Anyone ever witness their amano shrimp filtering for food like a fan shrimp?

There was a thread awhile ago with a video of someone's amano snatching food particles as they came by. I'm convinced that Amanos are pretty smart as shrimp go and come up with any way they can to get food. And what's the best way to get food? Wait for it to come to you, which is why so many places deliver.

-Lisa

Haven't seen filtering with mine. They go and snatch the largest chunk of food they can find, then go somewhere else to eat. The smaller shrimps will sit near the amano as they leave tons of floating chunks everywhere.

diwu13 said:

Haven't seen filtering with mine. They go and snatch the largest chunk of food they can find, then go somewhere else to eat. The smaller shrimps will sit near the amano as they leave tons of floating chunks everywhere.

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This! I've seen them take a whole algae wafer and walk around with it.

Amanos are like shoppers on black Friday except everyday is blackfriday and all items regardless of sale are up for grabs.

Yup - I've seen them filtering for sure. Here's my thread with the video kunsthure mentioned:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=183252

It's not filtering. They don't have filters. They're just grabbing stuff.

acitydweller said:

Amanos are like shoppers on black Friday except everyday is blackfriday and all items regardless of sale are up for grabs.

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hahaha this is the best most true description of Amanos ever!

jeremyTR said:

It's not filtering. They don't have filters. They're just grabbing stuff.

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this

jeremyTR said:

It's not filtering. They don't have filters. They're just grabbing stuff.

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That's just it - they aren't "grabbing" stuff.

The fundamental difference between filter feeding in bamboo shrimp vs. normal shrimp feeding is that filter feeders like bamboos passively sit and wait for food to hit their open fans, where as normal shrimp feeding behaviour is to actively reach out and grab food.

The amano shrimp is not grabbing particles of food as they go by: it is holding its open claws still and simply waiting until a particle of food hits its claw. After the particle of food has hit its claw (i.e., once the particle of food is already at rest, so it does not need to be "grabbed" to prevent it from moving), then the amano snaps its claw closed.

This is exactly what bamboo shrimp do - the only difference is that bamboo shrimp *claws* are modified into fans with a lot more surface area. This structural difference merely makes bamboos more efficient at filtering food out of the water than amanos, it doesn't alter the nature of the behaviour itself.

Catch and grab. That's what they're doing. They can't not eat what lands in their claw before accumulating more like a filter can of a bamboo shrimp. They don't have to grab it at all. They just fold their fans so they can eat the food off of them.

jeremyTR said:

They can't not eat what lands in their claw before accumulating more like a filter can of a bamboo shrimp.

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Bamboo shrimp usually don't wait either - and I don't see what waiting before one eats one's food has to do with whether one has obtained that food by filtering it from the water or actively grabbing it.

Technically speaking I see no reason why the amano couldn't choose to wait if it wanted to - the food isn't going anywhere.

The bamboo shrimp eats from their fans in a pattern so they do wait a bit.

They eat it so they can catch more? It's not like they have huge claws ready to catch a ton of stuff like a filter.

Compared to the size of the amano's claw (when spread wide), a particle of food doesn't take up much room - their claws are nowhere near as big as a bamboo fan, but amanos still have fairly wide, hairy mitts (when compared to cherries).

If my amano had the will power he could have waited until more particles of food had accumulated on his claw before eating.