I am thinking about buying a few wood/bamboo shrimp and would I please like to know what to look for in order to tell if it is healthy, besides the really obvious that is. I do not have experience with shrimp so I would not really know what to look for. What are some of the signs that a shrimp is healthy and some signs that it is not? Thanks.
How to tell a shrimp is healthy?
- Thread starter goldfish freak
- Start date
OK, now I know what kind of shrimp you are getting.
Wood Shimp should be actively sseking food, usually by sitting in the current with their fans spread. Two fans open is acceptable, 4 is great. Ask to see them being fed - fan collection is fast, rotating among the open fans. I supect they either feel or taste the food hit.
If the current is poor, they may be "mopping" the substrate /rocks/decor in search of food. Not the best setup, but it shows they are still alert.
Color is hard to judge - they have hormonal control over this. They should not be pink though.
I no longer keep these beasts in mixed tanks, strickly species. They do not compete for food with fish well at all IME. I use live Daphnia (frozen may do) and other tiny crustaceans and infusoria and Hikari micropellets. Fine powder fry food will work as well.
They have strong "pecking order" for the best seat in the current for gathering food - the shrimp in that position will be the Alpha male, and should have the strongest color.
HTH
Wood Shimp should be actively sseking food, usually by sitting in the current with their fans spread. Two fans open is acceptable, 4 is great. Ask to see them being fed - fan collection is fast, rotating among the open fans. I supect they either feel or taste the food hit.
If the current is poor, they may be "mopping" the substrate /rocks/decor in search of food. Not the best setup, but it shows they are still alert.
Color is hard to judge - they have hormonal control over this. They should not be pink though.
I no longer keep these beasts in mixed tanks, strickly species. They do not compete for food with fish well at all IME. I use live Daphnia (frozen may do) and other tiny crustaceans and infusoria and Hikari micropellets. Fine powder fry food will work as well.
They have strong "pecking order" for the best seat in the current for gathering food - the shrimp in that position will be the Alpha male, and should have the strongest color.
HTH
Wow, thanks RTR for all that good info 
. It defintely helps.
I was thinking about getting afew of these filter feeding shrimp to clear the green water in my goldfish tank and keep it clear. I read that they eat suspended algae. How big do these shrimp usually get and how many would you suggest I get for my 120 gallon tank?
. It defintely helps. I was thinking about getting afew of these filter feeding shrimp to clear the green water in my goldfish tank and keep it clear. I read that they eat suspended algae. How big do these shrimp usually get and how many would you suggest I get for my 120 gallon tank?
I don't know that they would go well with goldfish--the goldies may bug them, and you will still need to target feed them with something other than algae. Also, make sure they can handle the cooler temps usually found in goldfish tanks.
I used them first downstream of the daphnia tank in my circulating range for utility, then found them too fascinating to be in a hard to see tank, so they had to be upgraded.
I did not know they could/would capture suspended alage, so I can't offer suggestions. Do you have a sump on the tank where they will be housed? Or in with the fish?
Please, please let me know how this works out - I really am very interested. Shrimp are one of my things.
I love the concept and hope it works.
If you had a divided sump or a refugium or series of two refugia, with daphnia in the first, they would eat the green water (it is what they are fed), then excess or overfow daphnia would be consumed by the shrimp in the second. That was my setup.
I did not know they could/would capture suspended alage, so I can't offer suggestions. Do you have a sump on the tank where they will be housed? Or in with the fish?
Please, please let me know how this works out - I really am very interested. Shrimp are one of my things.
I love the concept and hope it works.
If you had a divided sump or a refugium or series of two refugia, with daphnia in the first, they would eat the green water (it is what they are fed), then excess or overfow daphnia would be consumed by the shrimp in the second. That was my setup.
OrionGirl, I am not really worried about the goldfish bothering the shrimp because they would be in planted tank with driftwood, so they would have places to hide. Also my fancy goldfish tank is at 80 degrees most of the time and never drops below 77 even in the winter.
RTR, I do not have a sump or refugium, I was planning on putting them in the tank. I am unfamiliar with how a refugium works. Is it a simple device to install? Where does it go, does it take up much room and is it inexpensive? I might consider using the refugium to house and grow daphnia to clear the green water and feed my goldfish and wood shrimp.
Are there other foods that I can feed the daphnia besides green water? Since I am assuming that with the daphnia in the refugium that the water would clear up thus leaving them without food.
I will try the wood shrimp first in the tank and if that does not clear the green water then I will consider adding the daphnia in a refugium. I will definitely let you know how it works out for me .
RTR, I do not have a sump or refugium, I was planning on putting them in the tank. I am unfamiliar with how a refugium works. Is it a simple device to install? Where does it go, does it take up much room and is it inexpensive? I might consider using the refugium to house and grow daphnia to clear the green water and feed my goldfish and wood shrimp.
Are there other foods that I can feed the daphnia besides green water? Since I am assuming that with the daphnia in the refugium that the water would clear up thus leaving them without food.
I will try the wood shrimp first in the tank and if that does not clear the green water then I will consider adding the daphnia in a refugium. I will definitely let you know how it works out for me
.The Wood shrimp can't hide. They need to eat , and that means sitting exposed in the current with their fans spread to capture food. It also means that they must be out when you feed, but mine tended to be out 24/7. If they are hiding they can't eat. Normally they only hide at molt.
Refugium is a concept rather than a particular device. It just means another container with water, exchanging with the main tank but without fish access to it. A sump can be a refugium, among other things.
In my setup the Daphnia tank was a 20H, with water input from the main system sump, a small light on 24/7 (to keep the daphnia up in the water column). downstream from this was a 20-long (fed by gravity) with the Wood shrimp with bog wood for them to perch on in line with the three constant-level siphons feeding from the Daphnia tank. The siphons from the Daphnia tank were low-level, but some Daphnia went through - which avoided population overgrowth and crash. The wood shrimp tank gravity fed back to the main sump (which served over 300 gallons).
There are commercial external HOB refugia which could hang on the back of a 55, but they are $$$ IMHO. The SW/reef folks use them. I have no experience with them. I've only used tanks as refugia.
Refugium is a concept rather than a particular device. It just means another container with water, exchanging with the main tank but without fish access to it. A sump can be a refugium, among other things.
In my setup the Daphnia tank was a 20H, with water input from the main system sump, a small light on 24/7 (to keep the daphnia up in the water column). downstream from this was a 20-long (fed by gravity) with the Wood shrimp with bog wood for them to perch on in line with the three constant-level siphons feeding from the Daphnia tank. The siphons from the Daphnia tank were low-level, but some Daphnia went through - which avoided population overgrowth and crash. The wood shrimp tank gravity fed back to the main sump (which served over 300 gallons).
There are commercial external HOB refugia which could hang on the back of a 55, but they are $$$ IMHO. The SW/reef folks use them. I have no experience with them. I've only used tanks as refugia.
Thanks again RTR. Okay, since wood shrimp can't technically hide, would you think that they would be okay to keep with fancy goldfish? I mean these shrimp are fairly large and I would imagine too fast for most fancy goldfish to catch, even if they did decide to make a snack out of them. Could I use a small tank such as a 5 gallon tank as a refugium for the daphnia? If so could I place it on the floor of my cabinet stand? How would I go about pumping the water from the refugium to the display tank and back? Is this a simple thing to do and would it be less expensive than buying a HOB refugium?
When I had Wood Shrimp with tropicals (fairly wimpy fish) the issue was not harrassment, the shrimp were the largest things in the tank, but feeding - they just could not compete. Wood shrimp are not fast, unlike their smaller cousins. They are large and clunky.
Give me a while to think about setup, I'll get back later...
Give me a while to think about setup, I'll get back later...
Okay, I understand but I could target feed the shrimp with the foods that you mentioned. I don't think the goldfish would be interested in the powdered fry food and I am hoping that they do consume the green water.