Probably the most common algae eating shrimp other than the common Red Cherry Shrimp, is the Amano Algae Eating Shrimp. The Amano Algae Eating Shrimp got its name from the man that introduced it to the hobby years and years ago. The man is Takashi Amano, world-renown aquascaper and aquarist. Once introduced into the hobby by Amano these little shrimp became a sought after species because of their relatively small size and high algae eating capacity. These shrimp are also very docile and do little to no harm to aquatic plants, making them a great addition to a planted aquarium. The scientific name that is assigned to this species of shrimp is caridina japonica. Their common names include Amano Algae Eating Shrimp, Yamato Shrimp (named after the region in Japan they are found in), Yamato numa-ebi, and Japanese Marsh Shrimp. The shrimp normally stay at a length of 2 inches or less and have a relatively long life span for freshwater shrimp if kept properly.

This shrimp can be identified by its mostly brown or opaque looking color. Down the back of the shrimp there are small tan spots that form a stripe pattern that run from head to tail. Down the shrimp’s side are usually a series of broken red dots that span the side of the body. It is also common for Amano Algae Eating Shrimp to have a few black or white dots throughout their body coloration pattern. These colors allow them to blend in fairly easily with their natural habitat of marshes and swamps in their native Japan.

Amano Algae Eating Shrimp- Picture by DragonGoby

In the aquarium the Amano Algae Eating Shrimp is very tolerant to tank levels and the overall ph of the tank is not overly important. Like most other things we keep in our aquariums the shrimp will adapt to a ph change. The ph does need to be stable though. However they are very susceptible to ammonia changes and even the smallest levels of ammonia can harm the shrimp. These shrimp should only be kept in very stable planted tanks that have no ammonia change at all. Due to their size they should not be kept with larger fish like cichlids. They will be viewed as a meal and be eaten at first chance. These shrimp are temperamental to temperature also. Since they are from colder water swamps in the Yamato region they are best kept under 80 degrees with the target range of 68-76 degrees. The shrimp normally enjoy a slightly brackish setup but will adapt to freshwater. As far as other water perimeters they don’t need to be strict but ideal ph is ranging at 6.7 to 7.7 and slightly hard water is preferred. However again they will adapt to almost all water conditions provided the correct water temperature and no ammonia levels.

In conclusion the Amano Algae Eating Shrimp is probably the best small algae eating shrimp that you can keep in your tank. It will eat almost any algae including brown, and hair algae. It has been known not to tolerate black beard algae but when hungry may eat any type of algae in the tank.

Amano Algae Eating Shrimp- Picture by DragonGoby

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