Caring for Wood Shrimp?

[Katrina]

I got a wood shrimp at my LFS yesterday. I asked the guy if I had to know anything special about caring for him, he said "No, he's a bottom feeder so he'll just eat leftover food and stuff." Well, of course I got him home and watched him for about 5 seconds before realizing he is a filter feeder.... So I have him in a 5 gallon, is that going to be ok? I plan on getting a 20 or 29 gallon in the next couple of weeks, and will probably move him into there. What should I feed this guy? I have this Japanese fry food, First Bites, it is made up of tiny slow sinking granules, looks like a powder, would he like that? Is it true that they do better in groups? They only had one shrimp left, so that's all I got, plus I didn't think more than that would fit in my tank, this guy is HUGE.

Thanks!

[Bradimus]

So I have him in a 5 gallon, is that going to be ok?

Too small. The 20 or 29 would be fine.

What should I feed this guy? I have this Japanese fry food, First Bites, it is made up of tiny slow sinking granules, looks like a powder, would he like that?

Yes. If you expect him to survive on leftovers, he will starve. I have fed mine powdered egg yolk, powdered FD bloodworms, LiquiFry, and others in the past.

Is it true that they do better in groups?

In general, shrimp prefer to have company. Unless, of course, you are talking about Macrobrachium species.

[Katrina]

Thanks for the info. I fed him some of the First Bites today, he definitely ate a lot of it, but so did my fish... Here is the "guaranteed analysis" on the package:
Crude Protein: min. 48%
Crude Fat: min. 3%
Crude Fiber: max. 1%
Moisture: max. 10%
Crude Ash: max 15%
Phosphorus: min. 1.3%

I also have some Artemia food, would he like that? Will it mess up my tank a lot?

Will he be ok for a couple of weeks in the 5 g? Once I get the 20 or 29 gallon how many other shrimp would be good in there? Does he need more of his species, or would other shrimp be ok?

[Bradimus]

That food should be fine. If you see him sweeping the floor with his fans, he's not getting enough food. Otherwise, he's okay.

I would suggest more wood shrimp. I don't know if other species would have the same effect.

[Katrina]

Thanks so much! I feel better about taking care of him now. Do you know how many would do well in a 20-29 g? And there shouldn't be a problem getting much smaller shrimp than him, right? The store I got him at had only one adult, but many tiny ones not yet for sale.....

[Bradimus]

1 per 10 gallons is fine.

Your wood shrimp is completely incapable of harming anything that is too big to be caught in his fans. Mine get along just fine with their ghost shrimp neighbors. (They might be eating ghost shrimp larvae, but they leave the adults alone.) You may read/hear that they can fold their fans into a spiked weapon. While they will fold their fans, and might even wave them at another animal, they can not use them as weapons.

[Katrina]

What kind of fish would be good with him? I was thinking about angels and a gourami for the bigger tank, but would they be too aggressive for the shrimp?

[Bradimus]

Since wood shrimp are fairly large, they should be fine with either of those. Mine live happily with a breeding population of Colisa fasciata (Banded Gourami). Since wood shrimp larvae can not survive in freshwater, I am not concerned with the fact that they are considered snacks by my fish.

Personally, I would not keep angels in a 20. It's just not deep enough for them.

[Katrina]

Yeah, I've been thinking about that, and I think we'll get the 29 g. That should be ok for a pair of angels, right?