# why is my amano orange?



## inthepacific (Oct 21, 2012)

it was probably not an amano. it looks like a bee shrimp. probably was mislabeled.


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## ddrfreak_tung (Sep 6, 2010)

did you get it at petco? i've seen those there with amanos.


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## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

Purchased from my lfs. It's not a bee shrimp, as I have 2 of those as well and this definitely doesn't have the banded coloration.


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## Bananariot (Feb 28, 2012)

Looks caridina propinqua to me


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## mistahoo (Apr 25, 2012)

Amano shrimp can change colors depending on their environment and water conditions. There's a member on HFB who has Amano shrimp and they breed profusely in his many ponds. His Amanos are a variety of colors: blue, green, yellow, and orange. Once you move them to a normal aquarium setting, they start to change back to what most of us are used to (transparent with markings). I've always thought they were supposed to be transparent, but was shocked upon finding that they can change colors.


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## inthepacific (Oct 21, 2012)

do a quick google search it looks like a cardina propinqua or orange bee shrimp. also whoever told you they were breeding amano shrimp in their pond is either a lair or confused. ammano shrimp need brackish water when they're young. so whoever told you this is probably breeding cherry shrimp which are the varieties that come in a bunch of colors such as red orange and blue and usually loose their coloration in undesired water conditions. anyways this is definitely not an amano shrimp.


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## mistahoo (Apr 25, 2012)

Apparently they aren't lying or confused. I had gotten some in the past from him and they are truly amano shrimp. After they settled, I couldn't tell the difference between his pond amanos and my amanos I bought from the store. It was probably something in his ponds that affected them in this way. The guy had gotten some and just tossed them in one of his ponds and after that they were reproducing like crazy. He scoops them out and adds them to each pond he makes. Definitely _not_ cherry shrimp as I have quite a number of them and they do not bear any resemblance. Also, amanos get much larger than cherry shrimp.

I never denied what you're claiming it to be. I'm just simply tossing out a little info from personal experience.


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## jimko (Aug 17, 2007)

I don't think they are amano. Amanos don't breed in freshwater ponds, brackish is the way to go with breeding Amanos. The young develop from a larval stage.


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## mistahoo (Apr 25, 2012)

I know... Amano shrimp develop from a larval stage that requires salinity of brackish water. I don't know how the guy is doing it, but his Amanos are breeding and thriving in his ponds. Maybe they're brackish ponds? I don't know how his ponds are setup.


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## mistahoo (Apr 25, 2012)

It doesn't look like an amano shrimp in the pic. *Here's* an amano with a slight orange tint to it.


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## mach_six (Sep 12, 2005)

mistahoo said:


> I know... Amano shrimp develop from a larval stage that requires salinity of brackish water. I don't know how the guy is doing it, but his Amanos are breeding and thriving in his ponds. Maybe they're brackish ponds? I don't know how his ponds are setup.


Take a picture of your Amanos from his pond. 

They need full strength saltwater to develop properly.


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## dougolasjr (Mar 3, 2010)

If he is breeding Amanos in freshwater he should be able to sell and make a killing.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Actually, I think if he is really breeding them in his freshwater pond, you should buy all you can and sell them here on TPT. YOU would make a fortune!


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## dougolasjr (Mar 3, 2010)

People would definitively by freshwater breeding Amanos.


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## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

Hmmm, sounds like I don't have an amano (was thinking maybe he was sick)

Is it possible that I was sold ghost shrimp instead? These guys haven't really gone after the diatom algae in the tank like I thought they would.


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## Rob in Puyallup (Jul 2, 2009)

Amano shrimp regardless the color or manner of "cultivation" don't look like ghost shrimp. The latter tend to be transparent, maybe with faint lines, have steeply arched backs, long limbs and feelers. 

Amano shrimp look more like large cherries. 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


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## Veneer (Jan 18, 2005)

It's definitely not a _Palaemonetes_ ghost shrimp -- the body form is clearly atyid. I'd say it's some non-Amano species of _Caridina_. The rostrum and cephalothorax don't seem to indicate _C. thambipillai_ -- this is the actual name of orange/"sunkist" _C._ cf. _propinqua_ -- to me. The resemblance in coloration is probably just superficial -- it seems like its dietary or otherwise environmentally induced even in _C. thambipillai_ (captive-bred F2s are more transparent). 

The muscle tissue looked a little hazy in your first pic. If it gets to be opaque, the shrimp is almost surely on the way out.


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## Intelik808 (Jul 30, 2012)

I don't know the name of this shrimp but where I live they are called opae. Not to be mistaken with opae ula. But I do believe they might be the same






they started out clear with very slight marking then they started turning orange/redish


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## Veneer (Jan 18, 2005)

Intelik808 said:


> I don't know the name of this shrimp but where I live they are called opae. Not to be mistaken with opae ula. But I do believe they might be the same


Opae, as you probably know, is just the general Hawaiian word for shrimp. The animals in your pictures would be the _Neocaridina denticulata_ (might now be _N. heteropoda_, depending on who you consult) that were introduced to Hawaii from East Asia. Same species as cherry shrimp.

I'm not that great with Asian atyids, but I don't think these are what OP has (body form reminds me more of a _Caridina_ from the "bee shrimp" group). 

At any rate, it's not uncommon for these non-target "contaminant" species to show up in shipments of Amanos, since they're all wild-collected.


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## mistahoo (Apr 25, 2012)

A few old pics of them. I lost all of them a few weeks back. Before I added them to the tank, they were blue, green, orange, and yellow.































Here's one that's orange. After a few days, the little guy became the same color as any other amano shrimp












This one was bluish green before turning back.


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## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

Thanks Rob & Veneer for confirming it's not a ghost shrimp. Amano or not, I hope it's not on its way out. There was some algae on the glass which made getting a clearer picture difficult. If it's environmental related, wouldn't the other shrimp be showing similar discoloration? Is there anything I can do?


mistahoo, I thought my Amanos looked different shades of colors when I first got them too. By the next day, two of them were out and looked clear so I thought I must have been wrong. Sorry you lost yours. :icon_sad: Do you know why?


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## Intelik808 (Jul 30, 2012)

Veneer said:


> Opae, as you probably know, is just the general Hawaiian word for shrimp. The animals in your pictures would be the _Neocaridina denticulata_ (might now be _N. heteropoda_, depending on who you consult) that were introduced to Hawaii from East Asia. Same species as cherry shrimp.
> 
> I'm not that great with Asian atyids, but I don't think these are what OP has (body form reminds me more of a _Caridina_ from the "bee shrimp" group).
> 
> At any rate, it's not uncommon for these non-target "contaminant" species to show up in shipments of Amanos, since they're all wild-collected.


I don't mean to hack this post but so if it is Neocaridina denticulata that means they would interbreed with rili shrimp?


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## mistahoo (Apr 25, 2012)

I have no clue about the coloration of them. I always thought they were only one color, but after getting those, I know they can change colors. I lost them because of my lamp... I was passed out and my lamp fell into the tank causing it to overheat. They all died and I barely saved my fish in time

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.


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## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

mistahoo said:


> I have no clue about the coloration of them. I always thought they were only one color, but after getting those, I know they can change colors. I lost them because of my lamp... I was passed out and my lamp fell into the tank causing it to overheat. They all died and I barely saved my fish in time
> 
> Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.


:icon_eek: wow, I guess it's a good thing no fish/you were electrocuted. 



Haven't seen the orangish shrimp since taking the pics, but he's not out often. I did find a clean, clear molt! That would be the first since getting these guys last week. :smile: I think that's a good sign that at least the parameters are doing ok...?


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## aznartist34 (Nov 19, 2010)

mistahoo - Those shrimp doesn't quite look like amano shrimps. Amanos have a distinct pattern dots and blotches. If they breed in your tank they are probably malawa shrimp. They could also be a different type of "algae eating shrimp". There have been a lot of mysterious "algae eating shrimp" being mixed in with amano shrimp shipments a lot this year. I've seen these shrimps a long with amano shrimp at lfs around here and they do look a lot alike. But if you look closer you can tell the difference.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

You could be correct, aznartist34, however I breed Malawas and none of mine have looked like that.


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## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

I picked up 5 adult amanos at the GSAS auction last night. They are already going to town on the algae! The one of the three shrimp I purchased earlier that I was sure was amano is following around the new amanos. :smile: He's about 1/3 of their size, so cute.

Just saw one of the bee shrimp out and cleaning on the main rock. Sweet! The new amanos must be making the others feel safer, providing some training, or both.  Love these guys!


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## mistahoo (Apr 25, 2012)

aznartist34 said:


> mistahoo - Those shrimp doesn't quite look like amano shrimps. Amanos have a distinct pattern dots and blotches. If they breed in your tank they are probably malawa shrimp. They could also be a different type of "algae eating shrimp". There have been a lot of mysterious "algae eating shrimp" being mixed in with amano shrimp shipments a lot this year. I've seen these shrimps a long with amano shrimp at lfs around here and they do look a lot alike. But if you look closer you can tell the difference.


Could be. They didn't breed in my tank though. They were breeding in the guy's pond. After settling, I couldn't tell them apart from my amanos. I don't have a pic of them when settled.

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## chunkychun (Apr 6, 2012)

I do think amanos can have slight variation to their coloring. I have had a few from one source with a blue tint and then put it in two tanks, one with lots of tannis and it turn brown and other without and it return to normal color. so i think it must be the environment and food.

I was thinking malawa too for op's pic


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## Veneer (Jan 18, 2005)

mistahoo, those are definitely not Amanos, which would explain why they're able to breed in freshwater.



Intelik808 said:


> I don't mean to hack this post but so if it is Neocaridina denticulata that means they would interbreed with rili shrimp?


Yes, interbreeding is likely. I wouldn't keep them together.

At any rate, bluestems, you have something that's neither of these three things. Just keep an eye on your water parameters and continue to monitor how everyone's doing.


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## mistahoo (Apr 25, 2012)

Veneer said:


> mistahoo, those are definitely not Amanos, which would explain why they're able to breed in freshwater.
> 
> 
> Yes, interbreeding is likely. I wouldn't keep them together.
> ...


*sigh* again... They were not breeding in my tank. I don't know if the guy's pond was slightly brackish or not, but they were reproducing in his ponds and I'm pretty sure I know what Amanos look like. After settling, they turned back into their typical color and their markings showed better.

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Maybe a wild neo?


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## Veneer (Jan 18, 2005)

mistahoo said:


> *sigh* again... They were not breeding in my tank. I don't know if the guy's pond was slightly brackish or not, but they were reproducing in his ponds and I'm pretty sure I know what Amanos look like. After settling, they turned back into their typical color and their markings showed better.


Those ponds would have to be pretty salty, at least halfway to oceanic salinity, for Amanos to successfully complete their life cycle in them (probably 17 ppt upwards, which adults _can_ tolerate but is on the low end for good zoeal survival). That sounds unlikely unless he made an effort to intentionally maintain them that way.

It's kind of a moot point because that's hardly my only reason for saying they're not Amanos. Let's focus on the clearest shot, which luckily is of an ovigerous female:



mistahoo said:


>


(1) The rostrum is far too long to be that of an Amano, which would only make it a little bit past the orbital margin. This is an immediate giveaway and a reliable diagnostic character (given how invariable this is within this species). The limb diameter is more slender than is normal in Amanos. 

(2) If I'm seeing this photo correctly, the size of the eggs is far larger and their number far fewer than that of actual Amanos (and their coloration is also atypical). This would indicate that these shrimp have at least partial abbreviation of larval development (which needn't make it mysterious that they didn't successfully breed in your tanks -- they could well be like the _Caridina_ sp. called "Malaya shrimp", where have a short planktonic period before the young settle down and become postlarvae. These planktonic stages don't require saline water, but are much more vulnerable to filter intakes and fish than would be young that immediately hatch out as benthic "miniature adults" ... pond survival would probably be better. And even fully-formed postlarvae aren't guaranteed to make it to adulthood in an aquarium setting.)

(3) I'm sure the patterning of your shrimp became more Amano-like (I'm guessing paler, with the dark dots a little more pronounced?) after a while, but what I see in the photos is frankly outside the range of natural variation for Amanos, under any conditions I can think of -- especially the cephalothorax, with its comparatively wide, continuous horizontal bands and absence of dark, discrete spots. Pigmentation of the the eyes is also much lighter than is typical of Amanos.

For comparison:










Now, this doesn't mean that the guy you got these from didn't purchase these as Amanos (and, as I've suggested above, they could well be breeding in his ponds even if they are freshwater). Mislabeling happens, and non-target species get into collectors' buckets or exporters' tanks. If you really couldn't distinguish these from what you bought as Amanos from another source, then possibly those were mis-ID'd too (but more than a few small atyids look "close enough" to similarly-sized Amanos at first glance).


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Just looked up Malayan Shrimp. They are very new to the hobby and still very rare. You maybe correct on the ID.


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## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

They may be. I know for sure two of the original three are not Amanos. I have added some that I recently picked up from the Greater Seattle Aquatics Society, and even though these amanos are adults, it's now easier to see the differences between them when side by side. 

The one baby amano now hangs out with the new troop of Amanos. All the shrimp seem to be doing well. I just cleaned the tank and counted both bee shrimp, the two Maylan? shrimp and the new amanos. I guess as long as everyone is getting along and thriving, I'm assuming there's no issues with keeping them together...?


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