# Bamboo Shrimp Question



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Also known as Fan Shrimp, Flower Shrimp, or Rock Shrimp. _Atyopsis moluccensis_.

I have one in my 79-gallon now, and am wondering if I should get more. I know that they're filter feeders, but what exactly do they eat?

If I take out the filter media, would they be able to eat the crud? If I get enough bamboo shrimps, would they be able to keep the water clear without a filter media?


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## RevoBuda (Sep 3, 2011)

They are awesome little guys... I had 4 at one time in my tank. They eat little food particles in the water column. They don't eat "crud" they eat small phytoplankton and little food matters left behind by larger fish. The only unfortunate thing is that they don't move around very much and their ages are all unknown as my research indicates they are all wild caught and none are captive bred.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

RevoBuda said:


> They are awesome little guys... I had 4 at one time in my tank. They eat little food particles in the water column. They don't eat "crud" they eat small phytoplankton and little food matters left behind by larger fish. The only unfortunate thing is that they don't move around very much and their ages are all unknown as my research indicates they are all wild caught and none are captive bred.


How big was your tank? Did you have to give supplemental feedings? How long did they live?


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## RevoBuda (Sep 3, 2011)

My tank is 150g. They lasted over a year... I never supplemented any foods. They were a beautiful bright red with white stripe down the back. One day they just started disappearing... so I decided to never get them again.


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## default (May 28, 2011)

RevoBuda said:


> My tank is 150g. They lasted over a year... I never supplemented any foods. They were a beautiful bright red with white stripe down the back. One day they just started disappearing... so I decided to never get them again.


they dont clean your water for you. they only act as a cleaning crew if you have serious green water. like mentioned above they filter the water column for food and will move to anywhere with water movement - so if you take out your filter itll both kill everything due to no filtration and you will have no water movement.. - they will try to climb out or die if you have no water circulation.

they originate from streams and rivers (if you watch some BBC documentaries they mention them) and they love fast flowing water. i had a few small golden fan shrimp just standing at the opening of a filter, everything was getting blown around but it took it like a champ.

also supplmental feeding i find is only required if you have more than what your water column would contain, foodwise. since your tank is quite large you could probably keep a few without actually doing anything. best way i found to keep them happy was to have a circulation pump like a koralia or a powerhead and direct it at a piece of rock or wood - filters take out most particles out of the water, but with the pumps, when you feed your fish it would occasionally suck in food and particles and grind them up and spit them back out fine enough for the shrimps to consume.


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## RevoBuda (Sep 3, 2011)

I think he meant to quote you Solarz...


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

RevoBuda said:


> My tank is 150g. They lasted over a year... I never supplemented any foods. They were a beautiful bright red with white stripe down the back. One day they just started disappearing... so I decided to never get them again.


Awww... that's really depressing to hear. It sounds like they don't live very long then. I'm not sure I'd get more if I can only keep them for a year.


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## default (May 28, 2011)

RevoBuda said:


> I think he meant to quote you Solarz...


oops sorry, multi tasking error


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## RevoBuda (Sep 3, 2011)

no worries


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## Fishyfishyfishy (Mar 3, 2008)

They need current to catch their food. They don't really "clean" your tank. You still need filter media. No need for any supplement feeding, from my experience. Mine died after a few months (maybe it was old?), it was huge though.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Fwiw, I do feed mine... my tank is fairly mature and they filter feed most of the time, hanging off floating plants near the pump or near the filter output, and also they hang around the the sponge filter as well. I put both greenwater and marine phyto liquid foods in for them at least every couple of days. I use a huge syringe I got at Plastic World, I think it is 50 cc and I squirt a couple of those full of green water, but much less of the commercial phyto foods. I have clams also, and they need the phyto and small cell algae as well. So far, the shrimp are growing and moulting just fine and seem quite healthy. I have read they can live up to 5 years if they have enough to eat. If they are picking food off the bottom of the tank there is not enough in the water column to keep them satisfied. Mine were bottom picking when I first got them, but once I started supplementing with the green water culture and marine stuff, they pretty much stopped doing that. I think they are worth feeding properly.
I use a Koralia nano pump, a big sponge and an Aquaclear 70, and they love the current the pump and Aqua Clear produce the best. 30 G tank with lots of plants.


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