Bamboo / Singapore Flower Shrimp

[gil_ong]

after seeing burke's and hearing about COM's, i decided that i really should get myself some.

there were none available locally, so i asked COM where he got his. turns out that there's a pretty hopping LFS in Buffalo, so i figured i'd take a drive out there with a buddy of mine.

2 large dunkin donut iced coffees to start the trip: ~$5
gas for a 180 mile round-trip: ~$35
NYS Thruway tolls: ~$4
price of 2 SGP flower shrimp: $15.13 including tax
lunch for 2 on NYS Thruway: ~$18
almost getting side-swiped by a GMC Yukon in a rain storm: very exciting

not exactly an economical way to buy shrimp, but i'm thrilled at having them in my tank.

the LFS had 8 when i called on thursday. there were 3 left when i was there; 2 greyish/blue, 1 brown

i bought the 2 grey/blue ones. one was larger than the other.

here's the bit that's got me confused. within a hour of sticking them both in my tank, the larger one turned brown. see pics below, they were both the same color (as the smaller one) when i saw them at the LFS and when i brought them home.

smaller one


larger one

[COM]

The good looking woman at the store you went to told me that they turn red when the molt. She also told me that they often molt soon after being put in a tank that has some salt in it and said that they need iodine to do this. She might be crazy though.

BTW whaddya think of The Fish Place? Pretty neat, huh?

[gil_ong]

there was no good-looking woman. just 4 HS/college kids who were more concerned with being cool than any thing else.

i have some salt. i'll see what i can do about iodine.

but HOLY JEEBUS! have you seen the size of some of those fish in that place? hell of a store!

[COM]

I guess that you went and checked out the 15,000 gallon display in the far left room. Pretty darned cool.

I would suggest that you ask for a consult from some other people on iodine. People have very differing opinions on how it affects fish.

[gil_ong]

yeah. that was incredible. also saw the 4 monster pacus and that big fat catfish.

[Good Wolf]

I know they are filter feeders but do they also work on the algae?

The Petco by my work has them listed at $6 a piece.

[gil_ong]

they're not supposed to work on algae, but i saw them both nibbling away at my plants last night.

[Good Wolf]

At your plants or the algae on them?

I was thinking about getting some but I couldn't find much info on them online and after spending $100.00 on plants yesterday the last thing I need is a shrimp with a taste for them.

[gil_ong]

i doubt they eat pants. maybe there is stuff on them that's not visible to the naked eye.

they do sem to be constantly "eating" though.

NOM f'ing NOM NOM!

[Good Wolf]

LMAO

I guess if nothing else they add the to filtration. I think I'll pick some up this week.

[gil_ong]

Originally Posted by Good Wolf

I guess if nothing else they add the to filtration.

that's the hope.

[sneasle]

How sensitive are they overall? I picked up one a while back but he didn't make it and by the time I found his body there wasn't enough to take back.

[gil_ong]

no idea. i just got them yesterday. i'll let you know if either one has died when i get home.

[sneasle]

kk. maybe I'll just blame it on my noobness.

[gil_ong]

ooi.

look at how the smaller one has changed colour too.


and here's the bigger one.

[blcknwitecuban]

i don't know much about shrimp but they seem to be different species to me.

[trashion]

Honestly, they do. Does the top one have the "fans"? I can't see them.

[blcknwitecuban]

and the top one has a hump but the bottom is smooth kinda like a bamboo

[gil_ong]

they both have fans. and they looked much more similar when i first bought them than they do now. i wonder if the colouration really makes a big difference in how they look.

i remember that burke's shrimp looked rather different from one another too.

COM, can you post a pic of yours?

[COM]

I haven't seen mine in a week. Even with the new powerhead, they hide. I'm considering a total tank redo to address this problem.