These shrimp are a type of freshwater shrimp that can grow to be up to 6 inches long. They’re also known as “palm shrimp” due to their size. They’re native to the hard water streams of Japan and are not generally found in most other parts of the world.
They’re also among the most popular shrimp species due to their striking appearance. In this article, we’ll explore some of the best ways you can take care of your Amano Shrimp for it to live a long and healthy life in your home aquarium.
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What are they?
As mentioned earlier, this critter is a type of freshwater shrimp that can grow to be up to 6 inches long. They’re also known as “palm shrimp” due to their size. They have limited eyesight which helps them hide from predators, particularly larger fish. The coloration of the shrimps tends towards shades of grey with black highlights.
The colors are different depending on the type of shrimp you choose to keep in your tank but the Amano Shrimp has pincers on their front legs, perfect for gripping food and other small items that they can place into their mouths using their other two smaller front legs which are also used to walk along the substrate. They were named after Takashi Amano, a pioneer in aquascaping.
Maintenance Tips For Your Shrimp Tank
When keeping Amano in your tank, the most important thing to remember is that they love a natural environment. You will have to create a natural-looking biotope for them by using rocks, plants, and driftwood.
This way, you can keep your shrimp happy and healthy. The water also needs to be maintained at a pH between 6.5 and 8. The hardness should be at least 4 dH, but not exceed 7-8 DH. Dissolved oxygen must also remain above 50% of saturation levels after aeration has occurred for around 24 hours.
Toxic Fish And Shrimp Don’t Mix!
One thing you’ll need to keep in mind is that the Amano are very sensitive to their environment. So before getting one, make sure you are familiar with the basic terrain maintenance they can live in. Naivety in keeping them can result in losing your pet shrimp in no time, so you must purchase the right fish for your tank.
Avoid keeping any fish together with your shrimp if they’re harmful to shrimps, particularly Dojo Loaches (which love to eat shrimp), as well as Tiger Barbs.
You also should not include any bottom-feeding fish or those that come from the same region as your shrimp, as they may try to compete for food with them.
Cleaning Your Shrimp Tank Is A Must!
You should clean your tank weekly so that toxic chemicals don’t accumulate and affect the health of your shrimp.
Everything in the tank must be taken out during cleaning, even plants and rocks so you can scrub everything down to remove any leftover food bits stuck onto surfaces or plants.
Rinse off all substrate materials before replacing them in the tank. Always remember to replace the water in the aquarium using a dechlorinating solution instead of just topping up with tap water.
Your shrimp could be at risk of having their shell damaged or broken when you’re cleaning the tank.
Do it with care so as not to damage your shrimp. It can also happen if they’re handled by children or pets without proper supervision, so watch over them when they’re playing around in the water or moving rocks and driftwood around.
An added blessing
The benefits of owning an aquarium with these little beings in it are numerous. Not only can you add a beautiful and mysterious touch to your décor, but these shrimp are also low maintenance and easy to care for.
They’re active swimmers that will provide hours of entertainment for you while they zip around the tank looking for food. If you have trouble locating Amano in stores near you, many online retailers sell them.
Health and maintenance challenges
There are a few potential risks that these pets can face in regards to their health. The food may contain bacteria or other pathogens that can make your shrimp sick if they consume it. Another risk is the water becoming too hard for them to tolerate.
Usually, this occurs when there’s an imbalance of electrolytes in the water, or when you have two different types of ammonia-based compounds in the tank. These could change the pH and other chemicals in a way that isn’t allowed by their biology and cause stress on them, leading to illness or death.
Feeding
The final thing to consider here is what type of food you should feed your Amano Shrimp. When keeping them in tanks, you need to provide them with a diet containing spirulina algae (which is rich in carotene), along with chlorella (which contains nitrates). You shouldn’t feed them any other type of food besides the one you provide or else they may get sick and die due to malnutrition.
When it comes to the proper care, you must do your research to ensure they’re safe in your home. This means not introducing any fish into their personal space that would like to eat them for dinner!
It also takes a lot of patience and time to take care of these shrimp so be sure you have both if you plan on having them in your tank. If you do, however, then they’ll reward you with hours and hours of entertainment and enjoyment!
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