So much for Algae Eating Shrimp

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:24 pm

I finally ended up with an excess of moina (small water fleas) so for giggles I parked some in the Amano/Superred Cherry tank. The Amanos went nuts and started zooming around the tank scarfing up all the daphnia in sight. In under an hour there was not hint of the 1000+ moina I'd dumped in the tank. Oink Oink.

Don't have Amanos in any tanlk you want to rear larva in.

Post by **Mustafa** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 10:11 pm

Yeah...waterfleas ofa ny kind don't survive for long in shrimp tanks as the waterfleas have a habit of concentrating to a bottom corner of the tank at night. Shrimp have a habit of picking at anything, including water fleas on the ground. Hence, they don't mind having a "flea snack" once in a while if one runs into their claws.

And yes, shrimp being detrivores eat a LOT more than just algae.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 9:36 am

The Amanos were actively hunting. This was no accident of bumping into them in a corner. There was no cencentration as they were spread out throughout the tank. It looked like a mating frenzy.

fishgeek · Post by **fishgeek** » Mon May 01, 2006 1:08 am

surprisingly i was just about to ask about keepin daphnia in shrimp tanks

i was more concerned about the tranmission of inveteerbrate disease
obviously no one is aware of any problems?

andrew

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon May 01, 2006 1:55 am

Daphnia are so sensitive to stuff, I'd be really suprised if they could transmit anything. Most daphnia you get are from domestic sources tank raised. I think the risk is pretty low.

Mustafa, would raising instructions for daphnia be too far off topic? I've finally figured out how to do it easily and reliably. Live food is good to have for some of our shrimp. My bamboos love them, and now my amanos too.

fishgeek · Post by **fishgeek** » Mon May 01, 2006 6:10 am

i find daphnia very easy to raise and have them springing up in any area of water that accumulates outside
my concern is these carrying anything when i take them into shrimp tanks

andrew

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon May 01, 2006 9:47 am

badflash wrote: Mustafa, would raising instructions for daphnia be too far off topic? I've finally figured out how to do it easily and reliably. Live food is good to have for some of our shrimp. My bamboos love them, and now my amanos too.

No, it's fine as palaemonid shrimp, such as Macrobrachium and Paleamonetes, eat all kinds of live food in their natural habitats. I don't think that they need it in captivity, i.e. I have yet to see a shrimp species that does not eat commercially prepared food, and I have also no seen any deficiencies in my shrimp due to eating commercially prepared foods, but if people want to feed live food, then that's certainly another option. So, go ahead if you want to give instructions.

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon May 01, 2006 9:50 am

badflash wrote:The Amanos were actively hunting. This was no accident of bumping into them in a corner. There was no cencentration as they were spread out throughout the tank. It looked like a mating frenzy.

I'm sure they were "hunting." However, I would attribute that to the feeding fenzy that dwarf shrimp tend to get into if they find something yummy to eat. They even grab floating food items from the water column during such a frenzy. So, it's not too far off that they would grab daphnia, too. However, they are probably not really hunting like Macrobrachium or even Palaemonetes species, who actually have specialized claws, much more suitable for hunting.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon May 01, 2006 1:27 pm

However, they are probably not really hunting like Macrobrachium or even Palaemonetes species, who actually have specialized claws, much more suitable for hunting.

I don't know if you keep amano's, but if you do you'll find their front legs are modified as little nets sort of like a small version of the bamboo shrimp. They were using these to scoop up the daphnia.

Just when I think I have these guys figured out they present a whole new aspect of behavior.

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Mon May 01, 2006 3:47 pm

My amanos "hunt" floating pellets.

On several occassions i've seen them approach the pellet slowly then swoop in and grab it.

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon May 01, 2006 7:19 pm

badflash wrote:I don't know if you keep amano's, but if you do you'll find their front legs are modified as little nets sort of like a small version of the bamboo shrimp. They were using these to scoop up the daphnia.

I don't keep any now, but I've kept them before. *All* atyid shrimp, including *all* dwarf shrimp (Caridina, Neocaridina etc.) have those modified front legs. It's just that you can see them better on the amano shrimp since they get a little bigger. The amano shrimp's anatomy is not significantly different from other dwarf shrimp.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon May 01, 2006 7:31 pm

*All* atyid shrimp, including *all* dwarf shrimp (Caridina, Neocaridina etc.) have those modified front legs

Any day you don't learn something new you are working for half pay.