Amano shrimp and Gold nugget pleco
Can these two share a tank? The assessment below is derived from stored behavioural and environmental traits, not from a compatibility chart.
Workable only in unusual circumstances. Not a pairing to plan around.
- Minimum volume
- 540 L
- Minimum length
- 180 cm
- Factors considered
- 7
Concerns
The shared band 26–27 °C sits at the top of one animal's range and the bottom of the other's. Both would be kept at their limits to accommodate the other. Both animals would be kept at the edge of their ranges to accommodate the other. Nothing here is a recommendation; it is the arithmetic of two incompatible requirements meeting at a point.
Derived from: environment.temperature range position on both records
Gold nugget pleco defends a territory and both animals use the same part of the tank, so give the territory-holder a defensible area away from the main swimming space.
Derived from: traits.territoriality and zone on both records
Both species occupy the bottom of the tank, so allow for the shared space when judging the footprint.
Derived from: zone and traits.activity on both records
Why it can work
- pH requirements overlap at 6.5–7.5.
- Hardness requirements overlap at 4–12 °dGH.
- Amano shrimp needs a group of at least 5. Kept in smaller numbers it is not simply lonely — shoaling species held below their threshold show chronic stress behaviour, colour loss and, in several species, increased aggression towards tankmates.
- Gold nugget pleco is active mainly after dark, so the two overlap less than the stocking list suggests. Feed the nocturnal animal after lights-out or it will be outcompeted.
Conditions
Most interesting pairings are conditional on something. These are the things the keeper can actually change.
- At least 5 Amano shrimp, counted as one group
- At least 540 L with a footprint of 180 cm or more, before counting anything else in the tank
Derived, or documented?
These are different claims and are shown separately. The verdict above is derived from stored traits — arithmetic on AquariumHQ's own records. Whether the pairing is actually reported to work is a separate question, and for most pairs the honest answer is that we hold nothing.
Environmental compatibility
Derived from stored traits
Temperature, pH, hardness, size and behavioural traits compared between the two records. Sound as far as it goes, and it is not evidence that the pairing works.
Behavioural evidence
No behavioural evidence held
AquariumHQ holds no behavioural evidence for this pairing. The verdict is derived entirely from stored traits — it is arithmetic on our own records, not a report about how the pairing actually goes.
AquariumHQ's overall position
Generally workable in a tank with enough grazeable rock for both, and this record is inference from stored traits rather than a report about how the pairing goes — AquariumHQ holds no behavioural evidence for it in either direction. The environmental match is genuinely good, which is unusual for a pleco pairing and is the reason the entry exists at all.
Factor by factor
- Competition for grazing surfaceDerived
Both work biofilm from hard surfaces in strong flow. The pleco is territorial about the rock it grazes and is considerably larger, so the shrimp lose the better stations rather than being eaten.
- PredationDerived
The pleco takes invertebrates as part of its biofilm diet and a moulting shrimp is vulnerable. AquariumHQ holds no reports either way, so this is inference from the stored diet rather than an observation.
- Flow and oxygenDerived
The pleco needs strong flow and very high oxygen, which suits Amano shrimp better than it suits most dwarf shrimp. Environmentally this pairing is unusually well matched.
| Depends on | How much |
|---|---|
| Tank size and dimensions | significant |
| Life stage | minor |
| The individual animal | significant |
How good is the overlap?
Whether two ranges intersect is a necessary condition, not evidence. What matters is WHERE the shared band sits: an overlap at the top of one animal's range and the bottom of the other's is a forced compromise however wide it looks, and it is the case a simple intersection test cannot see.
| Dimension | Assessment | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Forced compromise — neither animal is where it wants to be | The shared band 26–27 °C sits at the top of one animal's range and the bottom of the other's. Both would be kept at their limits to accommodate the other. |
| pH | Comfortable for both | The shared band 6.5–7.5 pH sits centrally in both ranges, with room to drift. |
| Hardness | Workable | The shared band 4–12 °dGH is usable, though it does not sit centrally for both animals. |
Forced compromise — neither animal is where it wants to be
Both animals would be kept at the edge of their ranges to accommodate the other. Nothing here is a recommendation; it is the arithmetic of two incompatible requirements meeting at a point.
Factor by factor
Every factor states what it rests on. Most are derived from the traits stored on both records — sound arithmetic on AquariumHQ's own data, and not a report about how the pairing actually goes. Where a factor says 'not known', the data is missing and saying so matters, because a missing factor and a favourable one look identical once both are absent.
| Factor | Basis | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Derived from stored traits | Forced compromise — neither animal is where it wants to be. The shared band 26–27 °C sits at the top of one animal's range and the bottom of the other's. Both would be kept at their limits to accommodate the other. |
| pH | Derived from stored traits | Comfortable for both. The shared band 6.5–7.5 pH sits centrally in both ranges, with room to drift. |
| Hardness | Derived from stored traits | Workable. The shared band 4–12 °dGH is usable, though it does not sit centrally for both animals. |
| Body size | Derived from stored traits | Gold nugget pleco reaches about 30 cm against 5 cm for Amano shrimp — a ratio of 6.0. Size disparity drives opportunistic predation independently of temperament. |
| Predation | Derived from stored traits | Highest predation risk in either direction is "none". |
| Territoriality | Derived from stored traits | Strongest territoriality across the pair is "strong". |
| Breeding aggression | Derived from stored traits | Neither becomes notably more aggressive while spawning. |
| Fin-nipping | Derived from stored traits | No nipper-and-target combination between these two. |
| Aggression | Derived from stored traits | Strongest intraspecific aggression across the pair is "strong". It bears on the pairing because a fish under pressure from its own kind redirects. |
| Social requirements | Derived from stored traits | Amano shrimp needs at least 5. A shoaling species held below its threshold shows chronic stress and, in several species, increased aggression towards tankmates. |
| Group-size dependency | Derived from stored traits | The outcome depends on group size as much as on the pairing: under-grouped shoalers nip more and hide more. |
| Tank zone | Derived from stored traits | Both occupy the bottom of the tank, so the shared space is under pressure. |
| Activity level | Derived from stored traits | Activity levels are compatible. |
| Food competition | Derived from stored traits | Different feeding strategies, so direct competition is limited. |
| Risk to shrimp and snails | Derived from stored traits | Highest risk either animal poses to dwarf shrimp or snails is "low". |
| Effect on plants | Derived from stored traits | Neither animal damages planting. |
| Tank dimensions | Derived from stored traits | The more demanding of the two needs at least 400 L and 150 cm of length before anything else is in the tank. Volume alone does not describe a home for a fish that swims in straight lines. |
| Life stage | Evidence-backed | Life-stage dependency: minor. See the documented record. |
| Individual variation | Evidence-backed | Individual variation: significant. |
Environmental overlap
| Parameter | Shared range | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 26–27 °C | Aim for the middle of the shared band. |
| pH | 6.5–7.5 | Stability matters more than the exact figure. |
| Hardness | 4–12 °dGH | Check your source water before committing. |
What this assessment cannot tell you
- Individual temperament varies, particularly in cichlids and in bettas, and can override a favourable verdict for Amano shrimp or Gold nugget pleco.
- The assessment is for the pair in isolation. A third species can change the outcome in either direction.
- Both animals are assessed at adult size, not at the size they are sold.
- A verdict is a statement about probability, not a guarantee.
Where the two water bands meet
Derived from the ranges AquariumHQ publishes for each species. The compatibility engine reads the same numbers; this is what they look like drawn on one axis.
Temperature (°C)
Scale: 0 to 36 °C.
pH (pH)
Scale: 4 to 9.5 pH.
Hardness (°dGH)
Scale: 0 to 30 °dGH.
Why the bands sit where they do
The overlap above is arithmetic. This is where the two numbers came from — the kind of water each animal is recorded from, and how much room that leaves.
These two animals come from different kinds of water, and that is where the arithmetic below comes from rather than from anything about their temperaments.
Amano shrimp
Subtropical stream
100–500 µS/cm · moderate flow · near saturation oxygen
Gold nugget pleco
Clearwater lowland river
Rio Xingu rapids
20–100 µS/cm · moderate flow · near saturation oxygen
- TemperatureAmano shrimp 18–27°CGold nugget pleco 26–30°C
Both inside their range from 26–27°C — 25% of the narrower animal’s range.
Barely an overlap. Whatever is chosen, at least one animal spends its life at the limit of its published range — which is survivable and is not the same as suitable.
- pHAmano shrimp 6.5–8Gold nugget pleco 6–7.5
Both inside their range from 6.5–7.5 — 67% of the narrower animal’s range.
A wide window. Both animals are inside their own range across most of it, and the tank can be run without either sitting at an edge.
- General hardnessAmano shrimp 4–18 dGHGold nugget pleco 2–12 dGH
Both inside their range from 4–12 dGH — 80% of the narrower animal’s range.
A wide window. Both animals are inside their own range across most of it, and the tank can be run without either sitting at an edge.
Computed from the ranges AquariumHQ publishes for each species, each of which records what it rests on — a source value, a habitat inference, a physiological requirement or a trade convention. Most are habitat inferences, and the species pages say which.