Author Topic: Amano shrimps - doing my homework/research pre-buying (Read 26960 times) 32 replies

Trish · « **on:** August 31, 2016, 01:28:25 PM »

Hi All,

Just a few questions before I get some Amano shrimps.

I assume that they will need supplementary feeding, if so, is there a special pellet and how often would I need to feed them?

I am a bit concerned about them getting trapped into the filter.

The filter media, heater and water pump are hidden behind a divider.
The divider has slits on the top, middle and bottom, through which the pump draws in water, which then gets drawn through the media.

The top slits are like a weir and have the widest slits, I have managed to cover them with a cut up filter bag.

The other slits look too small for the shrimps to get into, and I can't see how I could cover these slits up.

Can these shrimps squeeze into really small spaces?

Having never kept shrimps before, any advice and tips would be appreciated.

Littlefish · « **Reply #1 on:** August 31, 2016, 03:23:07 PM »

Hi Trish,
I have amano shrimp in 3 of my tanks, although I've only had them for a couple of months.
I have Aqua internal filters in the tanks, and have not had any problems. I also feed the shrimp on JBL Novo Prawn, and I'm sure that there are a few different brands of shrimp food available. My lot also take the fish flakes and cory pellets, as well as trimming the plants, etc, so they don't seem to go hungry.
You can also buy various sized amano shrimp, perhaps it would be worth considering getting some more mature ones rather than the tiny ones if you are worried about the filter. The first few I got for my temperate tanks have grown quite a bit since I've had them, and have moulted at least once a month each.
I think that @Sue and @Fiona have a lot more experience with shrimp, so I'm sure that they can give you more specific advice.
Best of luck with your shrimp, I'm quite fond of mine.

Trish · « **Reply #2 on:** August 31, 2016, 03:50:05 PM »

Thanks Donna,
Good idea about getting the large ones, I'm off to P@H tomorrow and see what they have got.

Fiona · « **Reply #3 on:** August 31, 2016, 04:06:57 PM »

Donna's given the same advice that I would. How large are the gaps?

I used to feed special shrimp food to the cherry shrimp but I didn't buy anymore when it ran out. They seem to do ok with whatever I feed the pygmy cories. I do still use Bacter AE everyday though and beta G once a week, before I used them I really struggled to get a colony going, I'm slightly over successful now and probably have something like 200 red cherry shrimps atm, I'm taking a bag full to MA next time I go as I'm a bit worried over the tank being overstocked.

The amanos in the 200l generally come out at feeding time and grab a piece of sinking pellet or some defrosted frozen food and carry it off to a hidey hole to eat it in peace. I let the other variety of shrimp in there pretty much fend for themselves

Trish · « **Reply #4 on:** August 31, 2016, 04:25:00 PM »

Hi Fiona,

The gaps are approx, 3mm wide.

I already have some catfish pellets and Hikari algae wafers, so I'll see how they get on with them.

Sue · « **Reply #5 on:** August 31, 2016, 04:47:57 PM »

My shrimps eat fish food. When I had amanos, they did too. My tanks always have algae though so that would have helped. You can buy shrimps food eg Hikari shrimp cuisine but the fish will eat that as well as their own food and the shrimps will also eat both. Be careful about shrimp food as a lot labelled as shrimp pellets etc are actually fish food made from shrimps.

My last amano was 5 years old when it died. That was due to the medication I used for camallanus worm - I just couldn't catch the shrimp to put it in another tank. The females were just about the biggest things in the tank (compared to apistogramma males and dwarf chain loaches)

Trish · « **Reply #6 on:** September 01, 2016, 12:02:52 AM »

Thanks for the info, Sue.

Crikey.....I didn't realise that they got as big as that.

Sue · « **Reply #7 on:** September 01, 2016, 09:27:54 AM »

That was just older females, males are a lot smaller

And they tend to be smaller when you buy them. These shrimps are wild caught and the really big ones would be elderly by shrimp standards.

Amano shrimps can't bred in our tanks, though they do mate and the females carry eggs under their abdomens in typical shrimp fashion. Like nerite snails, amano eggs hatch into a larval stage which are washed down to sea. The larvae grow and metamorphose into adults which then make their way back up the river into fresh water. The larvae must reach salt water very quickly or they die. Presumably the eggs hatch in our tanks but the larvae are very quickly eaten by the fish or die from lack of salt.

Fiona · « **Reply #8 on:** September 02, 2016, 02:36:15 PM »

I've got 1 female and 2 males, they were in with the cherry shrimp for a while but they looked far too big in there and I think they bullied the cherries a little. I had thought they'd been eaten in the 200l but they're still there and the female is pretty big. I must confess she creeps me out a bit

too spider-like for my liking

Trish · « **Reply #9 on:** September 03, 2016, 12:44:46 PM »

Yes, I know what you mean about the big ones being a little bit creepy, lol.

I'm still pondering as to whether to get any or not.
I do my water changes tomorrow and I thought it best to wait until that is done, then if I do decide to get some, I won't have to disturb them for a week.

Another question I've thought of......
Do you acclimate them just the same as usual, i.e. Float for 15 or 20mins, adding a bit of tank water every few mins,or does it take a bit longer?

Sue · « **Reply #10 on:** September 03, 2016, 02:50:25 PM »

That's all I do with my shrimps if I get them from a very local shop. From further afield with different water, or by post, drip acclimatisation is better. Empty the bag into a bucket and slowly siphon water into the bucket from the tank with airline tubing. Tie a knot in the tubing and tighten it till it drips once every few seconds. Once the water in the bucket is 2 to 3 times more than came in the bag, net the shrimps out. In warm weather you won't need a heater.

If the shop just puts them in an empty bag, add a bit of something to the bag during acclimatisation - anything from a leaf to a bit of moss to even a bit of filter wool. Shrimps like to stand on things, and something to stand on in the bag/bucket will reduce the stress on them.

A few more things about shrimps in case you haven't read this yet. Shrimps have to shed their skins to grow and while the new skin hardens they are very vulnerable. Make sure they have somewhere to hide during this process - an ornament, a thick plant etc. And the shed skin will lie on the bottom of the tank looking for all the word like a hollow shrimp. Don't panic when you see one, if it's hollow it's not a dead shrimp.

Trish · « **Reply #11 on:** September 04, 2016, 12:49:50 AM »

Thanks Sue,
Great advice....as always

Trish · « **Reply #12 on:** September 05, 2016, 01:38:03 PM »

I put 4 shrimps in about 10 o'clock this morning. Looks like 2 males and 2 females.
I expected them to hide for at least a couple of days, but they were out and about within a few minutes, nibbling away at microscopic stuff.

All seemed well, until the Cardinals started taking too much interest in them. Some seem to be following them and collecting loose bits that are breaking free, but I'm almost certain that a couple of them are actually nipping the shrimps..... Oh Joy!

I've kept the lights off, and I hope that the shrimps will be OK, and that eventually, the Cardinals will get used to them and leave them alone.

Sue · « **Reply #13 on:** September 05, 2016, 01:46:48 PM »

Fish seem to investigate new things in the tank to decide if they can eat it, mate with it or need to run away from it. Once they've decided which, they usually ignore the newcomer. Wait a few days and they should all get along OK. In the mean time, shrimps are experts at hiding. Don't worry about them unless you find a dead one.

Trish · « **Reply #14 on:** September 05, 2016, 01:57:10 PM »

Thanks for the reassurance, Sue,

I Hope that they will be OK.

I must say, they are fascinating to watch, and if this lot don't get eaten, I will probably buy another 4.

Fingers crossed!

Littlefish · « **Reply #15 on:** September 05, 2016, 06:30:12 PM »

I have shrimp in my South American tank, which is the one I had to remove my bristlenose plec from because the tetras were nipping him. The shrimp, both sizes, are doing fine.
I hope that your shrimp settle in well and the cardinals get used to them quickly.

Trish · « **Reply #16 on:** September 05, 2016, 10:54:37 PM »

Thanks Donna,

I've been out this evening, so I don't know what's gone on in the tank.
I got the torch out and had a quick peek, but couldn't see any shrimps, and the cardinals were in their pyjamas

.

Hopefully, the shrimp are OK, and have found a place to bed down for the night.

All will be revealed tomorrow. ( I think I'll be up early

)

Littlefish · « **Reply #17 on:** September 06, 2016, 06:24:52 AM »

You would be amazed at how easily shrimp can tuck themselves away in safe places.
I would expect that your shrimp were fine and also in their pyjamas and settled for the night.

Trish · « **Reply #18 on:** September 06, 2016, 10:39:18 AM »

I couldn't see any shrimps this morning.

I've just fed the fish, as usual, and dropped in a small pellet for the shrimp.
After a few minutes, 2 of the little males crawled out from under the moss balls and tried grazing on the pellet.
However, the gannets, (aka Cardinals), soon got a whiff of the pellet. One of them dashed off with it, all the rest got in a frenzy, and followed him as he dashed around the tank.

Anyway, I know that 2 shrimp are still there

When I got the shrimp yesterday, I acclimated them in the usual way, then, put the net in the bag, and from there put the shrimp in the tank, discarding the old water down the sink.
After a few minutes, 3 of the shrimp came out to explore. And so far, that is all I've ever seen......just the three.
I'm now beginning to wonder if I left one in the bag and then poured it down the sink

Oh the trials and tribulations of fishkeeping!

I was wondering if It would be better to drop a pellet in at night, before I go to bed?

I wish the Cardinals would read the books and stay in the middle of the tank, instead of foraging along the bottom like Corys.
I don't have this trouble with the Harlequins, lol.

Sue · « **Reply #19 on:** September 06, 2016, 10:49:03 AM »

In the years I've had shrimps I have never seen all of them at once. They are such experts at hiding from view that some people reckon you can never see more than 50% at one time.

Do you feed flake to the tank in addition to the pellets? If you do, scrunch a couple of flakes to dust. The shrimps will get some of that as such fine bits drift into tiny places and it will take a while for the cardinals to find them all.

And if you have any algae in the tank, the shrimps will eat that together with micro-organisms living on the biofilm all over the tank.

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Amano Shrimps - Doing My Homework/research Pre-buying

Amano Shrimps - Doing My Homework/research Pre-buying

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