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Last Updated: 10/24/07
Crustaceans
Shrimp - now on their own page!
Copepods - cyclops, on a different page
Daphnia - water fleas on a different page
Hermit Crabs - on a different page
Red Cherry Shrimp - an article written by Dan
For more/better information and photos, be sure to check out the shrimp links.
See the algae-eating animals comparison table to see a comparison of the various algae-eating shrimp.
There are many other freshwater shrimp species about which I know very little. If/when I learn more information about those, I will add them to this page. There are brief mentions of other species of shrimp under the link to Frank Greco's page. If you are interested in rare beautiful shrimp, check out his site.
Freshwater shrimp, crayfish, lobsters, and crabs are becoming more and more available to aquarium and pond enthusiasts. These animals add a entirely different world to an aquarium or pond. Most of these crustaceans live off of live or dead animals and fish food but some also will eat algae.
I have seen all of the listed shrimp and kept all but the bumble bee, clam, and wood shrimps. There is a lot of conflicting information on the identity of the Amano, ghost, and rainbow shrimps because stores do not use scientific names or use the wrong ones.
Many of the so-called medications for fish are deadly to shrimp and other crustaceans and other invertebrates. Such products should say, "May be harmful to invertebrates" or "Do not use if invertebrates are present." Some parasitic medications and those with heavy metals such as copper are most deadly and should be avoided. Antibiotics are usually safe for shrimp.
Many shrimp keepers believe that iodine is essential to help freshwater shrimp complete their molt. In tanks with low iodine, molting shrimp turn white and die. Adding iodine (as iodide) can help prevent this. Those in the Shrimp Group recommend using half the recommended dosage of Kent Marine Iodine with water changes. I got some and used it the first time on 3/9/02 in my 40 gallon tank only to test it. At the time, there was one ghost shrimp (who was carrying eggs but dropped them before dying) becoming opaque (just starting). The iodine did not save her though as she was dead on 3/11/02.
There is a major explosion of beautiful species of freshwater shrimp being made available in fish stores as of 2002 that were never there before. Check out Frank Greco's page linked to in the links section for one place to order some of these neat crustaceans! Local fish stores also are selling more and more freshwater shrimp.
Crayfish and prawns can be added to ponds as scavengers. They are also kept as aquarium pets or to be used to feed larger animals. Although they mostly eat plants, they will keep extra fry and small fish in check by eating them too. Growing up to five inches, these species will also eat dead fish and other animals. More than 200 species of these crustaceans make various habitats in North America their home. Other parts of the world contain hundreds more species, many of which are sold in the USA. For a list of at least five links to crayfish sites, go to Patrick Timlin's Aquaria Page.
Aquarium stores often sell fancy lobsters now that stay the size of crayfish. Some are blue, some are red, and some are other colors. These lobsters do best on live foods and will eat small fish. Caring for them can be difficult.
For crayfish information, see the Crayfish Home Page.
Sometimes fiddler crabs or other crab species are sold for aquariums. Most require brackish or even saltwater. Few thrive in freshwater. Most require live insects, worms, and/or small fish to eat. They can harass or kill other small animals in the tank with them. Many have nasty pinchers. For this reason, they are best suited to a setup solely for them. Almost all of the crabs sold for "freshwater" tanks require a haul-out spot. The water level must be low enough to allow them to get in and out of the water with ease. If denied the ability to get out of the water, they will eventually die. They most likely also require full spectrum lighting over the basking site but studies probably have not been done on this. Fiddler crabs and similar species stay relatively small at a few inches in size. For a list of at least nine links to fiddler crab sites, go to Patrick Timlin's Aquaria Page.
I now have a page on hermit crabs here.
These are the books that I own and that I used as references for this web page. Mostly, I used my own knowledge gleaned from many sources.
Pond Life: A Guide to Common Plants and Animals of North American Ponds and Lakes by Dr. George K. Reid, Golden Press, 1967. A book chock full of information.
Photos of My Shrimp:
Ghost shrimp on 9/15/00 in my 40 gallon
tank.
Ghost shrimp on 4/22/01 in my 40 gallon
tank.
Rainbow shrimp on 4/22/01 in my 20
gallon tank.
Rainbow shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on
6/3/01.
Rainbow shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on
6/3/01.
Rainbow shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on
11/28/01.
Amano shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on
2/8/02.
Red cherry shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on
12/28/02.
Red-fronted shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on
1/4/03.
Red-fronted shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on
3/1/03.
Red-cherry shrimp in my 20 gallon tank on
12/28/03.
Tangerine shrimp in my 20 gallon tank
on 9/26/07.
Photos of other people's shrimp:
There are a bunch of photos of other people's shrimp on my shrimp species page under the appropriate species.
Ben sent this photo of a "blue shrimp" on 8/10/07 which is one species not covered on my
shrimp species page.
Blue Shrimp
Shrimp Links:
Information on freshwater shrimp is really lacking on the internet. Let me know of any other links you may have found.
Joe's Aquatic Lounge Freshwater Shrimp Page - a great site for freshwater shrimp information; includes links and photos of Amano shrimp, ghost shrimp, wood shrimp, bumble bee shrimp, scuds, and many more! As of 9/29/07, this site appears to be gone including in the archives. A copy of the site can be found here: Oklahoma Aquarium Association
Freshwater Shrimp in the Aquarium - Krib site on shrimp with shrimp photos included; a must visit with tons of information!
Patrick Timlin's Aquaria Page - has 9+ links on fiddler crabs (in aquaria, etc.) and 5+ links on crayfish.
Bob Buettner's Freshwater Aquarium Links! - Bob has compiled a list of at least nine shrimp links to check out!
Shrimp - a collection of newsgroup postings pertaining to various shrimp.
Shrimp, Crabs, and Crayfish - includes lots of photos
Crustacea - nice Crustacean web site in three languages including English and French; this site may no longer exist, if you know what has happened to it, please e-mail me. Fabrice e-mailed me on 6/1/05 with the French version of Crustacea web site. Here is the English version of the Crustacea web site that I found.
Brian Harmon's Aquarium Photos - includes photos of ghost shrimp, Japonica (Amano) shrimp, and the two next to each other
Frank's Aquarium - includes some shrimp photos
and a link to the Freshwater Shrimp Enthusiasts Group; he lists/sells a number
of species of freshwater shrimp about which I know very little (they are not mentioned elsewhere
on this page for example) which include the chameleon, blue midget, red claw, red fronted,
spider, sunset, and red spotted shrimps. He provided the following list of common and scientific
names for some of the shrimp he has gotten or knows about:
Caridina Japonica Site - a site devoted to Amano shrimp
Photos of Planted Tanks - these professional photos of plants and animals in beautiful aquariums will take your breath away. I did not see any shrimp in the photos though (they all have Amano on them). Mike informed me on 9/28/05 that this is because the tanks were done by Takashi Amano "who popularized the use of algae-eating shrimp in planted aquaria and after whom a particular species is named."
These next three sites are in German but you can see many photos of shrimp and read the
scientific
names at least. Perhaps you know someone who can translate the German as well. You can also
go to http://translate.google.com and enter in the
URL, and it will partially translate any page into English as best it can.
German shrimp site 1
German shrimp site 2
Ornamental Shrimp & Crayfish Farming - yes,
another
site in German, includes photos and a store.
Breeding and Raising the Amano Shrimp
The Shrimp Factory - they sell about eight species of freshwater shrimp for aquaria and include some information and photos (from other sites it seems) on their page as well.
Petshrimp.com - a new site with photos of some species, a forum, and soon they will sell shrimp too.
Triops Yahoo Group - for lovers of triops and brine shrimp (aka sea monkeys).
Caridina.japonica.online.fr - a large site written in French about the Amano shrimp. Un site francais au sujet de la crevette d'eau douce Caridina japonica. [Just a note that American keyboards do not allow me to put in the correct French accents; I know they are missing.]
Science at the Great Salt Lake - includes some information on brine shrimp and other salt-loving invertebrates.
Crystal Red Shrimp and Cherry Shrimp pages at fishyou.com.
Shrimp Diseases - a German site (also in broken English) on shrimp diseases.
The Shrimp Farm - sells shrimp
Live Aquaria sells various kinds of freshwater shrimp. Click on the photos below to order ghost shrimp, cherry fire shrimp (cherry shrimp?), Amano shrimp, or Singapore flower shrimp (wood shrimp) respectively.
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