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Amano eating molted shrimp.

3867 Views 12 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  accordztech, 
rollinghills
I always had a suspicion that one of my Amanos is killing and eating other shrimp. I saw it eating shrimp a few times but they were dead so I couldn't confirm. Today I happen to catch it holding on to a live shrimp. I was able to get the Amano to loosen its grip. The shrimp is still alive but looks like it's on its way out. The shell is very soft so it's a fresh molt. Damn it :\ Has anyone encounter this before? This is a female Amano that's about 2 inch big. The dying shrimp is a Malawi shrimp.
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Onenobee
I have been wondering about this very thing.....never seen it happen but suspected it.

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J
I've had mine grab ahold of small shrimp but they never were able to keep a grip, that I've seen. It's not particularly surprising, given how aggressive they can be over food and how much larger they are than other dwarf shrimp. I'm sure you'll get dozens of replies on here saying how it can't be so and the other shrimp must have already been dying.
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Bananariot
Some will argue "oh your shrimp was going to die from something else already." Though I've witnessed the same thing happen with my CRS from time to time.

I would try to supplement the tank with just a tad more food or some with some protein content. Though don't make the protein content a staple part of the diet, just a treat from time to time.
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rollinghills
It's definitely a fresh molt. It's dead now and I touched the shrimp with my fingers. It's incredibly soft I couldn't feel the shell. The shrimp was struggling pretty hard with its swimmerets going crazy when the Amano shrimp got a hold of it. Though it's always this particular Amano eating other shrimp. Never saw the other 2 Amanos with this behavior, but they are male and smaller.
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acitydweller
Not to point out the obvious, but did we forget that shrimp are scavengers and cannibals?

A freshly molted shrimp must look like a tender meat stick fluttering in front of a hungry amano
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alexopolus
I have Amanos with RCS. One day I noticed that my Amanos where getting very nice color, kinda orange and I didn't really know why? Until one day I saw a Amano just attacking a RCS... I took him 30 sec he peeled the poor thing like a peanut lol. Since them I make sure my amanos get enough food.
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S
My amano eat brine shrimp so I'm sure a freshly molted shrimp wouldn't be out of the question.
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D
My amanos are 2"-3" long and i've seen one eating a guppy while it was still alive! Also my amanos seem really aggressive and i see them all the time stealing food from other shrimp/fish. They are always hungry no matter how much i feed them they want more. haha
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rollinghills
acitydweller said:
Not to point out the obvious, but did we forget that shrimp are scavengers and cannibals?

A freshly molted shrimp must look like a tender meat stick fluttering in front of a hungry amano
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I knew they eat their buddies but not when they are ALIVE!! lol. My psycho shrimp eats its own eggs too! :eek:


edit: mine was towing the shrimp all over the tank not just disrupting the molt.
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diwu13
I've had this happen as well. The shrimp was molting out in the open and an amano disrupted it during it's molt. This caused a failed molt, and ultimately led to the shrimps death. It happens very rarely for me though.
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diwu13
rollinghills said:
I knew they eat their buddies but not when they are ALIVE!! lol. My psycho shrimp eats its own eggs too! :eek:


edit: mine was towing the shrimp all over the tank not just disrupting the molt.
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Holy crap lol. That's a lot of protein. My amanos release their eggs, you can see the larva floating around the tank. Great food for the mosquito rasboras :p

After my amano disrupted the molt, it ate the shrimp after lol...
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A
Feed them more. They will be happier lol
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