''Caridina multidentata'' is a species of

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

in the family

Atyidae Atyidae is a family of shrimp, present in all tropical and most temperate waters of the world. Adults of this family are almost always confined to fresh water. This is the only family in the superfamily Atyoidea. Genera and species The followin ...

. It is native to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

.De Grave, S., Shy, J. & Cai, X. 2013
''Caridina multidentata''.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013. Downloaded on 14 June 2016. Its common names include Yamato shrimp, Japanese shrimp, Amano shrimp, and algae shrimp.

Description

This species has a translucent body covered with a broken line of reddish brown points on its sides. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

surface has a white stripe that runs from the head to the tail and the eyes are black. Females are easily distinguished from males by their more elongated lower row of dots. ''Caridina multidentata'' fare best in temperatures of 18 °C to 28 °C. They are more active at higher temperatures, but may also have a shorter lifespan. They prefer a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. As with all crustaceans, they are extremely averse to copper due to their haemocyanin blood. ''Caridina multidentata'' mate in freshwater streams and marshes. Female shrimp signal readiness to mate much like other shrimp species, by releasing pheromones into the water for the males to follow. The fertilized eggs are released and go through larval stages in brackish and salt water as they drift out to sea. The larvae return from the sea once they reach their final growth stage, and they remain in freshwater for the remainder of their lives. Amano shrimp are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, however, when females release mating pheromones any males housed in the same tank will start swimming around frantically looking for the female "in heat."

In Captivity

According to different sources, ''Caridina multidentata'' was introduced into the world of aquaria by

Takashi Amano was a professional track cyclist, photographer, designer, and aquarist. His interest in aquaria led him to create the Japanese company Aqua Design Amano. Amano was the author of ''Nature Aquarium World'' ( TFH Publications, 1994), a three- ...

in the early 1980s. They are usually used in an aquarium because they feed primarily on

alga Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mi ...

e, thus cleaning the aquarium of it in large numbers. ''Caridina multidentata'' was previously known to aquarists as ''Caridina japonica'' but was renamed ''Caridina multidentata'' following a study in 2006. Many aquarists believe that Amano shrimp can sustain themselves on algae in the aquarium alone, however, this is not the case. Amano shrimp thrive best on a diet of aquarium algae supplemented by algae wafers or spirulina flakes and occasional animal-based protein in the form of pellets, flakes, or frozen or live daphnia, mysis, etc.. It is also necessary to ensure there is calcium present in the water, calcium is vital to crustaceans in order for them to maintain their exoskeleton.

References

External links

*
Amano shrimp (''Caridina multidentata'')
Aquarium Wiki Atyidae Freshwater crustaceans of Asia Crustaceans described in 1860 Crustaceans of Japan Arthropods of Korea Arthropods of Taiwan Algae eaters Taxa named by William Stimpson {{Caridea-stub