Amano Shrimp

[Fish_Girl]

i have been after some amanos for quite some time now but my lfs never has any in despite me constantly asking. i have been to pets at home a couple of times and they have some little shrimp that are simply named "freshwater shrimp" i was just wondering how you can tell the difference between amanos and other shrimp? any websites that have really good piccies so i can compare what i seen in the shop?

 

[1234-fishy-freind]

http/www.petshrimp.com/shrimpspecies.html
try that
it should help

 

[Invader Xan]

That's a good site. Lots of good pictures.

Note a few things in particular --

Amanos have no claws to speak of.
Their bodies are relatively straight (not arched, like many ghost shrimp species).
Their legs are quite short (ghosts and macros have longer legs).
Amanos have a rostrum (nose) which is short and split into two halves -- their antennae branch from these.

Though all of these things are true to some extent of many dwarf shrimp species (caridina sp. and neocaridina sp.). To distinguish amanos from other dwarfs, there are two things to remember.

Amanos grow larger -- when fully grown, they're around twice as large as any other dwarf shrimp you can buy.
Amano shells are mostly clear. The back of their shells may be a little darker, depending what they're eating, but you're looking for a shrimp with a clear carapace and a few lines of spots (male) or dashes (female) down once side.

You'll see what I mean from the photos, but these are the distinctive features of amanos. Hope that's some help.