• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Bamboo/wood shrimp

Simmo

Member
Joined
11 Dec 2020
Messages
311
Location
Scotland
Hi,
I ordered 5 Amanos and received 5 Wood shrimp. Having read about their filter feeding needs it seems unlikely they will all survive in my 200 litre cubish tank due to a lack of suspended food. Initially a couple seemed starving as the started sifting the sand immediately, I’ve added some live brine shrimp and powdered flake and ordered baby shrimp powder as well as reconfiguring my spraybar to give them more flow and I’ve ordered a Fluval U1 to stick on a corner (can run without any medium for now) I water change 30-40% twice a week and have a Juwel Bioflow with a 1000 lph powerhead, sponges and sintered glass media, tank is planted and about 10 weeks old so suspended solids might be quite low?
The vendor is sending 5 Amanos and I have corys and 16 neons in the yank.
Looking for advice from experienced wood shrimpists! 😀 Should I try and nurture them or offload to a better home, maybe keep 1.
Cheers
Dave
 
Hi all,
Having read about their filter feeding needs it seems unlikely they will all survive in my 200 litre cubish tank due to a lack of suspended food.
I think you can feed them with very finely powdered flake food etc. and possibly they do better in tanks with leaf litter etc.

cheers Darrel
 
Just as a matter of principle; you wanted Amano shrimp but got lumbered with something else entirely. I'd re-home them.

It's not fair on you, you didn't want them in the first place so now you're having to make comprises that you probably wouldn't need to make with Amano. Also not fair on the wood shrimp because maybe their new home isn't ideal for them.

Get the Amanos you always wanted.
 
No experience of these but this is a standard reply I see on one of the shrimp groups I belong to.

Can't comment on whether this is accurate or helpful but just in case...

What you should know before buying these types of shrimp, if any of you are thinking of buying these on impulse they need certain conditions to do well and not recommend for beginners (especially Vampire shrimp ) both types of shrimp are taken from the wild and are nearly impossible to breed in captivity a few manage to get their conditions suitable for mating and get them berried, but only a handful in the world get past this stage so please only buy when you know you can meet their specifications as this is particularly important with the Vampire Shrimp, as it is a fragile timid creature as well as a picky eater. If you are serious about prolonging the lifespan of your Vampire Shrimp, providing it with its ideal conditions is critical .
Atyopsis moluccensis...
Bamboo shrimp, Singapore shrimp, flower shrimp, wood-shrimp, fan shrimp, rock shrimp are all names this shrimp go by, bamboos are orange/brown or beige even green in colour they can also have a strip down their back , I’ve also seen mine a purple/brown colour their colour can change based on where they were caught and if they have moulted
Atya gabonensis ...
Vampire shrimp , armoured shrimp ,giant African fan shrimp , Cameroon shrimp, blue rhino shrimp again lots of difference names they go by these can be grey, dark grey ,dark blue, light blue, white/cream pink/peach they can change their colour 2/3 times a year also (unlike the bamboo) they will change colour depending on mood, ( as in going darker/lighter in colour ) both these shrimp are filter feeders using their fan-shaped legs to filter water and capture microorganisms, plant remnants, algae and other bits of small waste , as well as the natural stuff in your tank I recommend feeding ( it’s a must to keep them healthy ) Dennerle Shrimpking Atyopsis food which you should mix in a cup of tank water and get a turkey baster and spray close to them at least 3/4 times a day,(depending on how many you have) I also feed squashed snails and bug bites ,your tank should be at least 9 months old and no smaller than 17 gallon before buying these shrimp
For the bottom you can have sand or gravel , but try to use small rounded gravel as this protects their fans when feeding off the bottom ,and it is ok for them to feed off the bottom around 25% of the day , especially if you feed some of the foods I mentioned above, as long as it isn’t more than 25% of the day.
They need a .Temp 24c/28 c 75f/82f any lower and it can affect their health ,
Ph 7ish bamboo
Ph 6.5/7.5 vampire
Ammonia 0
Bamboo need a moderate flow
Vampires a strong flow
Both species need a good filter as they like a good quality water
Bamboo can grow to around 4inchs 10cm vampire 5/6 inches 13/15cm if conditions are right.
Now bamboo shrimp can be kept in a community tank as long as the fish are peaceful and there are no aggressive ones in there, Vampire shrimp can also be kept in a community tank ,but if you want to see them at their best ( like my own ) you should keep them in a set up with just a few very small fish and dwarf corydoras to keep the bottom clean, they both like a well planted tank , plants don’t need to be planted what I have done is attach Ex Lg java ferns to giant lava rocks this creates lots of hiding places ( making vampire shrimp feel secure ) and added internal filters on the sides of tank to keep them at the front of my tank
All bamboo & vampire shrimp are Taken from the wild ,as they are very difficult to breed & raise in captivity , I see people say well It didn’t have a strong flow in the pet shop or well planted tanks , no they don’t and this puts them under a lot of stress and combined with what they go through in the post a lot of people lose them in the first 3/6 months of putting them in their tanks.
Bamboo shrimp can differ in colour depending on where they were caught
And vampire change depth of colour depending on their mood.
Bamboo shrimp live around 3yrs , Vampires up to 5yrs if their needs are met correctly
I have been keeping both these shrimp around 4 yrs and have around 30 and this is based on my own experience and has I have both species berried I know they are living in the best conditions I can provide for them in captivity . My Vampire shrimp were /are berried approx 48/50 days before releasing their larvae
 
I have two for more than two years now. Previously in high tech setups I could never keep them alive for more than a few months.

I now have them in a high flow low tech and seem to be right at home. I also feel that should be kept at least in pairs because they seem to like some company and hang out together. A fellow hobbyist even had a berried one , again in a no co2 tank.
 
Thanks for the replies folks, certainly not what I ordered but I’d give them a go, it’s an opportunity, but think success is more likely with one or two max. Feeding with a turkey baster 3-4 times a day ain’t going to happen but thats a really useful article thanks. The Amanos are on their way.
I have two for more than two years now. Previously in high tech setups I could never keep them alive for more than a few months.

I now have them in a high flow low tech and seem to be right at home. I also feel that should be kept at least in pairs because they seem to like some company and hang out together. A fellow hobbyist even had a berried one , again in a no co2 tank.
Thanks, mine is a planted, pretty natural low tech tank what do you feed them? Whats your success down to?
 
Last edited:
I never feed them anything special. This is a 100 litre fully planted tank. I feed the fish grindal and various foods in flake or pellet form so I guess this is more than enough it seems the system is able uo sustain both of them, not sure what would be the case if I had say five!

Yours is a 200 litre so I guess it is possible that five can be ok. I highly suggest a dedicated wavemaker they can take all the flow you can give them.
 
I have one in my 330L high tech tank, probably had him about a year or so. I don't feed him anything specific but when i see him perched and fanning for food i sprinkle in some grinded up flake, he likes to sit on the co2 tube in full flow!
 
6EE3BC16-2572-4DF5-86C5-0BB09DFA9A16.jpeg
 
I've got five bamboo shrimp in with a larger group of amanos, and lots of flow. Feeding bloodworm pellets seems to work well: the amanos chew them up, sending clouds of debris into the water column for the bamboos to enjoy.
 
They will eat most foods that they can catch in their fans even large items such as bloodworms
A good frozen food that I like to use on them and small fish is cyclops


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've got five bamboo shrimp in with a larger group of amanos, and lots of flow. Feeding bloodworm pellets seems to work well: the amanos chew them up, sending clouds of debris into the water column for the bamboos to enjoy.

Thanks, I was reading that Amano females spawn regularly and that 7 females will support 3 bamboo shrimp as the Amano ova are eaten by the bamboos. Seem possible but not entirely likely?! Anyway, it's good that other folks are having some success. :)
 
I never feed them anything special. This is a 100 litre fully planted tank. I feed the fish grindal and various foods in flake or pellet form so I guess this is more than enough it seems the system is able uo sustain both of them, not sure what would be the case if I had say five!

Yours is a 200 litre so I guess it is possible that five can be ok. I highly suggest a dedicated wavemaker they can take all the flow you can give them.
Thanks bought a cheapo wave maker although a couple of them are fanning in the flow from a vertical spraybar, problem is they're very hard to see and it's hard to get food into that flow so a wee adjustable fan should help.
 
Here's a quick pic of my bamboos conveniently perched on a huge crypt Usteriana leaf. On the right I keep two 500 l/h Aquael circulators so they never leave this place.

WWDYDzX.jpg
Great photo! Do they ever forage in the substrate too?
 
Not really. They occasionally dart around but very briefly and always return to the high flow area. They may vanish for a couple days when they hide and shed their costume.
 
Wood shrimps are just majestic! I have a gabon shrimp i got for free at P@H after i lost my first i bought for a tenner..

i personally found my little vamp walking around, eating poop and debris (yes, really) and feeding off water column even with no strong current, but my cories move the debris constantly so she feeds constantly too. Now a year or two since i had her :)


Not really. They occasionally dart around but very briefly and always return to the high flow area. They may vanish for a couple days when they hide and shed their costume.
Costume! I love this :D
 
Not really. They occasionally dart around but very briefly and always return to the high flow area. They may vanish for a couple days when they hide and shed their costume.
I wish my 3 Bamboo Shrimp would only vanish for a couple of days. I don't know what I've done to them, but they will vanish for weeks on end, to the point that I was convinced they had died. They make an occasional appearance and if I am lucky like today and yesterday I have seen them. I expect I won't see them again till May the little divas :p
 
I wish my 3 Bamboo Shrimp would only vanish for a couple of days. I don't know what I've done to them, but they will vanish for weeks on end, to the point that I was convinced they had died. They make an occasional appearance and if I am lucky like today and yesterday I have seen them. I expect I won't see them again till May the little divas :p
Maybe a dedicated circulator in a visible place will lure them out.
 
Still a fair amount of foraging on substrate and in leaf litter, just filtering now and again, maybe the food there is more plentiful than the water column. I was concerned they were starving as this is often cited as the reason for foraging but I had one beautifully back lit by a beam of sunlight yesterday evening as it munched mulm and I could see a full black line through its body so its gut was full and it even defecated for me! So far so good then 👍 once I get a few more bits and pieces to change the flow they might filter more but right now I’ll settle for survival. Had a lovely prawn curry for dinner, the irony didn’t go unnoticed.
 
Back
Top