Amano eating a cherry shrimp! Arrrg!!

zacasonapan · Post by **zacasonapan** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 8:06 pm

I just took out a cherry shrimp out of my tank that was being eaten by a much larger amano.

The cherry was about 1/2 inch and the amano eating it is 1 1/4 inch. I just happen to glance at my tank as I was walking by and to my shock and horror I saw the amano picking away at the cherry. The two shrimps where in some java moss that on a tall piece of drift wood. Is this normal for shrimps to prey on each other? They cherry was still bright red so I dont think it died out of sickness cause when cherry shrimps dont feel good the tend to loose color. Was my cherry molting and the damn amano happen to find it in that stage and decided to make a meal of it? I just bought 4 more cherrys today and I was kinda happy to think I now had 24 cherry shrimps..... FUDGE !!! I'm upset at that large amano but I know its nature at work.

Piscesgirl · Post by **Piscesgirl** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 8:17 pm

Are you absolutely sure it is an Amano? There are some larger -- long arm shrimp that will eat shrimp and will also eat fish.

zacasonapan · Post by **zacasonapan** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 9:14 pm

I am absolutely 100% positive that it was an amano chowing down on the cherry. I don’t have and never will have any Macrobrachium sp. in my tank. I'm wondering if the cherry got tangled up in the java moss and made it vulnerable to the larger amano. When I tried to take the cherry away from the amino the darn amano tried to swim away with the cherry. I'm just really hopping that that cherry that died was one of the new ones I got today and it died of shock and nothing more. I would hate to think that I have a killer amongst my shrimps

Right now this very moment I'm very disappointed. Out of the 26 Amanos that I have only 5 are same size of the suspect amano shrimp ( 1 1/4 inch) And I have 2 amanos that are approx 1 3/4 inch long. I think the bigger ones are the females and the rest are possible males. I wondering also if my siamemsis did in the cherry and the amano just happen to be there and bullied the siamensis away.

I removed 4 out of 5 siamensis cause I observed them chasing some of the amanos around one day during feeding and well that just wasn't going to continue

So out they went but I left the 5th siamensis in there cause I was not able to catch him. Now I have been noticing that the siamensis is acting more nippy now that his buddies are gone. But at AZgarden they say they keep all their shrimps with large siamansis with no problems..... So go figure

Post by **Mustafa** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 10:07 pm

You can rest pretty assured that it was not your Amano shrimp that killed the Cherry Red. The Cherry Red most likely died of natural causes and the Amano just happened to munch on it. Even your other Cherry Reds would munch on the dead one if they had a chance, but the Amano is faster, bigger and can swim away with the dead shrimp.

I have observed this behavior on my own Cherry Reds. Since there are no Amanos in their tank, they munch on their dead tankmates. Several of them get together and feast on the dead one. Also, my Freshwater Glass Shrimp will munch on dead Cherries, too and also swims away with the dead shrimp if disturbed. However, they are all incapable of actually killing one.

By the way, Cherry Reds still remain totally red even after passing away. They can stay red like that for several days after they are dead! That makes it look like they are still alive or "freshly killed" even though they are not.

Hope this helps.

Take care,
Mustafa

zacasonapan · Post by **zacasonapan** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 10:45 pm

Thanks Mustafa

I do feel better now knowing that they are incapable of actually killing one another. I really like all of my shrimps but some how I am more attached to the cherry reds cause I been wanting some ever since I got into fresh water shrimps. And to see one actually dead just ruined my evening. I can honestly say that I like cherry reds more then I do crystal reds, even though the crystals are much nicer looking to most including myself but to me it's the cherry reds that I find myself observing the most.

By the way.. you mention in your description of the crystal reds that the more white the better the grade. My six crystals are 50/50 white & red, almost like a candy cane. I'm going to buy some crystal reds from some guy in my are that seems to have some luck breeding them. But his are 75/25 red being the dominant color.

Thanks again Mustafa

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 11:28 pm

Well, in Japan the ones that look like candy-canes are more valuable. In Germany it has been the other way around so far....the more red the animals had the better.

If you get those new Crystal Reds and the picture looks more like the Shrimp in the Petshrimp Discussion Forum logo-pic, then I would not mix both types of crystal red. Just try to breed them separately if possible.

Yes, I live the Cherry Reds a lot, too. But then, I love all of my shrimp for different reasons.

Take care,
Mustafa

zacasonapan · Post by **zacasonapan** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 12:33 pm

I would like to get a breeding tank going but my wife is starting to raise an eyebrow at all the money I have been spending on my 125 g. tank

I have a bare 5 gallon tank that I bought a while back as a molting tank for my hermit crabs but I never really used it much cause I found that the herms would molt in the big tank they are in anyways. Will a 5 gallon do for now? All I need is glass top, light hood, heater. and some type of filter.

I was actually thinking of getting a 10 gallon for breeding. But I need to wait a bit and take care of other important things around the house.

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 10:04 am

The 5 gallon won't do for long. It's just too small for large numbers of shrimp. It's harder to keep water quality constant in such a small tank and you need to water changes *very* often (which is a lot of work).
It's ok as a grow up tank for young shrimp, but not as a breeding tank. Get at least a 10 gallong for that purpose.

Take care,
Mustafa

zacasonapan · Post by **zacasonapan** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 10:55 pm

Oh man

I just found another dead red cherry and again a big 2 inch amano was dinning on him. Is it possible that the cherry was molting and was taken as lunch by the amano? I mean while it's in the stage of breaking out of it's old skin, the cherry can't run or defend it's self and died of shock cause it was interrupted by bigger amano.

I just hope some of those damn cherries start to breed before I see more dead one!

Post by **Mustafa** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 7:04 am

As I wrote in the other thread you might just have females in your tanks. If you do not have some pretty much see-through shrimp in your tank but just red ones then they are all female.

As to the cherry reds dying, they might just be dying of old age. Yes, there might be molting problems that also end the lives of many shrimp, but I still think that the Amanos do not have the right "equipment" (i.e. big claws to grab other animals) to kill a cherry red. But again, they love dining on anything that's already dead.

Take care,
Mustafa

Piscesgirl · Post by **Piscesgirl** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:05 am

I'm thinking with your low kh (1.5 degree of hardness?), you may not have enough calcium in your tank to help the shrimp get through molting. Do you have pest snails in the tank? If so, are their shells dark and shiny or are they turning white and translucent?

zacasonapan · Post by **zacasonapan** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 11:51 am

Piscesgirl wrote:I'm thinking with your low kh (1.5 degree of hardness?), you may not have enough calcium in your tank to help the shrimp get through molting. Do you have pest snails in the tank? If so, are their shells dark and shiny or are they turning white and translucent?

Before I had shrimps in my tank my pest snails used to be white and almost translucent but those snails where eradicated by some clown loaches I added to the tank. Now that the loaches are gone and I added my shrimp the snail population has returned and they are dark and somewhat shiny.

Mustafa,

I have 3 see-through cherries that I see once in a while. Last night I sat in front of the tank and I observed one of my larger amanos going around bullying and chasing away some of my cherry reds. That same large amano also chases some of the smaller amanos and my crystal reds. As I watched the bully amano, I saw one of my rainbows that had grown to 1 1/4 stand his ground when the bull approached. What seemed like a fight only lasted 20 seconds with the amano chasing away the rainbow. But then again I did notice that large 2 inch amano jumped and swim away when a 1/4 inch bumble bee snuck up from behind.

All of my red cherries are 3/4 of an inch. Fully grown cherries are supposed to be an inch long to die of old age, or do they age even if they don’t get to full potential size?

Thanks again
Pete

fishfry · Post by **fishfry** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:36 pm

interesting...

in one of my tanks I have amanos with crystal reds that are a lot smaller and they seem to be doing okay

good luck!

zacasonapan · Post by **zacasonapan** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 2:41 pm

Piscesgirl,

I'm starting to notice that more and more my ramhorn snail pests are starting to become white and translucent. Does that mean that there might not be enough calcium? I know that I am having some good molting in the tank cause I have seen a lot of empty shell-skins mostly from my amanos due to the larges skin size left behind. I just leave the exos in the tank for the other shrimps to nibble on since the exo has some calcium or so I am told.

Pete

Piscesgirl · Post by **Piscesgirl** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 3:44 pm

I would definitely believe that means a calcium deficiency -- especially with your low KH. You will need some calcium carbonate.