two pics, one shrimp one cichlid

[marisa]

Hey guys I got two of these little shrimp in my little ten gallon, I don't think they are Ghost shrimp because the lady said they were algae eating shrimp, and they dont' look it in the photos but they have a blue tint to them and the stripe down the back is cream. They also have small black dots on their body. Maybe someone knows what they are? They eat everything I give them!

<img src="http://members.rogers.com/mattl/shrimp.jpg">

This of course is not in my little ten gallon, but my roomates 60 gallon...he is a pretty large fish:

<img src="http://members.rogers.com/mattl/fishblue.jpg">

Anyways just two pics! :)

Marisa

[Shane Tesser]

Caridina Japonica is the scientific name for this shrimp...often called the algae eating shrimp or almost even better known as the Amano shrimp, named after Taskashi Amano who is responsible for bringing this species into the North-American market :D

[marisa]

Gee Shane you are sooooo smart. I bet the ladies just love all that fishy knowledge :D :D :D

Really though thanks dude. You have some the of best aquaria answers!

Marisa

[Shane Tesser]

Here is a pic of a ghost shrimp for you...love these little guys i keep about 80 of them in one tank and they do a bang up cleaning job for me (Sorry the pic isnt better...these are some of my babies, hard pic to get cause they are so small)

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/203ghostshrimp1-med.jpg

[marisa]

So how many of these shrimp can live in a ten gallon then? I figured two would be good......but then I read a website that said 12 per gallon ?!?!?!? I don't beleive that but who knows, they are soo small.

I don't really care about the cleaning, although that is really nice, but I really like watching them way more than the fish and I'd like a few more for sure.

Marisa

[Shane Tesser]

yeah i would say about that many would be fine...most shrimp such as ghost shrimp are for the most part not very long lived anyways..but you can pack a fair amount in a space...i keep lots and dont have problems...so i would say..go for what ever looks natural..just make sure your amanos have enough food...they will attack the plants and eat them in record speed if there is not enough other food sources available.

[marisa]

O.k. cool thanks. I am thinking about getting just two more. Four sounds about right even though its far below the minimum...

I don't think they will have an problem with food, the plants I bought are covered in this thick green algae, and they aggresively take pellets and flakes. Sometimes they dart right up from the ground to grab something at the top or floating half way down. Its nuts.

The other night I saw one of them rolling an algae pellet across the tank floor like he was rolling a barrel. lol

Marisa

[Simon R. Sansom]

I have two of them in my 15 gallon with a couple of Corys, tetras, and two Otocinclus.
The shrimp are quite amusing to watch, and they have doubled their size since I've had them. The fish don't seem to bother them at all. They do sometimes "wrestle" with each other over food.
They seem to feed pretty much all the time.
Under the right lighting the stripe down their backs glows orange-gold.

Very neat little critters.

Simon

[marisa]

Simon-

Yes! I love mine! Just yesterday I did a water change, and then one molted right in front of us. And they are basically leaving the living plant leaves alone, but they are eating TONS of the "rotting" leaves. I really love them, they are more interesting than the fish! *L*

Marisa

[Tinytim12333]

My fish would eat them. Its a bluegill it probally wouldnt let one even hit the botom before all of hem were eaten.