Any kind of food shrimp I could keep? How to get?

[Betta132]

I was just wondering if I could keep some kind of food-type shrimp. I'm not wanting to raise them for food, I just think it would be cool to have a few in my tank. It's a 29g biocube, soon to be a macroalgae planted tank with a few mushroom corals and zooanthids. Macrolife: One Wheeler's goby, one tiger pistol shrimp (gonna add another), one fairly peaceful blue damsel, one rooster waspfish, one several-year-old sand snail. Gonna add a couple of snails (or limpets, if I can get them) and maybe a few redleg hermits.
I know a lot of food shrimp are from the Pacific and therefore coldwater, but I know there are Gulf food shrimps and the Gulf isn't coldwater. Would a food shrimp be pretty much just your average shrimp in care? Are they dangerous to anything? How does one obtain a couple of live food shrimp?

 

[Raybee]

I'm not sure about their care, but I see live food shrimp in some asian restaurants and asian grocery stores in LA.

They all seem to hang out mid-water, so a little different to the normal bottom dwellers we have.

 

[BS]

I have kept them.... Until they jumped out... And they will jump out... I catch them in a cast net.. I do have some smaller grass shrimp and they don't jump as bad but are still prone to

 

[Betta132]

I have a good strong lid on the tank, that isn't a concern. I'm more interested in how to take care of them... Are they predatory?
I suppose I should mention I'm near Austin, and I have no clue where to get them around here. Maybe I could try an Asian grocery store... Bet I can find one.

 

[BS]

I feed mine sinking fish food pellets ... Not sure if the eat each other or not... I do have a BIG Mud Minnow that will try to get them ... So far I still have two or three smaller shrimp.. They stay in the rock work though.. Where its safe

 

[gnasher]

I always thought it would be cool to keep a tiger prawn or two myself. I know they're from tropical waters, so it seems like it would be doable, but never looked into it beyond that. I would imagine acquiring a healthy animal would be the most difficult part.

 

[Betta132]

Anyone know if they'll eat small fish?

Man! I just googled tiger prawns... I didn't realize they got that huge! What shrimp species aren't gonna get giant like that? I know the shrimp I see in grocery stores are a lot smaller... Dunno what kind they are, though.

 

[Raybee]

Seems smaller, I've never heard of "ridgeback shrimp".
3.99 a pound.

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/168-market-alhambra?select=y09pfXeA3dX-uVORT93Z7Q

If you get any from a market, you have to tell us what their reaction is when you say: "2 shrimps, please"


EDIT:
You can switch from shrimp to crab and put this guy in a nano!
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/newport-tan-cang-san-gabriel?select=GftSR8EnFxbcDdtKOk7p9Q

 

[Betta132]

Hmm, those guys look good.
I suppose I could go by an Asian market and see how large the biggest shrimp in the tank is. Ridgebacks look fairly easy to identify, what with those spines.

 

[Secondsbest]

Don't know if you can find em live, but the patterns on rock shrimp are pretty cool. They are a medium sized shrimp.