Want a new challenge in your aquarium? If you’ve already bred higher-order dwarf shrimp like red cherry shrimp, which hatch looking like little adults, you could try breeding Amano shrimp (Caridina multidentata) to take things to the next level. Their young hatch as larvae, making things quite a bit more complicated. Amano shrimp also go by Yamato shrimp, Japanese swamp shrimp, Japonica shrimp or Takashi amano shrimp.
Amano shrimp are one of the hardest shrimp species to breed in the freshwater aquarium hobby. For a long time, people thought it was impossible, but some aquarists have been able to do it after a lot of practicing. Keeping Amano shrimp in your peaceful community tank, however, is quite easy. Overall care for these great algae eaters in a freshwater tank is easy.
When trying to breed freshwater Amano shrimp, you need to pay attention to four things: getting the shrimp to breed, carrying and breeding eggs, raising the young, and getting them used to living in freshwater. Getting these first two variables right is pretty easy, but getting the other two right will be a little harder.
To get your Amano shrimp to breed, you will need a pair of sexed shrimp, stable water conditions, and food.
Female Amano shrimp will be larger, averaging around 1. 5″-2″, and have brown, dashed lines along their bodies. Males are a little smaller, averaging around 1″-1. 5″, and sport dots along their bodies rather than dashes. The eggs grow in the females’ ovaries, which can look like a bright or dull green “saddle” on their back.
Keep in mind that its difficult to sex Amano shrimp at a young age. At roughly 3 to 4 months, it becomes more prominent which is which. Female Amano shrimp carrying eggs. Berried Adult Female. Close up of the eggs, the black dots are the babies eyes.
Breeding Amano shrimp can be a fun and rewarding aquarium project but it’s not for the faint of heart! Amanos have a complex breeding process that involves hatching larvae instead of miniature adults like most dwarf shrimp. However with some dedication and the right setup, we believe any hobbyist can achieve breeding success.
In this complete guide we’ll cover everything you need to know as a beginner looking to breed these fascinating little creatures. Let’s dive in!
An Overview of Breeding Amanos
Amano shrimp, scientifically known as Caridina multidentata, are native to Japan and Taiwan. Their scientific name comes from the many tiny teeth lining their stomachs, allowing them to eat nearly any organic matter.
In the wild, Amanos live in coastal regions and breed in brackish water where freshwater rivers meet the ocean. The larvae hatch in saltwater then migrate upstream into freshwater as juveniles. Mimicking this natural breeding process in captivity is the key to success!
The general steps are:
- Acquire a breeding pair of adults
- Allow them to mate and the female to develop eggs in freshwater
- Move the female to hatch larvae in a separate freshwater tank
- Transfer larvae to saltwater to feed and metamorphose
- Transfer juveniles back to freshwater once they morph into tiny shrimp
This multi-stage process makes breeding Amanos far more involved than your average cherry shrimp. But the reward of seeing tiny larvae transform into perfect miniatures of the adults is well worth the effort for many aquarists!
Step 1: Acquire an Amano Shrimp Breeding Pair
The first step is to obtain a confirmed male and female Amano shrimp pairing. You’ll need just one of each, but having a couple of extras of each sex can improve your chances.
Identifying the sexes:
- Females are generally larger, around 2 inches (5 cm) versus 1-1.5 inches (3-4 cm) for males.
- Females have a brownish saddle-shaped dot on their backs where eggs develop.
- Females have dashed lines running the length of their bodies while males have rows of dots.
Males will actively seek out freshly-molted females to mate based on pheromone secretions. Females can carry viable eggs for up to 5 weeks before hatching larvae.
Once you’ve selected a breeding pair or group, house them together in a 10+ gallon aquarium with the parameters outlined below. Feed them a nutritious shrimp diet with vegetables and algae to promote breeding.
Step 2: Allow Mating and Egg Development in Freshwater
Amanos will readily mate on their own given ideal conditions in your main shrimp tank. Maintain these parameters for breeding:
Water parameters:
- Temperature: 70-80°F (21-27°C)
- pH: 6.5-8
- GH: 5-15
- KH: 1-10
Tank setup:
- Tank size: 10+ gallons (~40 L)
- Plants and moss for grazing
- Driftwood, rocks, and hides
Diet:
- Protein-rich foods like shrimp pellets
- Blasting vegetables like zucchini and cucumber
- Natural grazing like biofilm and algae
Once mated, the female will carry fertilized eggs underneath her belly. After 3-5 weeks, her eggs will change from brown to a light yellow or white hue, signaling they are close to hatching.
Step 3: Move the Female to Hatch Larvae
When the female Amano is ready to hatch her eggs, she should be gently moved to a separate 5-10 gallon hatching tank. This prevents larvae from being eaten in a community tank.
The hatching tank should have an air-powered sponge filter but no substrate, decor, or tankmates that could harm the delicate larvae. Keep the water pristine with frequent small water changes.
Within a day or two of being moved, the female will release her larvae into the water column. There will be hundreds of tiny dot-like Amano larvae swimming around the tank!
Step 4: Transfer Larvae to Saltwater
Newly hatched Amano larvae require brackish to marine salinity levels to survive. Carefully transfer the larvae to a container of saltwater using a pipette or turkey baster.
The saltwater environment should measure 1.020-1.025 SG or 30-35 ppt salinity. Use a marine salt mix and reverse osmosis or distilled water. An airstone helps oxygenate the water.
Make sure to move all larvae within a day or two of hatching. They cannot survive long in freshwater. Feed them microalgae growing in the tank.
Step 5: Let Larvae Metamorphose
Over the next 1-2 months, the Amano larvae will grow and metamorphose into tiny juvenile shrimp under your care. They eat microalgae and biofilm from surfaces in the rearing container.
Signs of successful metamorphosis:
- Rapid forward swimming
- Resemblance to miniature adult shrimp
- Increased opacity and adult coloration
- Visible antennae and swimming legs
Changing 10-20% of the water every few days keeps their environment clean. Use an aquarium light to promote algae growth they can graze on.
Step 6: Acclimate Juveniles to Freshwater
Once larvae complete their metamorphosis into 1/4 inch long juvenile shrimp, it’s time to transition them to freshwater. This mimics their migration in nature.
Slowly acclimate them over 24-36 hours using the drip method. Use an airline valve to control water flow into the container with the shrimplets.
Double check salinity before adding them to your main shrimp tank. If acclimation is successful, they will continue maturing into full size Amanos!
Amano Shrimp Care Tips
If your breeding project is a success, you’ll soon have young juvenile Amanos to care for! Here are some tips:
- House juveniles in a dedicated shrimp-only tank until they reach 1/2 inch size.
- Feed powdered shrimp food, blanched veggies, biofilm, and algae.
- Maintain pristine water quality with frequent small water changes.
- Provide plenty of hiding places like moss, driftwood, and shrimp tubes.
- Avoid housing with fish that may prey on small shrimp.
- Ideal parameters are 68-82°F (20-28°C), pH 6.5-8.0, 5-15 GH, 1-10 KH.
With excellent care, your homemade Amanos can live 2-3 years and reach 2 inches size! Breeding these fascinating shrimp is a true aquarium accomplishment.
Troubleshooting Common Breeding Problems
Even experienced shrimp keepers encounter pitfalls when trying to breed Amano shrimp. Here are some common issues and how to address them:
Eggs don’t hatch:
- Ensure water parameters are in the ideal range for breeding.
- Supplement diet with high quality foods and vegetables.
- Use a younger, more viable breeding pair. Older females may be infertile.
Larvae die shortly after hatching:
- Move larvae to saltwater immediately, within 1-2 days of hatching.
- Use proper marine salt mix, not aquarium salt.
- Test salinity and maintain 1.020-1.025 SG levels.
Most larvae don’t survive to metamorphose:
- Perform frequent small water changes on the larvae tank.
- Ensure sufficient aeration and oxygenation.
- Supplement with powdered shrimp food if needed.
Shrimplets die when acclimating to freshwater:
- Make salinity adjustments gradually over 24-36 hours.
- Use drip acclimation for a slow transition.
- Ensure freshwater parameters are ideal before adding shrimplets.
Wrapping Up Amano Shrimp Breeding
While complex, breeding these fascinating shrimp is very feasible. With care and patience, the larvae can be coaxed into miniature versions of the algae-eating adults we know and love.
How do Amano shrimp breed?
Once your Amano shrimp are sexually mature (4-5 months), if the above-mentioned requirements are met, theyll breed. No intervention needed on your part!.
Amano shrimp breed after the female molts. The female amano shrimp will attempt to hide, but also release pheromones into the water column. Male shrimp will sense these pheromones and will find her in order to mate. Afterwards, the female will carry the fertilized eggs in her pleopods/swimmerets until the eggs hatch.
This is the easy part of breeding Amanos: as long as the female is ready, they will mate right away.
Shrimp that have bred will keep the eggs in their pleopods, or swim bladders, for three to five weeks while they grow. When the third week comes around, you should get the 1-gallon container ready and fill it up. Set up the air pump and the accessories so there is a good amount of flow. The flow from the air stone would keep the eggs well-oxygenated and free of fungus if the female laid all of them before they hatched.
Allow the water to get to room temperature and then transfer your berried female. Watch closely, as the eggs may hatch soon or take another 2 weeks.
This is going to be the difficult part, so be warned. These guys are TINY!
After the eggs hatch, the Amano shrimp larvae have roughly 1 week to survive in freshwater. Turn off all surrounding light and shine a flashlight at one spot on the container. Asano larvae are drawn to light and will move toward it, which makes it easier to gather them all.
Place the larvae in a temporary container, like a betta cup. This step might need to be done more than once because not all the eggs will hatch at the same time. Once you have rounded up as many as you feel like, transfer them into the saltwater jar. Acclimation is not required.
Watch closely as the larvae do their thing, floating around and eating algae. They will do this till they metamorphize, which will take around 1. 5 months.
To keep the water in the container for the larvae clean, you can use the flashlight trick you used to catch them. Point the flashlight to a corner and use some airline tubing to drain the water. Replace with clean water matching in temperature and salinity. Use the drip method if youre worried about shocking the shrimp.
What will you need?
- Two sexed Amano shrimp, one male and one female
- High-quality shrimp food
- It is best to use Instant Ocean Sea Salt Mix instead of table salt, pickling salt, aquarium salt, and other types of salt. ).
- Aquarium light (to grow saltwater algae)
- Container (to hold the saltwater and larvae)
- Two air pumps and all the parts that go with them, like air stone, check valve, control valve, and airline tubing. ).
- 1-gallon container (for dechlorinated freshwater)
- RODI or RO water
- Hydrometer or Refractometer
- Flashlight
- Pipette or eye dropper
- Syringe (with a decently sized opening)
After getting everything you need for your Amano shrimp breeding project, it’s time to get ready for the big day.
- You will use one of the air pumps, its parts, and saltwater mix to fill a jar with water. Try to aim for 30-35 PPT saltwater (1. 022-1. 026 Specific Gravity).
- Once the water is mixed, you can add the airstone (which may come with a sponge filter) and have it pump out a gentle stream of air.
- Put the light above the container and wait for it to grow. It’s possible for bugs to fly into it and die, which makes ammonia, which algae needs to grow (so don’t worry about that!)
- As time goes on, water will evaporate, raising the salt level. Add RODI or RO water on top of the evaporated water to keep the right salinity.
- The jar will eventually be full of diatoms and other types of algae.
Water parameters should be kept stable within the acceptable ranges.
- The pH should be between 6.5-8.0
- The temperature should be consistent between 70°F-80 °F
- GH should be 5-15
- KH 1-10
When youre trying to breed Amano shrimp, food should be readily available. The algae in the tank can be enough food, but it’s not always there in the right amounts.
If there is not enough food available, you can supplement with blanched vegetables and prepared fish food.
FINALLY! Avatar Aquatics Breeding Amano Shrimps Step by Step Walkthrough – 100% Success!
Are Amano shrimp hard to breed?
Amano Shrimp are surprisingly difficult to breed in captivity. Cherry Shrimp and Ghost Shrimp will naturally breed in the aquarium without need for human intervention. Amano Shrimp on the other hand prove extremely difficult in raising the young past larvae stage of development. Amano Shrimp also require brackish (salty) water for breeding.
How do you breed Amano shrimp?
To breed Amano Shrimp you will need to purchase at least 10 shrimp with an even ratio of males to females. Telling females from males is easy because females are generally much larger than males. To ensure this check that the line running down the side of female Amano Shrimp is fragmented and dashed.
Can Amano shrimp reproduce in captivity?
Well, don’t have your heart set on breeding Amano shrimp anytime soon. It’s another one of those species where it’s virtually unheard of to have them reproduce in captivity. This is not because of size or inability to reach sexual maturity in a tank issue.
Are Amano shrimp the coolest looking shrimp?
Frankly saying, Amano shrimp are not the coolest looking shrimp but we do not get them for their looks we get them for the algae-eating potential and these guys just do not stop. They are absolutely relentless towards the algae. Another great thing about Amano shrimp is that you do not need a lot of them to keep your tank clean.