# Predatory Amano shrimp



## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

I know these guys can eat dead fish but I just saw a big female grab a moving guppy fry. I have 2 missing ember tetra too. oh man.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Oh wow...well that answers the question I had on whether I wanted to try Amanos in my setup...NOPE!


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

I think they're ambush hunters, grabbing anything less than 0.5". Bigger fish are fine.
I also saw one of the female recently got berried. I guess the extra protein triggered egg development.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Are you absolutely sure she is an Amano shrimp? There are some look-alike species that are definitely predatory, and these are sometimes confused in the trade.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Nothing looks out of the ordinary. Stripe down the back with dots & dashes on the sides.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

All is fare when the female release her larvae for the fish to eat.

I have plenty of guppy fry and was thinking about culling adult females down the road.


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## tiger15 (Apr 9, 2017)

Is the guppy fry struggling to free itself or near death. Amano will scavenge dead or near death victim, which does not make it a predictor. You have to witness it actively hunt down prey. Have you?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

tiger15 said:


> Is the guppy fry struggling to free itself or near death. Amano will scavenge dead or near death victim, which does not make it a predictor. You have to witness it actively hunt down prey. Have you?


The guppy fry was moving in the shrimp's arms (big 2 inch momma). They don't chase down a fish, more like a fry swims by and is in arm's length. Yeah, I've seen them eat dead fish, they are a great clean up crew but now I wonder how many of those fish they caught.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

I've been keeping my guppies with RCS (Red Cherry Shrimp) without problems until I noticed that the big delta tails of some males were getting chewed up and ragged. I thought it was a bacterial infection until one day I saw a sad male sitting on the bottom with two shrimp on his tail. (I pulled the male out and he's doing fine.) I think the shrimp nibble on the tails at night when the males are sleeping.

It's not a major problem, but then my RCS are only 1/2" long.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

dwalstad said:


> I've been keeping my guppies with RCS (Red Cherry Shrimp) without problems until I noticed that the big delta tails of some males were getting chewed up and ragged. I thought it was a bacterial infection until one day I saw a sad male sitting on the bottom with two shrimp on his tail. (I pulled the male out and he's doing fine.) I think the shrimp nibble on the tails at night when the males are sleeping.
> 
> It's not a major problem, but then my RCS are only 1/2" long.


Interesting. I have guppies with RCS in a 10G. The guppies decimate the RCS population by eating the fry. I'm in the process of moving the guppies.
I guess I'll move the shrimps too since I want to breed some of the fish I bought. Eggs are tasty to shrimps too.


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## tiger15 (Apr 9, 2017)

mistergreen said:


> The guppy fry was moving in the shrimp's arms (big 2 inch momma). They don't chase down a fish, more like a fry swims by and is in arm's length. Yeah, I've seen them eat dead fish, they are a great clean up crew but now I wonder how many of those fish they caught.


Have you actually saw the fry swim into the Amano, captured and eaten, or you assumed it happened after the act. I keep Amano with RCS in a small bowl with many small critters such as baby snails and detritus worm. I have never seen the Amano prey on any.

Guppy will eagerly eat daphnia, so they will not hesitate to eat shrimplets not in hiding. But to say Amano a predator needs more eye witnessing evidence.



dwalstad said:


> I've been keeping my guppies with RCS (Red Cherry Shrimp) without problems until I noticed that the big delta tails of some males were getting chewed up and ragged. I thought it was a bacterial infection until one day I saw a sad male sitting on the bottom with two shrimp on his tail. (I pulled the male out and he's doing fine.) I think the shrimp nibble on the tails at night when the males are sleeping.
> 
> It's not a major problem, but then my RCS are only 1/2" long.


I don't doubt that RCS can nip on slow moving fish occasionally. But if you don't see them swarm a live guppy and finish it like ants, it doesn't make them a predator. Amano and RCS are algae eater and scavenger. Scavenger will eat immobile fish eggs, larvae or dying fish, which is not the same as predator that actively hunt down prey. When I had a dwarf Mexicano crayfish in the same bowl, he was a predator that cleaned out all snails leading to algae take over.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

I saw a moving fry in the clutch and eaten.


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