Amano shrimp

Care at a glance

The amano shrimp owes its fame to aquascaping pioneer Takashi Amano, who deployed it as algae police, and the reputation is deserved: few animals clear hair algae as thoroughly. It grows larger than the cherry shrimp and is, if anything, even more unflappable.

It cannot breed in freshwater, as the larvae need brackish water, so a group simply stays a group. Offer sinking food alongside the algae, otherwise a shrimp short of work will start picking at your plants. Beyond that the usual shrimp rules apply: acclimatise slowly and beware of copper.

Best not combined with

• Electric blue crayfishProcambarus alleni
• Giant freshwater shrimpMacrobrachium rosenbergii
• Redclaw crayfishCherax quadricarinatus

Related species

• Cherry shrimpNeocaridina davidi
• Nerite snail (zebra)Neritina sp.
• Racing nerite snailVittina turrita
• Olive nerite snailNeritina reclivata
• Crystal red shrimpCaridina cantonensis
• Ghost shrimpPalaemonetes paludosus