Amano Shrimp tankmates

Spyder · Post by **Spyder** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 5:29 am

I have a 300 gallon heavily planted tank. I would like to add Amano Shrimp to this tank but I don't know how safe it would be for them. I have a group in a 40 gallon with Blue Rams and Cardinals and they have done very well. I will list my 300 gallon inhabitants, please advise if they could survive in my 300.

5 Clown Loaches from 6" to 8"
10 Pearl Guaramis
9 Polka Dot Botias
5 Apisto Borelli
4 Bolivian Rams
2 Blue Rams
8 Corys
9 Dwarf Neon Rainbows
10 Black Neons
20 Lemon Tetras
2 Bristlenose
7 SAE's
Nerite Snails

Any thoughts are appreciated

Thank you, Michael

stuhrike · Post by **stuhrike** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 5:42 am

apparently, clown loaches will eat shrimp but i've been getting a lot of mixed messages about this..so i guess it's like a betta and tank mates? some bettas are friendly some aren't? something like that i guess...

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 6:58 pm

Bristlenose, SAE's, Nerite Snails are fine with amano adults. The SAE's will eat the larva. I am not familiar with most of these fish, but rams and guarmis will probably rip them up. Be sure your SAE's really are. True SAE's black stripe goes all the way to the back of the fin. They have little wiskers and the stripe is jagged. Flying Foxes are often sold as SAE's and are not safe with shrimp.

Lotus · Post by **Lotus** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 9:54 pm

I've had Amanos in a heavily planted tank with clown loaches the same size as yours, as well as a blue gourami and angelfish (and assorted other community fish). They have been in there for more than a year, possibly closer to two years. I see them occasionally, but not very often, as they're usually hanging out in the plants. I also have a large population of cherry shrimp in the tank.

I have to stress that this tank has several areas of very dense plants, where the fish can't really get to.

Spyder · Post by **Spyder** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:59 am

Yes they are true SAE's and I have Amano Shrimp with my Blue Rams in a 40 for 8 months now with no casulties and the Gouramis are Pearls, which I know are safe. My main concern would be the Loaches and maybe Borellis but the Shrimp will be as big as the Borellis. Also, this is a 300 gallon heavily planted tank with very thick plant growth.
Also of note, I have a group of ottos in this tank. They range from under an inch to 1 1/2" and they are never bothered. They have been with this group of fish for 3 years. I know Shrimp are seen more as food as opposed to ottos but I wanted to stress that the fish are not aggressive or the ottos would be in trouble. Here are a few pics

Lady Friesian · Post by **Lady Friesian** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 5:39 am

Wow, what a beautiful tank. It must have taken forever to plant it. I don't know about the fishes and shrimp, though

Shrimpmania · Post by **Shrimpmania** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:42 am

Shrimps can't prosper in a community tank

Post by **Mustafa** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 8:26 am

Nice tank.

In a tank that big and that heavily planted with a low fish load you should be able to keep shrimp as there will be enough hiding spaces.

cyndayco · Post by **cyndayco** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:30 am

My amanos survived despite two angelfishes and two dwarf gouramis. If anything, they became a little too successful. If any of my smaller fishes, like the cardinals and harlequin rasboras, got too dazed to swim properly, the amanos would quickly tow them and host a sushi buffet.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 12:51 pm

cyndayco, welcome to the forum!

If any of my smaller fishes, like the cardinals and harlequin rasboras, got too dazed to swim properly, the amanos would quickly tow them and host a sushi buffet.

You sure these were amanos? Sounds like a Macrobrachium species to me. I've kept mine with Endler's for quite a while and never saw them check out a sick fish until it was dead. Then they just sort of cleaned it, didn't really eat it.

cyndayco · Post by **cyndayco** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:01 pm

Pretty sure. Some of my amanos are nearly 2 inches long. When they reach that size, those micro-pincers aren't so micro any more. Last night, they polished off a harlequin rasbora and a juvenile cardinal tetra.

To their credit, I've never seen them attack a fish, unless it was too weak to struggle. But they do give off vulture vibes.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:06 am

If you get a chance, post a pic of your amanos. Mine are fully grown and are only 1.5" and have no noticable pinchers. I've never seen this behavior.
Here is a shot of one of my mature males:

cyndayco · Post by **cyndayco** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:53 am

Sorry, this was the best I could do. They don't look too different from yours, but they are more opportunistic as scavengers. The micropincers I spoke of are those teeny-weeny forks (more like toes, really) at the end of the forelegs, just barely visible in the first photo.

Funny, I never noticed their forelegs were blue until now.

xerxeswasachump · Post by **xerxeswasachump** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:35 pm

It sounds like as long as you got mature amanos that they would be fine. Smaller ones might get eaten by the loaches. It is really hard to say with 100% certainty, sometimes fish just aren't into shrimp. I have amanos, bamboos, and red claw macro with my bolivian ram and mollies and female bettas and they all seem to get along (aside from the red claw macro pinching a fish every once in a while).