Pedigree and native depths of the shrimp, known species of aquarium shrimp and their distinctive features, tips for keeping at home. Whoever is not possible to meet in the homes of your relatives, friends and acquaintances. Surely among the people of your social circle there is such a person who is a fan of various living creatures living in water. An aquarium is not only a container in which such cute and funny creatures as fish, turtles, snails live and a wide variety of algae grow, but also one of the most beautiful elements of the interior of an apartment, house, office or even a cafe and restaurant.
We can say with absolute certainty that there is no such person in our world who would enter a room where there is an aquarium and did not stop even for a minute to admire its fabulous inhabitants. The view of the most diverse living creatures that swim here right in front of our eyes is really not only captivating and mesmerizing, but has a calming effect. Looking at how gracefully, as if weightlessly, the fish move around their abode, it seems that you are transported into a completely different, fabulous, previously unknown world, in which there are no problems, experiences and everyday worries.
But everyone got used to fish a long time ago, today these pets are the same, taken for granted, like cats and dogs, even if these are the rarest species and breeds. There are such creatures on our planet that everyone knows, but only few people know them as pets - these are shrimps. It is these living creatures that are now very popular and in demand among the owners of aquariums and lovers of everything unusual and original.
These small "swimmers" can not only be tasty, but also decorate your home, moreover, they are one of the most unpretentious and undemanding creatures. Keeping shrimps in the house is fun, and if you get to know them a little better, then it's not difficult at all.
Origin and natural range of shrimp
The shrimp is a wonderful living creature, which, in spite of all the extraordinary appearance, belongs to the large immense kingdom of fauna. Also, in the process of studying these "animals", scientists who studied the inhabitants of the deep sea, systematized them into the type of arthropods, the class of higher crayfish, the subtype of crustaceans and the order of decapods.
The native territories, or more correctly, the depths for these crustaceans are the waters of the seas, lakes and oceans. In order to understand the Motherland of shrimps, you should know that they are conditionally divided into three large groups: shrimps living in cold waters, warm-water shrimps and those that plow freshwater reservoirs.
The search for more thermophilic arthropods should be done on the Pacific coast of countries such as Kenya, Brazil, Somalia and many others. They live favorably at water temperatures above 25 degrees.
Shrimps, which are inhabitants of cool waters, are significantly smaller, but are valued by people no less than those who come from the waters of Latin America. These smaller creatures can be found in the North, Baltic and Barents Seas. In the culinary industry, the most valuable are shrimps caught off the coast of distant Greenland.
A small number of these arthropods also live in the fresh water of the Amur River and in the reservoirs of the Transcaucasus. Some sources classify freshwater shrimp as a completely different species.
Common types of aquarium shrimp
Despite the fact that, for some reason, keeping shrimp in a house outside the refrigerator is not very common, but there are hundreds of species of these cute crustaceans in the world that can be enjoyed as a pet. The most popular and common ones are presented to your attention.
- Red shrimp, cherry or red cherry shrimp. This is perhaps the most legendary and famous specimen among its relatives, which can be grown in aquarium conditions. To gain such fame, this beauty was helped by her very outstanding appearance and unpretentious care, in addition, the "cherry" has the ability to reproduce extremely quickly, which cannot be ignored as a positive quality for those who plan to breed these amazing crustaceans. The body parameters of this live "cherry" do not exceed 2–3 cm, but, despite such diminutiveness, nature has endowed this shrimp with a fabulous appearance, and the whole secret is in its color. The name of this species does not at all imply that its owner must necessarily have a red body color. This shrimp is a happy owner of a variety of colors: its body can sometimes be colored in orange, bluish, brown and even black tones. And depending on the environmental conditions, this beauty has the ability to change its color, and the intensity of the color at home can be enhanced with your own hand, with the help of food, which contains astaxanthin. In this species of crustaceans, sexual dimorphism is very well expressed, which manifests itself in the parameters of the body - males are usually almost half the size of females. The main distinguishing feature of the female sex is a specific spot located in the projection of the neck. It begins to appear in shrimp girls together with the onset of ovarian formation. This spot can be used not only to distinguish between sexes, but also as a pregnancy test: if such a spot has significantly increased in size, wait for a replenishment in a shrimp family.
- Amano. These natives of Japan are very friendly and peaceful neighbors for many species of fish. In addition, it is also a living "cleaning service" for your aquarium, as they destroy harmful algae and plants. Their appearance is also no less bright - they are not quite small crustaceans, they can grow up to 3–7 cm, often their body is almost transparent with a slight greenish or red tint. On their body, you can see a pattern of black stripes and dots.
- Red crystal. This is not only one of the most beautiful types of shrimp, but also probably one of the most difficult to keep. Such a crustacean, painted in white color, with uniform stripes of rich red color. If you decide to breed these creations of nature, then be prepared for the fact that they need a separate aquarium, because its other inhabitants will not be able to adapt to its conditions. For its comfortable living, this representative of the world fauna requires only clean, soft, slightly acidified water, the pH of which must be strictly within the range of 6, 2–6, 8.
- Yellow shrimp. This specimen is ideal for novice crustacean breeders, due to its endurance and unpretentiousness and speed of procreation. This cute solar creature grows to a length of no more than 30 mm, the skin is painted in a rich yellow color.
- Shrimp ninja. Also known as the honey or Christmas shrimp, this Asian arthropod with an extraordinary name is a champion of camouflage. The thing is that it can not only change shades of color depending on the external environment, but radically change the basic tone - within a few seconds, transforming from red to blue or from yellow to black or brown. As for the living of this "animal" at home, there are no special problems with it, due to its excellent adaptability.
- Red-nosed shrimp. This type of aquarium dweller is also a very useful inhabitant, as its favorite dishes are harmful algae. In addition to the nose painted with red specks, this native of India has another characteristic feature, with which it can be easily distinguished from its other relatives - this is the ability to swim, because the rest of the shrimp move in aquariums with the help of movements that are more reminiscent of running. It is not at all demanding for living conditions, as it perfectly adapts, both in fresh and salt water. The main rule of a good life of a red-nosed arthropod is constancy; it is not recommended to drastically change the temperature and water parameters.
- Harlequin - is a freshwater shrimp, which is particularly diminutive and timid. Its feeding process largely depends on the freshwater sponge, with its help the crustacean can eat algae and food particles. The colors of the harlequin are quite bright and catchy, formed by white, black and red shades. If you decide to keep him, be prepared for the fact that for a long period your new roommate will hide in a safe shelter, since he has a fairly long adaptation to new living conditions.
Keeping and breeding shrimp in a home aquarium
Having made your choice in favor of one or another type of shrimp, you need to take care of where your very exotic pet will live. Even if you already have an aquarium with fish in your house, it is better for shrimp to purchase a separate house, at least for a while, because living together with other species of representatives of the aquatic world can lead to unpredictable and unpleasant consequences. For example, some fish can simply devour a new tenant, and you will not even notice when it happened and who is the culprit.
In turn, the shrimp, which is already accustomed to its new living conditions, is sometimes capable of causing irreparable harm to its other inhabitants, for example, at night, when all the fish are sleeping safely, the crustacean can greatly correct the appearance of some of its cohabitants, especially fish with lush fins and tails. they just tear them off or ruffle them well. And the smallest fish can simply be destroyed in an instant.
In addition, shrimp are still designers in their souls, when the moment comes and they begin to feel like full-fledged owners of the aquarium, then its entire landscape can be rearranged to their liking. After all, large crustaceans (at home, some shrimp can grow up to 14-16 cm) easily pull up plants with roots.
If you want to admire a few small shrimp, then you can put them in a small sealed aquarium that will look great anywhere in your home.
In case you plan to keep many different species or to breed shrimp, it is better to buy a regular aquarium, with an approximate calculation of the volume of 1–1.5 liters per one average-sized inhabitant. It is recommended to buy a container of 20–25 liters, as some decapods reproduce at an astonishing rate. Some pet stores already have specialized aquariums in stock, you can call them shrimp. Outwardly, they are no different from an ordinary fish dwelling, but the shrimp is not a marketing ploy, this is the same aquarium, but already equipped with the necessary attributes for keeping these small crayfish.
The water in this "house" should always be clean and saturated with a large amount of oxygen, so the presence of a compressor is a prerequisite for the good health and longevity of your pets. It is recommended to buy this device with good sound insulation, because at night shrimp cannot do without air, and you cannot do without healthy sleep, which can be significantly disturbed by the noise of a switched on compressor.
It is also necessary that the aquarium be equipped with a filter, the intake pipe of which should be closed with a fine mesh, this measure will prevent curious inhabitants of the aquarium and their little children from entering the filter, such a trip can end in death for your small comrades.
As for the substrate that needs to cover the floor, it is best to use coarse gravel or washed quartz river sand for this. It will be good if you decorate your aquarium in stages. First, you can place stones, various driftwood and shelters, the next step is to prepare the soil for the plants, after planting the flora you need, you need to sprinkle sand on top of the soil mixture, thus, for your crustaceans you will create conditions similar to their relatives and thereby protect the plant roots from mechanical damage. In some pet stores, special soil for shrimp is sold, you can buy it, you just need to make sure that the sand is not too fine, because its particles, mixing with soil for plants, can negatively affect their development. The thickness of the layer of soil mixture for shrimp is directly proportional to the height of the plant stems.
We must not forget about the temperature of the water in the aquarium, it should always be within 24-27 degrees, it cannot be said that at a water temperature of 17 degrees, your shrimp will die, but procreation should not be expected from it. You can still come to terms with higher rates of thermometers for a while by increasing aeration or equipping an additional source of oxygen. But temperatures above 32 degrees will not stand for a long time, not a single shrimp.
Diet of homemade shrimp
By their nature, shrimp are considered omnivorous living creatures, but this does not mean that you can feed them with dumplings or borscht, this means that there should be no problems with feeding. Special food for shrimp is often sold in pet stores, but if it is not there, you should not panic, they will perfectly eat mixtures for ordinary fish.
They are also very fond of food of plant origin, and sometimes not even the first freshness. In the event that a leaf of a plant in the aquarium has rotted, your shrimp can eat it. In addition, they like to eat some types of algae as food, for example, filamentous, which are harmful to other inhabitants and cannot be destroyed with their own hands. Also, crustaceans for some time can clean the stones and other decorations of the aquarium from algal fouling.
If your shrimp do not share their home with other aquarium dwellers, they can be fed from time to time with slices of lightly boiled vegetables, some raw vegetables such as courgette or red peppers, and small slices of pasta. Only in no case should we forget that such delicacies tend to deteriorate quickly, therefore, after a few hours, the remnants of food must be removed from the water, otherwise not only food, but also water will rot.
If we talk about the frequency of meals, then it is better to underfeed than to overdo it with food. On average, shrimp should be fed 2-3 per week, but this is provided that your aquarium is rich in a variety of plants, which the arthropods will be supported by. These are ideal pets for those people who often have to leave home, because they can live without feeding for 1, 5–2 weeks, but this is also the case if there is a lot of algae around them.
Buying homemade shrimp
These are quite inexpensive "crustaceans", their average cost is from 30 to 150 rubles, but you should not buy them in huge quantities, because they multiply very quickly. A few individuals could soon form a shrimp kingdom.
For more about the most interesting aquarium shrimps, see this video:
