Wood Shrimp Question

[Jenova]

Hi all,

I bought two wood shrimp (about 1 inch each) from my LFS a couple of days ago. So far they are quarantined in my cycled, planted, 6 gallon Eclipse tank. (everything I get from my LFS, including plants, needs to be quarantined for at least 6 weeks... the guy actually tried to sell me a half-dead shrimp this time... I guess it was easier to catch ). They were almost yellow in the store, but not they are a dark brown with a white stripe on their back.
Anyway, I have a couple of questions about the shrimp.

1. After the quarentine, would it be ok to keep the shrimp with my 3 apple snails (Pomacea bridgesii) in a 30 gallon? The pH of the tank is around 7.8 and I add extra calcium and iodide. Could I keep a few smaller algea eating shrimps in there too?

2. Right now, they don't seem to be fanning at all. The tank is pretty clean (it used to be home to my snails, so I did 25-30% water changes 2-3 times a week). They do walk around and pick up food from the gravel once in a while, but not very often. I feed them with crushed bottem feeder pellets and crushed flakes.

3. One of them swims around a lot while the other one just sits there most of the time. What is the normal activity level for these guys? My water temperature is 78 degrees, ammonia and nitrites are 0, Nitrate is below 10ppm, pH is 7. I use prime as a water conditioner, so hopefully any heavy metals are detoxified.

4. All my tanks are filtered by biowheels. After I'd put the shrimp in the tank, I came to look at them; I could only find one. I then discovered what I thought was a leaf sticking out of the filter. It turned out the shrimp had crawled into the filter, and his tail was sticking out. I kinda freaked, because I was afraid the wheel would hurt him, so I took him out of there. Should I try to block the filter so he doesn't crawl in there again? He seemed very happy in there (certainly didn't want to get out!).

Anything else I need to know about these guys?

Thanks

[Bradimus]

(everything I get from my LFS, including plants, needs to be quarantined for at least 6 weeks... the guy actually tried to sell me a half-dead shrimp this time... I guess it was easier to catch ).

Perhaps it is time to find a new LFS?

1. After the quarentine, would it be ok to keep the shrimp with my 3 apple snails (Pomacea bridgesii) in a 30 gallon? The pH of the tank is around 7.8

No problem.

and I add extra calcium and iodide.

A waste of time and money.

Could I keep a few smaller algea eating shrimps in there too?

Yes, but it is better to keep more than a few.

3. One of them swims around a lot while the other one just sits there most of the time. What is the normal activity level for these guys?

When not hiding, mine spend most of their time standing on a rock where they can hold their fans in the output of the filter.

4. All my tanks are filtered by biowheels. After I'd put the shrimp in the tank, I came to look at them; I could only find one. I then discovered what I thought was a leaf sticking out of the filter. It turned out the shrimp had crawled into the filter, and his tail was sticking out. I kinda freaked, because I was afraid the wheel would hurt him, so I took him out of there. Should I try to block the filter so he doesn't crawl in there again? He seemed very happy in there (certainly didn't want to get out!).

Step one: Get a sponge filter.
Step two: Make sure there are plenty of safe hiding places

Anything else I need to know about these guys?

http://www.petshrimp.com/bambooshrimp.html

[Jenova]

Thanks very much for your answers!

and I add extra calcium and iodide.

A waste of time and money.

Hrm... Our water is soft around here, and pretty much all the sites I've seen so far recommend adding at least extra calcium to snail tanks. My snails have very nice shells at the moment, so I hope I'm doing something right

3. One of them swims around a lot while the other one just sits there most of the time. What is the normal activity level for these guys?

When not hiding, mine spend most of their time standing on a rock where they can hold their fans in the output of the filter.

Hrm, I wonder why mine don't fan. Maybe they just need to get used to their new home? Both of them seem pretty active.

4. All my tanks are filtered by biowheels. After I'd put the shrimp in the tank, I came to look at them; I could only find one. I then discovered what I thought was a leaf sticking out of the filter. It turned out the shrimp had crawled into the filter, and his tail was sticking out. I kinda freaked, because I was afraid the wheel would hurt him, so I took him out of there. Should I try to block the filter so he doesn't crawl in there again? He seemed very happy in there (certainly didn't want to get out!).

Step one: Get a sponge filter.
Step two: Make sure there are plenty of safe hiding places

I think I've got lots of hiding places in there. Plants and a few half buried clay pots. I do have a few sponge filiters in my other small tanks, but I doubt they are capable of dealing with the waste the snails put out (there is a bio wheel in the large tank too). They seem ok sitting in the filter. They go in there and then they come out by themselves a while later.....

Anything else I need to know about these guys?

http://www.petshrimp.com/bambooshrimp.html

In addition to that

Thanks very much!

[Bradimus]

Hrm... Our water is soft around here, and pretty much all the sites I've seen so far recommend adding at least extra calcium to snail tanks. My snails have very nice shells at the moment, so I hope I'm doing something right

Buy a cuttlebone at the local pet store. It should be with the bird supplies for about US$2. Break off a piece and throw it in the tank. As long as it has not dissolved, the water is hard enough.

I am not convinced that shrimp can even take calcium out of the water. It is more lilely that they get their calcium from the food they eat. The same is true for iodide. Further, iodide will remain in solution for only a day or two,

Hrm, I wonder why mine don't fan. Maybe they just need to get used to their new home? Both of them seem pretty active.

Perhaps the water is too clean.

[cro117]

i may be misunderstanding the maner in wich your shrimp enter the filter but it makes sense that the would hang out were the unfiltered water is taken in, plus the curent is strongest there. my shrimp never fan feeds he just picks at the gravel and is perfectly healthy. my shrimp moves very actively for a few hours a day and is very lethargic the rest of the time. perhaps yours take turns being active and it seems that only one is being active at a time, or, perhaps one chooses to be active at a time when you arn't around. as, for other shrimp in the tank, there shouldn't be a problem. they won't compete for the same foods and wood shrimp are non-agresive.

[aburstei]

I have an Eclipse filter on my 25 high. I put a brand new clear plastic soap dish for the shower with suction cups that you can buy in a bed and bath supply store in my tank upsidedown, so that it was a shelf positioned in front of the water return stream from my filter. Once my bamboo/wood shrimp discovered it, that's where he spent his whole night (and eventually his whole day too, once he became comfortable). He would just sit in front of it with all of his fans open, pulling in whatever returned to him. They like the current.

Good luck -- they're fascinating shrimp.

[Jenova]

Thanks for the responses.

I moved them to my snail tank yesterday, and they seem to be doing great.

The've settled down on a horribly ugly status which is placesd in the current from the filter, and they are filtering all the time.