Can Royal Pleco live with Wine Red Shrimp?
Caution — with care
Why
- Royal Pleco is not on the verified shrimp-safe list, so we will not recommend it over a breeding Wine 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.
- No overlapping temperature: Royal Pleco wants 73–82°F but Wine Red Shrimp wants 62–72°F.
- Royal Pleco is much larger than Wine Red Shrimp but is not a shrimp hunter — it may take a shrimplet or clean up a moult. Adults are safe with cover.
- Only a narrow pH overlap — keep both around 6.5–6.8.
- Only a narrow water hardness overlap — keep both around 4–4 dGH.
Side-by-side
| Royal Pleco | Wine Red Shrimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 73–82°F | 62–72°F |
| pH | 6.5–7.5 | 5.8–6.8 |
| Hardness (GH) | 4–12 dGH | 0–4 dGH |
| Adult size | 17" | 1.2" |
| Temperament | Peaceful | Peaceful |
| Min tank | 120 gal | 10 gal |
Together, plan on at least 120 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: An adjustable heater · A larger tank · GH remineraliser
Design the whole tank, not just the stocking
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Design a tank with Royal Pleco, Wine Red Shrimp →Everything compatible with Royal Pleco · …with Wine Red Shrimp