About
Don’t let their small size fool you, if you are looking for one of hardest working algae eaters around, look no further than the amano shrimp. These shrimp will chow down even on black brush and hair algae.
Amano shrimp are on average around 2 inches in size, live, on average, 2-3 years, and are generally a translucent grey or brownish in color. They typically will have a line running through the top of their abdomen along with a series of spots and dashes along their body.
Tank Set Up
When it comes to tank set up, the minimum recommended tank size for the amano shrimp is 5 gallons.
You will want to take care in choosing filtration, as amano shrimp have been known to get sucked up into powerful filters. So, you may need to add a sponge to the outside of the filter to prevent this from happening.
Amano shrimp can tolerate a wide pH and temperature range but will do best if kept in temperatures between 70°-80°, with a pH between 6.5-8, and a gH between 5-15.
Amano shrimp do best when kept in a heavily planted tank as they really need many places to be able to hide, with this in mind you will want to be careful when dosing tanks with fertilizers as many do contain copper in them, which can potentially be harmful to the shrimp.
Tank Mates
Amano shrimp are typically very peaceful, but due to their small size, you will want to take care in choosing tank mates. Always remember, if it fits in the fish’s mouth, it’s food.
Because of their small size, and peaceful nature, they are a very popular tank mate for betta fish. Bettas can and may sometimes pick on shrimp, so if you are keeping these shrimp with your betta, you may want to watch to make sure your betta isn’t picking on them.
A few other examples of good tank mates for amano shrimp can include danios, guppies, platies, white cloud minnows, harlequin rasboras, neon tetras, or Corydoras.
Diet
When it comes to diet, feeding amano shrimp couldn’t be easier. Along with consuming any algae and decaying plant material in your tank, they will constantly scavenge your tank for any left-over food.
You will want to take care not to feed any foods that may contain copper, as once again, copper can be harmful to your shrimp.
If there is little to no algae or excess food for your shrimp to feed on you can also offer them high quality shrimp pellets, fish flakes, algae wafers, and blanched vegetables, such as zucchini.
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