Are you wondering if you can keep Dwarf Gouramis and shrimp together in the same tank? Will your shrimp have any chance at survival? In this article, we’ll discuss if dwarf gouramis eat shrimp and how you can possibly keep them together.
Will Dwarf Gouramis Eat Shrimp? Yes. If the shrimp is small enough to fit into the mouth of a dwarf gourami, it will be eaten. Add larger shrimp like Amano shrimp and plenty of hiding places if you want your shrimp to survive.
How Do I Keep Dwarf Gouramis and Shrimp Together?
If you want to try stocking shrimp with dwarf gourami fish, prepare yourself for the challenge. Once your dwarf gourami gets the scent of freshly molted shrimp, it will be curious and its natural instinct will be to seek it out and eat it.
You can try to following options to try and keep shrimp and dwarf gourami together:
- Larger tank
- More decorations
- More plants
- Larger shrimp
- Plenty of varied foods
Large Tanks
A larger tank will allow plenty of opportunities for your shrimp to find spots that are away from dwarf gourami fish. Shrimp dwell at the bottom while most dwarf gourami swim at the top.
These fish will swim down to the bottom and seek out shrimp that are small enough to eat. A larger tank creates enough distance to give your shrimp a chance to hide away from predatory fish.
Decorations
The caves, driftwood, obstacles, trinkets and decorations make your tank look beautiful, but they also help your shrimp hide from larger dwarf gourami fish.
Dwarf gouramis are not looking to rest in these spaces for the most part. They are happy to feed in the middle or top level of the tank where breeding and spawning takes place.
Plants
Plants provide the necessary spaces that make it hard to find shrimplets or smaller sized adult shrimp. They also help provide shade and oxygen for a healthy ecosystem.
Strategically space out these plants to allow for your shrimp to breed and live peacefully. They will most likely spend their days hiding here if they know that their dwarf gourami tankmates are looking to eat them.
Larger Shrimp
Amano shrimp are the most common larger sized shrimp that most fish keepers attest to being suitable with dwarf gourami. Vampire shrimp or Bamboo shrimp can also be attempted but they are more costly for this experiment.
Start with Amano shrimp for their comparable size to dwarf gouramis. The younger shrimp will get eaten and freshly molted Amano shrimp may end up being bitten or chomped in small bits until they disappear in the bellies of dwarf gouramis.
Variety of Food
Dwarf gourami fish are always looking to eat. They are not picky and will enjoy a variety of food to satisfy their hunger.
Provide smaller portions and feed them more often throughout the day to reduce their cravings and desire to swim down and attack shrimp. Try to add frozen or live food 2-4 times a week ranging from:
- tubifex
- bloodworms
- daphnia
- brine shrimp
Which Shrimp Should I Keep With Dwarf Gourami?
It’s probably best to not keep shrimp with dwarf gouramis. Many fish keepers with multiple tanks like to keep dwarf gouramis separate because of their instincts to steal food and munch on anything smaller than them. You can keep many dwarf gouramis together as social fish, but adding in shrimp is risky.
- Ghost Shrimp
- Amano Shrimp
Ghost Shrimp
Ghost shrimp may be able to hide easier due to their transparent appearance, despite being small themselves. Do not keep cherry shrimp with Dwarf gourami fish because of their smaller size.
Ghost shrimp are a good test because they are very cheap to buy. If your dwarf gourami are eating the ghost shrimp, then it’s probably best to avoid this project altogether.
Amano Shrimp
Amano Shrimp are very common in community tanks. They are larger, but they will get stressed when predatory fish are trying to chomp at them, especially when they are molting.
Amano shrimp is your best bet if you don’t want to spend more money on other types of larger shrimp that may face the same dilemma with dwarf gouramis.
Will Dwarf Gourami Eat Red Cherry Shrimp?
Yes. Dwarf gourami will have an easy time capturing red cherry shrimp and gulping them down. The younger cherry shrimp stand no chance. Look around the planted areas to see if any red cherry shrimp have survived this experiment.
Chances are, they have all been eaten by their tankmates. Dwarf gourami will venture to the bottom of the tank once they have developed a taste for shrimp. Do not keep them together.
What Fish Can Go With Shrimp?
The following types of fish have been kept successfully with shrimp that are common in many aquariums.
- Guppies
- Celestial Pearl Danio
- Ember Tetras
- Endler’s Livebearers
- Pygmy Corydoras
- Harlequin Rasboras
- Kuhli Loach
Guppies, Danios and Tetras are very popular with shrimp, but the tank must still be large enough to house them. The spaces can be defined with decorations and plants to make sure they are all comfortable.
How Big Can A Dwarf Gourami Get?
A dwarf gourami can grow up to 2 inches in length. At this point, they may assert dominance over smaller fish and steal their food during feedings. It’s best to space out the food in separate areas to allow all your fish to eat.
Mix floating flakes and sinking pellets for the food to reach bottom dwellers when your dwarf gouramis are trying to gobble everything before it get a chance to reach the bottom. Larger size dwarf gourami fish will make a quick meal out of smaller sized shrimp.
You may not notice your shrimp anymore because they are either eaten or will never come out of hiding. The stress will shorten the lives of the shrimp in your tank with dwarf gourami fish lurking around.
Conclusion
Try to add cheaper ghost shrimp in large numbers and see if this works. More often than not, your dwarf gourami will find them and eat them. Amano shrimp stand a better chance because of their larger size. We don’t recommend keeping shrimp and dwarf gourami in the same tank.
Thanks for visiting HelpUsFish.com and see you again soon for another article on shrimp or dwarf gourami fish.
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