Do Shrimps eat Fish Poop?

If you own an aquarium, then you know how important it is to maintain its cleanliness of it. A clean aquarium is a healthy environment for your fishes and provides clarity for the viewers as well.

It takes a lot of elbow grease to keep an aquarium clean. From water changes to manually removing unwanted particles, a lot is riding on keeping an aquarium clean. Luckily there are certain species you can keep in your aquarium that help you in keeping your aquarium clean.

There are several fish species and shrimps as well that help you in keeping your aquarium clean. 

Shrimps are ideal cleaners for your aquarium. Further, let us dwell upon the topic of whether shrimps eat fish poop or waste or not.

Does Shrimps eat fish poop? 

Fish poop is one thing that you want less in your aquarium. They give out a nasty smell and make the tank dirty. The worst is that they give rise to toxic chemicals such as ammonia and nitrates. As shrimps are cleaners, so you might be thinking that they can eat and clean up the fish poop for you. 

Shrimps do not eat fish poop. Shrimp will eat up anything such as leftover food, plants, etc from the substrate of the tank, but they won’t eat poop. When you think about why would they even eat poop. The fish waste doesn’t contain any beneficial thing for their health and even if they mistakenly eat it, they will spit it out.

People tend to ask themselves this question as there is a false belief hanging around that shrimps eat poop. Don’t believe those and stick to the facts.

Does anything eat fish poop in an aquarium? 

As shrimps do not favor eating fish poop, you might be wondering what does? Sadly, there is no species, whether it be fish or crustaceans that devour fish waste. Every species is similar to the shrimp if they eat it by thinking it is food or something, they will spit it out once they realize what they have put in their mouth.

How to clean or get rid of fish waste from the aquarium? 

As there are no species that eat fish waste and shrimps certainly don’t do, it is best to clean it on your own. You will have to clean out the fish poop by yourself. There are substrate vacuums that you can get online or in aquarium stores which you can use to clean the fish waste from the aquarium.

Can shrimps clean your tank? 

Though shrimps don’t eat fish poop, they will help you tidy up your aquarium by devouring other things. You can introduce shrimps to your tank to clean it up.

They will eat up all the unwanted materials such as dead fish, snails, worms, and dead plants. They will also clean up the leftover food from your tank. They also help in controlling the algae levels in your tank. So it fit that they hold the designation of cleanup crew.

So a shrimp is a great addition to the tank if you are wishing to keep your tank clean at all times. Not just in a tank, you can add them to your pond as well. They will lend you a hand in keeping your tank clean without any complaints. 

Best Cleaner Shrimps to clean your aquarium 

Although shrimps don’t eat fish poop, they clean your aquarium efficiently. So it is a great addition to your tank. Here is the list of shrimps that do the best job of cleaning your aquarium. 

Amano shrimp

The Amano Shrimp is the most famous shrimp among the aquarists. They are excellent algae eaters and can keep the levels of algae under control in your aquarium. 

Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp 

The Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp is a great cleaner for your aquarium. They are experts in getting rid of several things from your aquarium and can clean your fish as well. 

Red Cherry Shrimp

The Red Cherry Shrimp are experts in devouring algae, leftover food, and dead beings. They are also easy to keep and do well in a community tank. 

Ghost Shrimp 

The Ghost Shrimp is a low-maintenance shrimp that can easily clean your aquarium. They are good at eating off the unwanted particles from your tank’s substrate. 

Grass Shrimp 

The Grass Shrimp can clean your aquarium fairly well but are known for their ability to clean algae. 

Peppermint Shrimp 

The Peppermint Shrimp is an excellent cleaner. They will eat up anything in the substrate except poop.

Things to consider while keeping shrimp in your tank

Having shrimp in your aquarium might be beneficial for you. But you can’t just go and get yourself a group of shrimps and add them to your tank. Some things must be scrutinized. 

Tank Size 

Tank size is just as crucial for shrimps as it is for fishes. If you have a smaller tank, don’t add too much shrimp to it. Go for more numbers of shrimps if you have a larger tank. 

Tank Mates 

Tank Mates is the most important thing while keeping a shrimp. If you have fish in your tank that love eating meaty foods, shrimp is not a good idea. They’ll end up serving the role of food in your aquarium. Don’t ever keep shrimps in a tank with carnivorous fishes.

What is a clean up crew? 

A particular aquatic animal is brought into a fish tank or aquarium particularly to clean it up as part of a clean-up team. They are there to get rid of all the unwanted filth from your tank, which is why they are known as a clean-up crew. 

Shrimps don’t eat poop and tell others who are believing in this misconception. Instead, they are great tank cleaners. They will eat up all the dead matter such as dead fish and dead plants. They also eat algae and leftover food from the bottom of the tank. They might not eat poop but are very useful and almost essential in a tank. If you see fish poop in your aquarium then it is better you remove them manually with a vacuum.