Caridina multidentata facts for kids
Caridina multidentata is a type of shrimp that lives in water. It belongs to the Atyidae family. These shrimp come from Japan and Taiwan. People often call them Yamato shrimp, Japanese shrimp, Amano shrimp, or algae shrimp.
Quick facts for kids Caridina multidentata |
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| Genus: |
Caridina
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| Species: |
multidentata
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Contents
About Amano Shrimp
Amano shrimp have bodies that you can almost see through! They have cool reddish-brown dots along their sides that look like a broken line. A white stripe runs down their back from head to tail. Their eyes are black. It's easy to tell girl shrimp from boy shrimp. Female shrimp have longer dots in their bottom row.
Where They Live
Amano shrimp like water that's not too hot and not too cold. The best temperature for them is usually between 18°C and 28°C. They move around more when it's warmer. But they might not live as long in very warm water. They also like water that's a little bit acidic or neutral, with a pH from 6.5 to 7.5.
Why Copper is Bad for Them
Copper is really bad for Amano shrimp! Like all crustaceans, they have a special type of blood called haemocyanin. This blood is very sensitive to copper. Even a tiny bit of copper can harm them.
How They Have Babies
Amano shrimp mate in freshwater places like streams and marshes. When a female shrimp is ready to have babies, she sends out special smells into the water. Male shrimp follow these smells to find her. After mating, the female releases her fertilized eggs.
The tiny baby shrimp, called larvae, need to live in salty or slightly salty water. They float out to sea as they grow. Once they are big enough, they swim back from the sea to freshwater. They spend the rest of their lives in freshwater. This journey, from freshwater to sea and back, is like what some fish do.
Amano Shrimp in Aquariums
A famous aquarist named Takashi Amano first brought these shrimp into the world of aquariums. This happened in the early 1980s. People love to keep them in aquariums because they eat algae. This helps keep the aquarium clean.
Amano shrimp used to be known as Caridina japonica. But after a study in 2006, their name was changed to Caridina multidentata.
What They Eat in an Aquarium
Many people think Amano shrimp can live only by eating algae in their tank. But this is not true. Amano shrimp do best when they eat aquarium algae plus other foods. They need algae wafers or spirulina flakes. Sometimes, they also need protein from things like pellets, flakes, or frozen foods.
It's also very important for them to have calcium in their water. Calcium helps them build and keep their hard outer shell, called an exoskeleton.
Breeding in Aquariums
It is very hard to breed Amano shrimp in an aquarium. Their babies need water that is much saltier than what the adult shrimp live in. Because of this, almost all Amano shrimp sold in pet stores are caught from the wild. Breeding them in tanks is just too difficult and expensive for most people.
