Common Names: Bamboo Shrimp, Wood Shrimp, Asian Filter Shrimp

Scientific Name: Atyopsis moluccensis

Availability in the UK: Not as common as some shrimp (amano, cherry etc.), but still fairly widespead. Quite expensive, usually costing between £8-£10 each.

Overview: The Bamboo shrimp is a large, peaceful shrimp which is incapable of eating anything alive in your aquarium. In shops, this shrimp tends to be a muddy brown colour, yet when happy and being fed a good diet, can turn a deep red with a white line down it's back.

Feeding: The Bamboo Shrimp filters the water, using 4 fan-like hands that it holds out and catches food with. Because of this, it needs a very mature tank, with established microscopic animals, microalgae and other microscopic foods for them to catch. If your shrimp is picking food up from the bottom of the tank it means their isn't enough food or water flow for them to feed properly. Try adjusting the filter output and target feeding by dropping crushed food into he flow.

Sexing: With mature shrimp, the males have a much larger first pair of walking legs.

Breeding: Very difficult. Needs brackish through to saltwater conditions for the babies to survive.

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