Shrimp Acting Wierd...

[Glod]

Ok, today I noticed two of my amanos have darkened a bit in colour and were racing around the tank. Any ideas what the problem might be ?

Before (Kinda clear with the white stripe down its back)

After (The colour in the photo looks more blue than the dark grey it looks IRL)

If there even *is* a problem... Are they even Amanos ?

 

[RESGuy]

I would say it isn't an Amano Shrimp at all. Many times LFS sell you the wrong shrimp I think it might be a Neocaridina sp. "blue". Check out the info on this page: Neocaridina sp. "blue" But then again, these are dyed, and not originally "blue". ... So take a look at the Shrimp Varieties Page and see if you can find a match

 

[three-fingers]

The first pic doesn't look much like an amano, but i cant see it that clear .
The shrimp in your sig is an amano though, if thats your shrimp.
The top pic looks a little like bee shrimp, and its not uncomon for shrimp belonging to Caridina to change colour .

 

[RESGuy]

What T-F says is true, I've read many posts of people saying that their Amano or Ghost Shrimps changed color to camouflage, where does your shrimp usually hang-out? It may be that it has changed color to match its surrounding. If that is the case than that is a sign that it has settled into the tank

 

[mikster]

My female amano changed to more of a redish shade and then got pregnant, it may be some kind of hormonal thing or something.

 

[three-fingers]

Lol, i hope you didn't say that to her .
I've also heard lots of people say their shrimp have changed colours, but its usually after a moult . If if is a bee shrimp or another Caridina species, then they can just do that from time to time depending on mood, but most of them don't change much.
With the racing around the tank, it sounds like the shrimp could possibly sense a dead fish and is looking for it. I've seen amanos go CRAZY when there is a dead (or dying ) fish in the tank.
Have you recently changed anything in the tank? Did they start just after a water change? Or anything else?
If not then I'd say there is no problem.
But try see if you can get a clearer pic so we can tell if it's an amano or a caridina species .
Or you could look through all the shrimp at www.petshrimp.com and read the descriptions/pictures to ID it .

 

[Glod]

Yeah, the one in my sig is in my community tank. These ones are in my 10 gallon, I initially thought they were just small amanos (about 1.5 - 2 cm) when I got them. Not so sure now tho. The amanos have a kind of dot pattern down their sides, which these don't. These ones have a much more visible cream line down the middle of their back and along the edge of their tail. Looking at that site I'm wondering if they might be Neocaridina cf. zhangjiajiensis the biggest ones are probably pushing about an inch in size now.

Still trying to figure out why a couple of them are acting nuts... Never got a chance to test my water yet. The only two obvious things I can think of would be a mini cycle or the PH has dropped too much due to the CO2. I disconnected the CO2 for now, I'll check on them again in the morning.

Usually I only catch fleeting glimpses of them, they generally hide out on or around the mopani wood that is in the tank. The tank is heavily planted tho so it's easy for them to vanish when they want to. Today there are 2 of them swimming around and around the tankat high speed and not stopping, which is out of character for them.

 

[crazie.eddie]

Can you get a better pic of the amano?

It should look like this...

At the most, it should turn a little blue.

If you're shrimp looks like this...

 

[Glod]

Thanks Crazy.Eddie - The shrimps in question (in my 10 gallon) do look like the bottom pic rather than the top. The ones in the top pic are like the ones in my 4ft tank (Amanos). It seems I made the wrong assumption when I bought the ones in the 10 gallon.

Ok, the ones in my 10g (both pics above) are *definitely* NOT Amanos... I discovered this now after turning on the lights (at 00:30) and noticing a tiny black speck moving. I have shrimplets ! At least 4 or 5 of them about 3 mm long little black specks with clear bodies. Wasn't sure until one alighted on a leaf near the surface and I could see its outline. So, the shrimp must be able to reproduce in fresh water which makes them some neocardinia species, no ?

There seem to be 2 colours that have developed, some of them are much paler, like white with a tinge of red/brown. Others are like the second photo a darker grey colour. There are no dots on the sides of these ones at all. Unfortunately every time I get close enough to take a photo they run and hide. My old cameras auto focus is too slow to keep up, and I'm a noob when it comes to photos

The hyperactive shrimp is one of the red/brown tinged ones but it seems to have chilled out now. I suspect the ph may have dropped more than I thought with the DIY CO2 mix. Odd that it took several days of the CO2 before any strange behaviour tho.

 

[RESGuy]

You should register at www.petshrimp.com and post this on their Shrimp Discussion Forum They are like shrimp experts lol

 

[three-fingers]

So, the shrimp must be able to reproduce in fresh water which makes them some neocardinia species, no ?

Possibly, but i would still say more likely a cardinia species . Alot of them can hybridize giving you unusual patterns and colourings.
Congrats on the baby shrimp!

 

[Glod]

Possibly, but i would still say more likely a cardinia species . Alot of them can hybridize giving you unusual patterns and colourings.
Congrats on the baby shrimp!

Thanks They are so tiny all I could see was a tiny black speck until it landed on a back lit leaf hehe. It would be so cool if some of them grew to adulthood. The tank has only 6 pygmy corys and 2 Otos so it's pretty lightly stocked with plenty of plant cover. I'm rooting for the little shrimplets

When I read through the site that RESguy provided the nearest shrimp I could see was Neocaridina cf. zhangjiajiensis the females have the same grey colouring and are similar sized. However I understand they are quite rare outside Germany. The markings on the back of the shrimp are very close to the second pic supplied by Eddie, I would go so far as to say identical. He doesn't say what kind of shrimp that is tho

I will try again tomorrow to get a good picture of one of the shrimp, even if I have to catch one first... Hmm... that could be tricky, lol.

Thanks for the help so far guys

 

[RESGuy]

The markings on the back of the shrimp are very close to the second pic supplied by Eddie, I would go so far as to say identical. He doesn't say what kind of shrimp that is tho

I believe he said it was an Amano

 

[Glod]

The markings on the back of the shrimp are very close to the second pic supplied by Eddie, I would go so far as to say identical. He doesn't say what kind of shrimp that is tho

I believe he said it was an Amano

Hmm... then the markings (on its back) are common to other types of shrimp too ? The side markings are not visible on these shrimp that I can see. Also it is my understanding that Amano shrimp cannot reproduce in fresh water as their larvae need brackish water to survive. Would the larvae ever look like tiny clear (with black eyes) shrimp about 2-3mm long ? (before succumbing to the lack of salt)

So much to learn about these little guys...

 

[RESGuy]

If they were born in freshwater than they are definetly not Amano shrimp. Like you said they need brackish/saltwater to hatch. And then they go through a planktonic stage in which they are larvae before transforming in to the "post-larval" stage which is really tiny versions of the adults So if they have no planktonic or larval stage they mustn't be Amanos. I really recommend you take some pics and post the on the www.Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum for identification