Post by guppyguy on Jan 7, 2013 12:13:41 GMT -5
Freshwater shrimp in the aquarium .
General Information for hobbyist
source: Joe Anderson
Approximately seven (7) different varieties of shrimp are mentioned in reference to freshwater aquaria : Yamato Numa Ebi/Caridina spp., Ghost/Grass, Wood/Singapore, Rock/Mountain, Bumble Bee, Macrobrachium, and Neocaridina spp. These shrimp are kept primarily as detritus and/or algae consumers. Shrimp of the genus Macrobrachium, however, do not provide any use to the aquarist in general. Although they could possibly be kept as a novelty for their own sake.
In addition to these shrimp, there are other aquatic invertebrates which are often encountered by aquarists. These are: crayfish (which are harvested mainly for human consumption as are Macrobrachium shrimp), CYCLOPS, B Gammarus and Daphnia (which are not true shrimp). These crustaceans are used primarily as fish food or bait. These invertebrates are described in more detail in the last section of this article.
I've put together a rough taxonomic chart of Crustacea that you can view in conjunction with this article.
1
photo by Greg DeGreef
Of the seven species found to be useful to the aquaria hobby, the Japanese Marsh Shrimp - better known as the Yamato Numa Ebi - is by far the most popular in the hobby. The Yamato Numa Ebi, which can be translated as Japanese Marsh or Grass Shrimp, is taxonomically identified as Caridina japonica. According to Nature Aquarium World literature, this shrimp was introduced to the aquarium hobby in 1983 by renowned aquarist and photographer, Takashi Amano 1. It is for this reason that this species is often referred to as the Amano shrimp.
Yamato shrimp grow to a maximum adult size of 2" head to tail (approximately 5cm). Although very tolerant of salinity and pH ranges (down to 6.0), they are very sensitive to ammonia/ammonium and heavy metal concentrations, as are most freshwater shrimp. Temperature, likewise has to be kept below 30C because they are not a tropical species.
Speaking of caridina and neocaridina species in general, Uwe Werner states that if these animals are healthy they will breed without difficulty. Males, he claims can be identified by their long swimmerets and females most easily by the presence of eggs2. They do not produce many offspring and the eggs are very tiny, thus the difficulty that aquarists encounter in breeding them in captive settings.
For one Chinese Singaporean aquarist's experience with this fact, see Tow Fui's article on Breeding Yamato Numa Ebi. A European aquarist has accomplished the feat and describes his experiences in this article. The information in this second article is entirely in German, however, so you'll need a translation service or a German friend. Alta Vista has a pretty good translation service on their site, you might try it.
One of the most distinguishing traits of the Yamato shrimp is that it is much more attractively colored than the other varieties. Their bodies are light brown to opaque with a tan stripe down their back. Additional series of broken reddish-brown lines run down their sides. They will also have two dark spots on their tail, one in each rear corner. Of additional importance to aquarists is the fact that they do not possess the large claws of some of the other shrimp species and they are purportedly longer lived.
The real attraction of these shrimp is their avowed success in algae consumption, especially soft algaes. They are also rumored to eat red algaes in the absence of other foods. However, like most captive inverts they will choose fish food over algae any day and often will turn on soft leafed plants (especially soft mosses, i.e. java moss and riccia)3 in the absence of softer algae types or fish foods. They will not, however, eat Black Brush Alage (BBA), nor can they combat spot algae on tank surfaces. They are not capable, it seems, of pulling tougher algae with their " hands". They eat algae directly with their mouths.
Soren "Disky" Peterson also has a nice image of a Caridina japonica on his web page.
Unfortunately for North American aquarists, this species is not yet readily available in all but the coastal and near coastal states. Some report that they do ship well, so they should be more available soon in all locations. I haven't been able to test this yet, but hope to do so soon!
2
Another caridina species, Caridina serrata, is also widely known in the aquaria hobby. Uwe Werner notes that this shrimp is the most well-known, having been used in the aquarium hobby for many years. C. serrata is of Asian descent, most likely Hong Kong. Other shrimp hail from this area too, i.e. C. lanceifrons, Neocaridina serrata, and Macrobrachium hainanense4. There are several dwarf varieties of this shrimp, most notably the shrimp commonly known as the Bumble Bee shrimp. A hybridization of this shrimp - the Crystal Red - is also available.
Much of the information on the Crystal Red site above is duplicated on the Caridina serrata site maintained by Frans Goddijn mentioned at the beginning of this section.
Bee shrimps, as they are often referred to, are fairly small. They grow to only 1" in adulthood and grow to adulthood fairly slowly. The pictures to the right show bee shrimp and crystal red together, as well as a single crystal red shrimp.
As their common name suggests, they are marked with light black to grey stripes across their backs. The ideal requirements for keeping these shrimps are a pH less than 7.5 and clean (ammonia/ammonium free) water. Temperatures in the 22-25C range are best. A planted tank with a neutral to acidic pH would be an ideal environment.
Bee shrimp are not particularly great algae consumers; perhaps due to their small size. They do however tend to remain very active and are quite peaceful toward other tank mates. Soft mosses, flake food, and vegetable matter are favored over other food sources. Frans Goddijn suggests carrots and Mr. Suzuki (Crystal Red site) suggests boiled spinach.
To breed the Bee shrimp successfully, the aquarist needs only maintain the proper environmental conditions set forth above. Clean water being of utmost importance. Bee shrimp can reproduce on a monthly basis if cared for properly. The life span of the average Bee shrimp is only 15 months and it generally takes about 6 months to attain adult size5. I am not certain if the shrimps must have attained adult size before they will begin to produce offspring or whether their reproductive potential begins at an earlier stage.
3
Another species of shrimp, closely related to the Yamato shrimp, are classified in the Neocaridina genus. There is little to no information concerning shrimp in this genus mentioned in aquaria literature. One species that is mentioned is Neocaridina denticula, which is known in Japan as Minami numa ebi (Southern Marsh or Swamp Shrimp). Minimum requirements for the care of this species are described as a temperature between 15 and 28C and a neutral pH. These shrimp are said to attain an adult size of 3-4 cm 6.
I hope this helps those that have these species and if further info is needed on said inverts mentioned in above article please feel free to ''pm'' me and I will do my best to help .
god bless
General Information for hobbyist
source: Joe Anderson
Approximately seven (7) different varieties of shrimp are mentioned in reference to freshwater aquaria : Yamato Numa Ebi/Caridina spp., Ghost/Grass, Wood/Singapore, Rock/Mountain, Bumble Bee, Macrobrachium, and Neocaridina spp. These shrimp are kept primarily as detritus and/or algae consumers. Shrimp of the genus Macrobrachium, however, do not provide any use to the aquarist in general. Although they could possibly be kept as a novelty for their own sake.
In addition to these shrimp, there are other aquatic invertebrates which are often encountered by aquarists. These are: crayfish (which are harvested mainly for human consumption as are Macrobrachium shrimp), CYCLOPS, B Gammarus and Daphnia (which are not true shrimp). These crustaceans are used primarily as fish food or bait. These invertebrates are described in more detail in the last section of this article.
I've put together a rough taxonomic chart of Crustacea that you can view in conjunction with this article.
1
photo by Greg DeGreef
Of the seven species found to be useful to the aquaria hobby, the Japanese Marsh Shrimp - better known as the Yamato Numa Ebi - is by far the most popular in the hobby. The Yamato Numa Ebi, which can be translated as Japanese Marsh or Grass Shrimp, is taxonomically identified as Caridina japonica. According to Nature Aquarium World literature, this shrimp was introduced to the aquarium hobby in 1983 by renowned aquarist and photographer, Takashi Amano 1. It is for this reason that this species is often referred to as the Amano shrimp.
Yamato shrimp grow to a maximum adult size of 2" head to tail (approximately 5cm). Although very tolerant of salinity and pH ranges (down to 6.0), they are very sensitive to ammonia/ammonium and heavy metal concentrations, as are most freshwater shrimp. Temperature, likewise has to be kept below 30C because they are not a tropical species.
Speaking of caridina and neocaridina species in general, Uwe Werner states that if these animals are healthy they will breed without difficulty. Males, he claims can be identified by their long swimmerets and females most easily by the presence of eggs2. They do not produce many offspring and the eggs are very tiny, thus the difficulty that aquarists encounter in breeding them in captive settings.
For one Chinese Singaporean aquarist's experience with this fact, see Tow Fui's article on Breeding Yamato Numa Ebi. A European aquarist has accomplished the feat and describes his experiences in this article. The information in this second article is entirely in German, however, so you'll need a translation service or a German friend. Alta Vista has a pretty good translation service on their site, you might try it.
One of the most distinguishing traits of the Yamato shrimp is that it is much more attractively colored than the other varieties. Their bodies are light brown to opaque with a tan stripe down their back. Additional series of broken reddish-brown lines run down their sides. They will also have two dark spots on their tail, one in each rear corner. Of additional importance to aquarists is the fact that they do not possess the large claws of some of the other shrimp species and they are purportedly longer lived.
The real attraction of these shrimp is their avowed success in algae consumption, especially soft algaes. They are also rumored to eat red algaes in the absence of other foods. However, like most captive inverts they will choose fish food over algae any day and often will turn on soft leafed plants (especially soft mosses, i.e. java moss and riccia)3 in the absence of softer algae types or fish foods. They will not, however, eat Black Brush Alage (BBA), nor can they combat spot algae on tank surfaces. They are not capable, it seems, of pulling tougher algae with their " hands". They eat algae directly with their mouths.
Soren "Disky" Peterson also has a nice image of a Caridina japonica on his web page.
Unfortunately for North American aquarists, this species is not yet readily available in all but the coastal and near coastal states. Some report that they do ship well, so they should be more available soon in all locations. I haven't been able to test this yet, but hope to do so soon!
2
Another caridina species, Caridina serrata, is also widely known in the aquaria hobby. Uwe Werner notes that this shrimp is the most well-known, having been used in the aquarium hobby for many years. C. serrata is of Asian descent, most likely Hong Kong. Other shrimp hail from this area too, i.e. C. lanceifrons, Neocaridina serrata, and Macrobrachium hainanense4. There are several dwarf varieties of this shrimp, most notably the shrimp commonly known as the Bumble Bee shrimp. A hybridization of this shrimp - the Crystal Red - is also available.
Much of the information on the Crystal Red site above is duplicated on the Caridina serrata site maintained by Frans Goddijn mentioned at the beginning of this section.
Bee shrimps, as they are often referred to, are fairly small. They grow to only 1" in adulthood and grow to adulthood fairly slowly. The pictures to the right show bee shrimp and crystal red together, as well as a single crystal red shrimp.
As their common name suggests, they are marked with light black to grey stripes across their backs. The ideal requirements for keeping these shrimps are a pH less than 7.5 and clean (ammonia/ammonium free) water. Temperatures in the 22-25C range are best. A planted tank with a neutral to acidic pH would be an ideal environment.
Bee shrimp are not particularly great algae consumers; perhaps due to their small size. They do however tend to remain very active and are quite peaceful toward other tank mates. Soft mosses, flake food, and vegetable matter are favored over other food sources. Frans Goddijn suggests carrots and Mr. Suzuki (Crystal Red site) suggests boiled spinach.
To breed the Bee shrimp successfully, the aquarist needs only maintain the proper environmental conditions set forth above. Clean water being of utmost importance. Bee shrimp can reproduce on a monthly basis if cared for properly. The life span of the average Bee shrimp is only 15 months and it generally takes about 6 months to attain adult size5. I am not certain if the shrimps must have attained adult size before they will begin to produce offspring or whether their reproductive potential begins at an earlier stage.
3
Another species of shrimp, closely related to the Yamato shrimp, are classified in the Neocaridina genus. There is little to no information concerning shrimp in this genus mentioned in aquaria literature. One species that is mentioned is Neocaridina denticula, which is known in Japan as Minami numa ebi (Southern Marsh or Swamp Shrimp). Minimum requirements for the care of this species are described as a temperature between 15 and 28C and a neutral pH. These shrimp are said to attain an adult size of 3-4 cm 6.
I hope this helps those that have these species and if further info is needed on said inverts mentioned in above article please feel free to ''pm'' me and I will do my best to help .
god bless
