Amano Shrimp

[jaycat]

Hi,

I have a community tank with tetras and corries and ottos. I've recently added plants and fancy adding a pair of shrimps. I've read that Amano are primitive breeders, and I don't really want them to breed, I just want a pair. Are they easy to sex? How do you tell male and females? If I did get more than 2, say 4, would I need to get all males/female? Do they breed easily?

Thanks for your knowledge.

 

[seanyt66]

I believe they need a slightly brackish environment to breed successfully - maybe someone can shed a bit more light on the subject N Monks perhaps?

Sean

 

[Shrimper]

Amano shrimp babies need salt water to survive. The shrimp will breed and the females will carry eggs if you have both sexes but you won't see any babies, they are microscopic and will die after a few days if left in freshwater.

I would consider getting more than 2, they prefer to be kept in a group and will be less shy if they have some friends. They don't really add much to the bio-load of the tank and you could probably add as many as 1 shrimp per gallon if you wanted to.

The sexing of Amano shrimp is quite easy. Apart from the fact only females carry eggs, when adults the females are noticeably bigger than the males. The other way to sex them is by the row of dots on the side of their bodys. Males have a row of smaller dots, females have a row of dashes.

 

[jaycat]

Hi,

Thanks alot shrimper. Will they be ok with corries? Ihave a group of 6 As the young die will the other tankmates eat them. Seems a shame (female talking you understand!)

The cherry shrimps would be prolific breeders if I'm correct though? are there any other types that fit the same criteria as amano?

What size group do they prefer? Is it more preferable to buy all the same sex, or does it make no difference?

Many thanks again

 

[Shrimper]

Hi,

Thanks alot shrimper. Will they be ok with corries? Ihave a group of 6 As the young die will the other tankmates eat them. Seems a shame (female talking you understand!)

The cherry shrimps would be prolific breeders if I'm correct though? are there any other types that fit the same criteria as amano?

What size group do they prefer? Is it more preferable to buy all the same sex, or does it make no difference?

Many thanks again

I think what happens is most of the babies end up in the filter or get eaten by the fish. I have 3 females carrying over 100 eggs a month each and I never notice any dead babies in my tank.

I would say its probably better to have a mixed sex group so you can see the interactions between them but as they are so hard to breed its not essential. As for group size, the bigger the better, but 5/6 is a perfect number for a small group.

Your right about the cherrys, i've seen them described as aquatic rabbits Other shrimp you might see in an LFS that wont breed in fresh water are Bamboo/Filter shrimp and Red Nose Shrimp.

I have cories in my community tank which contains various shrimp. The only problem you may have is shrimp stealing the cories food!

 

[jaycat]

Hi, many thanks

I will wait a few weeks until the plants have flourished, then buy a samll group.

 

[drufly]

I have a group of 4 in my community and they love it. What i was wondering is how big do they get, mine are know nearly 1 3/4 inch

 

[MermaidMel]

Mine have never bred, I've been keeping long living healthy amanos for yrs, but never any babies

 

[drufly]

How big is the biggest you have

 

[Shrimper]

I have a group of 4 in my community and they love it. What i was wondering is how big do they get, mine are know nearly 1 3/4 inch

Not much bigger, my biggest is about 2"