The Jury is out on this one. Even though amano shrimp is a non-aggressive creature, scarcity can bring out aggression in them. This rarely happens as they feed on whatever they can find in the tank. So if kept together in the same tank, will amano shrimp eat cherry shrimp?
Let’s get into more discussion.
Will Amano Shrimp Eat Cherry Shrimp?
Not necessarily the lack of food, but the deficit in a meaty diet is the reason amano shrimp will eat cherry shrimp. Cherry shrimps are small and are easy to prey upon by your amano when they need to eat. But it doesn’t mean that cherry shrimp are their natural diet, and they will feed on them every time.
Why Is My Amano Shrimp Eating Cherry Shrimp?
Cherry shrimps are much smaller when compared to amano shrimp. Your amano might think of your cherry as a meaty source of diet and prey on them. There are several reasons your amano is eating cherry shrimp.
Sometimes you might have found that even though you are feeding them enough, they feed on other shrimp. Maybe the other shrimps might have died because of different reasons, and amano is there for just cleaning. Not only amano, but also the other shrimps also eat their own breed whenever they find dead compatriots in the habitat. This is just their nature to eat whatever’s about to decay and is dead.
However, if you notice your amano shrimp going after a live cherry shrimp, there could be other underlying reasons.
Let me explain these reasons.
Lack Of Food
Amano shrimps feed on algae, but if there’s a lack of plants that help make algae in a tank, they will need to find other food sources to survive on. If you have been away and weren’t able to feed regularly, the amano will also be forced to feed on your cherry shrimp.
Always feed your amano in proper amounts so they won’t have to feed on other things except for its regular diet. This way, you can keep your cherry shrimp safe from your amano.
Diet Not Comprising Meaty Feeds.
Though many will mostly rely on algae, they sometimes will need meaty products to satiate their cravings. They need a balanced diet to thrive. And when they miss out on a protein-infused diet like meat, they will prey upon cherry shrimp and other shrimps.
Amano shrimps are omnivorous invertebrates, so you need to feed both plants and meat diets as a balanced diet. Include frozen foods like bloodworms and brine shrimps to fulfill their protein source.
Overpopulation
Smaller tanks cause overpopulation in a tank. If you are housing too many inhabitants in a small tank, there’s a chance that your cherry shrimps and amano shrimps are to cross paths often. Usually, your amanos won’t do any harm to other shrimps.
However, you need to know that both these shrimps’ diet are almost the same. And when you put feed for them, it is most likely that both of them will try to feed on them at once.
Amano shrimps are known for their frenzy-eating style and can sometimes have a go at your cherry shrimps if the feeding spot for both is the same. You’d better get a bigger tank where you can feed individually to your shrimps.
Amano Shrimps Can Be A Bully.
However, amano shrimps can bully smaller shrimps and try to snatch the feed from other shrimp’s mouths. As I said, if the troupe of amano is bigger than other shrimps, they will not think twice before attacking fish. This is why you need to balance the number of amano shrimps in proportionate to other inhabitants.
Out Of Pure Instinct/ Nature’s Way
You need to know that it is nature’s way of balancing the food chain. Bigger carnivores prey upon smaller ones to satiate their hunger, which should be the case in your amano shrimp. Even though they are adequately fed, they might have a go for shrimp dishes on their menu.
You might also like to Read:
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How To Tell If It Is A Real Amano Shrimp? Know The Imposters
Will Amano Shrimp Eat Cherry Shrimp Fry? Or Other Shrimp’s Fry?
The lack of food and craving for a protein-filled diet can make your amano shrimp eat cherry shrimp fry. Amano shrimp will devour smaller creatures if they are in scarce of food sources in the tank. Otherwise, they will mostly graze on algae and moss in the tank.
The fries are an even better choice for them to prey upon, as they are always in more significant numbers and easy to hunt by the amano. If you keep them and cherry shrimp fry together, you need to protect your fry from them in the tank. Get a separate tank if you are to grow your fry.
Will Amano Shrimp Eat Other Shrimps?
Though it is not the preferred diet, the scarcity can lead to other smaller shrimp being eaten by your big amano shrimps. They are voracious and can eat other smaller shrimps when they aren’t getting much to feed on.
Final Words On Will Amano Shrimp Eat Cherry Shrimp?
Yes, amano shrimps can eat cherry shrimps, but it isn’t their regular food choice to feed on. It depends upon various factors, which results in your amano shrimp eating cherry shrimp. You need to ask yourself questions like, is there scarcity in the tank? Is your tank overpopulated?
Or it could be nature’s way of might is right in relation to small fish being devoured by the big ones.
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