[johnwesley0]

Well, I've finally taken the plunge and purchased six shrimp. If they do well in the breeding tank, I might try them in the porcelain bowl agaisnt the lower odds of surviving the bull apisto male. The proprietor of the big, LFS in Lower Manhattan steered me toward the larger amano shrimp. Everything in the store was 20% off, but the amanos seemed a little bit cheaper than the brightly colored ones in the next tank and he assured me they were more efficient algae eaters.

Be that as it may, and as long as I was in the neighborhood, I decided they were worth the experiment even on the coldest day of the year. I drip acclimated them as best I knew how (I even used my API PH kit for the first time) and let them go after about three hours. They immediately spread out with only about three at a time visible at any given time.

They're bigger than the juvies so I don't foresee predation as a big problem. Nevertheless, I have witnessed one fatality. One of them was crawling along the substrate when it just shuddered violently and turned upside down, propelling itself in this position along the bottom of the tank until it disappeared from sight. I presume it's dead. If it's the only one, I will consider myself lucky. At least three of them appear to be pretty chill.
Major ETA: I'm a grandparent! This little tike appeared out of nowhere during this evening's feeding:

No sign of any siblings. I'm actually wondering if it's a hitchhiker that came with the shrimp. But the apistos seem strangely blasé about its presence.

 

[PlentyCoup]

Well, I've finally taken the plunge and purchased six shrimp. If they do well in the breeding tank, I might try them in the porcelain bowl agaisnt the lower odds of surviving the bull apisto male. The proprietor of the big, LFS in Lower Manhattan steered me toward the larger amano shrimp. Everything in the store was 20% off, but the amanos seemed a little bit cheaper than the brightly colored ones in the next tank and he assured me they were more efficient algae eaters.

Be that as it may, and as long as I was in the neighborhood, I decided they were worth the experiment even on the coldest day of the year. I drip acclimated them as best I knew how (I even used my API PH kit for the first time) and let them go after about three hours. They immediately spread out with only about three at a time visible at any given time.

View attachment 76174
View attachment 76176
View attachment 76175

They're bigger than the juvies so I don't foresee predation as a big problem. Nevertheless, I have witnessed one fatality. One of them was crawling along the substrate when it just shuddered violently and turned upside down, propelling itself in this position along the bottom of the tank until it disappeared from sight. I presume it's dead. If it's the only one, I will consider myself lucky. At least three of them appear to be pretty chill.
Major ETA: I'm a grandparent! This little tike appeared out of nowhere during this evening's feeding:
View attachment 76177
No sign of any siblings. I'm actually wondering if it's a hitchhiker that came with the shrimp. But the apistos seem strangely blasé about its presence.

Congrats on the shrimp. It sounds like me lol. Just saw another betta at my LFS tonight that i am going to go back for monday after i switch the vase over to the mirical-gro or epsoma cacti mix.

Are having them to just clean algae or to breed? I ask because l dont think amano breed in home aquariums.

Did you drip accimuliate them?
I lost two of the six ghost shrimp, hopefully you dont loose any more the one possible loss.

Also congarts in the grandparent status lol.
Merry Christmas 🎄

 

[mistergreen]

Since introducing blue gularis killifish, my Armanos are gone. If it fits the fishes mouths, it’s food.

 

[johnwesley0]

Are having them to just clean algae or to breed? I ask because l dont think amano breed in home aquariums.

I read the same thing once I brought them home. Luckily, I don't care if they if they breed or not. They're mainly for algae eating. And I only landed on them because the LFS didn't have any sailfin mollies or nerite snails at the time.

I tested the PH in the bag and the tank and I couldn't tell that there was a huge difference; they were both pretty alkaline. I poured a little of the tank water into the bag over the space of three hours. All but one were pretty active while still in the bag.

 

[johnwesley0]

Finally spotted the mother and child together this morning:

This seems to be the only surviving fry. I estimate its age at about one week. The mother had been spending a lot of time carving out this territory for herself and now I can see why. I will have to not feed the other adults there.

 

[marple]

Oh wow, that's so cool. New shrimp and a baby to observe. And new developments for us to follow 😄

I've also read that amano are very good cleaners and they do have their bigger size as an advantage. I think cherry shrimp compensate for that by breeding like crazy. I heared many examples of people with shrimp only tanks who had an explosion of shrimp. Which is great if you want some because they sell them cheap.

I think it is a matter of trial and error to see which works better, bigger size or loads of new 'supply'. Every situation is kind of unique, there are succes story's of shrimp being able to sustain themselves and sometimes they just dissapear. And there are people who thought their cherries were gone and discovered a whole colony when clearing out the tank.

Curious to find out your experience. You'll probably love watching them being busy cleaning. And I hope you won't have any more losses.
By they way, I've seen my shrimp doing weird stuff out of panic but still live afterwards so if you're lucky it's not dead...

 

[johnwesley0]

Well, to be honest (TBH), I'm not having much luck. The one that I described was indeed a fatality. The carcass was pretty easy to spot the following morning. And, once I knew what to look for, three others followed suit. My tank looked like an old Civil War battleground. That left two active critters that seemed to be doing well. I can absolutely see the result of their work in a very short time. They speed up the desiccation process tremendously:

This corner of the tank was a mass of melting leaves and hair algae just 48 hours ago. But now the green shoots are everywhere, and it looks much crisper.

Alas, I don't see the two survivors anywhere this morning and am fearing the worst. The only good thing is that their corpses should be easy to spot, and I don't see any.

 

[johnwesley0]

Well, to be honest (TBH), I'm not having much luck. The one that I described was indeed a fatality. The carcass was pretty easy to spot the following morning. And, once I knew what to look for, three others followed suit. My tank looked like an old Civil War battleground. That left two active critters that seemed to be doing well. I can absolutely see the result of their work in a very short time. They speed up the desiccation process tremendously:
View attachment 76193

This corner of the tank was a mass of melting leaves and hair algae just 48 hours ago. But now the green shoots are everywhere, and it looks much crisper.

Alas, I don't see the two survivors anywhere this morning and am fearing the worst. The only good thing is that their corpses should be easy to spot, and I don't see any.

Good news! I've spotted one, so there's a good chance the other is around somewhere. Two good-sized shrimp survivors would make me very happy.

ETA: They're both alive.

ETA: You're right. I can't keep my eyes off them!

 

[PlentyCoup]

Good news! I've spotted one, so there's a good chance the other is around somewhere. Two good-sized shrimp survivors would make me very happy.

ETA: They're both alive.

ETA: You're right. I can't keep my eyes off them!

Sorry about the losses. If they dont do well or want to add in more shrimp try the ghost shrimp as well. They are the same size as amano and equally good at algae eating.

 

[johnwesley0]

Gosh, they're like lawn mowers:

 

[johnwesley0]

Day 3 - Woke up this morning to find the two survivors (after some searching) still going strong. I'm starting to become optimistic that I made a wise purchase. They have already had a stunning effect on this old, algae encrusted, anubias:

Believe me, it was much worse 48 hours ago.

And is this guppy grass? It came with the shrimp:

 

[mistergreen]

Amanos hide a lot especially when they sense a predator around. I bet more survived.

 

[johnwesley0]

I have another juvie mother (I guess juvie is the wrong word from here on out - but they'll always be just kids as far as I'm concerned.) She has just emerged from the deepest cave and appears to be guarding a small number of grains of sand that occasionally move:

 

[marple]

Amanos hide a lot especially when they sense a predator around. I bet more survived.

With my cherries I have sometimes the idea that I have no shrimp at all and other times they are all walking around.

 

[dwalstad]

With my cherries I have sometimes the idea that I have no shrimp at all and other times they are all walking around.

Same thing here. I'll think they're gone, eaten by all the guppies, only to suddenly reappear. They lead mysterious lives.

 

[johnwesley0]

Amanos hide a lot especially when they sense a predator around. I bet more survived.

Wish it was so. I counted the bodies the following morning. Four out of the six did not make it. Taking them home from a LFS during the coldest day of the year, in retrospect was not the brightest idea I ever had. I was briefly rattled just a dew moments ago when I discovered my first shrimp moulting:

Scared the hell out of me.
ETA: Am I supposed to put this back in the tank for them to devour??

 

[mistergreen]

Yes, the molt is food. If you are going to the lfs via subway, I'd bring along a small cooler to put the livestock in.

 

[dwalstad]

Shrimp are very vulnerable right after they molt.

 

[johnwesley0]

First photos of a fry from a different mother:

This one's a little more blonde than its first cousin, making me wonder if this is early sign of their sex? The other thing I notice is how fast these single fry broods seem to be growing. At one week of age they are already foraging for food independently of their mothers and show signs of being aware of their surroundings. The next week or two will be crucial to their ability to evade predation.

 

[marple]

Interesting, I wonder what are the influencing factors on how fast they grow. Temperature and the amount of food I would guess? I don't know if the temperature changed but these single ones do have a lot less competition...