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In this page I collexted the best
articles from the web.
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 photo by Greg DeGreef |
Of the seven species found to be useful to the aquaria hobby, the Japanese Marsh Shrimp - better known as the Yamato Numa Ebi - is by far the most popular in the hobby. The Yamato Numa Ebi, which can be translated as Japanese Marsh or Grass Shrimp, is taxonomically identified as Caridina japonica. According to Nature Aquarium World literature, this shrimp was introduced to the aquarium hobby in 1983 by renowned aquarist and photographer, Takashi Amano 1. It is for this reason that this species is often referred to as the Amano shrimp.
Yamato shrimp grow to a maximum adult size of 2" head to tail (approximately 5cm). Although very tolerant of salinity and pH ranges (down to 6.0), they are very sensitive to ammonia/ammonium and heavy metal concentrations, as are most freshwater shrimp. Temperature, likewise has to be kept below 30C because they are not a tropical species.
Speaking of caridina and neocaridina species in general, Uwe Werner states that if these animals are healthy they will breed without difficulty. Males, he claims can be identified by their long swimmerets and females most easily by the presence of eggs2. They do not produce many offspring and the eggs are very tiny, thus the difficulty that aquarists encounter in breeding them in captive settings.
For one Chinese Singaporean aquarist's experience with this fact, see Tow Fui's article on Breeding Yamato Numa Ebi. A European aquarist has accomplished the feat and describes his experiences in this article. The information in this second article is entirely in German, however, so you'll need a translation service or a German friend. Alta Vista has a pretty good translation service on their site, you might try it.
One of the most distinguishing traits of the Yamato shrimp is that it is much more attractively colored than the other varieties. Their bodies are light brown to opaque with a tan stripe down their back. Additional series of broken reddish-brown lines run down their sides. They will also have two dark spots on their tail, one in each rear corner. Of additional importance to aquarists is the fact that they do not possess the large claws of some of the other shrimp species and they are purportedly longer lived.
The real attraction of these shrimp is their avowed success in algae consumption, especially soft algaes. They are also rumored to eat red algaes in the absence of other foods. However, like most captive inverts they will choose fish food over algae any day and often will turn on soft leafed plants (especially soft mosses, i.e. java moss and riccia)3 in the absence of softer algae types or fish foods. They will not, however, eat Black Brush Alage (BBA), nor can they combat spot algae on tank surfaces. They are not capable, it seems, of pulling tougher algae with their " hands". They eat algae directly with their mouths.
Unfortunately for North American aquarists, this species is not yet readily available in all but the coastal and near coastal states. Some report that they do ship well, so they should be more available soon in all locations. I haven't been able to test this yet, but hope to do so soon!
Another caridina species, Caridina serrata, is also widely
known in the aquaria hobby. Uwe Werner notes that this shrimp is the most well-known,
having been used in the aquarium hobby for many years. C. serrata is of Asian
descent, most likely Hong Kong. Other shrimp hail from this area too, i.e. C.
lanceifrons, Neocaridina serrata, and Macrobrachium hainanense4. There are several dwarf varieties of this shrimp, most
notably the shrimp commonly known as the Bumble Bee shrimp. A hybridization of this
shrimp - the Crystal Red - is also available.
Much of the information on the Crystal Red site above is duplicated on the Caridina
serrata site maintained by Frans Goddijn mentioned at the beginning of this section.
Bee shrimps, as they are often referred to, are fairly small. They grow to only 1" in adulthood and grow to adulthood fairly slowly. The pictures to the right show bee shrimp and crystal red together, as well as a single crystal red shrimp.
As their common name suggests, they are marked with light black to grey stripes across their backs. The ideal requirements for keeping these shrimps are a pH less than 7.5 and clean (ammonia/ammonium free) water. Temperatures in the 22-25C range are best. A planted tank with a neutral to acidic pH would be an ideal environment.
Bee shrimp are not particularly great algae consumers; perhaps due to their small size. They do however tend to remain very active and are quite peaceful toward other tank mates. Soft mosses, flake food, and vegetable matter are favored over other food sources. Frans Goddijn suggests carrots and Mr. Suzuki (Crystal Red site) suggests boiled spinach.
To breed the Bee shrimp successfully, the aquarist needs only maintain the proper environmental conditions set forth above. Clean water being of utmost importance. Bee shrimp can reproduce on a monthly basis if cared for properly. The life span of the average Bee shrimp is only 15 months and it generally takes about 6 months to attain adult size5. I am not certain if the shrimps must have attained adult size before they will begin to produce offspring or whether their reproductive potential begins at an earlier stage.
Another species of shrimp, closely related to the Yamato shrimp, are classified in the Neocaridina genus. There is little to no information concerning shrimp in this genus mentioned in aquaria literature. One species that is mentioned is Neocaridina denticula, which is known in Japan as Minami numa ebi (Southern Marsh or Swamp Shrimp). Minimum requirements for the care of this species are described as a temperature between 15 and 28C and a neutral pH. These shrimp are said to attain an adult size of 3-4 cm 6.
The genii Caridina and Neocaridina belong to the family Atyidae. The family Atyidae contains 15 genera with 160 species with representatives from Asia, South America, and Africa. 120 of these species belong to the Caridina group. Requirements for the care of shrimp from either of these genera are very similar. Low dissolved metals and ammonium/ia, moderate to low pH and warm temperatures should be the norm with any of the different varieties.
Similar to the Caridina and Neocaridina shrimps are those of the genus Atyopsis, which also belongs to the Atyidae family. The shrimp most often encountered by aquarists as either the Wood or Singapore Shrimp is from this genus. The proper designation for this variety is Atyopsis moluccensis. Other names which - based upon their descriptions - are likely synonynms are: Flower, Brine, and (Malaysian) Rainbow 7. Other aquarists have encountered shrimp of the Macrobrachium genus being offered as Rainbow shrimp as well. Common names being what they are, the proper identification of freshwater shrimp is all too often a difficult venture.
Wood/Singapore shrimp are described as
being tan to pinkish with dark markings on their body area just behind the eyes. A darker
stripe runs the length of the back. The picture at the left was taken from Barron's
Aquarium Fish, 1992 and refers to Atyopsis moluccensis as the Brine shrimp.
Uwe Werner reports that these shrimp are able to change their color according to mood or
their surroundings. Another report states that dominant individuals will take on a bright
orange coloration8. Werner describes other Atyopsis
species whose tail fans also possess a yellow outlining. The information that I've
gathered suggests that they reach an adult size of approximately 3 inches so can be
considerably larger than the other shrimps already discussed. They tend to be territorial,
but no reports of aggression toward tank mates have been reported thus far.
Wood/Singapore shrimp are ideal representatives of the Atyidae family. Distinguishing features are "a brush-like pilosity of the pairs of the claw carrying legs and the more or less developed tendency within this genera of a reduced rostrum"9. Shrimp in this genus have developed specialized feeding apparatus. The Wood/Singapore shrimp is a filter feeding shrimp and has two pair of specialized webbed, fan-like, appendages instead of claws. They use these to filter algae and microorganisms from the water, effectively acting as a biochemical filtration system! They are very interesting to observe. It is a shame that they too are not so readily available in the Western Hemisphere.
These are a tropical species so should be able to handle temperatures in the higher ranges. In nature they live in flowing waters, so water quality needs to be strictly adhered to in the aquarium. Oxygen content being of utmost importance. Alkalinity and salinity ranges could not be determined, though ranges closer to neutral and moderate would more than likely suffice. Breeding information, likewise, was scarce. It is likely that the young larvae need food much smaller than that typically offered. Planktonic microorganisms found in algae or marine waters would probably be a wise choice. Perhaps a breeding aquarium filled with unicellular algae could be used to rear the young shrimp?
A species similar to A. moluccensis is A. anaspides pictured here in a preserved form.
Another genus or group within the Atyidae family is mentioned in aquaria literature as Attya or Atya and or Atyoida (bisculcata), several different pictures of which are listed below.
Shrimp in this group are commonly referred to as the Mountain or Rock Shrimp and
are closely related to shrimp in the Atyopsis (Wood/Singapore) group. The shrimp pictured
at the right, Paratya compressa, may also be similar to the Rock/Mountain shrimp. Unlike
Atyopsis, these shrimp can be found in not only Asia, but in South America and Africa.
They can get quite large and generally reach an adult size of 8-12 cm. These shrimp are
true scavengers rather than algae consumers. A large assortment of shrimp are contained in
this group so an adequate generalized description of this species could not be discovered.
Environmental information suggests that they require a temperature in the 20-28C range and
a neutral pH. They are members of the Atyidae family, so share many of the same
characteristics of the Atyopsis shrimp, such as a brush-like covering of their claws and
legs.
(Werner provided pictures of some with "filter fans" in place of their front
claws and some with "pin cushions" covering these claws. These were from both
West Africa and South and Central America.)
Other information on this genus was unavailable to me.
The images below were taken from a University of Hawaii site where
Atyoida bisculcata is listed as a native species.
, 
Many Atya species shrimp were discovered by Uwe Werner in Central and South America. His new AquaLog book Shrimps, Crayfishes, and Crabs, in the Freshwater Aquarium is a valuable source of information and I highly recommend it.
More familiar, perhaps, to North American and European aquarists are the shrimp in the Palaeomonidae family.
The Palaeomonidae family contains at least four genii that might be familiar to aquarist; Macrobrachium, Palaeomonetes, Palaemon, and Leander. The last two would especially be familiar to marine aquarists. For freshwater aquarists, the genus Palaeomonetes would be familiar. Palaeomonetes shrimp are commonly referred to as either ghost, grass, or glass shrimps. Generally considered live bait foods, these shrimps/prawn10 make an interesting and useful addition to the home aquarium.
Palaeomonetes are a hardy shrimp, tolerant of warmer temperatures11. They are excellent scavengers and fair consumers of soft algaes, although they prefer fish (flake especially) food. These shrimp grow to an adult size of approximately 5 cm and are not particularly long lived (1-1 1/2 years at most) nor do they grow to adulthood very quickly. Most shrimp in this genus appear as slightly translucent to white; the contents of their stomachs being visible. They have ten pairs of legs, the front two pairs ending in small claws. They have been accused of catching small fishes and fry (?). My experience, however, leads me to believe otherwise. I would guess that the fish catching shrimps probably belong to the genus Macrobrachium (which is described in more detail below). The small size of the Palaeomonetes shrimp doesn't suggest that it would be very adept at catching any fish other than the very smallest of fry. Exceptions are however the rule! Most also will have a small yellow - orange dot in each corner of their tail, as the shrimp in the picture at the left represents.
The Palaeomonetes group can be effectively divided into two categories; brackish and freshwater. The use of the common names is often quite confusing, so for the purposes of this article I shall use only the scientific names in this section. 12. Palaeomonetes kadakensis or paludosus shrimp are found in predominantly freshwater systems. While Palaeomonetes pugio or vulgaris shrimp are found in brackish and/or marine waters and cannot tolerate extended exposure to fresh water. These differences, however, do not affect their physical descriptions. They do, though, have an impact on the environmental and reproductive requirements and/or habits of the two varieties. The different pH and saline needs of the two should be evident according to their natural locale. P. kada/paludosus, being primarily freshwater inhabitants, are more tolerant than the brackish species of lower pH and salinity ranges. The brackish water species may indeed benefit from the addition of iodide salts, similarly to the needs of other brackish tank inhabitants, i.e. gobies, mollies, and monos. However, the average hobbyist is not likely to be able to distinguish between the two varieties at first glance.
Reproduction traits are what most distinguish the purely freshwater species from the brackish species. Most brackish or marine shrimps produce planktonic larvae which are very difficult to raise. A tank of green algae or a brackish water environment with plenty of microorganisms for the planktonic young to feed on would be ideal. True freshwater shrimps raise the embryos from beneath their swimmerets (legs) until they are fairly well developed and able to fend for themselves. Freshwater shrimp young will resemble the adult shrimp, only much smaller. Liquid invertebrate food, microfoods, minute algae, and/or baby brine shrimp are excellent first foods. The parent should be moved ASAP. Larvae should be free swimming for 1-2 weeks depending on temperature, then will settle down/out 13.
The remaining shrimp varieties mentioned in the aquarium hobby are those in the genus Macrobrachium, which also is part of the Palaeomonidae family. Macrobrachium are freshwater prawn that are often commercially raised as a food fish in many part of the world. Many different varieties exist. Macrobrachium is seldom seen in the aquarium, and then probably only as a novelty item. It gets too large for most planted aquaria and can cause damage to both plants and fish due to the existence of large claws on dominant adult males. The name macrobrachium actually means "big arm." Because of its widespread distribution and use in the food industry, many varieties of Macrobrachium are known and described as the wealth of photos listed below will attest to.
There are other invertebrates which are mentioned in the hobby as well. These are crayfish which are found in the Astacura sub-order of the Order Decapoda. This sub-order consists of five families of crayfish and/or lobsters. Another crustacea which most aquarists are familiar with are the amphipod specie Gammarus.
Daphnia and Cyclops are two others. These inverts are predominantly used as food items, either for fish or human consumption. Gammarus, also know as scuds to fishermen, are very small creatures. They measure approximately 3/4 of an inch in length (20 mm). They generally are found along shorelines among aquatic plants where they are particularly difficult to find, being semi-transparent. As far as using them in the aquarium, the only use is as a food item. Raising these small creatures requires much the same environmental conditions required to raise daphnia. A high calcium content (Kh) also needs to be maintained to ensure proper growth of their exoskeleton. Beyond this general information, little is mentioned about their existence in an aquarium.
The folowing article is from Robyn's Shrimp Species Page
An Amano shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on 2/8/02.
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: Not recommended
Survive in cold ponds: No
Plant eating capacity: Low
Algae eating capacity: Moderate to High
The Amano shrimp, named after the person who introduced it to aquarists, is called by the following additional names: Yamato Numa Ebi, Japanese Marsh Shrimp, Yamato, and Caridina japonica (the scientific name). It looks somewhat like the rainbow shrimp I have kept. Apparently, it is rare to find one in the United States. This shrimp prefers brackish (which means some salt, between freshwater and seawater) waters and grows to about two inches. They should be kept below 80 degrees F since they are not a tropical species. Temperatures in the 60's and 70's are preferred.
They have not spawned often in captivity often because they require saline waters with
lots of plankton. The larvae require brackish water to grow. A female can carry 1000 to
2000 eggs so the larvae are very small and need protozoans and algae to eat. Some breeding
is reported in Germany. One idea is that Amano shrimp naturally live in streams and
release their eggs there. Then the larvae float to the sea where they undergo nine changes
before migrating back into the streams.
One aquarist had success breeding the shrimp by alternating cycles of lights on for a few
weeks with a week of lights off. The dark period apparently allowed the baby shrimp to
remain "invisible" to hungry adult shrimp and small fish. Java moss and Amazon
swords were the predominate plants in the tank.
Amano shrimp are brown with a tan stripe down their back and brown lines on their sides according to one report but that describes my rainbow shrimp! Most photos of Amano shrimp show a shrimp that looks nothing like that. They are mostly clear with spots along their sides. They lack large claws and live longer than most freshwater shrimp. They are supposed to eat soft and red algas. Unlike other shrimp, one shrimp web site says that they eat directly with their mouth and do not use their hands while a few people who have kept them say that they do use their hands (they have seen it). Most of this information on Amano shrimp comes from the web page listed under links.
On 2/1/02, I added three shrimp sold as "Japonica" shrimp to my 20 gallon tank. One was dead the next morning. They are larger and lighter than my rainbow shrimp and have little dashes along their sides. They like to sit on leaves and use their little hands to bring algae to their mouths. I have seen it! I hope they can survive in my tank. A photo is above but it is not very good. By 5/10/02, I have not seen the Amano shrimp in many months. They are presumed dead. I did see a rainbow shrimp in that tank on 5/4/02 though which I had not seen in a long time so who knows.
There are a number of good web sites on Amano shrimp under the links section.
Guess what? Brine shrimp do not live in freshwater aquariums or ponds. I am mentioning
them here because they are propagated to feed fish, especially fry. Because they live in
brackish water, they cannot survive in fresh water for more than a few hours. One strain
of brine shrimp is sold as "Sea Monkeys" to children. They live an average of 50
days if kept properly.
To learn more about brine shrimp, visit this link: Brine Shrimp Direct. Another brine shrimp
link is NEBS.
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: Not recommended
Survive in cold ponds: No
Plant eating capacity: Low to Moderate
Algae eating capacity: Moderate
Bumble bee shrimp only grow to an inch long and eat algae. Bumble bee shrimp belong to the family Atydae. A hybrid version of the bumble bee shrimp is the Crystal Red shrimp. They have light black stripes down their backs like bumble bees. They prefer temperatures in the low 70's F and slightly acidic water. Bumble bee shrimp will eat fish food, soft moss, vegetable matter, and soft algas. One keeper reports that they prefer fish food and do not eat much algae. They are active and peaceable. Bumble bee shrimp are supposed to be easy to breed on a diet of fish food. Unfortunately, they only live to about 15 months of age. Neocaridina species are similar to bumble bee shrimp in many ways. My local fish store had some bumble bee shrimp for sale for about $2 but they were very small, about the size of adult brine shrimp. At that size, even small fish might eat them, or they could get sucked into the filter intake. For more information on bumble bee shrimp including the Crystal Red, see the links section.
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: Yes
Survive in cold ponds: Yes
Clam shrimp (Conchostraca) are interesting little shrimp that look like 0.5 inch clams. They prefer warm, shallow waters. One species is Cyzicus mexicanus.
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: Yes
Survive in cold ponds: Depends on species
Fairy shrimp, or Anostraca, show up occasionally in ponds or can be bought. They swim with their many appendages waving above them, as if they are doing the back float. There are about 25 species, including the very well known brine shrimp (see above) which prefers brackish water. Most species can produce either live young or leave eggs, which upon drying completely, hatch when again wet. These species are often used to feed fish. Maximum lengths are less than an inch. A few species include Branchinecta paludosa and Eubranchipus vernalis. There are in fact some arctic species like Artemiopsis stefanssoni.
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: Yes
Survive in cold ponds: Yes or No (depends on how cold)
Plant eating capacity: Low
Algae eating capacity: Low to Moderate
Ghost shrimp may also be called glass or grass shrimp. Ghost shrimp belong to the genus Palaeomonetes. Both Palaemonetes kadakensis and P. paludosus are found in freshwater. There are also brackish water species. Ghost shrimp are often sold as "feeders" for all sorts of aquatic life. I have found that they live in ponds at least as low as the 50's degrees F. They probably will not survive the winter (I added more after winter so cannot tell these apart from shrimp from last year); plus, their life spans are not that long (1 to 1.5 years). I have also yet to find out if they breed in ponds. Females carry developing eggs under their swimmerets or legs until they are ready to be released. In aquaria, the tiny newborns usually get eaten. Yet, there are a few success stories but the aquarists do not know what made the difference in the babies' survival. See the next few paragraphs for recounting of a few successes. Adding java moss and other plants that create hiding spots help increase the likelihood that some babies could survive being eaten. Ghost shrimp are clear except for any food in their digestive tract and any dark balls (babies) under mature females. They also have a orangish yellow dot at each side of their tail. They prefer leftover fish food and small pieces of plant and animal material to eat but will also catch and eat fry.
Female ghost shrimp with eggs are easy to identify. They carry small dark balls under their swimmerets. When she moves around, she often mixes them up by moving her swimmerets. This keeps them well provided with oxygen.
Other Aquarists' Ghost Shrimp Breeding Stories:
One aquarist who reports success in breeding ghost shrimp provided the following helpful information. The babies look like white mosquito larvae but are very small. To prevent their being eaten, they must be removed (they go through most nets) to their own tank. At first, they need live newborn brine shrimp (artemia) since they cannot eat like adults. Once they look like their parents, they eat fish food, dead animals, and young snails. He believes that a major cause of young ghost shrimp death is their propensity to move towards light. When the room is lighter than the tank (at night usually), they jam themselves into the glass and die. To prevent this, he covered the sides of the tank with black paper and kept a light on overhead 24 hours a day. They required feeding every 2 to 3 hours 24 hours a day.
Another successful breeder of ghost shrimp had the following setup. This fish wholesaler put about 10 ghost shrimp in a 33 gallon rubbermaid storage tub. He did not set out to breed them. Note that in such a tub, the above mentioned light problem would not exist so it may have merit. To the tub were also added bunches of anacharis, small trapdoor snails, and assorted microorganisms that came with the anacharis including daphnia, rotifers, worms, insect larvae, and copepods. After a few months, the tub was full of baby ghost shrimp. He believes that the small snails were a vital part of the setup. I think the plants and small potential prey that lived therein were the key. He plans to try to cultivate them.
Yet another aquarist had success after adding an artificial wood log to an aquarium with plants, fish, and ghost shrimp and turning up the temperature to 80 degrees F (for some fry). The ghost shrimp created a "cave" in the fake log and would come out several times a day in line. Now, the aquarist says there are more ghost shrimp "then I know what to do with."
Here is even another breeding account from Elara: "I've had ghost shrimp for years, and they're really easy to raise. A pump without too much force is required (sponge and very small air pump is perfect in a 10 gallon). I had a regular tank set up (gravel, aged water 65-80 degrees, depending on season) with lots of live plants (especially floating ones). As you know, the eggs are green. When they start to get a bit more clear and you can see the eyes on the babies (you really have to look), they are ready to hatch. The mother will go somewhere in the top third of the tank and hang upside-down on something. The babies will pop out of the eggs one at a time and go floating to the surface of the water, where they hang like bats (from their tails). They start to move around pretty soon and are then on their own. I didn't remove the parents or do anything fancy with the food. Soon I had so many ghost shrimp I didn't know what to do with them. All ages seem to be content with flake. Just make sure there is a lot of floating vegetation for the babies to hide in when they pop out (I used duckweed)..." Thanks for the information, Elara!
One aquarist says they kept record of when they first noticed a female ghost shrimp with eggs and when the babies were released. The time was 27 days. I do not know the tank temperature or other variables.
My "ghost shrimp:"
I "bred" a baby ghost shrimp myself by total accident. It is a mystery. I added four ghost shrimp on 4/1/00 to my 40 gallon tank. One was removed dead on 4/13/00, and none have been seen since then. Surprise! I found a baby (half an inch versus the 1+ inch adults I added) ghost shrimp in the tank on 6/24/00! Before the adults were eaten or died and were eaten, a female must have released babies. Normally, it is almost impossible to get baby ghost shrimp to survive. My tank is pretty bare with lots of danios and a huge pleco and yet this baby made it!? A photo of Shrimpy is at the top of this page.
Two more ghost shrimp were added on 3/16/01 to join my now big baby Shrimpy. The two new ghost shrimp are completely clear with one carrying eggs. My older Shrimpy has a larger and more intense band red in the middle of his front legs and on his antennae. I do not know if that means he is a different species or simply that he is male and the two new shrimp are female (one is for sure as she has eggs). On 6/2/01, I noticed a shrimp only half an inch long in the 40 gallon tank! So, the shrimp had another successful offspring. I guess he/she is Shrimpy Junior! A dead large ghost shrimp was removed on 6/30/01. It was white so it must have died during molting (it was not an empty shell which are commonly found). So, by 7/3/01, there are only three possible ghost shrimp left including the baby which is almost full grown. On 12/10/01, another white, dead ghost shrimp was removed from the tank. On 2/1/02, I added two large and three small new ghost shrimp to my 40 gallon tank. One of the largest ones turned opaque on 3/9/02 and died on 3/11/02 when she was an opaque orange/pink color. I now have six ghost shrimp. On 3/30/02, I was able to see that four of my shrimp are large females with eggs and one must be a male (I could not find the sixth shrimp just then). Although they make lots of eggs, the babies never survive. I guess I said that too soon! On 4/20/02, I saw one baby now large enough to not be eaten. How in the world did he survive with no plant cover left in the tank and all those hungry fish? Oh, well, the baby shrimp is cute and happy.
I was surprised on 5/18/02 to see at least four baby ghost shrimp! Then, when I searched the water from the tank cleaning in the bathtub for danio fry, I also found the smallest ghost shrimp I have ever seen. It was the size of the newborn danio fry! I put the baby in with the fry. I am not sure why the shrimp are breeding so well now in a nearly bare tank with other fish! Perhaps the addition of Kent Marine Iodide weekly is making a difference in breeding/raising success as babies need to molt more than adults and iodine is needed for that. On 5/25/02, I saw many babies including one that got sucked up but was big enough to go back and another really small one that I put in the five gallon tank. It was the size of the newborn danios. On 8/10/02, I removed one shrimp from the five gallon and put him in the 40 gallon tank. Maybe he ate the other one! I removed a dead ghost shrimp from the 40 gallon tank on 1/4/03. There are at least a dozen more! The babies are now grownup, and I cannot tell who is who! I found two wee ones on 3/1/03 and since I had a net breeder set up for baby danios, I put them in there. They are SO hard to see since they are clear. They may be 10 times larger than the newborn danios but they are completely clear (I catch the moving eyes with my eyes and sucked them up with a pipette with the tip cut off). I removed a big, dead ghost shrimp on 5/23/03 from the 40 gallon tank. I removed a part of a dead shrimp on 7/19/03 and a whole one on 7/21/03. Both had turned white and died during molting despite the addition of iodine to the tank. A non-white, dead intact ghost shrimp was found and removed on 10/4/03.
Photos of my ghost shrimp in my 40 gallon tank:
Shrimpy on 9/15/00.
Shrimp on 4/22/01.
Here is another photo of a ghost shrimp belonging to Amy: Ghost Shrimp.
One of my rainbow shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on 6/3/01. More photos are below.
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: Yes
Survive in cold ponds: No
Plant eating capacity: Low
Algae eating capacity: Moderate
Rainbow shrimp are similar to ghost shrimp except that they live a lot longer. They are about an inch long but can grow to three inches (they later changed that to two inches). Mine never grew larger than an inch but the store claims that they grow to three inches. Whereas ghost shrimp typically do not live more than a few months in an aquarium, rainbow shrimp may live for years. They do not touch the live plants. They prefer to eat leftover fish food followed by algae. Rainbow shrimp are supposed to eat brush algae. They are great little shrimp. Similar in appearance to ghost shrimp, they have a darker gut and sell for about $2 each instead of $1 per 10 that ghost shrimp cost.
I am currently trying to uncover their scientific name. The store does not know. Although some aquarists believe the rainbow shrimp to be the wood shrimp, I know this is not true, at least for the shrimp that I have. My local aquarium store, where I worked for a few months, also carries wood shrimp. Wood shrimp are big with "fans" on their fronts. Rainbow shrimp are almost identical to ghost shrimp but for their increased longevity and ability to darken in color. They do have a tan stripe down their back like wood shrimp. They also can change color and are often dark like wood shrimp. However, they are much smaller and do not have fans. Rainbow shrimp may be a relative of wood shrimp. Mine can be clear, brown, or dark red depending on the background. The tan back stripe is evident when they are in the brown or red phase but almost vanishes when in the clear phase. They go clear usually when among plants. When on the large driftwood in their tank, they are completely camouflaged to match the wood. If you do not know what you are looking for, you do not see them!
A German aquarist suggested that my rainbow shrimp may be Caridina/Neocaridina sp. "zeylanica". After seeing the photo of this species at this German site, I think that this may indeed be the species that I have. So, they would be a relative of Amano shrimp but definitely not the same thing. I hope someone can eventually clear this up!
I have never seen any of my rainbow shrimp carrying eggs (unlike the ghost shrimp) nor have I ever found baby rainbow shrimp. So, it is most likely that they do require brackish water to breed or at least conditions that my tanks do not have.
My rainbow shrimp and confusion:
I had three of them in my 20 gallon tank since 3/98. On 1/15/99 and 1/16/99, we had a 42 hour power outage due to an ice storm. The normally 72 degree F tank dropped to about 54 degrees F for most of that time. One shrimp died but the other two survived. Another shrimp died around 5/22/99, presumably of natural causes. The last two vanished sometime in June of 1999. They must have decomposed out of site. So rainbow shrimp can live at least 15 months. On 7/31/99, I bought three more so I will keep posting here on their progress. One died on 1/19/00. The other two were alive and still about an inch long as of 11/29/00. They became a reddish brown with a tan stripe down their backs. They eat using pincers. By early 2001, only one rainbow shrimp was still alive, and he or she was 20 months old!
On 3/16/01, I got two more "rainbow shrimp." These however look different. Instead of being reddish brown with the tan stripe, they are clear with a dark digestive tract. The tank next to them was labeled as japonica meaning Amano shrimp but those looked the same as my "rainbow shrimp" except for more dots on their sides. Neither of these shrimp look like the photos I have seen of either Amano shrimp or japonica. So, my store and most shrimp "experts" have got this all super confused. To make it more confusing, the two best sites in the links section that have photos show a photo of the wood shrimp that looks like my rainbow shrimp. Note, there are no fans in the photo of the "wood shrimp." The real wood shrimp has fans and is much larger and does not look like my rainbow shrimp or the photo on the site. My head is spinning! To make things even more bizarre, after a few months in my 20 gallon tank, the new rainbow shrimp changed appearance to look like my one older rainbow shrimp so I guess they are the same species! One of their photos is above.
On 6/1/01, I got four more rainbow shrimp for my newly re-done 50 gallon tank. The three remaining rainbow shrimp in the 20 gallon joined them on 6/16/01 so I now have seven (if they are all still alive) rainbow shrimp in my 50 gallon tank! The 20 gallon tank is being redone from scratch and had four rainbow shrimp added. On 11/3/01, I removed the first rainbow shrimp to die in the 50 gallon tank. Unlike shed exoskeletons, the shrimp was orange and when squished, guts came out instead of just collapsing an empty shell. So, a shrimp died.
I bought four shrimp for my twenty gallon tank on 7/8/01 that were labeled as rainbow shrimp but looked nothing like my rainbow shrimp that I have in my other tank. These four were clear with brown spots along the side. There were three tanks at the store. One was marked rainbow shrimp, one was marked Amano shrimp, and one was marked Japonica shrimp. From what I have read, Amano and Japonica are the same shrimp. The prices were about $3, $9, and $7 respectively. The shrimp that look like my old shrimp were in one of the other tanks not marked as rainbow shrimp. The other two tanks had identical looking shrimp. I think the people at the store messed up the labels. No one there knows anything about the shrimp's true identities (scientific names)! I thought the ones I got may be Amano shrimp. They use their hands to eat like the ghost and rainbow shrimp do. Later, these new shrimp changed colors at various times and then appeared to look like my other rainbow shrimp but I am still not sure! On 2/1/02, I bought two real Japonica shrimp for comparison.
Photos of some of my rainbow shrimp:
Rainbow shrimp in my 20 gallon tank
on 4/22/01.
Rainbow shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on
6/3/01.
Rainbow shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on
6/3/01.
Clear rainbow shrimp in my 20 gallon
tank on 11/28/01. This rainbow shrimp I thought might be an Amano shrimp because it looks
somewhat like one when in the clear phase. The tan back stripe nearly vanishes and a few
spots can be seen on the side (not obvious in the photo)
One of my red cherry shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on 12/28/02.
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: No
Survive in cold ponds: No
Plant eating capacity: Low
Algae eating capacity: Moderate to High
I bought two red cherry shrimp for my 20 gallon tank on 12/27/02. I am not sure what species they are but they may be a Palaemon species. The store said they grow to 3 inches but mine are both under half an inch long.
One of my red-fronted shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on 1/4/03.
Here is another photo of one of my red-fronted shrimp on 3/1/03. I took the photo because the shrimp had turned milky for some reason. Maybe it was going to molt.
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: No
Survive in cold ponds: No
Plant eating capacity: Low
Algae eating capacity: Moderate to High
I bought three "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Shrimp" from my local fish store on 12/27/02 for my 20 gallon tank. They are clear with a long pointy red "thing" sticking out of their heads. I believe they are red-fronted shrimp, Palaemon scarletti. They will grow to about an inch long. One was found dead on 2/23/03 of unknown causes.
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: Yes
Survive in cold ponds: Yes
Plant eating capacity: Low
Algae eating capacity: Low
Scuds (Amphipoda) are not true shrimp. These crustaceans grow to half an inch and look a little like fleas. They swim on their sides and eat plant and animal debris. Gammarus and Hyalella are two kinds. Scuds avoid light, and fish like to eat them. A bad side is that they are often intermediate hosts for tapeworms and other parasites of larger animals like fish and frogs. They like lightly brackish water. I added some to my big pond but since the pond is so large, I have never seen them since the release.
Drawings of a scud can be seen at this water bug site (this site may no longer exist, if you know what has happened to it, please e-mail me.).
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: Yes
Survive in cold ponds: Yes
Plant eating capacity: Low
Algae eating capacity: Moderate
Seed shrimp or Ostracoda only grow to 0.1 inch in size. They look like clams and often have pretty colors. Some 150 species scavenge the algae and mud in North American ponds. Some species lack males; females lay unfertilized eggs which hatch and grow. A few species include Cyprinotus incongruens, Eucypris virens, and Cypridopsis vidua.
Survive in aquariums: Yes for a few months
Survive in warm ponds: Yes for a few months
Survive in cold ponds: Depends on species (no for most commonly sold species)
Plant eating capacity: Low (carnivores)
Algae eating capacity: Low (carnivores)
The tadpole shrimp is a unique predator. One species is Triops longicaudatus. Like salt water brine shrimp, they only breed in temporary waters. The eggs must dry up completely and then re-wet to hatch. They look like extinct trilobites except they are only about an inch long at full size. They will eat anything they can catch, no matter the size. They especially like to eat each other. It is a wonder that they ever breed! You can buy them at some pet stores and through some catalogs. They sure look funny in a pond, zipping around very fast. Mine was the king of the pond for a month in 1997. I called him "the beast from hell" because he ate the dozen or so tadpole and fairy shrimp that hatched with him in a container, he looked nasty, and swam in the pond in such a way to generate fear. The last tadpole shrimp he ate was 90% of his size, and I saw it in his mouth! They only live two months or so. A few arctic species of tadpole shrimp exist such as Lepiduros arcticus.
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: Not recommended
Survive in cold ponds: No
Plant eating capacity: Low
Algae eating capacity: Low for surface algae, high for suspended algae
The wood shrimp is a great shrimp. Wood shrimp are Atyopsis species such as Atyopsis moluccensis and may also be called Singapore shrimp or bamboo shrimp. They are unique in that they grow up to three inches, live longer, and are filter feeders. They have two pairs of feathery appendages to collect suspended algae and microorganisms. Wood shrimp need temperatures in the mid-70's F to mid 80's F and cannot tolerate cold. Our local aquarium store has them in a 200 gallon completely planted tank at 80 degrees F. This is an ideal home for them. They will not do well in small tanks without a lot of suspended foods. Wood shrimp are so named because they blend in with driftwood. They have a dark stripe down their wood-colored body. They can change colors within the brown, yellow-brown, and orange-brown area of colors to match their surroundings.
One aquarist has 6 wood shrimp in a 150 gallon tank and provided the following information. Some of the tank statistics include 83 degrees F; web/dry filtration, UV sterilization; live and fake plants, rocks, driftwood; pH 6.9, GH 4, KH 1; 7 discus, 6 angels, 10 cories, 1 dwarf pleco; 33% weekly water change, 5% mid-week water change; feeds flake, spirulina disks, and live foods. One of the shrimp is larger and a deep and bright orange. This one stands on top of the other shrimp and travels all over the tank, and is therefore, most likely a male. At least three of the duller shrimp carry eggs that are bright red-orange under their bodies. The females fan the eggs which fade in color as they mature. The shrimp are elusive but females with eggs seem to more vigorously and boldly eat off things growing on the driftwood.
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The information of these pages are partly from the web, and partly from own sources.
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