Shrimp Shrimp Shrimp!!

I've seen amano's priced at anywhere from $1.99 up to $5.00. Seems to vary with the season, locally. They are great additions though--I really like all of mine.

They are quite pricey over here too. I have bought mine at prices anywhere from 2.13$(can)- 5$. I really like them though, always out and about cleaning. I haven't noticed them be very good at cleaning algae though. I only have 6 in a 15g, mabye you need lots to actaully noticed a change.

Shrimp in General...

Okay, this has in actuality very little to do with amano shrimp, but...

When I went to the LFS today, I noticed a new shipment of hundreds of ghost shrimp. I mentioned my inability to keep them alive for very long to the resident "fish expert" employee. He said he could not test my water for copper (per OrionGirl's suggestion) but he did not think that our area's water supply has a copper problem. He said that ghost shrimp do better in slightly brackish conditions. He does not sell any amanos (which I want badly) but they normally cost about $3 each. The only shrimp he said he could truly recommend for freshwater was the $10 Singapore shrimp.

He suggested I buy saltwater mix for my tank and use it in diluted quantities, but I did not want to risk hurting my betta, so I settled for regular aquarium salt, and he said that it was an acceptable alternative. Since amanos and ghost shrimps are pretty similar, maybe salt would be good for them, too. Has anyone heard of this before?

I would not mix any salt in with a betta.
I have ghost shrimp in my freshwater tank. They can be a little touchy at 1st, but once they settle in they will usually live for a year to a year and a half.

"Aquarium salt" is not a substitute for brackish conditions. The glass shrimp will normally adapt to a range of conditions, but prefer harder water. I would not add the salt to your betta tank--he will not appreciate it very much. Nor do I think adding unknown items to the tank is a good idea--that box lists no ingredients, so who knows what is in there?

Testing the water for copper is based on the suspicion that warm water from your dorm may be introducing small quantities of copper into the tank, and this would harm invertebrates. The copper would not be present at the LFS, but only from the old pipes in the dorm building.

LooK! Gullible is written on the ceiling!

D'oh! *smacks head*

Okay, so we'll just be ignoring that particular salesman from now on.

OrionGirl to the rescue once more (btw- they're ghost shrimp, not glass shrimp but I'm sure that was a typo). Thanks!

D'oh once more! I would be lost without this forum, thanks.

OrionGirl's idea about copper in the water scared me a little. Until I can purchase a copper test to be sure, I was wondering if I could use water from my Brita waterpitcher in my minitank. It is supposed to take out copper, but I fear it might take out helpful tapwater electrolytes and minerals, too. Oh, I also found out that my tapwater's pH is "around 7.4" to quote the not-so-helpful-in-retrospect LFS employee. Would the filter affect this?

By the way, sorry for hijacking this thread.