Added Amano Shrimp!

I got 3 little amano shrimp for my 20 gallon on wednesday. All I can say is OMG I LOVE THESE GUYS!

I've been having algae trouble on the large cave ornament in the tank for a while now. Lots of brown/green patches on it that seemed resistant to scrubbing off with a toothbrush. Woke up this morning and it is PRISTINE! not a visible spot of algae on it (hopefully they start cleaning off the anubias leaves next!).

Today I did my partial water change, and the lil buggers were zipping all over the place, prompting squeels and giggles from my wife as she parked herself in front of the tank to watch them lol.

Didn't think I'd like having shrimp in the tank, but I think they'll be a regular in my tanks when possible. I might have to try breeding them at some point

 

Haha, I also got 2 amanos a week ago. They're still working on my diatoms, but I think I'm seeing a difference!

Do you know how to sex them? Males are smaller with dots on their sides, females are much larger with horizontal broken dashes. If you need help, post a picture!

Breeding amano shrimp is notoriously difficult, because their larvae have a free-swimming stage while many other types of shrimp are already born as tiny versions of their adult selves. There's a lot of conflicting information on how to rear the amano larvae, but it seems that brackish/saltwater is a must (optimally 30-35 ppm), as well as brewer's yeast and diatoms to feed them. I won't get into the specifics, but as you can already tell, it's a difficult process! If you do try to breed them, keep us updated

 

I got 3 little amano shrimp for my 20 gallon on wednesday. All I can say is OMG I LOVE THESE GUYS!

I've been having algae trouble on the large cave ornament in the tank for a while now. Lots of brown/green patches on it that seemed resistant to scrubbing off with a toothbrush. Woke up this morning and it is PRISTINE! not a visible spot of algae on it (hopefully they start cleaning off the anubias leaves next!).

Today I did my partial water change, and the lil buggers were zipping all over the place, prompting squeels and giggles from my wife as she parked herself in front of the tank to watch them lol.

Didn't think I'd like having shrimp in the tank, but I think they'll be a regular in my tanks when possible. I might have to try breeding them at some point

People often find that shrimp can be funny little guys

 

Haha, I also got 2 amanos a week ago. They're still working on my diatoms, but I think I'm seeing a difference!

Do you know how to sex them? Males are smaller with dots on their sides, females are much larger with horizontal broken dashes. If you need help, post a picture!

Breeding amano shrimp is notoriously difficult, because their larvae have a free-swimming stage while many other types of shrimp are already born as tiny versions of their adult selves. There's a lot of conflicting information on how to rear the amano larvae, but it seems that brackish/saltwater is a must (optimally 30-35 ppm), as well as brewer's yeast and diatoms to feed them. I won't get into the specifics, but as you can already tell, it's a difficult process! If you do try to breed them, keep us updated

yeah, I know how to sex them, but I'm unsure if I'm doing it right. I'm not worried at the moment though, I'm just loving having them in there.

I'm aware that amano shrimp can be difficult to breed, so it'll be sometime in the future before I attempt it. I'm actually considering some RCS as well (either as an addition to this tank, or in a secondary tank) which I would start off with in trying to breed them. Considering that I'm contemplating setting up a 10 gallon just to grow out plants and stuff, I might to shrimp breeding in that same tank. But this will be a couple of months (at least) in the future.

Oh, and here's a pic!

 

yeah, I know how to sex them, but I'm unsure if I'm doing it right. I'm not worried at the moment though, I'm just loving having them in there.

I'm aware that amano shrimp can be difficult to breed, so it'll be sometime in the future before I attempt it. I'm actually considering some RCS as well (either as an addition to this tank, or in a secondary tank) which I would start off with in trying to breed them. Considering that I'm contemplating setting up a 10 gallon just to grow out plants and stuff, I might to shrimp breeding in that same tank. But this will be a couple of months (at least) in the future.

Oh, and here's a pic!

I only see 2 shrimp in the pic, but to me looks like the one in the bottom left is a male and the one in the top right is a female.

Yeah, same here, I probably won't try breeding them for a while. I've already witnessed a few mating attempts between my pair, but the female doesn't seem to be carrying eggs yet.

 

I only see 2 shrimp in the pic, but to me looks like the one in the bottom left is a male and the one in the top right is a female.

Yeah, same here, I probably won't try breeding them for a while. I've already witnessed a few mating attempts between my pair, but the female doesn't seem to be carrying eggs yet.

the one in the top right is actually two. one is kinda on top of the other lol

 

the one in the top right is actually two. one is kinda on top of the other lol

Oh! I see the other now that I zoom in.

I think it's another male? Hard to see, but he/she looks small for a female.

 

Oh! I see the other now that I zoom in.

I think it's another male? Hard to see, but he/she looks small for a female.

that is kinda what I was thinking my ratio was because the one was notably larger than the other two. Wasn't sure by the markings, but they did look like little dashes instead of dots

 

One of the lil guys has already molted!

And they've moved on to cleaning the anubias leafs, so happy It's weird how happy these little guys make me lol

 

I have 4 in my 20 and I love them. They are like little vacuum cleaners and they have doubled in size since I got them.

 

Here is a pic of the 20 gallon ... .not sure if we ever posted one ....



It will be getting java ferns eventually (from tank 3's quarantined ones)

 

Our three amigos!