[ahem]

I introduced 20 RCS and 10 Amano to a new 50G yesterday. I have kept RCS for many years but first experience with Amano. At first they swam all over the place exploring and foraging. I noticed at lights off last night some of Amanos were hanging out on the suction cups on my heaters and other tank wall objects further up in the water column (which is different than where RCS tend to "roost"). I did not see them attempting to breach the surface. This morning I saw a couple of Amanos foraging but the rest are MIA (nobody crawled out as far as I can tell). This is a tank approx. 70% planted so they do have a lot of places to hide. The RCS are behaving just like RCS as I know them, very busy little shrimp foraging around tank.

Is it normal behavior for Amano to hide in a new tank? I assumed they are a bold shrimp. There are no other animals in the tank yet except the 20 RCS.

My tank parameters are clean:
- 0 ammonia (and dosing Prime daily until cycle is done)
- 5PPM nitrates (which is actually low since I have plants and CO2, been dosing lean)
- 7dKH
- pH 7.6 when introduced with CO2 was off, expected pH 6.6 when CO2 is fully saturated
- temp 77.5F (letting it cool, my target is 75F)
- current: brisk - I have two 200GPH canisters so every part of the tank has some current

 

[ElleDee]

I find my amano don't really hide, they just pick a grazing area that's out of easy view sometimes. I've told this story here before, but one time my herd figured out they could get under a rock and the whole crew was almost entirely MIA for days. I was really worried! I had to use my cell phone to take pictures from behind the tank and I finally caught a some legs sticking out of a crack. Then the next place they picked was front and center in plain sight. They can be almost nomadic sometimes, and other times they don't seem to stick together at all. If I were you I wouldn't worry.

 

[ahem]

I find my amano don't really hide, they just pick a grazing area that's out of easy view sometimes. I've told this story here before, but one time my herd figured out they could get under a rock and the whole crew was almost entirely MIA for days. I was really worried! I had to use my cell phone to take pictures from behind the tank and I finally caught a some legs sticking out of a crack. Then the next place they picked was front and center in plain sight. They can be almost nomadic sometimes, and other times they don't seem to stick together at all. If I were you I wouldn't worry.

Thank you, that puts my mind at ease. Their clear color makes them hard to see compared to the cherries, despite their larger size.

 

[Truemyth]

I introduced 20 RCS and 10 Amano to a new 50G yesterday. I have kept RCS for many years but first experience with Amano. At first they swam all over the place exploring and foraging. I noticed at lights off last night some of Amanos were hanging out on the suction cups on my heaters and other tank wall objects further up in the water column (which is different than where RCS tend to "roost"). I did not see them attempting to breach the surface. This morning I saw a couple of Amanos foraging but the rest are MIA (nobody crawled out as far as I can tell). This is a tank approx. 70% planted so they do have a lot of places to hide. The RCS are behaving just like RCS as I know them, very busy little shrimp foraging around tank.

Is it normal behavior for Amano to hide in a new tank? I assumed they are a bold shrimp. There are no other animals in the tank yet except the 20 RCS.

My tank parameters are clean:
- 0 ammonia (and dosing Prime daily until cycle is done)
- 5PPM nitrates (which is actually low since I have plants and CO2, been dosing lean)
- 7dKH
- pH 7.6 when introduced with CO2 was off, expected pH 6.6 when CO2 is fully saturated
- temp 77.5F (letting it cool, my target is 75F)
- current: brisk - I have two 200GPH canisters so every part of the tank has some current

Personally, my amano's always go hiding when i first introduce them to a new tank whether it be new amanos or ones i'm moving between tanks. I also found the larger they are the longer they hid from me. And like you mention, they are either hiding or high up in the water column like on my heater and my thermometer.

I've looked into this and don't quote me but it seems that they are doing so to adjust to the water and to molt. Once they get used to your water parameter/tank then they'll be doing their normal thing.

What i have found also is that if you see them swimming around your tank excessively never resting in one place ALL THE TIME. then that's a sign of trouble. That's my observation from losing a few amano's after that kind of behavior.

Hiding and staying still had never been an issue for me. They will liven up in a few day or week.

 

[ahem]

Personally, my amano's always go hiding when i first introduce them to a new tank whether it be new amanos or ones i'm moving between tanks. I also found the larger they are the longer they hid from me. And like you mention, they are either hiding or high up in the water column like on my heater and my thermometer.

I've looked into this and don't quote me but it seems that they are doing so to adjust to the water and to molt. Once they get used to your water parameter/tank then they'll be doing their normal thing.

What i have found also is that if you see them swimming around your tank excessively never resting in one place ALL THE TIME. then that's a sign of trouble. That's my observation from losing a few amano's after that kind of behavior.

Hiding and staying still had never been an issue for me. They will liven up in a few day or week.

Thank you that is really helpful to know.

I know that crustaceans can molt when introduced into a different water, I think my RCS did that sometimes at water change if I neglected a water change for a while. My water is probably harder than the water they came from. They were quite active when first introduced, bouncing around everywhere, there is a lot of current and they seemed to move, graze for a few seconds, move, ... so hopefully that was just exploration and now they're settling and possibly molting. Since the RCS seem normal and tank parameters are spotless, I'm not feeling like I have to do an emergency water change at this point. Haven't seen anyone floating.

 

[Truemyth]

They don't float anyways when they die They just change colors and one day they're half eaten by the other shrimps (trust me i know).

One other bits of experience i wanted to share. When i've had problems with them acclimating to new water/tanks and they are having issues, scooping them out and putting them in fresh water helped a lot more than changing water in your tank.

Two reasons i gather is one, unless you do a HUGE 80-90% water change, you're probably not getting rid of whatever's bothering them. And if you were to do that, now you're shocking everyone else so i'm not sure if that's a win.

Second reason is scooping them out into even a bowl will give you time to prep your main tank and look into reasons why they are not liking your new tank/water. I once had one amano die back when i didn't know much and i did exactly when you thought to do, a 50% emergency water change. Well things still didn't go well a day after that change so i did another bigger water change. But for whatever reason it still didn't solve the issue and they all perished. So the next time i tried to introduce amanos into that tank and saw that they are not adjusting well, i scooped them out instead and they were able to survive in the bowl while i looked into the issue.

 

[Fishly]

If you put them in a bowl, it might be good to put something in the bowl for them to hold onto, like moss or even a sprinkling of sand. I know shrimp don't ship well in bare bags, so it might make them more comfortable if you add something to the bowl (or bucket or whatever).

 

[atm424]

I introduced 8 Amanos in my 20gal in early Aug and lost several due to what i'm assuming was very high nitrate (I was dosing EI, but my tank was producing quite a lot as well). For the entire month I only ever saw two amanos at a time, but I knew that there were at least three left in the tank. Two days ago I was feeding the fish and I just sat and watched for awhile. Lo and behold, five Amanos were picking through the hairgrass front and center. They are tricky little creatures and can be hard to spot due to their coloration, especially if they are in the shadows. My tank is very densely planted so there are plenty of hiding places!

-AM

 

[ahem]

If you put them in a bowl, it might be good to put something in the bowl for them to hold onto, like moss or even a sprinkling of sand. I know shrimp don't ship well in bare bags, so it might make them more comfortable if you add something to the bowl (or bucket or whatever).

I was surprised what Aquatic Arts sent for them to hold onto, it was same material I had just used on the tank.

At one point with another tank I had to reduce lighting and could not dim the LED light unit so I wrapped the light in screen door sunblock mesh material. It's basically a black nylon fine mess screen that lets air pass but blocks half the light. In prepping this new tank, I needed something to wrap around my intakes to keep the shrimp away so I repurposed my roll of screen door mesh which works great and takes up almost no space, unlike a big sponge or metal cage. Since I have a black background it hides the tubes well.

But the kicker is that I received my shrimp yesterday from Aquatic Arts and in each bag they had a square of that same mesh I am using. They stopped including a java moss piece and now use screen door mesh. Shrimp popular I guess. Although I should worry if they found their way inside the intake filter mesh but I think they are too big to be sucked through the intake strainer.

Bump:

I introduced 8 Amanos in my 20gal in early Aug and lost several due to what i'm assuming was very high nitrate (I was dosing EI, but my tank was producing quite a lot as well). For the entire month I only ever saw two amanos at a time, but I knew that there were at least three left in the tank. Two days ago I was feeding the fish and I just sat and watched for awhile. Lo and behold, five Amanos were picking through the hairgrass front and center. They are tricky little creatures and can be hard to spot due to their coloration, especially if they are in the shadows. My tank is very densely planted so there are plenty of hiding places!

-AM

I always assumed Amanos were the bullies of the shrimp world but I guess not. Sounds like they like to hide so I won't take it too personally.

 

[Zoidburg]

I'd be more worried about Neocaridina than the Amanos.... the Neos, if imported, are known to carry parasites and be harder to acclimate to tanks in the USA. It could take a few weeks at least before you'll know how well they'll do. Potentially longer.


Do you know what the GH of the tank is?


Amanos typically come out for food. They are big food hogs... so once given some more time to settle, try feeding the tank in a specific area and see if they'll come out.



I would also recommend a target temp of 72° F or below.... which may require removing the heater.

 

[Truemyth]

I always assumed Amanos were the bullies of the shrimp world but I guess not. Sounds like they like to hide so I won't take it too personally.

They are only bullies when it comes to food. My prego amano will push away the other shrimps when i feed them boiled veggies or the fight for the best spots on the floating plants when i feed fish flakes :grin2:

 

[ahem]

I'd be more worried about Neocaridina than the Amanos.... the Neos, if imported, are known to carry parasites and be harder to acclimate to tanks in the USA. It could take a few weeks at least before you'll know how well they'll do. Potentially longer.


Do you know what the GH of the tank is?


Amanos typically come out for food. They are big food hogs... so once given some more time to settle, try feeding the tank in a specific area and see if they'll come out.



I would also recommend a target temp of 72° F or below.... which may require removing the heater.

The GH is probably 200-300. I can't get the API GH kit to come out right, I ordered another. Our water is harder than not. The paper strip tests shows max (max out at 180PPM). When I did hydroponics and was always checking with a meter, I'd usually get 300-450PPM.

They will share the tanks with many endlers so 72 is too cold. I'm targeting 75 but the tank seems to be stabilizing at 77 for now, I think because of the light on top and it's contained in a canopy (stored heat). New tank and my heaters have yet to cut on.

 

[Zoidburg]

200 to 300 is 11 to 17-ish GH which is getting kind of high.

With the hydroponics, were you measuring GH? Or was it TDS?

 

[ahem]

200 to 300 is 11 to 17-ish GH which is getting kind of high.

With the hydroponics, were you measuring GH? Or was it TDS?

TDS. 250ppm TDS is minimum here. Sometimes it will spike over 450ppm.

I think GH is just calcium and magnesium (?) but I am guessing that is big chunk of the TDS. I had taken phosphate and silicate readings before and those are 5PPM or below. Nitrates come out of the tap < 5ppm. KH out of the tap is 50-100ppm (I think ~80ppm). So that leaves at least 170ppm GH, unless there is something else I'm missing. The paper test strips show 180ppm (max).

I don't know what's up with the API liquid GH test kit, I've seen other people post the same issue. It says to keep putting drops in until the fluid changes from orange to green. For me it's never orange on the first drop, it's yellow, maybe with a slight green tint. And then I've put up to 25 drops in with no change. So I never get orange nor green. I gave up and assumed the test does not work with my water for some reason. We do get a lot of calcium/lime stains on our plumbing fixtures but I can imagine I've got 25+dGH.