Rams eat shrimp?
- Thread starter deviljin
- Start date
I put 4 japonica shrimp in with my two rams....the rams lunged at them and they immediately became invisible. After about a week I saw one pink body. From that I assumed that they were all dead.
Worried that I had caused their deaths and mad at myself for making a dumb fish-keeping decision, I posted a similar question to yours here and folks responded with 'yes, rams will eat shrimps' and also 'shrimps are REALLY good at hiding.' After 4 weeks I still saw no sign so I figured I had learned a sad lesson at the expense of 4 little innocent lives. I felt really bad.
But then, all of a sudden, sitting on driftwood right in front of my eyes, there were 3 shrimps. They had been hiding! Big Time! The rams now ignore them totally.
My conclusion, though, is this: While I can see that these particular shrimps and these particular rams have reached an agreement, I think I'd think twice about putting shrimps (aka Food) in with cichlids again. I really hadn't thought about the shrimps from the point of view of the rams. (I do feed them shrimp pellets, duh.) I thought only that they were cute and small and interesting and useful and different.
I did put some shrimps in my 10 gal with little tetras, though, and everyone is happy.
My 2 cents.
Worried that I had caused their deaths and mad at myself for making a dumb fish-keeping decision, I posted a similar question to yours here and folks responded with 'yes, rams will eat shrimps' and also 'shrimps are REALLY good at hiding.' After 4 weeks I still saw no sign so I figured I had learned a sad lesson at the expense of 4 little innocent lives. I felt really bad.
But then, all of a sudden, sitting on driftwood right in front of my eyes, there were 3 shrimps. They had been hiding! Big Time! The rams now ignore them totally.
My conclusion, though, is this: While I can see that these particular shrimps and these particular rams have reached an agreement, I think I'd think twice about putting shrimps (aka Food) in with cichlids again. I really hadn't thought about the shrimps from the point of view of the rams. (I do feed them shrimp pellets, duh.) I thought only that they were cute and small and interesting and useful and different.
I did put some shrimps in my 10 gal with little tetras, though, and everyone is happy.
My 2 cents.
I have to disagree with this statement. Rams LOVE live shrimps and are very good and patient hunters.
I've had rams that hunt down shrimp and rams that leave them alone. When my RCS get overpopulated I will be putting some of the extras in with my rams.
...wondering if we have the same terminology for these critters? Mine are tiny, only an inch, maybe a speck more. Even my neons are bigger. These would be a threat only to something much smaller, or immobile, as it seems their eating parts are only big enough to pick up little particles of things -- not a weapon.
lol that's very funny.
how can ramshorns love hunting live shrimps lol they can't even catch a grandpa shrimp lol:grinyes:
irishspy
There is a stargate in my aquarium.
I thought my betta had killed my amanos, but like the little cockroach-relative they are, they were just darned good at hiding. Months later, I saw them out and about, I guess after deciding the big blue monster wasn't going to eat them. 