Question about amano shrimp???

[trigoudarammi]

Ok Ive had these four amano shrimp for a while and i was wondering if they eat fish because some of my fish have dissapeared and i found the skeleton of one in my tank tonight...

[Dwarf Puffers]

Mine ate 2/3 of my killies, found the body of one, found the big pregnant one eating the second in the same spot.

I had lost fish b4, pearl gourami and a fire dwarf gourami, and they had been eating them.

Also they kill my snails, all this happens while they dodge the falling pieces of food that is meant for them!!

Pulled them, they bred, they died, now have dozens of babys that soon will be outta here and with me throwing good ridance signs at them!!

:silly: :silly: :silly:

[Brandorr]

That is so wierd. I just ordered some because I read that they are algae eaters... Not carnivores. Are you sure they weren't eating already dead fish?

[Dwarf Puffers]

I watched the big girl swim down with the carcass. I think she killed it.

All shrimp (besides filter feeds), IMO, will eat meat, some hunt, some scavenge. I watched them kill my snails. Pounding holes in their shells with their 6 little arms then tearing it to pieces :barf: <-- :joke:

[Squawkbert]

Are you sure you're talking about Amano shrimp and not some sort of dwarf crayfish or something?!?

1) Amanos (to the best of my reading and limited experience) scavenge, eat algae and dead fish/other stuff only. They don't kill anything except microfauna and that's pretty much only when they're juveniles.

2) They may breed in tanks, but they have larval stages that require (at least) brackish water, so unless you're going out of your way to accomodate berried females & their hatchlings witha variety of specific gravity changes and specialized nutrient streams, I highly doubt you would ever see any viable babies in an aquarium. If you want viable Shrimp babies in a regular aquarium (sponge filters preferred), get Neocaridina denticulata stock, not Caridina japonica.

3) more on my experience - Mine is now ~fully grown. He's as big as the pork-chops he shares a 5g with. He never bothers them or the pond snails in there. He is a tireless picker of whatever he can find from plants, sand and other surfaces. He loves algae wafers but he has to get what he can before snails arrive as they block him out. He's not exactly a killer...

[IndianaSam]

Mine ate 2/3 of my killies, found the body of one, found the big pregnant one eating the second in the same spot.

I had lost fish b4, pearl gourami and a fire dwarf gourami, and they had been eating them.

Also they kill my snails, all this happens while they dodge the falling pieces of food that is meant for them!!
I keep Amano shrimp. They certainly don't eat live/healthy fish. I wouldn't put it past them to pick at a fish that was already dead, but they don't hunt fish.

Pulled them, they bred, they died, now have dozens of babys that soon will be outta here and with me throwing good ridance signs at them!!
Okay, there's no way those are Amano shrimp. They require salt water for the juveniles to develop. (http://www.petshrimp.com/amanoshrimp.html) So if you weren't trying to actively breed them, you couldn't possibly have bred them.

I watched the big girl swim down with the carcass. I think she killed it.

All shrimp (besides filter feeds), IMO, will eat meat, some hunt, some scavenge. I watched them kill my snails. Pounding holes in their shells with their 6 little arms then tearing it to pieces
Even filter feeders eat meat (they will actively filter out baby brine shrimp or microworms). However no Amano shrimp will "pound holes in their shells" to get to a shrimp.

I suspect that you were sold some Macrobrachium species as Amano shrimp.

Sam

[pixl8r]

Amano shrimp do not actively hunt and kill fish. However, they eat just about anything. If a fish dies, or is sick they are opportunistic, and will fill their bellies. I've kept Amano shrimp with with fish such as guppies, endlers, pleco, and they've never 'hunted'. I even have five in my red claw nursery tank. They have never chased any of the much smaller infant shrimp.

Another thing to consider is, many shrimp are sold under an incorrect name. So you may think you have Amanos when infact you have a different species. I've even heard of people purchasing 'ghost shrimp' and actually getting Macrobrachium Rosenbergii. That has got to be the most aggressive fresh water shrimp. They also get HUGE!

You should see one of my blue crayfish hunt! ;) He's not very good at it. He likes to climb a plant to the top of the tank. Then he waits with his claws out wide. When a fish gets close he leaps out at them and floats down to the bottom. So far the score is Tarzan (blue crayfish): 0; Mollies: 45 (approximate number of days the crayfish have been in the tank).

[Dwarf Puffers]

*sigh*

Ok, heres some more proof if you havent been reading my threads...

Ok, she got pregnant in my tank, but refused to have her babys, and finally, over 2 weeks later I put her and the others in a 1g bowl temporarily, and droped in 4 pieces of aquarium salt to see what happened.

The babys were about a tenth of the size of a flea, barely visible, didnt resemble shrimp at all, and couldnt move very much.

Now, the dozens of babys are shaped like shrimp and can swim quickly like their parents. They still stay near the top.

I wish I had dwarf crays. Ive been looking all over for them, but im stuck with amanos.

They did eat algae, because now that theyre gone its everywhere, and they were amanos, no doubt about it, I've read up on it alot, and Ive got em.

[Dwarf Puffers]

My killies were new, and probably stressed, AKA "sick".

That would explain why my shrimps at them.

They dont look anything like ghost shrimp, and not nearly like most others.

[severum mama]

That doesn't sound like Amanos to me. I've kept them for a few years now, and the only time I've seen them eating a fish is when it was already dead.

[IndianaSam]

Ok, she got pregnant in my tank, but refused to have her babys, and finally, over 2 weeks later I put her and the others in a 1g bowl temporarily, and droped in 4 pieces of aquarium salt to see what happened.
Aquarium salt or Sea salt? They would have needed sea salt.

Also, how big were the "pieces of aquarium salt"? 4 grains of salt? That wouldn't increase salinity at all.

The babys were about a tenth of the size of a flea, barely visible, didnt resemble shrimp at all, and couldnt move very much.

Now, the dozens of babys are shaped like shrimp and can swim quickly like their parents. They still stay near the top.
How long has it been since when they were born and "now"?

There are freshwater shrimp whose young don't require salt to develop, but still go through a larval stage. This happens in common ghost shrimp.

What did you feed the babies?

They did eat algae, because now that theyre gone its everywhere, and they were amanos, no doubt about it, I've read up on it alot, and Ive got em.
Got pictures? No offense, but I sincerely doubt that they are Amano shrimp.

[Dwarf Puffers]

No pics, but they have the same line and dots as amanos, they turn red upon death, had the babys around 2 weeks, they eat algae, infusoria, and other things in the bowl.

[Squawkbert]

Well, if you're right, keep 'em as Amanos are worth something ($5 ea. if you can find them around here). If they're looking like shrimp, you should be reacclimating them to FW sometime soon.

(what I've read): It usually takes about 6 weeks for eggs to hatch, then several molts before the juvies start to look like shrimp. Once they are shrimp, they won't tolerate salt well at all, so you have to reacclimate them to FW.

The only other "off" thing I see is when they die - I've heard most report white, not red... but that's generalized to any of the "algae eating" shrimp (Caridina, Neocaridina etc.).

[pixl8r]

*sigh*

Ok, heres some more proof if you havent been reading my threads...

Ok, she got pregnant in my tank, but refused to have her babys, and finally, over 2 weeks later I put her and the others in a 1g bowl temporarily, and droped in 4 pieces of aquarium salt to see what happened.

The babys were about a tenth of the size of a flea, barely visible, didnt resemble shrimp at all, and couldnt move very much.

Now, the dozens of babys are shaped like shrimp and can swim quickly like their parents. They still stay near the top.

I wish I had dwarf crays. Ive been looking all over for them, but im stuck with amanos.

They did eat algae, because now that theyre gone its everywhere, and they were amanos, no doubt about it, I've read up on it alot, and Ive got em.
Dwarf Puffers,

I'm sorry if you thought I was talking about you. I was actually trying to help out triqoudarammi. I am shocked though, that you were successful in rearing Amano shrimp larva with 4 pieces of aquarium salt, and no special feeding. I personally only know one person who has succesfully raised Amano shrimp in captivity. Though I know a few who have tried, and read of many accounts, all with differing degrees of success.

Anyway, good luck with your young Amano's.

[mellowvision]

the lfs near me has a giant tank that is densely planted. they claim to have around 1000 amanos in it, and said today that they took a long time to start breeding, but once they did, they exploded and couldn't be stopped. it is 100% freshwater.

[pixl8r]

Hey mellowvision,
From the amount of documentation available on Yamato/Amano/Japanese marsh shrimp (and many other names, for the same species), their breeding requirements are precisely noted. It is likely (more than likely) that the species of shrimp in that tank, while looking similar to Amano shrimp, are not Amano shrimp.

Unfortunately, the aquarium shrimp industry has many problems, namely, naming ;). Common names are the most notoriously inaccurate. Take 'Rainbow Shrimp' or 'Ghost/Glass Shrimp'. There are easily five or more species that each go by those common names.

Sadly, many scientific names are also unreliable, and are likely to change in the future.

I believe that what you say is ture, that there is a tank with 1000's of shrimp reproduced in fresh water, that are labled 'Amano'. I've purchased Chrystal Red Shrimp labled Cherry Red Shrimp, and so on. The most outragously mislabled shrimp story that I've ever read, on a different forum, was from someone who purchased a group of 'Ghost Shrimp'. I alluded to it in my first post in this thread.

Basicly, as I said, someone went to a pet store (*cough* names changed to protect the innocent), let's call it Pet'sMart. The purchased a group of Ghost Shrimp. A few weeks later, they noticed that the shrimp were vanishing. They also noticed that other aquatic life, in the same tank, was vanishing. Soon there was only one, much larger, shrimp alive. It turned out to be a Macrobrachium Rosenbergii.

Unfortunate things like this will continue. I'm not saying it's always a bad thing, some treasures can be found. I purchased a Hammers Cobalt Blue crayfish (sells online for $10-$30 dollars) for $3.99. In another local pet store I got what I *think* is a c. destructor for $5.00. I'm still waiting for photo identification. If you can identify it, here's a link. http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x130/pixl8r/blue_cray3.jpg

[smasonkc]

A few weeks later, they noticed that the shrimp were vanishing. They also noticed that other aquatic life, in the same tank, was vanishing. Soon there was only one, much larger, shrimp alive. It turned out to be a Macrobrachium Rosenbergii.

So-- how can you tell this shrimp apart from the real ghost shrimp-- I bought shrimp from petsmart--3 weeks ago-- and am down to one shrimp and can't find one of 9 new neons- bought yesterday.:eek3:

[Dwarf Puffers]

Well, I'll try to rear them, and if some survive, I'll try to learn how to get a good camera shot and post a few pics of 'em :)

[pixl8r]

A few weeks later, they noticed that the shrimp were vanishing. They also noticed that other aquatic life, in the same tank, was vanishing. Soon there was only one, much larger, shrimp alive. It turned out to be a Macrobrachium Rosenbergii.

So-- how can you tell this shrimp apart from the real ghost shrimp-- I bought shrimp from petsmart--3 weeks ago-- and am down to one shrimp and can't find one of 9 new neons- bought yesterday.:eek3:

Search the web for picutres of young M. rosenbergii, and for American ghost shrimp (P. Paludosus). The simplest way to tell them appart is to look at the front claws and legs. Freshwater glass shrimp have legs that are nearly identical in length to their chelae or main front claws. While Macrobrachium species will have very long chelae. Here is a picture of one of my young Macrobrachium Dayanum (Red Claw shrimp).
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x130/pixl8r/m-3.jpg
I hope that helped.

[mellowvision]

so a question then, is it possible that my amano shrimp, which have the same markings I've seen in every amano shrimp photo, are not amano shrimp, but are something similar? and if so, what would the most likely candidate be?

mine aren't from the store I mentioned, they are from somewhere I hold in high reguard, and they didn't label them at all, I just bought 6 based on their markings. (they don't speak much english there)

[blazingazn]

from my experience, amano shrimp are opportunistic scavengers, eating plant material, meat, and detritus. i've seen amano's eat some of my fish before, but only because the fish were unhealthy and most likely have died or were in such a weakened state that they didnt care if their flesh was literally being picked off of them. i highly doubt that amano's can take down a healthy fish. when feeding algae pellets (i break them into small pieces) i've seen amano's quickly swim and snatch the pieces before they hit the gravel floor. based on this act, i ASSUME that amano's can go after fry... but im not sure...