Breeding Filtering Shrimp (Atyopsis Moluccensis) In The Aquarium

Location

This is a freshwater species. Its natural habitats are reservoirs of Asian islands: Sri Lanka, the Indonesia (Sumatra, Bali, Java, Okinawa and the Samoa Islands). It lives also in reservoirs in India, Thailand and Malaysia.

Body description

Colour of this species is variable and it depends on its habitat. Basic variant of this shrimp is gray-beige with horizontal, discontinuous, red-brown stripes. These stripes are thin and thick. There are also dark spots on the body and whitish stripe with dark border from its rostrum to its telson. This shrimp has the first two pairs of the pereiopods with feathery appendages which look like "fan" when the shrimp spreads their. The species uses these appendages for gripping a food from water. The species has also additional 3 pairs of the pereiopodos and it uses their for movement and attachment to the surface. It has carapace and it molts in order to grow. Female is smaller than male. Her all walking legs are the same length. Male's walking legs are different. The first pair is thicker and longer than other two pairs.

Characteristics and temperament

This is active, peaceful and non-aggressive species. It prefers to live in a small group. It feeds almost all the time. Then it gathers close to outlet of the filter or pump and it catches suspended particles from the water its spread appendeges. When these appendages are full the shrimp closes their very quickly and it puts their to its mouth. Then the filtering shrimp again spreads its appendages and process is repeated. When this species is on the bottom and it flips through the substrate then it is a signal that it doesn't have enough food.

Aquarium decoration

This species prefers a larger aquarium because it can escape or jump for too small tank without enough food. The aquarium should include sandy or fine gravely substrate, plants, hiding-places among rocks, caves, roots, coconut shells. We should also arrange flat place close to outlet of the filter where the shrimps will be able to feed. The water should be oxygen-rich with medium flow. The species is sensitive to accumulation of drugs with copper, fertilizers, heavy metals, rapid changes of water temperature, ammonia and nitrites. We shouldn't keep these shrimps with fish which feed sellfish e.g. with botias or cichlids.

Breeding

We don't have any information about breeding these shrimps in aquarium. Commercially available shrimps come from their natural habitats and they are imported.