banboo shrimp

[anything8legs]

Can someone give me some info on this species? I saw them in the petstore and thought they looked cool. Would it do okay in my 10 gal with 5 or so guppies and mollies? What do they eat, and could it escape as I don't have a hood over the tank but only a screen to keep fish from jumping (but there is plenty of room for a shrimp to climb out if they are able to get up to the top of the tank)?
Thanks a lot!!

 

[Bangin]

I prefer to call them Singapore shrimp. They're filter feeders that will eat particles/food from the water column. My shrimp enjoys hanging out near the top of the tank, in front of the filter output. They will get to the top of the tank, and they can climb out of it. These guys have a tendency to disappear for weeks. I assume some of this time is spent molting.

 

[jacblades]

i would make sure you have lots of hiding places for them.

 

[Jae1525]

My Amano Shrimp like to hide behind my internal filter and then pop out to lunch (avoiding the ever growing interest of my gourami) for a couple of hours on the substrait then pack their satchels and go home!
All in a days work for them "hi Ho"!

Japonica Amano shrimp and Singapore Flower Shrimp are the best to keep as they grow big! Jap upto 2 inches and sing upto 3.5 inches! Dont get ghost/glass Shrimp as they are just a movin fish meal!

Listen to jacblades when he says make sure they have a place to hide!
When shrimp shed their exoskeleton it takes time for it to regenerate around them! If they have no safe haven they are an easy target for those pesky fish!
You can use an empty coconut shell halved and upside down (weighted of course) with a small hole just big enough for the shrimp to fit in and to small for the fish to enter!

Have shrimpin fun and remember... A Shrimp is not just for xmas! You can eat it all times of the year!!!!

 

[jasno999]

I have a bamboo shrimp in my 10 gall with a whole bunch of guppies and it goes fine. THe guppies leave it alone and it just hangs around and filters food from the water. IT is pretty big and is red in color. But is doing great in the tank.

 

[jacblades]

Have shrimpin fun and remember... A Shrimp is not just for xmas! You can eat it all times of the year!!!!

dont eat my friends!

 

[Paul_MTS]

How much do the shrimps generally cost as I went to one plave a while back and they had ghost shrimp I think it was for £8 a piece

 

[Stryker]

amano shrimp at "A5 Aquatics" for £1.50, bamboo shrimp were nearer £3

 

[Paul_MTS]

woooo, might get some variations to go in with my crabs.

 

[anything8legs]

Thanks again for all the info!
As far as feeding goes, are you saying that they don't need any food of their own but will just eat the "leftovers" from the fish?

 

[Bangin]

As far as feeding goes, are you saying that they don't need any food of their own but will just eat the "leftovers" from the fish?

They will eat particles from the water. You'll know when there's nothing to eat, because they will walk around on the substrate searching for food.

 

[ger87410]

"They will eat particles from the water. You'll know when there's nothing to eat, because they will walk around on the substrate searching for food. " What do you do when that happens? Something not stated here is wood shrimp also chaneg color a little to try and match the sorroundings.

 

[Bangin]

What do you do when that happens?

It's never happened to me. I would assume you'd just throw in fish food. This wouldn't be a problem if there are other tank inhabitants that are regularly fed. Particles will always be in the water. Unless, of course, you don't ever put food in the tank.

I've seen them searching for food on the bottom in a ten gallon at my LFS. They're the only tank inhabitants, in a very small space, so I imagine that's the reason.

As for their color changes, I've read mixed reasons for this happening. It is said they turn orangish-red when they are content with their surroundings. I've also read that the 'dominant' one will show a brighter color. I only have one in my tank, and he's always a deep orange/red.

 

[ger87410]

Well, I'll tell you what I've seen. I have 2(look at my sig) in a 55. I feed the black fin shark catfish eveyday sometimes twice a day a touch more then they can eat. There's always 1 or 2 pellets left or a few brine shrimp scattered. I have 2 in a 55 w/ 2 rcc and 3 ghost shrimp. That's my cleaning crew. I see the wood shrimp all the time foraging along the bottom. The smaller of the 2 will change it's color and almost perfectly blend in with it's surroundings. I've seen it change to a lighter color in a lighter background. Right now the big one just molted. I saw him do it! He's in hiding. His skin color is real light but that maybe cuz of the molt. Hope he lives through it. They're in a brackish tank with an sg around 1.004-1.005. I heard brackish helps the molts. Anyone know their natural habitat?

 

[Bangin]

I see the wood shrimp all the time foraging along the bottom.

Things can change when they're placed in a heavily planted environment (55 gallon). The same goes with my japonica shrimp & ghost shrimp; they all disappear quite frequently. Heck, sometimes I can't even locate my fish!