After publishing our article going over how to set up a no filter shrimp tank, we started to notice that more and more people were reaching out to ask various questions about keeping other types of shrimp tank as shrimp only tanks are becoming increasingly popular.
With the rise of Biorb tanks it is natural for people to look for ways to keep shrimp in a Biorb and with so many people reaching out to ask about how they would go about setting a Biorb up for shrimp, we decided to publish this article.
You are able to keep shrimp in the majority of the Biorb range without issue with many people adding various types of shrimp to their Biorb setups.
Depending on the specific Biorb that you have, you may have to do a small modification to prevent your shrimp from being sucked into the filter but for the most part, Biorbs of all sizes make excellent shrimp tanks.
The standard 4 gallon Biorb is currently the most popular option from the Biorb but you are able to keep shrimp in all of the Biorb tank sizes all the way up to the 16 gallon Biorb and everything in between.
Just keep in mind that if you are looking to keep a shrimp only tank then the smaller tanks are often better due to their lower price tags where as the larger Biorbs will usually be used to keep shrimp with fish in the same tank.
Can You Have Shrimp In A Biorb?
Most species of shrimp can thrive in Biorbs of all sizes with minimal maintenance being required from you as the Biorb keeper.
Biorbs make excellent options for shrimp only tanks with the more popular shrimp such as cherry shrimp, neon yellow shrimp, or blue shrimp but Biorbs can also be used as a breeding tank for shrimp to keep your main community tank supplied with a steady supply of shrimp.
Thats one of the main reasons that Biorbs are so popular, you really can use them for a wide range of different things to get the most out of your Biorb with their sizes and price tags often being excellent for ancillary tanks to support your wider fish keeping hobby.
One of the main reasons that the standard 1 gallon shrimp tank is becoming so popular is due to it being an excellent shrimp breeding tank that can provide your main aquariums with shrimp to eat the detritus, algae, and discarded fish food with out predators to eat the baby shrimp or the shrimp eggs.
This is becoming one of the main reasons that people keep shrimp in their Biorbs but many people will use their Biorbs as a viewing tank for their shrimp.
This is very popular for both cherry shrimp and neon yellow shrimp due to their bright colors but more and more people are also starting to keep blue shrimp in their Biorb shrimp tanks too due to their unique colors.
What Species of Shrimp Can You Keep In A Biorb?
You can keep most species of shrimp in a Biorb without issue but we would recommend that you only keep a single species or color of shrimp in a Biorb as some species of shrimp can crossbreed with each other.
If you do just want your Biorb to be a shrimp only tank to view your brightly colored shrimp them it is common for the offspring for multiple shrimp species to just be the normal wild type color.
As we touched on in the section above, the most common types of shrimp currently kept in Biorbs are cherry shrimp, neon yellow shrimp, and blue shrimp due to their bright colors making it more interesting to have the species in a viewing tank.
If you are looking to keep shrimp in your Biorb as a way to supply your main aquarium tanks with shrimp then you can also keep ghost shrimp or amano shrimp in the tank too if needed.
More and more people are starting to keep pinto shrimp in their Biorb too but they tend to be more expensive than the other shrimp species so we usually recommend against them if this is your very first shrimp tank.
Depending where you live, tiger shrimp are also a popular option to keep in a Biorb but they can be difficult to find in some areas making them less common.
What Size Biorb Should You Keep Shrimp In?
You can use all Biorb sizes for shrimp tanks due to shrimp doing well in all tanks over a gallon in size.
The most popular and widely available Biorb on the market is the 4 gallon tank while also being their cheapest option making it an excellent option for a shrimp only tank with it being large enough for all commonly kept species of shrimp too.
If this is your very first shrimp tank then we would recommend the 4 gallon Biorb if you are set on going with a Biorb as your tank but you are able to get much cheaper one to five gallon tanks that will work just as well.
Just keep that in mind as many people get cought up in the brand names of the various tanks on the market but there is usually no need to overspend for something like a shrimp tank unless it will be a display tank in a prominent area of your home.
Both the eight and sixteen gallon Biorbs can also be used as shrimp tanks too but most people will use them as a community tank with shrimp, fish, and snails all kept in the same tank.
We have seen some excellent 16 gallon Biorb setups with shrimp as a main feature and a handful of fish but you can use the 16 gallon Biorb in a wide range of ways and integrate shrimp into the setup however you like.
Can You Breed Shrimp In A Biorb?
You are able to breed shrimp in a Biorb with relative ease but just make sure that you have both male and female shrimp in your Biorb if you are looking to breed them.
Some pet stores will try to separate the males and females of the shrimp species that make this easy to do and some people accidentally end up with all male or all female shrimp tanks.
We have a dedicated article online going over breeding amano shrimp that may be worth reading if you are specifically trying to breed the shrimp in your Biorb.
Our care guide for berried shrimp may also be worth it too but the potential risks to a pregnant shrimp in a Biorb are much lower due to the lack of potential predators, especially in a shrimp only tank.
Even though we did touch on this earlier, you really shouldn’t let yellow shrimp and red shrimp breed with each other or blue shrimp if that is what you are keeping in your Biorb.
The baby shrimp they produce will not have the same bright colors as their parents as their generics will almost always revert them to the natural dull brown wild type color for wild Neocaridina davidi shrimp.
As these natural colored shrimp age, they will mate and produce more baby shrimp and you will eventually be left with a tank of brown shrimp.
Will Shrimp Get Stuck In The Filter In The Biorb?
It can be common for some shrimp to get stuck in the filter of a Biorb in some setups, especially if you are keeping your Biorb heavily stocked with shrimp.
You are able to use a lower water flow setting on the filter of some Biorb tanks to prevent this with some people just adapting the filter media to change its water flow rate.
We have seen some people build up a rock or plant base to help reduce the effects of the water flow on the shrimp in their tank with this working well too.
Other people choose to add shrimp hiding places to their Biorb but this may spoil the overall look that you are going for with your Biorb setup so may not be the best option for you.
If you are using a lower water flow rate in your Biorb then it is unlikely that healthy shrimp will end up stuck in the filter though.
For the majority of Biorb setups, you will often be able to use a lower water flow rate without it causing issues with the rest of your setup anyway so we would recommend that you look into taking that path if possible but not all Biorb tanks offer the option to alter the flow rate of the filter.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over keeping shrimp in a biorb tank to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you better understand the various ways that you are able to integrate shrimp into your Biorb setup and plenty of people successfully do it without issue. Depending on exactly what you want out of your Biorb, shrimp can be an excellent addition to the system due to the type of things that they will eat too.
