+mountain+minnow+gold&tbm=isch&facrc=&imgdii=&imgrc=xw1PLqMx4HPKYM%253A%3Bo0EG2G6zqINiqM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.aquariumfish.net%252Fimages_01%252Fgolden%252520white%252520cloud%252520110202b8_w0480.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.aquariumfish.net%252Fcatalog_pages%252Fcyprinids%252Fwhite_cloud.htm%3B480%3B420

Ooh yes, that's possible. They're from the same family as goldfish.

Check with your friend first that she does not have water snails. These shrimp eat them!

Which species of shrimp do you mean, Stanley? The dwarf ones I don't think would have big enough claws but some of the larger species might be able to take out snails if they're the kind without a trapdoor on their shell.

Hi Eau, I don't know the name of the species, they were a white colour, sold in the shop as an algae eater, or at most would eat scraps of left over food. I specifically asked if they would eat snails/ fish as we have a couple of fry in the tank. Was told, no , they were peaceful and would not eat anything they shouldn't. Within twenty minutes of putting them in the tank they had eaten a ramshorn snail, a really big one! We then took it back to the shop as we love our snails and did not want to have them eaten, plus I feared for the safety of the fry! They were very apologetic and gave us our money back, but I would warn anyone with snails not to get shrimps, unless you actually want them to control the numbers.

Crikey. My cherry shrimp and ramshorns share a breeding tank and get along just fine. Maybe larger shrimp are more predatory.

Ah, Cherry shrimps. I will look out for them then, thanks!

Hi all

Thanks for all of your help. Unfortunately our poor little shrimp died yesterday, I think it must have caught whatever the fish died of. Very glad I took your advice and didn't pass it on to my friend!

We are going to have a break from fish for a while, I think, as DS was very upset that they had died.

Thanks all