# My Bamboo Shrimp



## Mauser101 (Dec 16, 2003)

Or Fan shrimp, or wood shimp....whatever. :wink: 

I've had him for about a week now and I noticed some odd behavior tonight when I turned off the light. Normally he's just sitting in one place fanning the water or gravel looking for some chow. Tonight after the light went out he kicked into high gear. He'd been swimming all about the tank...and I mean actually swimming. He'd climp up to the top of a piece of driftwood or anacharis and launch from the top. Often he'd swim along the length of the tank and land somewhere and start all over again.

Within the past 30minutes I noticed he was most often climing the anacharis closest to my biowheel and would scrabble & swim against the glass under the fountain until he'd give up and rest for a bit. Then he'd do it all over again.

He doesn't seem to be persuing any other fish, just minding his own business. In fact none of the other fish pay him any mind except for my red tailed shark who seems to make it a point to show the shrimp he doesn't care if Woody _is_ twice his size. 8) 

Anbody have any experience with this shrimp?


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## Raul-7 (Oct 17, 2003)

I think he's trying to flee! Seriously, they do jump out when they aren't happy with your water or feeding...What are your water parameters?


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## Mauser101 (Dec 16, 2003)

I'm still working at finding out exactly what my water is like. I'm a little new to testing anything except for pH though, and even then it's mostly just color matching.

I believe I'm running pH 7.2 and my gH is 14. I'd like to bring down the hardness to around 10. 

I'm a little new to making those adjustments, but I'm positive I have the pH stabilized by now. 

Can you recommend any specific foods my shrimp will enjoy? I haven't seen anything at my local petsmart and I just found my LFS last night. Up till now I've just been letting him gather up the flake that my other fish miss but you've got me worried now.  

Also, I'm having trouble finding specific info on Atyopsis spinipes (that's what he is right?) and if you could help out with a link to such info I'll appreciate it.


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## Raul-7 (Oct 17, 2003)

Atyopsis moluccensis, Wood/Singapore shrimp are ideal representatives of the Atyidae family. Distinguishing features are " a brush-like pilosity of the pairs of the claw carrying legs and the more or less developed tendency within this genera of a reduced rostrum"9. Shrimp in this genus have developed specialized feeding apparatus. The Wood/Singapore shrimp is a filter feeding shrimp and has two pair of specialized webbed, fan-like, appendages instead of claws. They use these to filter algae and microorganisms from the water, effectively acting as a biochemical filtration system! They are very interesting to observe.

These are a tropical species so should be able to handle temperatures in the higher ranges. In nature they live in flowing waters, so water quality needs to be strictly adhered to in the aquarium. Oxygen content being of utmost importance. Alkalinity and salinity ranges could not be determined, though ranges closer to neutral and moderate would more than likely suffice. They are a little more difficult to care for and are sensitive to cold water, high pH, and high GH. May not be the best shrimp for everyone. Truly Unique! One of the best filter feeders! Will stay near the top of the water's surface or near the outlet of a filter.

:arrow: I hope that helps, I also know that they are a great method of getting rid of GW.


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## Mauser101 (Dec 16, 2003)

Huh. So assuming he's not getting enough nutrition from the flake my fish aren't eating would something like THIS be what I'm looking for?

Most of the stuff I'm seeing seems aimed at marine filter feeders.

It sounds like my PH may be _about_ right but I'm going to have to see about my GH. How do you go about lowering that?


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## Mauser101 (Dec 16, 2003)

Got on a "live chat" with Kris at Dr. Foster's today. She seems to be of the opinion that my Wood Shrimp will likely not need any supplement to his diet beyond scavenging off what my fish didn't eat and anything else he likes to eat, but also tells me that Micro Food from OSI (the product I linked to) would indeed be a supplement he would make use of.

Also did a lot of web searching today on atyopsis moluccensis and it appears to be relatively normal behavior for them to like to get up to the source of water flow and to do their feeding from there.

Perhaps my shrimp was simply climbing the Anacharis below my bio wheel because this is the only form of current I have at the moment. I may be getting a power head anyway so I might try and direct some water flow past a perching point for him.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Man I would like some shrimp, but I have never seen any shrimp in south africa that didn't come from a can.


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## Raul-7 (Oct 17, 2003)

Good news then, you are on the safe side. It's just I thought be trying to escape since it happened to one of my friends.


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## Mauser101 (Dec 16, 2003)

He seems to have calmed down today. Now he's just clinging to the intake on my penguin filter. He's not even fanning anything. He really seems to like areas where there is current so I'm going to have to get a powerhead just for him.  Well, him and for the CO2 reactor I'm intending on.

Interestingly enough, today I put a new piece of driftwood in my tank. Now my Red Tail has tons of fun little caves and holes that he seems to enjoy scoping out. That's not what's interesting. What's interesting is that just how the shrimp was yesterday playing under the fountain on the biowheel...today the Red Tail is playing under the fountain. 

I'm starting to get a little jumpy about some of my tank inhabitants being...jumpy. Guess it's time to put a new backstrip on my glass top as the old one went MIA years ago.


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## DLeDeaux (Dec 27, 2002)

I read somewhere that inverts also liked iodine added to their water.

Here's a link
http://groups.google.com/[email protected]&rnum=6


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## Mauser101 (Dec 16, 2003)

This is turning into a continuing saga here....

Woke up this morning and I couldn't see my shrimp in the tank. I took about 5 minutes looking around the tank, but I've given him a lot of hiding spots recently so I figured he was in one of the ones I couldn't see so well. 

Anywho, I went to take a shower. After getting ready for work I walked past the tank again and noticed the shrimp about 6 feet away from the tank looking kindof dry.  

I walked up to him and gave him a poke...and he moved! Picked him up and put him back in the tank. Within a few minutes soaking he was moving around a bit again. He can't seem to get his fans to work though. Poor guy, but serves him right for trying to get out.

EDIT: Ordered a new top backing and some of that microfood today. Hopefully the order arrives before he trys to jump ship again.


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