#amanoshrimp

(also transfemme here its just that i never got around to un-gimmicking my blog)

Well umm amano shrimp (caridina multidentata) are a freshwater shrimp but have some interesting breeding practices/early life stage behavior.

As far as I can tell fertilization of eggs happens after molting, but is also more frequent with high protein diets? (I feed my shrimp a combo of copepods, brine shrimp, and mysis shrimp)

The eggs tend to be fanned in the mother’s swimmerettes for about 1 month - 6 weeks before hatching and at that point the larvae separate from mom. They are very light attracted

In the wild the babies would then swim downstream to estuaries/brackish water for the first 4-6 weeks of their life cycle until they metamorphosize into adult shrimp, where they’ll swim upstream to fresh water again for the remainder of their life.

As adults they are also greedy lil bastards who steal the algae wafers from my corydora catfish despite the algae wafer being bigger than their head.

Here’s larva pic and a berried (egg laden) amano shrimp pic

The larva in the first pic is about the size of the tip of a sewing needle

My Experiences With Amano Shrimp As Algae Eaters In My Planted Tanks!

Amano Shrimp are one of the best algae eaters you can add to a freshwater aquarium, and they’ve earned that reputation for good reason. These shrimp are hardworking, versatile, and constantly foraging, which makes them a favorite among aquarists who want a natural way to keep their tanks clean. In my own aquariums, I’ve seen Amano Shrimp consume huge amounts of brown diatom algae and soft green algae, which can otherwise take over a tank quickly. They’ll even pick at hair algae, though it’s harder to measure exactly how much of it they eat compared to other types.

When I compare them directly to my Neocaridina shrimp or common algae-eating snails, Amano Shrimp consistently stand out. They simply eat more algae in larger quantities, which makes them one of the most effective tank cleaners I’ve kept. But their cleaning doesn’t stop there—they also take care of leftover fish food, decaying plant matter, and other detritus that would otherwise contribute to poor water quality. This combination of algae control and cleanup makes them one of the most useful invertebrates for a planted tank or community setup.

Their small size is another big advantage. Amano Shrimp can thrive in nano aquariums as well as larger tanks, fitting in almost any aquascape. Since they originate from waters around Japan, they tolerate a wide range of temperatures and actually do very well in unheated, room-temperature tanks. I’ve personally kept them as low as 18°C (64°F) with no issues at all. As long as your water parameters are stable and they have access to food, they usually won’t try to escape like some other shrimp species.

One important thing to know is that Amano Shrimp are not a species you can breed in your standard freshwater aquarium. Their larvae require brackish water to survive and grow, which means you won’t see them reproduce the way Neocaridina shrimp do. Instead, they remain steady members of your cleanup crew.