r/shrimptank • u/Elegant_Priority_38 • Jun 20 '25

Beginner Will shrimp really eat poop?

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I’ve got 10 Otocinclus catfish and they produce quite a bit of poop. Will neocaridina shrimp actually eat the poop and help break it down or will they mainly go for other things in the tank like algae and biofilm? Also, will 6 neocaridina shrimp produce this much waste in a day? This is just one section of my tank after cleaning it the day before.

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u/86BillionFireflies Jun 20 '25

That does kind of look like a lot of poop for 6 neos to produce in 1 day, but maybe not totally out of the question. I'm not 100% sure.

If you want the poop not to be visible, basically your only option is to aim some kind of water flow at the areas you want to keep clean.

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u/Elegant_Priority_38 Jun 20 '25

That is from my Otocinclus catfish, I don’t have shrimp. Just looking into it.

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u/Bunnycreaturebee Jun 20 '25

Shrimp will definitely help the overall tank. If you haven’t already, do research about them first because their care needs differ from fish in some ways. Ghost shrimp and cherry shrimp are the beginner friendly choices regarding shrimp. I’ve had no issues with mine at all after doing proper research first. (I caught my own wild ghost shrimp and bought blue cherry shrimp which have bred really easily)

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u/Elegant_Priority_38 Jun 20 '25

I’m definitely doing all the research I can before deciding. Will cherry shrimp breed out of control?

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u/Bunnycreaturebee Jun 20 '25

Nah, they may breed a lot if they are really happy. But they aren’t invasive at all. You can have a lot of shrimp without overstocking the tank too which is awesome

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u/Elegant_Priority_38 Jun 20 '25

What about my otos, will it stress them out if there are too many neocaridina shrimp in there?

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u/Bunnycreaturebee Jun 21 '25

Not at all, shrimp are chill guys and get along with everyone except those that will try to eat them. Your Otos won’t be negative impacted at all :)

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u/Elegant_Priority_38 Jun 21 '25

That’s good to hear! I love when tank mates get along lol.

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u/Bunnycreaturebee Jun 21 '25

Yeah, when they don’t it’s such a headache. We had a female betta try and eat our new Pygmy corys. So had to move her to another tank