The incredible shrinking amano

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:16 pm

This is going to sound very strange.

I got my population of Amano shrimp last fall. I've not added to them at all. They are well fed and constantly produce eggs. They are in the same tank with my RCS and Green Shrimp. Today I was doing a weekly cleaning and I find what appears to be a juvenile amano. He is about 1/2 the size of any other amano in the tank and I had no small ones when I set up this tank about 3 months ago. All the shrimp were moved from another established tank.

Any ideas?

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:22 pm

My only guess would be that somehow, through an incredible twist of fate and luck, a single amano was able to go through all the stages of larval development without salt water. Such a thing is incredibly unlikely, but weird and strange things happen sometimes.

I would separate that shrimp and try to breed it. Imagine your luck if you somehow ended up with a freshwater breeding strain of Amano??

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:28 pm

Are you sure it's not a juvenile green shrimp? They can look quite similar to juvenile amanos as they can be see-through instead of green when they are younger. Does this animal have the typical dot-pattern on its sides yet?

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:32 pm

If you are sure it is an amano shrimp then I would go with more probable chance that it was in with your population of amanos. How many did you have in the population? It might have been too small to notice or even clinging to another amano.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:16 pm

Yes, it has the typical dot patern of a young male amano.

As to the population, these shrimp were all adults when I got them a year ago. Even if there was a baby in the group back then, he'd have reached maturity during last winter.

This tank is pretty busy with java moss. Who knows.

If it is the fabled freshwater breeding amano, there is no need to isolate it. If more juvies appear he'll be the daddy. Loads of females in the tank with him. I'll let him take his shot.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:23 pm

If it is the fabled freshwater breeding amano, there is no need to isolate it. If more juvies appear he'll be the daddy. Loads of females in the tank with him. I'll let him take his shot.

Just like so many shrimp keepers out there, I want to believe. Best wishes and please keep us updated on your quest for the fabled shrimp

!

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:40 pm

The only other scenario I can think of is that it might have hitchhiked with the green shrimp when it was very small. Many sellers use the same tanks to store various species of shrimp, usually at different times, but sometimes even at the same time. Either way, there are always stragglers from a previous species in a tank when a new species starts inhabiting it. That's what *might* have happened. Juvenile amanos don't have dots yet, so they can easily be mistaken for other shrimp varieties by the untrained eye.

The only way we will *really* know if you have amano larvae reproducing in that tank is to not introduce any other shrimp to that tank and wait for other juveniles to appear. If that does not happen, then it's highly likely that your juvenile was a hitchhiker.

The easiest explanation is usually the right one. The hitchhiker theory seems to more easily explain the juvenile amano than a sudden mutation in a single larva.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:25 am

Yes, I think that is probably what happened, although the green shrimp were all adults and in their own tanks when I got them. It seems the most likely scenario.

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:02 am

Mustafa wrote:
The easiest explanation is usually the right one. The hitchhiker theory seems to more easily explain the juvenile amano than a sudden mutation in a single larva.

Yes, yes, but as another said. . . . I want to believe!

Kenshin · Post by **Kenshin** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:30 am

I believe it is probably a baby green shrimp who is about to reach adult hood. Sometimes they look the same - amano and green shrimp when they are at the juvenile stage.

zapisto · Post by **zapisto** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:33 am

An other theory is (and i already see it in the past even if i am not an expert)
you got in your amano pop one or more shrimp is closely related to C. multidentata but who dont require backwish water for larva, even if they have larva cycle, a not yet discribe shrimp ?????

this part of the hobby is pretty young in north america , and a lot of thing are sold with name as anything.
it is really difficut found shrimp and when you found them thay are most of time mixed ....

i can be just out of the things still

Post by **Mustafa** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:20 am

badflash wrote:Yes, I think that is probably what happened, although the green shrimp were all adults and in their own tanks when I got them. It seems the most likely scenario.

Spare yourself the sarcasm. Nobody can read your mind and know that the green shrimp were in another tank first as you did not *say* it. I'm not a mind reader after all...I just provide possible scenarios given the information PROVIDED. So does everyone else.

Post by **Mustafa** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:22 am

zapisto wrote:An other theory is (and i already see it in the past even if i am not an expert)
you got in your amano pop one or more shrimp is closely related to C. multidentata but who dont require backwish water for larva, even if they have larva cycle, a not yet discribe shrimp ?????

If that was the case you'd think that there would have been quite a few larvae surviving by now. He's had the shrimp for a long time and he says that they are constantly carrying eggs.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 2:46 pm

Mustafa wrote:Spare yourself the sarcasm. Nobody can read your mind and know that the green shrimp were in another tank first as you did not *say* it. I'm not a mind reader after all...I just provide possible scenarios given the information PROVIDED. So does everyone else.

I'm not sure what you mean by the sarcasm part. I wasn't being sarcastic. Am I missing something?

Post by **Mustafa** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 3:32 pm

badflash wrote:[
I'm not sure what you mean by the sarcasm part. I wasn't being sarcastic. Am I missing something?

You're not missing anything. You know exactly what I am talking about. Do you want me to point you to a definition of sarcasm and then point out where you used it in your own post?

If you weren't sarcastic, then what were you? (You don't have to answer this as the sarcasm in your reply is as evident as the sun in the sky).

If you don't agree with something or don't like someone's reply to your posts, then just say it in a normal way. If you have information that we don't have, then just provide it, so we can give you more appropriate and educated replies. Everything else is just childish and counterproductive.

As for "freshwater" amanos...if you think you have them, then breed them and tell others how you did it, too, so your results can be duplicated and verified by fellow hobbyists ("peers"). If you can't do that, then you will just have to get used to the fact that such reports will be greeted with a healthy portion of scepticism. No reason to get emotional about it.