I purchased 3 amano shrimp to add to the 2 that have been in there for about 2weeks. There are also 5 ghost shrimp that have been in there for 4months. Of the three most recent I bought: 1 of them was found dead with no head and legs the next day. About a 3 days go by and I find one ghost shrimp munching on a legless and headless amano, and another with a freshly killed amano. The only 2 amanos left are the ones who have been in there the longest. Did my ghost shrimp really eat my amanos? Why did they eat the new comers and not the previous 2? They weren't much smaller than my largest ghost shrimp at 1 1/2". Thanks for any information
Ghost and amano shrimps are both cleaners rather than hunters. And they are at similar size, I don't think a ghost shrimp can "kill" an amano shrimp. They just eat dead and decayed thing and do the cleaning job for you.
So the three I bought had to have been sick. They died in 2 dies of purchased in a stable established tank/:
I agree. Thats a shame, I left 2 in there on accident and gotta get them out tonight. Hopefully nothing gets spread
How did you acclimate the amanos? They're not as hard as ghost shrimp, you probably want to check your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate as well. And for shrimp keep the nitrate below 20. I see you don't know the nitrogen cycle, definitely look into that, it's a very important part of fish keeping. Sorry for your losses, and ghost shrimp likely ate dead amanos, as amanos are bigger and aren't likely to be killed by them. Ghosts can be aggressive, and kill some things, but I've never heard of one killing an amano
I should update that then, Iv done a lot of research and know quite a bit about what I am doing now. I tested my water the day I bought them, - 0ppm ammonia - - 0ppm nitrite - >10 nitrate I left them float for 20 minutes during a water change, and then added them a few mins after that. Was the water change a bad idea??
No, the thing is invertebrates often require a different type of acclimation. First off, don't blame yourself or feel bad because the information is very rarely offered by store employees, just like the nitrogen cycle. It's better to drip acclimate inverts, since they're more sensitive to osmotic shock and parameter changes. I'm not saying this is what did it, but it's worth looking into
Hmm, I guess I got lucky with my first 2 amanos, cause I did the same thing for them and they are alive and kicking still. I knew invertabrates are quite a bit more sensitive, I just havent had my ghosts die from it nor those two amanos so I thought I was good. In a couple weeks, ill restock my amanos and make sure to drip acclimate them next time. Thanks! Quick unrelated question, someone is digging large holes in the substrate thats knocking out plants.. i think its my pleco cause hes a bit if a spaz, but Im not 100% sure. Would replacing him with Otos make the tank more plant-friendly? I havent seen much about plecos being kept in planted tanks. Thanks again!
I guess your water is pretty similar then to your store, that's lucky. Also, ottos are extremely sensitive so it's not a good idea for anyone who doesn't know the nitrogen cycle to keep them, and even then I don't recommend it. They're basically all wild cuaght with cyanide and when shipped many have a symbiotic bacteria in their gut die out so they slowly starve over a period of weeks. About 2/3 die this way, and they need to be kept in a school of at least six, and there has to be A LOT of algae in the tank, as some will never learn to take commercial food and/or blanched veggies.
Wow, I owned 3 for about a month when I had my 10 gallon and didnt know any of that. Iv heard raving reviews for how awesome of an addition otos are to a tank, but rehomed them before transitioning to the 20gal. Thats crazy though, and kinda sad. They should just leave them in the wild if they have troubles acclimating to captive life ):
I know, it is really sad. That's really great you've kept some before, truly a great feat! Technically it could mean your LFS has healthier stock, so maybe you could try again
But since I dont have much in the way of algae production, I shouldn't get them again then. I only had the 3 to help clean the tank before I took it down. Im going to remove my pleco though, and rehome him. Hes really bad about digging holes in the sand/fine gravel substrate and thats doing a number on my plants. Thanks for all the information and help! Much appreciated! Have a great day
So let me say that Amano shrimp are way more hardy then let’s say RCS, that said, you really should float the bag then drip acclimate the shrimp. I have kept Amano’s at close to 80 ppm nitrates now it’s not great for them but I did it for over a year. They even had multiple pregnancies. So don’t get to wrapped around nitrates. Ammonia and nitrite are far more an issues then nitrates. I did not see how big your tank is but a Pleco gets very big and are nothing but a poop machine. (Ok I don’t like Pleco’s but that’s me). Anyway, Otos are much more plant friendly. However, I have to ask do you just like this type of fish or are you using it to control algae? Neither do that good of a job in the algae control department IMO. But to answer your question yes Pleco will tear up plants otos normally won’t. Amano’s will not do much for algae clean up but they do a great job keeping uneaten food controlled.
