Cant find my Amano shrimp

[Supermassive]

I haven't seen my Amano shrimp in about 10 days and I'm starting to get worried. There are tons of places he could hide that I would never see but I feel like he should be out and eating around the tank. Is it normal for an Amano shrimp to go hide for days? Is it possible he is just active at night? When I first got him he was doing very well for the first 3-4 days. He was exploring all over the tank and constantly grazing on stuff. I added a Betta and the Betta checked out the shrimp but never really went after him that I saw. I then removed the Betta because I had to treat him with salt and I did see the shrimp after I removed the betta but that was the last I saw him about 10 days ago. There is about a 1 inch by 5 inch opening on the lid in front of my filter. Idk how likely it is that he would see that and try to escape. Seems unlikely to me but I really have zero experience with shrimp so idk.

I use seachem prime for a dechlorinator so that should eliminate any heavy metals and make the water safe for shrimp right?

Parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, ~15ppm nitrate, ~7.4PH, GH ~60ppm, KH~ 40ppm, temp is 79-80F

I know GH is low for a shrimp but its a Betta tank first and I have the ZooMed banquet blocks so that should provide all the calcium right? When I first put him in the tank I was concerned about my low GH so I put in one of the banquet blocks but the shrimp wasn't interested. I left it for 24hrs and took it out because it hadn't been touched. I also have a nerite snail that didn't touch the food block.  I'm assuming that means there is enough calcium in the water but I could definitely be wrong.

Do you think he is just hiding somewhere or has he died and his body is somewhere or did he escape through the small opening in my lid?

Its a ten gallon tank btw

[DaveO]

So Amano shrimp love to escape. They are very good at it, In fact. I had one fly out of my tank when I was cleaning it one day. I didn't see him jump, but he wanted out of there, I guess. When I was all done with the tank and putting stuff away is when I saw him marching over to the TV stand. He almost made it under there but I caught a glimpse of movement on the floor, thank goodness. Another time I had another Amano disappear for over a year and then reappear. I'm sure he was hiding in the filter this whole time. I found a neo shrimp on top of the lid once. That ended badly.

All that said, I doubt anything like this happened to your shrimp. It sounds like yours is a new addition to the tank. They will hide out until they're comfortable with their new surroundings. I would do something to block that opening in the lid, though. I used clear packing tape to tape that opening shut one time. It worked pretty well. Good luck.

[Supermassive]

@DaveO Wow real escape artists lol. Thanks for the advice. I will cover the opening with something. 

[Lennie]

They may escape yes. But also amazing at hiding. 

 

I see mine less than I see my pleco. Once every 2-3 months or maybe even less.

[KittenFishMom]

I accidently took one back to the store in a bag of fish to donate. Sneaky little guys !

[nabokovfan87]

I lost one too.  😞

I'm not sure where he went. I've been trying to find him for 3-4 days so far.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 10/16/2023 at 11:59 AM, Supermassive said:

I know GH is low for a shrimp but its a Betta tank first and I have the ZooMed banquet blocks so that should provide all the calcium right? When I first put him in the tank I was concerned about my low GH so I put in one of the banquet blocks but the shrimp wasn't interested

My critters, snails & shrimp, do not like banquet blocks. Try calcium chips from Crayfish Empire. Shrimp foods and crab foods contain calcium also. (Ie: Hikari crab cuisine)

 

On 10/16/2023 at 12:38 PM, DaveO said:

When I was all done with the tank and putting stuff away is when I saw him marching over to the TV stand

This probably wasn’t funny at time time, but it sounds so funny when you describe it. 🤣

[Galabar]

I found one amano walking across my floor about 10 feet away from my aquarium...

[Supermassive]

On 10/17/2023 at 5:42 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

My critters, snails & shrimp, do not like banquet blocks. Try calcium chips from Crayfish Empire. Shrimp foods and crab foods contain calcium also. (Ie: Hikari crab cuisine)

The guy at my LFS said shrimp and snails will go nuts for them so I bought a couple packs of the nano blocks when I bought my shrimp and nerite. Even my bladder snails barely touch them. I'm not to listening to anyone at any LFS trying to sell products anymore. Ill listen to their advice but not if it involves buying something.

I did some googling and I cant seem to find any calcium chips in Canada. Ill have to go for some shrimp food like you said. Would snails also eat that or should I get something else for my nerite? It would be nice if they would both eat the same food.

Edited October 17, 2023 by Supermassive