# Bamboo shrimp, sucking oxyen?



## atmmachine816 (Apr 18, 2006)

Hey, I searched the forum and couldn't find anything on this. I bought two bamboo shrimp last week and one stays at the bottom, the larger one while the smaller one sits on my filter ledge with his mouth out of the water along with half his body. Anybody know what he's doing?

thanks


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

atmmachine816 said:


> Hey, I searched the forum and couldn't find anything on this. I bought two bamboo shrimp last week and one stays at the bottom, the larger one while the smaller one sits on my filter ledge with his mouth out of the water along with half his body. Anybody know what he's doing?
> 
> thanks


Nope. I have not seen shrimp out of the water like that. They are filter feeders, but I think they should not be half out of the water. Check your water parameters.

-Pedro


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

Give us all your water parameters and we can better help you with this 'issue'. 

Also, do you have suffcient water flow for the filter shrimp? They need it to filter microrganisms out of the water as a food source. If you bought these at Petsmart, don't listen to a word the description gave you, these do not need salt added to the water. 

I hope you acclimated them long enough also by slowing adding your tank water to the bag/cup you had them in. 

Also, check your water temperature.


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## atmmachine816 (Apr 18, 2006)

They are fine, whats strange is that only one does it?


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## atmmachine816 (Apr 18, 2006)

O sorry didn't see your post till after I posted, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 40 (always have been higher) ph 7.0. I bought them at petco. Yes I have a penguin bio-wheel 200. The larger one sits in a plant right in front of the filter intake tube eating (filter feeding), havne't seen him leave the spot since he found it. The other smaller shrimp also sits there but I'v found him half in and half out periodically. O and yes I acclimated them for over an hour like I acclimate my other fish.

thanks for any help you guys can give


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

He or she must not like something in your tank if it's doing this 'odd' behavior. What color is the shrimp at the moment? Seems if the shrimp is 'happy' in its new enviroment, it'll display a dark brownish/orangish coloring with a nice white stripe down his/her back.

Here's mine perched in front of my HOB filter outflow:


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## atmmachine816 (Apr 18, 2006)

Ya he looks similar to that, just a little darker. Looks just like my other healthy shrimp. Only difference between the two is that the smaller one has reaallllyyyy small filter feeding legs, whether that matters or not?


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

How many times have you found him this way? Do you push him back into the tank when you find him doing this? I found mine do this once, climbed right up into my outflow of my HOB filter and i actually watched him do it, i was like "What are YOU doing?" I just knudged him back in and he hasn't done it since. He did this about 3 days after i bought him from Petsmart.

I'm thinking he was doing this looking for a better food source but now i crumble up hikari fish flakes really, really good and add a tiny bit to the outflow stream when he is perched. I see the smashed up bits get caught in his microrganism catchers and watch him eat his meal. Ever since i been doing this, i haven't found him in my filter. I've also read where other people have had the asian filter shrimp do the same thing. If you want to read more about this shrimp, if you haven't yet visit this site Petshrimp.com -- All about shrimp for my information and browse the "Shrimp Forum" for more additional information on this lovely shrimp species.


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

I don't think that matters, perhaps only a juvenille that's why his 'catchers' are smaller. 

Just keep an eye out for him and try doing the crushed flake method.


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

The shrimp should NOT be half out of the water. Even if your nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia are okay, that doesn't mean something else can't be going on, such as the presence of copper or something. I'd do small daily water changes until the behavior stops. That is definitely indicative of a water problem. Watch him too, as he's likely to crawl out, fall to the ground, and make it halfway across the room before he dies. I guess I'm just saying make sure your water level's low enough or your cover is such that he can't escape. They're known to do that. Good luck with things.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

duchessren said:


> Watch him too, as he's likely to crawl out, fall to the ground, and make it halfway across the room before he dies. I guess I'm just saying make sure your water level's low enough or your cover is such that he can't escape. They're known to do that. Good luck with things.


This is exactly what happened to me recently! One of my Bamboo shrimp decided to climb out of the tank and he crawled across the room before he died! I assume it was a lack of food since the other Bamboo shrimp, Cherries and RCS in this tank seem to be fine.


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## atmmachine816 (Apr 18, 2006)

Thanks guys, I haven't seen him go up yet so I will use your suggestions IF he goes again, I hope he doesn't. He's been sitting with the other larger shrimp just feeding, I guess they are contempt where they are with food as I haven't seen them leave yet and they don't move around in the plant too much.

thanks for the help


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

Keep water quality in mind and the filter feeding shrimp need a decent current to obtain enough food for a good quality of life. The flow can be from an HOB filter, air stone, powerhead, etc. Just keep a good current going and if the shrimps start scouring the substrate for food, try finely crushed flakes placed directly into the current while they're feeding there.


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## atmmachine816 (Apr 18, 2006)

Yes thank you, they seem to like sitting in my plant by the intake tube of my HOB filter where there is a nice current, haven't seen them leave it yet so there must be a good current.


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## gibmaker (Jan 3, 2007)

I think it is just a water flow issue they really like current, they need it to catch food out of the water, I see my bamboo shrimp periodically sitting on my filter intake and straining the water for micro organisms, Im sure he will be fine just looking for more current


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