# Evil mystery shrimp !



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Ok, I admit, my shrimp tank has not had a whole pile of close attention lately. Life got in the way. But I wasn't too worried about it, cause there are only Snowballs and Amanos in it and they get on fine. Or so I thought. 

But I put some new plants in it today. Since this disturbed the tank, I expected to see a bunch of Snowballs zipping around, but I didn't. I mostly saw Amanos. There were very,very, few Snowballs.

So I'm thinking, what the hey ? Where're my Snowballs ? I had three berried females not so long ago, as well as a bunch of half grown juvies, but I don't see 'em.

What I do see is a great big pair of rather orangish eyes peering out at me from under the driftwood. They turned out to belong to a mystery shrimp I'd never seen before. This shrimp is very, very good at hiding. But when I finally got a decent look at it, I about screamed.

It's got to be a Machrobrachium of some type. Bears a resemblance to my Blue Claw Whiskers, but is a wee bit larger than they are and clearly NOT a Whisker shrimp. 

He can only have come with the Amanos when I put them in, they are the only new additions I have put in this tank.

He's got fair size claws..slightly over an 1/8" long. Shortish whiskers, wild coloured, basically. Dark brownish orangish shell, with some dark markings, and the claws are darker at the tips.

This evil shrimp ATE my Snowballs ! I got the Amanos at BA's Mississauga about, I think, six to eight weeks ago. I may take this beast back to them and ask for a new shrimp. Unless someone here would like to take it on ? 

Just to add insult to injury, while I was trying to catch the mystery shrimp so I could get some pics of it, I discovered a Black Kuhli loach in the shrimp tank too. 

How in blazes he ever got in there I will never know. There are only two tanks that have Black Kuhlis. The QT, where they spent their first weeks, which is a 5G about two feet away, and the 30G, which is three feet above and a foot to the left of the shrimp tank. He must have jumped and got lucky, so to speak . I'd no idea loaches were such athletic jumpers.. he'd have had to sail a few feet to end up with the shrimp. 

The flying loach may have eaten any baby shrimp he found, but he can't have taken out all the adult Snowballs.It must have been the Evil Mystery shrimp ! It looks like a hunter, poised to strike at anything. I am so mad at the shrimp, if it were just a bit bigger I'd be having it for dinner !


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## Egonsgirl (Feb 28, 2012)

Well I had my yellow shrimp in with my Amano shrimp in a 5g tank and the yellows all disappeared. I will not chance any more other shrimp to be put in with them. The only thing in there with the Amano's is a few guppy fry. Sorry you are losing you snows Karen, I lost mine also. And kudos for that adventurous loach, lol.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

The funny thing is, of the few Snowballs that are left, at least two are small juvies.. the Amanos don't seem to be interested in them. Maybe I'm wrong and it's only a mystery shrimp and not really evil.. but it LOOKS evil ! Thanks for the sympathy... I must get a separate tank set up for the remaining Snowballs, while I still have a few left.


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