Share this article:
Freshwater shrimp appeared in the collections of Russian lovers not so long ago, and have already managed to win new fans. One of their main advantages is their small size and, therefore, the ability to live in small-volume aquariums, which can easily fit into any city apartment or even on an office desk. What requirements do these crustaceans make for their home?
Types of aquarium shrimp with descriptions and photos
Shrimp are not only a decoration for any aquarium, but also aquarium orderlies. Crustaceans became pets only recently, but have already gained immense popularity among both beginners and experienced aquarists.
Recently, many different types of aquarium shrimp have been bred by experienced breeders. There are several such types. Let's look at the most popular types:
Shrimp Cherry or Cherry
Cherry or Cherry is one of the most common species throughout the world, which was bred by breeders from Germany.
It reaches a length of about 4 cm, life expectancy is on average 1-2 years.
The size of the aquarium is from 5 liters for 10 individuals, but for comfort it is better to have 1 liter for 1 Cherry shrimp. They can live at temperatures from +14-30˚С, but a comfortable temperature is from +22-25˚С, acidity from 6.5-8 pH, hardness from 3-10° dH.
Cherry is omnivorous, eats: zoo- and phytoplankton on moss, dead parts of plants, corpses of small fish, shrimp pellets, live and frozen food, lightly boiled vegetables.
Blue Dream
Blue Dream, the shrimp was named so because of its brightly saturated, very beautiful blue color. The maximum length of a female is 3 cm, a male is 2 cm. Females are larger than males and much brighter in color. Very unpretentious in breeding and maintenance, suitable for breeding for beginning aquarists.
It feeds on aquarium algae and the remains of flakes of fish food, feeding once a day with dry food for shrimp or bottom fish.
Temperature for keeping from +22-26° C, acidity from 6.5-8 pH, hardness from 5-18° dH. When kept in the required conditions, the lifespan is up to 2 years.
Cardinal
The Cardinal shrimp reaches 1.5-2 cm. Natural habitat of the lake of the Sulawesi islands, Indonesia. The content of Cardinal is quite complex, since its maintenance requires a temperature of +26-29°C, acidity from 7.8-8.2 pH, potassium hydride from 7-9 kH, alkalinity from 7-9 gH, water salinity from 90-140 TDS, hardness 7° dH.
The substrate should be soil with a size of 3-4 mm with an abundance of aquarium plants and especially mosses. There is also an abundance of stones that serve as a home.
Life expectancy 1 year.
Riley
The Riley shrimp is one of the most unpretentious aquarium crustaceans. To maintain it, you need a temperature of +18-28° C, acidity from 6.5-7.5 pH, hardness from 4 to 14° dH. If all maintenance requirements are met, the lifespan is 2-3 years.
One Riley requires an aquarium of at least 1 liter. The size of an adult female reaches up to 2-2.5 cm, the size of a male up to 1.5 cm.
They feed on: algae, dead and rotting plants, fish food. For reproduction there must be clean water and all maintenance requirements must be met.
Far Eastern shrimp
The Far Eastern shrimp is an aquarium orderly with a transparent shell and dark transverse stripes, but the color depends on the color of the food and the shade of the substrate. It reaches 4-5 cm in length.
The Far Eastern omnivore feeds on aquarium algae, dry and live food, and vegetables (carrots, cucumbers). Can help in the fight against thread. He can also eat his own kind - a cannibal. When threatened, it can voluntarily drop its paws. But during molting, the limbs are regenerated.
You can run 10-15 individuals per 100 liters. An important factor in terms of content is oxygen in the container and filtration. The temperature can be from +18-30° C, but a comfortable temperature is from +20-24° C, acidity from 5.5-7.5 pH, hardness 10° dH, and kh 3 – 6.
Red, black crystal
Shrimp red, black Crystal is a real striped aquarium cleaner. This species was nicknamed for its bright color, consisting of alternating white and red (or black) stripes across the shell. Crystal was developed in China.
The size of the female Crystal shrimp is 2.5 cm, the size of the male is 1.5-2 cm. Recommended for breeding by experienced aquarists.
Crystal feeds on aquarium algae. An excess of protein is detrimental for this shrimp, so it is not recommended to frequently feed it with live food. The ideal food is a specialized food for shrimp.
Temperature for keeping from +21-26° C, acidity from 6.5-7.5 pH, hardness from 4-6° dH. Life expectancy, subject to maintenance conditions, is 1.5-2 years.
Filter
The Filter shrimp is very different in appearance from other crustaceans; it has cilia-fans on its claws, with which it feeds. The filter finds the strongest current near the filter and catches microorganisms, plant remains, etc. with its cilia.
The size in captivity is from 6-10 cm. In the wild, the size of the female reaches up to 20 cm, and the male up to 18 cm. For a small flock you need an aquarium of 40-60 liters.
The water temperature should be from +23-29° C, acidity from 6.5-7.5 pH, hardness from 4-8° dH. Life expectancy is from 1.5-2 years.
Glass Shrimp
The Glass Shrimp is very beautiful, with a transparent shell reaching a length of no more than 4 cm.
Glass is in constant search of food. It feeds on fish food, specialized food for crustaceans, and loves live food such as bloodworms and tubifex.
One individual needs an aquarium of 4 liters. Water temperature from +20-28° C, acidity from 6.5-7.5 pH, hardness from 4-8° dH. Lives from 1 to 1.5 years.
Black Tiger
The black tiger or black diamond shrimp was bred by breeders in Japan from the common tiger shrimp. There are two types of black tiger shrimp, the first type with black eyes and the second - the most valuable type - with orange eyes. In captivity, the maximum size of a female is up to 3 cm, the size of a male is up to 2.5 cm.
It feeds on dry aquarium food for crustaceans or fish. Water temperature from +17-23° C, acidity from 6.5-7.2 pH, hardness from 2-10° dH. Life expectancy is from 1.5-2 years.
Red-Nosed Pinocchio
The red nose shrimp Pinocchio lives in a group of 6 or more individuals. For a group you need an aquarium of at least 30 liters in size. Male Pinocchio grows up to 4 cm, females up to 5 cm. Comfortable keeping conditions:
- temperature from +24-30° C;
- acidity from 6.5-7.5 pH;
- hardness from 8-15° dH.
Pinocchio, like the Far Eastern one, can regenerate limbs. If for some reason Pinocchio lost his nose, then thanks to regeneration the nose will grow back.
As environmental conditions worsen, Pinocchio changes from a transparent color to a milky hue.
Babaulti green
Babaulti green in the wild grows up to 4 cm, in captivity up to 3 cm. Comfortable temperature will be from +22-28° C. Acidity from 6.5-8 pH. Hardness from 8-20° dH. The volume of the aquarium is from 5 liters per individual. If the maintenance conditions are met, green Babaulti lives for 2-3 years.
Compatible in the aquarium with all small non-aggressive species, crustaceans, colorful fish and snails.
Macrobrachium
Macrobrachium means “large-armed” in Greek. Macrobrachium uses long claws to capture food, fight for territory, and hold the female during mating. The organ of touch is developed due to long antennae.
In the wild, the size can reach up to 30 cm. In captivity it grows up to 20 cm. Macrobrachium live in flocks and in such a flock there is a dominant male, so the capacity should be from 10 liters per individual and there should be shelters.
The most common colors are yellow, blue, black, but as they grow, the color may change to the color of the ground.
Conditions in the container: temperature from +20-32° C; hardness from 6-15° dH; acidity 6.5-8.5 pH. Duration in container up to 4 years.
Amano
Amano reaches 6 cm. The color depends on the food it eats. They live from 2 to 3 years, but there have been cases when they live for 5-6 years.
Amano live in flocks of 10 or more individuals. For 1 individual you need 5 liters (this is for comfortable living). Temperature from +23-27° C; acidity from 7-7.5 pH; hardness from 2-20° dH.
If there is a precedent for a mass escape, then you need to pay attention to the environmental conditions.
Gets along with all non-aggressive species.
Proper feeding
There are many opinions on this matter. However, almost all shrimp owners agree that force feeding can only supplement the natural diet of small representatives of the arthropod class.
What is included in this diet?
- Basically, shrimp eat everything they can eat. For example, plant and living microorganisms floating on the surface of water.
- Many aquarists are familiar with the phenomenon of surface film formation. So, this film, consisting of microorganisms, is perhaps the most favorite delicacy of these representatives of crustaceans, as well as green (blue-green) algae, which is a real scourge of home aquariums.
- Shrimps do not disdain carrion (dead fish, for example), as well as the chitinous shell discarded by their fellow tribesmen.
Let us repeat: shrimp (both in nature and in captivity) are practically omnivores. In the aquarium, they play the role of sort of cleaners, clearing the soil and aquatic environment of various debris.
Thus, there is no single, strictly established diet for these animals; There are also no unshakable generally accepted feeding rules.
We can only conditionally divide the options for feeding aquarium shrimp based on two circumstances:
- when kept together with fish;
- or subject to separate keeping in a shrimp tank (an aquarium where only shrimp live).
What to feed an aquarium shrimp
Shrimp eat absolutely everything; they are the so-called omnivorous aquarium cleaners.
These underwater inhabitants are always in search of food. They eat aquarium algae, dead parts of other plants, dead fish, live food, lightly cooked vegetables and even particles of organic waste that remain on the walls of water purification filters.
Also, no more than three times a week, shrimp can be fed with any shrimp food, such as dried daphnia or tetra.
Habitat in nature
Cherry shrimp are actually a color variation of the common neocardina, bred through selection and enhancement of bright colors. Neocardines, on the other hand, are distinguished by their inconspicuous, camouflage coloring, which is not surprising; they cannot survive with cherry blossoms in nature.
By the way, neocardines live in Taiwan, in freshwater bodies of water, and are distinguished by their rare unpretentiousness and speed in breeding. These were the first of the shrimp that began to appear in large quantities in the post-Soviet space, but gradually they gave way to cherry shrimp.
At the moment, shrimp lovers have developed a whole quality classification, which is based on the size and color of the individual; elite cherry shrimp sometimes cost a lot of money.
How to distinguish a female from a male and how to breed
Determining the sex of a shrimp is quite easy; usually the female is much larger than the male and has a curved lower abdomen, a saddle on the back and a darker or richer color.
To reproduce, you don’t need to make any effort at all; they cope just fine on their own. During the breeding season, the female secretes certain enzymes into the water, and the males, sensing these enzymes, rush around the aquarium in search of her. Mating between a male and female lasts only a second. After mating, the female has fertilized eggs, first on her back, then they smoothly move to her abdomen, and after 3-4 weeks the fry appear.
Aquarium crustaceans require constant movement of water in the tank for proper ventilation of the eggs. Under conditions of properly organized water flow in the aquarium, the risk of embryo death due to damage by bacteria and fungi is reduced.
general characteristics
Homemade shrimp in an aquarium look very aesthetically pleasing and are a decoration for any artificial tank . There are a huge number of species of these crustaceans of all kinds of colors. Many species are quite accessible to aquarium owners. But there are very large aquarium shrimp of rare and valuable species, the cost of which is fabulous.
Appearance
Several segments make up the body of a shrimp. Each such department has its own limbs that perform various actions. The first three segments of the body have a shell that performs a protective function. The jaws, whiskers and mandibles are limbs.
The shrimp has a complex mouthparts of a certain size. It contains three pairs of jaws that grind food, which it holds with its jaws. The remaining five pairs of thoracic limbs are used by arthropods for crawling and catching prey.
To swim, they use abdominal legs called pleopods. Females use them when bearing eggs. And the first pair in males is the copulatory organ.
Habitats
Under natural conditions, these arthropods are found almost everywhere - both in salt water and freshwater. But each species has its own place of birth. For example, the Amano species comes from Japan, where it is found in mountain rivers flowing into the Pacific Ocean.
The birthplace of the rednose shrimp is Venezuela. In the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Panama, a fan-shaped species of these crustaceans is found. Babaulti's habitat is India. Most of the ornamental freshwater shrimp in the aquarium are native to Asia. In Russia, they live in the Far East, where there are more than 100 species. There are about two thousand species in their family.
In natural conditions, shrimp are found almost everywhere
Compatibility of aquarium shrimp with other fish
Aquarium shrimp get along well with small, non-aggressive fish species, such as:
- Guppy;
- Pecilia;
- Danio;
- Neons;
- Neon irises;
- Parotocinclus.
It is strictly recommended not to add large predatory fish, large Cichlids such as Maingano, Angelfish, Apistogramma, to shrimp, since these types of fish can eat shrimp and it is recommended not to add predatory Helena snails.
Shrimp diseases
Aquarium shrimp are highly adaptable, so they are least susceptible to disease. But most often they are carriers of bacteria and harmful microorganisms. If not properly cared for, aquarium shrimp can harbor certain types of parasitic creatures, such as:
- Suvoiki (Vorticellidae);
- trumpeter ciliates (Stentoridae);
- parasitic worms of the genus (Scutariella);
- parasitic algae (Cladogonium ogishimae).
Treatment of shrimp is not required, you just need to eliminate the cause of bad water and improve living conditions.
Breeding
It is better to start breeding with the easiest ones to keep - Cherry shrimp or Neocaridin. Good and rapid reproduction is facilitated by favorable conditions in the aquarium, as well as the presence of opposite sexes of reproductive age. The breeding of a new species is helped by the system of crossing (selection).
Reproduction occurs after the females molt (shedding their shell), during which special pheromones are released, which serve as a sign for the males.
Only the most mobile and active ones will be able to fertilize an individual. After this, eggs appear, which then move under the tail to the belly, where they stick to the swimming legs (pleopods) and develop. The formation of a new generation occurs within a month, after which the young hatch. Having left the womb, they become independent and immediately begin searching for food at the bottom of the tank.
The fry are small in size - 4 mm, but very active, completely similar in color to their parents. They grow up quite quickly and after 1-1.5 months they are ready to bear offspring themselves. Their diet is no different from that of adults.
If mating has not started, you can facilitate this by changing the water or changing the environment for the partners.
