# 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. :shock: 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


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## 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?


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## 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!


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## 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.


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## gil_ong

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


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## 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.


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## gil_ong

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


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## 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.


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## 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!


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## Good Wolf

LMAO

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


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## gil_ong

Good Wolf said:


> I guess if nothing else they add the to filtration.


that's the hope.


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## 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.


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## gil_ong

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


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## sneasle

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


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## gil_ong

ooi.

look at how the smaller one has changed colour too.









and here's the bigger one.


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## blcknwitecuban

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


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## trashion

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


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## blcknwitecuban

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


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## 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?


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## 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.


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## Good Wolf

The ones I saw at Petco where redish brown. Weird.


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## Guest

The smaller one isn't a Bamboo shrimp. Looks like a Caridina or Neocaridina species to me....maybe this: http://www.petshrimp.com/neocaridinaspblue.html.


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## gil_ong

dammit!!

but what am i to do now? sure as hell NOT driving back to buffalo.


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## Guest

Keep it.  Its cute. Probably eats algae so throw in some algae wafers every now and then.


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## gil_ong

if the "fans" on its front 4 limbs (same as the flower shrimp) are any indication, it's probably a filter feeder too.


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## Guest

Ohh...i see the fans in the first pic. Then its not Caridina or Neocaridina.

Maybe a Lace Shrimp: scroll down to the last one: http://www.franksaquarium.com/filterfeeders.htm


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## COM

I would reason that they are all more or less the same. The pics you posted are really cool, so keep them. There is no reason not to get some of the Singapore shrimp if you find them down the road. Call Pet Mart in Batavia. They get new stock every Tuesday.

Hey Buffalo isn't all that bad. I make the trip to Rochester 2 to 3 times a week, sometimes more than once in a day.


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## gil_ong

you know what you COULD do, COM? grab some shrimp for me the next time you're headed out here. i can meet you and give you money for it. and then the NEXT time, we can go grab a beer.


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## COM

Gil - that sounds like a plan.

Unfortunately, today my company announced a restructuring that reorients me. Instead of having the Buffalo North - Rochester West Market, I will have Buffalo South - Erie, PA.

However I will still have the joy of dealing with Wegmans HQ for secondary representation items so I will frequently be driving out to Brooks Ave only to be summarily thrown out. I'll let you know by PM next time I'm heading that way.


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## gil_ong

COM said:


> However I will still have the joy of dealing with Wegmans HQ for secondary representation items so I will frequently be driving out to Brooks Ave only to be summarily thrown out. I'll let you know by PM next time I'm heading that way.


wonderful. Wegmans HQ is like 10 min from RIT where i work.

MacGregor's at the intersection of W Henrietta Rd and John St/Brighton-Henrietta Townline Rd is a great place for a beer. Rounds on me the first time.


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## gil_ong

here's my SGP Flower Shrimp's new favourite spot.










must be eating good judging my the size of that turd.


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## justintrask

is that a monster growing out of it? holy cow!


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## gil_ong

so the smaller of my "singapore flower shrimp" (aka the lace shrimp) died sometime between last night and just now.


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## fishbone

I had a couple of these, interesting creatures but they do need some special care.
See this thread
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/invertebrates/18699-feeding-filter-feeding-shrimps.html?
I'll also quote myself from a while back


> It's the space around the filter where they will feed and also the availability of detrius/food. How mature is your tank? I got lucky with a relatively new tank, I'd say anything younger than 6 months or so won't have enough food and you'll end up having to do target feeding.
> Most bamboo shrimp die in the average home aquarium because they slowly starve.


Like most inverts, these guys are sensitive to water conditions, so any ammonia or nitrite will stress them. When they turn a deep red with a white stripe down their back, it means they are content.
Here's a pic of one of mine


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## gil_ong

the big one is happy then.


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## gil_ong

and also the RCS cos all the larger ones (females) are bright red.


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## COM

I think my Bamboo shrimp died. I cant' find it anywhere and I've ripped the tank apart. The Vampire shrimp is still alive but he's pretty much stark white with some blue detailing. I can't seem to get him to stay visible long enough to photograph but he is definitely the pride of my collection.


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## fishbone

If one of them died it could just be a "fluke", but if the other one goes too, then:
-make sure you have NO ammonia or nitrites and your nitrates are below 40ppm
-don't add salt, it's useless and may have an adverse effect
-make sure you acclimate them right over the course of at least one hour. Don't dump them in


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## gil_ong

my bamboo shrimp just molted. 

beefcake! beefcake!


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## gil_ong

happy shrimp


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## COM

Oh that's so cool!


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