Aquarium Live Shrimps

Aquarium Live Shrimps 

Live freshwater shrimps are the clean up crew that help to ensure any leftover food and debris in your aquarium doesn’t go to waste. There are many species of the small crustaceans and all will do an excellent job of aquarium maintenance.

Considerations of keeping live shrimp in your aquarium

• Life span enhancers – Keeping freshwater shrimp is an excellent way to enhance the lifespan of your aquarium. Shrimp do well in most water parameters and will happily eat algae, leftover food and debris. These tiny creatures will keep your tank clean and healthy.
• Death threat – There are different types of shrimp available to introduce to your freshwater aquarium. Before you do however, it is important to consider whether any of the fish living in the environment will consume the shrimp. In a marine environment shrimp will need plenty of hiding spots, to feel safe. Without the necessary coverage shrimp will hide and not come out to feed on the leftovers and debris.

Different types of live shrimp

• Amano shrimp – Native to Japan and one of the longest-living shrimp species, the Amano can be quite difficult to breed.
• Bamboo shrimp – One of the most unusual freshwater shrimp, these creatures have fans in place of pincers. Bamboo shrimp will sit between a current, and wait for the food to come to them.
• Cherry shrimp – Considered one of the best algae eating shrimp, the smaller dwarf Red Cherry shrimp are livebearers. They carry their eggs around with them until they are ready to hatch. Cherry shrimp have also been bred in the wild into different colourations – chocolate, yellow, blue and pumpkin.
• Ghost shrimp – Commonly known and sold as feeder shrimp, Ghost shrimp are great scavengers. They will eat debris from all over the tank, and also directly off the aquarium inhabitants.