Can Candy Striped Pleco live with Crystal Red Shrimp?
Caution — with care
Why
- Candy Striped Pleco is not on the verified shrimp-safe list, so we will not recommend it over a breeding Crystal Red Shrimp colony. It may well be fine — it simply has not been confirmed by a source, and an unverified guess is not worth the colony.
- Candy Striped Pleco is much larger than Crystal Red Shrimp but is not a shrimp hunter — it may take a shrimplet or clean up a moult. Adults are safe with cover.
- Candy Striped Pleco will eat Crystal Red Shrimp shrimplets. The colony still grows if there is moss or another dense hiding place for the babies.
- Only a narrow water hardness overlap — keep both around 4–6 dGH.
Sweet spot: both do well at 73–76°F and pH 6–6.8 — aim there.
Side-by-side
| Candy Striped Pleco | Crystal Red Shrimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 73–82°F | 68–76°F |
| pH | 6–7.5 | 5.8–6.8 |
| Hardness (GH) | 4–12 dGH | 3–6 dGH |
| Adult size | 4" | 1" |
| Temperament | Peaceful | Peaceful |
| Min tank | 30 gal | 5 gal |
Together, plan on at least 30 gallons.
How to make it work
- Keep a large, established shrimp colony in a heavily planted tank with moss and cover so enough survive to breed.
- Target the overlapping water-parameter range and acclimate slowly.
Sort it with: A larger tank · GH remineraliser
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Design a tank with Candy Striped Pleco, Crystal Red Shrimp →Everything compatible with Candy Striped Pleco · …with Crystal Red Shrimp