Amano Shrimp Disappearance

HI everyone, I was feeding my fish this morning and realized that I only saw 1 of my two amanos in my 20 gallon. I looked everywhere in the tank, in the filter ( the intake is covered so there's no way for it to have been sucked up), and the floor around the tank. This leaves only 3 possibilities that I can think of : my fish ate it... there is no pieces of shrimp anywhere and the other one is out and about and being left alone, it got out and fell in the air vent.. there is one on the floor near the tank, or maybe, possibly it is buried under the sand.... do shrimp do that? Does anyone have any thoughts about what could have happened? Would the lone shrimp be okay or should I add a few more?

 

Hi! I would say if you have torn your tank apart looking for it (torn the tank apart because fish/shrimp can be very good at hiding for a long time) then the most likely cause is that the shrimp jumped and got in the air vent! Sorry but that is most likely The good new is that you other shrimp will be fine! No need to get a new one (unless you want to). Sorry but I hope he is just hiding and will come out again

 

Amanos can actually walk on land, so I’d check everywhere. I had one jump out and end up six inches above the ground in a spider web about thirty feet from my tank. It’ll turn up eventually.

 

Looked in a few more places, my room is pretty big so it could really be anywhere! Can't catch a break- last week my betta got caught in the filter and lost most of his fins... he doing alright now. Thought fish keeping was supposed to be relaxing Lol.

 

You see! Write there is my prof! I have like 10 healthy betta fish and I do not keep filters with them because filter kill betta fish! So back off anyone who says betta fish need filters! If you keep up your matinence they will be fine!!!

 

He is not outside of the tank, Amano's are excellent hiders.

I have 6 in my 20 Gallon and I never see more than 3 at once.

Don't worry, he'll come out.

 

It's completely possible that he is hiding somewhere. I've thought I lost shrimp plenty of times only to see them a few weeks later. As to the betta, if you haven't, you may want to put a prefilter sponge on the intake.

 

He is hidden.

You have it better than I do.

1 got 6 amanos for my 75.

2 got eaten and I never see the other 4.

 

It's completely possible that he is hiding somewhere. I've thought I lost shrimp plenty of times only to see them a few weeks later. As to the betta, if you haven't, you may want to put a prefilter sponge on the intake.

Yes, thank you , I covered the intakes of the filters of all my tanks after that to avoid this ever happening again

 

I found him!! Unfortunately he ended up in the filter and died. He was completely under al of the filter media which is why I didn't seen him yesterday

 

I found him!! Unfortunately he ended up in the filter and died. He was completely under al of the filter media which is why I didn't seen him yesterday

I'm sorry for your loss

 

I found him!! Unfortunately he ended up in the filter and died. He was completely under al of the filter media which is why I didn't seen him yesterday

That's unfortunate.

I've had an amano get out of my tank and walk across the floor.

The other one did like yours and crawled into the filter via the outflow (intake has a pre-filter sponge) and decided to crawl down the intake tube...that didn't end well.

 

So my 3 amano shrimp like to be together. At least once a day, I get to see them all together.
For awhile now, I have been seeing only one shrimp out. They all look similar, but I am pretty certain this is the same amano every time. The one still eats and is very active, no concerns at all with him in health.

I try not to disturb plants, but I have shone a flashlight to their favorite hiding spots several times on different days at different times since I noticed. No sign of them at all. How they died, exactly when they died, or if they jumped- I have no idea. My tank has a lid, but if they wanted to get out, they could climb up the heater via wire through the back of the lid. If they did jump, they are certainly dead now, my cat might have even eaten them. They could turn up a month from now in the tank as if nothing happened. But as of now, I'm assuming they're dead. I haven't had any parameter spikes, at least that I know of, that would explain this. The only thing I can think of is that I had a small ich outbreak (reminder to always quarantine or dip plants I get from chain stores) and used API Super Ich Cure (liquid). I used this product before though, they didn't have any ill response the time before, and that doesn't explain why two would die and the other, as well as all snails and baby assassins, are all fine. I'm not sure how old these shrimp were, I think I got them in either 2017 or 2018.

Will the shrimp be fine alone or should I get companions? I do enjoy having them, but after learning that amano shrimp are wild-caught I'm not entirely sure how I feel about buying more, but if he needs companions I want to provide that for him. I am aware that Aquatic Arts supposedly sells tank-bred amanos, but they're all sold out. $10 a shrimp + shipping is a bit pricey too. I'm also a bit skeptical about ordering shrimp from them after reading mixed responses.

Edit: Ok, now I'm thinking its possible I have 2 shrimp, and it was the female that died. When I had all 3, they would especially flock together when the female was saddled. If the female died and left the two males alone in the tank, maybe they just don't feel the need to sit together or be out at the same time? The two males do look almost identical, and the shrimp I saw today seemed darker than the one I saw yesterday, though that could have easily been because I saw them at different times of the day on different lighting.

 

The internet says: social creature.
Maybe add 4 or more?
What are your concerns with them being wild caught?

 

I've found them at select petcos for much less $ than online retailers.
Often labeled as Japanese algea shrimp or something Long those lines.

If that's an option for you.

 

My amanos disappeared as they ate each other. First the big females ate the small males, they they turned on each other.
Once they were down to one, she lived for many years in that tank.

 

I have 3 and they are rarely by each other. I think if they have food the are good. I would get more just because of the way they clean. They are true scavengers.

 

My amanos disappeared as they ate each other. First the big females ate the small males, they they turned on each other.
Once they were down to one, she lived for many years in that tank.

thats very weird... maybe you had prawns instead of amano shrimp, or one died so they made a meal out of the dead one. They will for sure eat a dead shrimp, that's a lot of good protein for them and they can use the minerals from the exoskeleton.

I've found them at select petcos for much less $ than online retailers.
Often labeled as Japanese algea shrimp or something Long those lines.

If that's an option for you.

Yes, these shrimps are from Petco actually. The one closest to me has a large fish dept. with good people and tanks not overcrowded, so I trust the health of their livestock. They would still be wild-caught though.

I have 3 and they are rarely by each other. I think if they have food the are good. I would get more just because of the way they clean. They are true scavengers.

They don't touch diatoms or black algae (nor do I expect them to), I have nerite snails as well. The shrimp are more because I enjoy them than for cleaning or scavenging.
Do you know if yours are male or female? I hardly saw mine apart, unless one was shedding or if they were hungry. Wondering if it was just because the males liked the female...

The internet says: social creature.
Maybe add 4 or more?
What are your concerns with them being wild caught?

I know they would probably enjoy a 36-gallon tank with the only other bottom feeders being snails, but there's no way of knowing how they were collected. Was it done responsibly? Were non-target animals hurt in the process of catching them? Does removing them from the wild damage the ecosystem? Would they prefer to be in the wild instead of in my tank?

 

I want to say that the 3 I have left are Females. They were bigger and always had eggs going on. The Males just disappeared and now they do not have eggs any more. They just do their own thing. Even with the males in there (started with 5) they did their own thing. Don't know.. I guess it is personality just like any other fish?

 

I want to say that the 3 I have left are Females. They were bigger and always had eggs going on. The Males just disappeared and now they do not have eggs any more. They just do their own thing. Even with the males in there (started with 5) they did their own thing. Don't know.. I guess it is personality just like any other fish?

Do you think maybe males do not live as long as females? Looking at my last shrimp I can see how it might be the female and not one of the males, that might explain why it’s just the one left.

 

Do you think maybe males do not live as long as females? Looking at my last shrimp I can see how it might be the female and not one of the males, that might explain why it’s just the one left.

I have no idea. I don't even know if they died or escaped. They were just gone one day.

 

Yes, these shrimps are from Petco actually. The one closest to me has a large fish dept. with good people and tanks not overcrowded, so I trust the health of their livestock. They would still be wild-caught though.

I think almost all available are wild caught.
They are very difficult to breed in captivity.
Maybe a few have had success ?

 

thats very weird... maybe you had prawns instead of amano shrimp, or one died so they made a meal out of the dead one. They will for sure eat a dead shrimp, that's a lot of good protein for them and they can use the minerals from the exoskeleton.

True, I never saw a kill, just shrimp vanishing. I know they will hunt and eat cherries, not as bad as ghosts will but they are not specifically safe for dwarf shrimp.
On the other hand once it was down to 1 amano she lived for years so I do not think they were dying of natural causes.

 

My cherry shrimp breed like guppies and the amanos ignore them.

 

True, I never saw a kill, just shrimp vanishing. I know they will hunt and eat cherries, not as bad as ghosts will but they are not specifically safe for dwarf shrimp.
On the other hand once it was down to 1 amano she lived for years so I do not think they were dying of natural causes.

Haven't tried mine with the cherries, mainly because my cherries are in a 5.5g and I feel like amanos are too active for that small a tank. I could see that amano might steal their food, but unless they were absolutely starving, I don't picture them attacking dwarf shrimp.

 

Alright, I’ve been trying to find videos of how they’re caught in the wild or an article about them- except for a video from National Geographic about how shrimp, crayfish, crabs, and fan shrimp work together to keep estuary systems clean, I haven’t really found anything promising. They are listed as least concern though, so I guess that counts for something.

Does anyone have any videos or articles on amano shrimp in the wild? Or how they’re caught?