African Vampire shrimp... peaceful to each other???

[Magnum Man]

I have had one for 6-9 months,( Vampire shrimp (Atya gabonensis))... seems a smaller one, at about 2 inches ( I've heard they can get as big as 5 inches ) curious if I could add another to my tank, & if it came in large, would it bully my smaller one... or do they get along well???

they are pretty cool "fan dancers"

as long as I've started this thread... would they get along with Bamboo Shrimp, which are pretty similar???

 

[Magnum Man]

did a little www. diving...

"They do really well in groups, often crowded quite close together. Vampire shrimp are 100% peaceful and will not threaten anybody in any way. They do not have claws and can only push and poke with their fans. Basically, they cannot harm anybody even if they want to."

"They seem to be quite social and do not mind being crowded in a tank. Therefore, a 15-gallon tank will comfortably house 4 – 5 shrimp."

" They thrive in warm temperatures (anywhere between 22 – 28°C (~70°F – 88°F). They do not tolerate temperatures as low as the temperatures that most dwarf shrimp enjoy."

if this info is factual, sounds like adding more isn't an issue, but insuring they get fed enough is... I supplement Bacter AE to that tank, & the last couple times I've noticed the shrimp out from under his log, fan dancing, while the water was cloudy from the Bacter AE

 

[Elephant nose 4]

I have 3 vampire shrimp the oldest is coming 6yrs and none bother each other. Definitely love being in groups

 

[GaryE]

A warning, they are escape artists. I had a group for years, then one night they played follow the leader. The leader made a bad choice.

So far, they are the only shrimp I've liked. And I really like them.

 

[Magnum Man]

Mine has been in my African tank for 6-9 months, but I bought 2 originally, & I watched the 2nd one go into another tank, & never saw it again, that was an open topped 55 gallon, & I assume it hid, then under the cover of darkness, went over the wall... the African tank is a 45 Tall & open topped, but built in, so 3 sides are secure over the top of the aquarium... one short side is open, but that has a lot of equipment... filter, heater wires, air line for the 10 inch air bar, that is at the bottom of that side... filter is a Tidal 75, so a lot of water flowing from that top edge... my current one, has a nice hidey hole under a piece of drift wood it shares with several king tiger plecos, that I can't catch out of that tank...

I was reading that for some reason, they actually eat some sand... mine is in a tank with 1 inch river rock, but it was recommended to keep them in a tank with sand???

 

[GaryE]

I didn't know about the sand. Some creatures use a little for digestion. Maybe it's that?

I think we caught some in Gabon, in one stream. I was busy in another part of the water, but I think they went to a local fisher family who were helping us. Shrimp and Mormyrid/elephant noses went into the soup in a trade for the Cichlids and small barbs they were catching there. I didn't catch any myself, but I'm pretty sure I saw some. There was a young boy running back and forth between the groups and we were trading catches like mad. It was fun.

 

[JackGulley]

Vampire shrimp always seemed so cool and alien to me that I could never figure out what kind of tank mates one would even put them with.

 

[StevenF]

These shrimp are filter feeders they feed on particles of food or algae floating in the water. If there isn't enough in the water they may pickup material on top of the sand.

 

[Elephant nose 4]

You can buy food especially made for them, that's what mine get.