# Shrimp behaviour



## Tucky Buzzard (12 Jul 2017)

Hi, new member here.
I set up my a tank for my son three weeks ago and have followed the guidelines as best as I can.
I have a Superfish Aqua65 with live plants, rocks and a branch.
We added 5 Amanos and 5 Cherries and while they have all survived so far they don't seem to be behaving like I see them do on youtube clips where they are swarming over every morsel of food.
Mine are less active though they seem relatively content. The Amanos in particular hide at the back of the tank for the most part , at least in the daytime. We have added small amounts of shrimp food but haven't seen them eat any.
The only fish we have are 5 harlequins and 5 cardinal tetras so the shrimp certainly have little to be scared of. 
Water temperature is around 25.
I love shrimp and would like to add a few more but I'm just not seeing the ravenous scrums I see on the 'net. 
Any advice is welcome.


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## Silviu Man (12 Jul 2017)

Hi!
Amano are algae eaters. This is what they are doing all the time, when algae are available. RCS are also algae eaters. People say _"Amano are eating algae but RCS make the fine tune after Amano"_. And is true! 

Probable they stay there, in the back, because there is the food. What you can try is to do this : take a cucumber, take off the peel, cut it in small lays, boil it for 2-3 minutes, then put them in a stick and push the stick in the gravel, in an open space of the tank. See what it happens!

In my tank, this is what it happens all the time when I give them cucumber (2-3 times per week).


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## kadoxu (25 Jul 2017)

When in doubt try GalsGarten Shrimp Dinner Pads... if they don't go for that, they won't go for anything!


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## mow said (25 Jul 2017)

when i added my amano shrimps they were active and then one day all of them disappeared i thought they were dead. But i found them hiding the reason might be is because they are molting. When a female molts all the amanos go with her and i think they all molt at once , also when they molt they tend to hide and you will see them coming out after a couple of days.


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## Silviu Man (25 Jul 2017)

I have a different experience with Amano. There is some activity around female but not too long. When they disappear, then clearly there is a death shrimp or fish in the back. They eat everything if they have no algae to eat.


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## PBM3000 (26 Jul 2017)

Newly introduced shrimp can hide for weeks on end. If they're healthy, theyll come out when they're more comfortable.


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## Natasha (26 Jul 2017)

What is your tank like for food sources? My Amano used to hustle when they arrived but now that they are settled they are usually quietly working away somewhere they feel safe. Unlike some of the breeder tanks on YouTube they don't seem to swarm over food because they have a rich environment of food sources already and aren't hungry or overcrowded and therefore don't need to be competitive for any food that I might periodically drop in. So yeah I reckon when they lived at the breeder tank they needed to bust a move to get scraps but not now. Also there seems to be a pecking order and the tough guys get the food first and the others wait until their turn. 

Your tank has cycled right?


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## MadMike (31 Jul 2017)

I'd second that they're just settling in. Mine spent a couple of weeks behind the heater until they felt bold enough to come out. The still jump away when a larger fish comes by, but overall their behaviour is spot on. 

Mine also hide when they molt. 

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## BubblingUnder (31 Jul 2017)

Mine were the same when I first put them in I hardly saw them for a few weeks. But now they come out regularly when I feed the fish searching for flake & granules.

They seem to be happier to come out as a group in the evening for some reason & disappear completely when moulting. Now when I put my hand in the tank to clear my display glass they swarm on to my arm presumably eating dead skin as I can feel a pricking sensation on my skin (this is after being in my tank for 4 months & there are only five of them). Just give them time to settle in.


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## Lindy (29 Aug 2017)

I would stop putting in so much food as you risk spoiling your water quality. Either there is enough waste food left from feeding your fish or the shrimp aren't happy with the tank parameters. I would try a couple of small water changes and see if they perk up. 

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