Can You Keep Fish With neocaridina Shrimp? You’ve probably had this question in your mind at least once in your shrimp keeping journey, and honestly, there’s not many 100% shrimp safe tank mates.
A shrimp only tank is brilliant. But at some point, most keepers find themselves wondering – what else could live in here?
Maybe you want a bit more movement in the mid-water. Maybe you like the idea of a cleanup crew that works a different part of the tank.
Maybe you just want something that adds another layer of life without undoing everything you’ve built.
It’s a fair question, and the answer isn’t automatically no.
But finding genuinely shrimp safe tank mates requires some honesty about what actually works – and what looks good on paper but quietly wrecks your colony over time. I’ve tried a lot of combinations.
There are three fish I actually trust with my neocaridina shrimp from personal experience.
Fish That Don’t Make The ‘Shrimp Safe Tank Mate’ List
The Ones That Catch Keepers Off Guard
An important note on mixing corydoras species
Hillstream Loach / Borneo Sucker
Worth Considering – If Your Colony Is Already Thriving
The Honest Truth About Growing a Shrimp Colony With Fish
Fish That Don’t Make The ‘Shrimp Safe Tank Mate’ List
The Obvious Ones
Some fish are an immediate no for a shrimp safe tank mate – and it’s worth knowing why before you get tempted at the fish store.
- Oscars – large, predatory, will eat anything that fits in their mouth. Shrimp are a snack, adults included.
- Cichlids – aggressive, territorial, and will actively hunt shrimp even if well fed.
- Large catfish (pictus, redtail, iridescent shark) – will eat anything that moves, shrimp included. Not a safe environment for ornamental shrimp unless you’re intentionally using them as a food source.
- Angelfish – elegant looking, relentless shrimp hunters.
- Gouramis – hit and miss, but more often than not will pick off shrimp given the chance.
- Silver dollars – heavy plant eaters that will strip a planted tank bare and produce significant waste on top of it.
If it has a big mouth and a bold personality, your shrimp will pay for it.
The Ones That Catch Keepers Off Guard
The trickier category is the smaller, seemingly peaceful fish. These are the ones that get recommended constantly – and still cause problems in a shrimp tank.
I have kept at least half of these in my tanks, and while beautiful and even though my tanks were well scaped, I did notice my shrimp colony growth slow.
- Guppies – fast, curious, will pick off shrimplets.
- Neon and ember tetras – small enough to seem harmless, mouths are big enough to take a newborn shrimplet.
- Swordtails – active swimmers that stress shrimp just by being present.
- Glo tetras – same story as neon tetras.
- Barbs – nippy and fast, shrimp don’t stand a chance.
- Danios – energetic and relentless, will stress shrimp into hiding constantly.
They might leave adults alone most of the time. But shrimplets are tiny and slow and easy to pick off, and even a fish that’s not actively hunting will take one when it wanders past.
Over time that adds up quietly – your colony never quite grows the way it should, and you can’t figure out why.
The other issue is stress. Shrimp that feel watched don’t behave normally. They hide, stop grazing openly, stop breeding as readily.
You end up with a tank full of shrimp you never see – which defeats the whole point of keeping them.
The Waste Problem
Some fish bring a double problem – they’ll eat your shrimp and trash your water quality on top of it.
A shrimp tank runs on stability and low waste, and these fish work against both.
- Goldfish – massive waste producers, need frequent large water changes, and will absolutely eat shrimp. Completely incompatible.
- Plecos – get very large, produce enormous waste, eat everything in sight, and can become aggressive and territorial as they mature. Not recommended.
- Bristlenose – smaller than a pleco but still produces significant waste and will out-compete shrimp at feeding time. Not recommended for a shrimp focused tank.
- Large cichlids – high waste, high aggression, will hunt shrimp. Everything a shrimp tank isn’t.
- Oscars – one of the highest waste producers in the hobby and an opportunistic predator. A single oscar can foul a tank fast enough to crash parameters and pick off every shrimp in it.
- Silver dollars – heavy plant eaters that strip planted tanks bare and produce significant waste on top of it.
- Catfish (large species – pictus, redtail, iridescent shark) – will eat anything that moves, shrimp included. Not a safe environment for ornamental shrimp unless you’re intentionally using them as a food source.
The Fish I Actually Trust
Dwarf Corydoras
I’ve kept dwarf corydoras alongside my neocaridina for five years.
In that time my shrimp colony has done nothing but boom – which tells you everything you need to know about how well these two get along.
There are three species of dwarf corydoras, and they’re worth knowing as a group:
- C. pygmaeus (pygmy cory) – the smallest of the three at around 2.5cm, mid-water schooler, the most commonly found in the hobby. Can be shy but settles beautifully in a well planted tank.
- C. hastatus (tail spot cory) – similar to pygmy in size and behaviour, also a mid-water schooler. Less common but worth seeking out. Has a distinctive black spot at the base of the tail.
- C. habrosus (checker / salt and pepper cory) – slightly larger at around 3.5cm, more of a bottom dweller than the other two. Behaves more like a traditional corydora – pottering around the substrate, picking through sand – but stays small and is equally peaceful.
All three are tiny, peaceful, and completely trustworthy with neocaridina. Their mouths are too small to take even a shrimplet, and they’re not fast or aggressive enough to stress the colony.
Watching a school of dwarf corydoras is genuinely one of the best parts of keeping them.
Pygmy and hastatus hover together in mid-water, rest on a single strand of algae, or settle as a group on a plant leaf in little ladder formations.
Habrosus potter around the substrate doing their own thing.
A planted tank with a thriving dwarf cory school and a shrimp colony going about their business is one of the most satisfying things to watch.
All corydoras dig – it’s just what they do – but the dwarf species are small enough that the disruption is minimal compared to larger species.
One thing all corydoras need regardless of species – a patch of soft sand somewhere in the tank. They sift through it to keep their gills healthy.
A small container of fine sand works perfectly, and if you drop live bloodworms in there you’ll get to watch them dig for it.
What you need to know:
- Minimum tank size: 40L.
- Groups of 6 minimum – more is always better.
- Prefer slightly acidic water but adapt well to neocaridina parameters.
- Temperature: 22–26°C.
An important note on mixing corydoras species
As a general rule, don’t keep two different species of corydoras in the same tank. Even if you have a dwarf species with a much larger species.
Interbreeding between species is a real risk – pygmy and hastatus are closely related enough that it’s especially likely between those two, but even across more distantly related species it can happen.
It might sound like a fun experiment, but producing hybrid fish is considered unethical in the hobby. One species, one tank.
A note on larger corydora species
Corydoras as a family are generally peaceful – but larger species need bigger tanks, dig more noticeably, and their mouths are larger which increases the risk to shrimplets.
Not a hard no, but go in with realistic expectations if you’re actively trying to grow a colony.
Hillstream Loach / Borneo Sucker
These honestly are my second favourite fish.
If you’ve ever been tempted by a pleco or bristlenose for algae control – this is the better answer for a shrimp tank.
Plecos and bristlenose get large, produce an enormous amount of waste, eat through food aggressively, and can become territorial as they mature.
Everything a shrimp tank doesn’t need.
A hillstream loach or Borneo sucker does the same job – grazing algae and biofilm off every surface – in a body the size of a large coin, with none of the baggage.
They’re completely peaceful, won’t bother shrimp or shrimplets, and are genuinely fascinating to watch clinging to the glass and décor.
They do prefer a bit more water movement than a typical shrimp tank runs.
But a well planted tank with decent circulation already covers this – you don’t need to turn your tank into a river, just enough surface agitation and flow to keep things oxygenated.
Plants naturally break up the current and give shrimp calmer pockets to settle in.
What you need to know:
- Minimum tank size: 40L
- Groups of 3–4 minimum – or solo. Never in pairs due to territorial aggression.
- Need a mature, well cycled tank – don’t add them to a new setup. Think green walls and hardscapes.
- pH: 6.5–7.5.
- Temperature: 20–26°C.
- Good water flow and surface agitation recommended.
- Excellent algae and biofilm grazers – earn their keep.
Otocinclus
Otos are one of the few fish you can genuinely trust around shrimp.
They’re completely herbivorous – they graze algae and biofilm off surfaces all day and have no interest in hunting.
Adults are completely safe, and even shrimplets are largely ignored. I personally have never kept them so I can’t give my opinion, but many keepers do.
The honest caveat: otos can be tricky to keep alive initially.
They arrive from the store stressed and often starving, and a tank without established biofilm and algae growth won’t give them what they need to recover.
Get your tank well established before adding them and they’ll settle in and thrive.
Think bright green walls and algae growing on hardscapes (woods, ornaments, rocks) and on plants.
What you need to know:
- Minimum tank size: 40L.
- Groups of 6 minimum.
- Need a mature, well established tank with plenty of biofilm and algae.
- pH: 6.5–7.5.
- Temperature: 22–26°C.
- Stable parameters are essential – they’re sensitive to water quality.
Worth Considering – If Your Colony Is Already Thriving
These fish can work in a shrimp tank – but they come with an honest trade-off.
If you have a large established colony, dense moss and hiding spots, and you’re not too concerned about slower colony growth, any of these could be a great addition.
- Endler’s livebearers – stay small, colourful, and mostly leave adults alone. Make sure they’re pure line – hybrids with guppies grow larger and are less predictable. May occasionally pick off a shrimplet.
- Norman’s lampeye – surface dwellers with striking eyes, peaceful, add a lovely upper level presence to a planted tank.
- Celestial pearl danios – tiny, stunningly patterned, mostly ignore adults. Dense cover is important for shrimplet survival.
- Chili rasboras – very small mouths, low risk to adults, beautiful in a planted tank. Will take shrimplets given the chance.
- Clown killifish – surface dwellers, tiny mouths, peaceful and visually striking.
- Exclamation point rasbora – one of the smallest fish in the hobby, even smaller than chili rasboras, very low risk overall.
With any of these, the more plants, moss, and hiding spaces you have, the better your shrimplet survival will be.
A colony that’s already large and healthy can absorb some losses and keep growing – a small or new colony will struggle.
The Honest Truth About Growing a Shrimp Colony With Fish
A species-only shrimp tank gives your colony the best possible chance to grow. No competition, no stress, no shrimplet losses – just neocaridina doing what they do best.
The fish on this list are the exceptions worth trusting. But go in with eyes open – monitor your colony, watch shrimplet survival, and if numbers start dropping you’ll know where to look.
A thriving colony of neocaridina with a school of dwarf corydoras hovering mid-water or a few hillstream loaches grazing the glass is one of the most satisfying tanks you can keep.
Done right, it works beautifully.
Ready To Set Up Your Tank?
Getting tank mates right starts with getting the tank right first. Stable parameters, established biofilm, a proper cycle – that’s what gives both your shrimp and your fish the foundation to thrive.
The [Beginner’s Guide: How To Set Up and Cycle A Freshwater Shrimp Tank] walks you through the full process from day one.
