Amano shrimp hiding all the time?!

I got 2 amano shrimp about 2 months ago. I quarantined in a 6 gallon for 2 weeks and then put them in a 15 gallon with 2 mystery snails and a betta. They’ve been doing great, really active and out all the time for a month, then about 2.5 weeks ago one went missing for a few days- turns out she was pregnant! She eventually came out and resumed her normal behavior for a few days but was hiding more. Now my other amano is hiding a lot. It’s been going on for a week with the other one, I thought maybe he needed to molt but he seems a bit lethargic. Both are hiding all the time on my driftwood now and I never see them out and about.

Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrates 5, ph 7.4. I have floating plants and a few Java fern/ anubias. My betta never attacks, they were skeptical in the beginning but seemed okay after. My snails are super active now.

Anyone have any advice? I’m new to shrimp keeping

 

Nah Amanos do hide a lot. Do they come out when you feed? I dont see mine a lot until I feed then they come crawling out like dinosaurs to eat.

 

Nah Amanos do hide a lot. Do they come out when you feed? I dont see mine a lot until I feed then they come crawling out like dinosaurs to eat.

No they didn’t come out when I fed. I added crushed coral to try and raise KH from 2 degrees but it didn’t seem to raise it. I also did read someone say to add an air stone and one of them started hiding less today. I thought a sponge filter would’ve been fine but I guess not, I hope that really is the fix!

 

My sponge filter is my tank water cooler....lol...My Gudgies and Amanos hang out there most of the time.

 

I got 2 amano shrimp about 2 months ago. I quarantined in a 6 gallon for 2 weeks and then put them in a 15 gallon with 2 mystery snails and a betta. They’ve been doing great, really active and out all the time for a month, then about 2.5 weeks ago one went missing for a few days- turns out she was pregnant! She eventually came out and resumed her normal behavior for a few days but was hiding more. Now my other amano is hiding a lot. It’s been going on for a week with the other one, I thought maybe he needed to molt but he seems a bit lethargic. Both are hiding all the time on my driftwood now and I never see them out and about.

Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrates 5, ph 7.4. I have floating plants and a few Java fern/ anubias. My betta never attacks, they were skeptical in the beginning but seemed okay after. My snails are super active now.

Anyone have any advice? I’m new to shrimp keeping

Strength in numbers is what I always find with shrimp! The more amanos you have, the more likely they'll be to come out, although granted I find that they are quite shy and like to hide the majority of the time.

If you have a group of bolder shrimp with them, I find that also makes them more likely to make themselves present! A group of ghost shrimp may bring them out of hiding if you've got the space for them. It's also possible that they're nervous of your betta - even if he's never shown interest in them.

 

Strength in numbers is what I always find with shrimp! The more amanos you have, the more likely they'll be to come out, although granted I find that they are quite shy and like to hide the majority of the time.

If you have a group of bolder shrimp with them, I find that also makes them more likely to make themselves present! A group of ghost shrimp may bring them out of hiding if you've got the space for them. It's also possible that they're nervous of your betta - even if he's never shown interest in them.

Thank you! I was thinking about getting more but wasn’t sure if my betta would attack so I only got 2. If they shrimp stay alive I’ll consider getting more but this behavior is so new for them even when they first were introduced to my betta

 

When I started, I had two Amanos in a 55g community. Black Skirts Tetras, Bolivians and Peppered corys. They were always out and scavenging.
Fast forward decided to add some juvenile Angels. No problem but as the Angels grew after a few months they started hiding. Eventually, I could not find them, I thought they became lunch. Then a few more months past and during tank maintenance I found them hiding. Looking back it was self preservation, hiding from the Angels. This may be what's happening with yours. I did move the Amanos to my Shrimp tank and they were out and about as usual.


Good Luck!