# A question about Bamboo Shrimp



## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Was just eyeballing a bamboo shrimp I saw at Pet Smart. They are so COOL! However, I'm wondering - do they have a tendency to climb out of tanks?
I've had a TERRIBLE history of practically every Amano shrimp I've owned hiking out of my tanks in the middle of the night and dying on the carpet. I just don't want to be heartbroken by finding the bamboo shrimp in the same way the next morning.


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## WetOne (Nov 14, 2014)

They're the coolest of the shrimps. Quite large & colorful. I have two in my fluval edge, the thing is escape proof. 

I have read though that they are excellent climbers. They love to hang onto something and face a strong current.


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## LithiumRain (Mar 7, 2015)

I can tell you with certainty if they can climb out of your setup they eventually will. I have found a couple on the floor and had another couple go missing without a trace, but I have cats so they likely disposed of the evidence. A Fluval Edge is pretty escape proof. FYI Pet not so Smart feeds them sinking algae wafers, but they are filter feeders not bottom feeders, if you see them scraping the substrate its a sign of starvation. They get desperate when they cant filter enough food so they try to scrape the ground for food, which can damage their delicate "fans". Some people feed them using greed water cultures but most that I've met use various fine powdered foods.


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## inuudo (Sep 23, 2012)

I got two bamboo shrimp from PetSmart about 2.5 years ago. One died within a few months, but the other one is still alive and thriving in my 20Lgal tank. There is a space at the back where he could climb out (and now I'm paranoid that he will!). 

You should definitely get one -- they really are cool and their moults are spectacular.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

SWEEET. Man I'm psyched. I got my 2028 back up and running and I'm sure the Bamboo shrimp will be happy eating in front of it. I'll update how it does in the tank.


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

I've got two before, and then one day they just disappeared, like vanished totally. I still cannot find them till this day. 

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

I picked up two from petsmart. One that was quite active but the other bigger prettier one was already lethargic. Needless to say the lethargic one didn't last 3 hours. The other bamboo shrimp is still doing well. It likes to filter the water but under the cover of some leaves. 

They were only in store for a week. So I would recommend getting them as close to when they arrive or the most active one no matter how big the others are.


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## LithiumRain (Mar 7, 2015)

Definitely go for the more active ones rather than the larger ones. I would also say pick one that is fanning the water as opposed to scraping the substrate. They are normally filter feeders so when they are scraping the substrate it is usually a sign of starvation due to inadequate supply of micro-organisms/food in the water column. Most stores I've seen them at don't know how to feed them properly. I was at PetSmart one time and they were feeding them whole algae wafers. I asked them why they were feeding them that way and the person working said it was because they were bottom feeders. I corrected her but she informed me that they had to feed them the way head office told them to. Needless to say they were all scraping the substrate with very damaged fans.


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## YumiChi (Mar 16, 2015)

Same with Petland, they don't even know how to keep shrimps alive. At least half of their shrimps are dead. The staff told me it's retail I can't expect too much from them. 



LithiumRain said:


> Definitely go for the more active ones rather than the larger ones. I would also say pick one that is fanning the water as opposed to scraping the substrate. They are normally filter feeders so when they are scraping the substrate it is usually a sign of starvation due to inadequate supply of micro-organisms/food in the water column. Most stores I've seen them at don't know how to feed them properly. I was at PetSmart one time and they were feeding them whole algae wafers. I asked them why they were feeding them that way and the person working said it was because they were bottom feeders. I corrected her but she informed me that they had to feed them the way head office told them to. Needless to say they were all scraping the substrate with very damaged fans.


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