[Fishnerd101]

I just brought home a bamboo shrimp and some java moss for the shrimp to hold onto. I acclimated the shrimp and then put him (i'm assuming) into my 80 gallon aquarium. Right now he's picking through the sand, but I heard that that means that it's starving. The petstore's aquariums did look spotless, so that's probably it. Do you think it'll be okay?

 

[Silverfang]

Min sits in a pile of moss and just fans the current. I'd check to make sure you have a place he can sit in the current. You might also try to supplement his food. Crushed algae wafers, flake, or spirulina powder. Some people turn of the filter, and use an eye dropper or pipette to squirt some food near him. Then 30 minutes later turn the filter back on.

 

[Fishnerd101]

Thanks. It does have a placein the current, but it's just sifting through the sand. If it doesn't start fanning the current by tomorrow, I'll try using crusheed flake food.

 

[Fishnerd101]

Update: the shrimp has started clinging to the filter intake to feed. Is this okay for him to do? I didn't want tor try to move him unless it was necessary. He looks healthy enough, I'm just not sure if it's good for him to be there.

 

[OSagent23]

Hello, my bamboo shrimp does cling to the filter to feed. This is ok trust me they won't get hurt. If they can cling to it and stay there then it is fine. They are very smart shrimp and know what to do and what not to do. My shrimp clings to plants and other things that are also in the flow of the current. Sometimes he hangs upside down on my thermometer. It's really funny. What you can do is place and piece of wood or a plant in the direct path of the current from your filter. This will keep him off the filter and on the wood or plant instead if it is of great concern.

 

[Fishnerd101]

Thanks. The weird thing is, he has several other places, he just doesn't use them. I'll just leave it up to him to choose.

 

[Silverfang]

Mine sits in the moss where the water is coming down. S/he just fans, licks, and sits there being a pig. Just keep checking to make sure he doesn't sift the substrate. Should be getting sufficient food.

 

[Fishnerd101]

He moved off the filter and onto a piece of driftwood where there's flow from a powerhead. He's showing full colors, so I'm assuming that he's healthy. It's so neat to watch him feed.

 

[Jorunder]

Several things:
1) sexing bamboo shrimp is easy. If the two front legs are larger than the rest, then it is a male.
2) use a mortar and pestle, or if you do not have one, get a burned out lightbulb(tubular works best) and a round bowl. Take your copper free shrimp food and mix it in the bowl and get some eggshells with the membrane removed. The ratio I use is 3 shrimp food fir 1 crushed up eggshells. Begin grinding the food and eggshells together until it is a very fine powder. Then serve to shrimp. This will supplement them for calcium and feed them, this works great for filter shrimp, and is my own successful recipe.