How Long Do Amano Shrimps Live?

Most shrimp keepers can’t keep their Amano shrimps alive up to the expected lifespan. They don’t know generally how long do Amano shrimps live and how to take care of the shrimps for that expected lifespan.

Amano shrimps can live up to 2 to 3 years. However, some shrimp breeders have experienced Amano Shrimp’s lifespan for up to 5 years.

While the Amano shrimps get mature within 3-5 months, in suitable and consistent water conditions, proper diet, and safe places without any threat (from predators, hydra, etc.) they are supposed to live up to 3 to 5 years.

Why Do Amano Shrimps Die Before 2-3 Years?

More than 95% of Amano shrimps are wild-caught and in nature, wild Amano shrimps live for up to 2-3 years on average (at least). When they are kept in the aquarium, they are expected to live up to the same period in captivity.

But, many shrimp keepers claim that these shrimps sometimes die within a short time of introducing in a tank. Most probably these cases happen when the shrimps get stressed while being transported and introduced to a new aquatic environment of different water parameters.

Again, as Amano shrimps need freshwater, saltwater, and brackish water in different stages, they can die if you do not transfer them to the required water in those particular stages. For example, baby Amano shrimps will not survive in a freshwater aquarium while young Amano shrimps will die if they are kept in the saltwater after completing their metamorphosis.

Why Is My Amano Shrimp Dying?

There may be several reasons responsible for your Amano shrimp death. If you know about these potential reasons beforehand, you may save your Amano shrimp. Let’s check out the following reasons why your Amano shrimps are dying.

1. Buying Amano Shrimp From Risky Sellers

The lifespan of a shrimp is highly dependent upon its adaptability in captivity. On the other hand, the adaptability varies according to the sources of these shrimp.

When you buy imported shrimp, these shrimp may take more time to adapt to the new environment than the local shrimp. These imported shrimp are usually caught in the wild. Then, these farmed crustaceans are accustomed to certain conditions.

These farmed shrimp are delivered to you after shipping them and kept in bags for weeks. After such a long period, these Amano shrimp might become stressed to cope with the new environment. Hence, many newly arrived Amano shrimp dies when you make them ship from distance.

Since the imported shrimp are commercially cultured together, there remain higher risks of having parasites and other infections among them. When you buy Amano shrimp from local breeders or online sources, you can ask about their keeping parameters.

In addition, some Amano shrimp might be sick beforehand. If your shrimp have poor genes, the shrimp won’t survive for a long time.

2. Poor Acclimatisation

Poor acclimatization causes shock to your Amano shrimp which may lead to their death. When you leave your Amano shrimp in the tank without proper acclimatization, these shrimp can not get accustomed to the new water temperature and pH all of a sudden.

Although shrimp are hardy pets, they can’t tolerate sudden changes in their environment. So, you should not drop your newly arrived shrimp from their bag or container into the tank.

When you bring Amano shrimp in a container, you can let the water of the tank drip through a hose. Continue this dripping acclimatization for 15-30 minutes.

Also, you can leave the bag of Amano shrimp on the surface of the tank water. It’ll help your shrimp adjust to the warmth or temperature of the tank water. In these ways, you can acclimate your Amano shrimp to save them from unwanted death.

If you want to know details, you can check this write-up: how to acclimate Amano shrimp?

3. Unsuitable Tank

After buying a pet shrimp, you must be introducing your new guest to its new home. When you buy a tank for your Amano shrimp, it has to be safe for the shrimp.

Sometimes, several shrimp owners tend to buy a second-hand tank, there might remain chances to keep fish in the tank from beforehand. If the tank was a fish tank, there might be used fish medications that are fatal to Amano shrimp.

Moreover, the old tanks may absorb silicon. If so, you may notice the tank looking more tinted or dyed than usual.

Besides, you might know that copper is fatal for Amano shrimp. On the other hand, there are several types of fish medications that contain copper. Thus, your newly bought tank might have traces of minerals. Hence, your Amano shrimp may die when the copper of the tank leaches into the new water.

4. Poor Clean-up

Cleaning your newly bought tank thoroughly is basic work. Now, if your Amano shrimp dies, the question will rise- what did you use to clean the tank?

If you clean the tank with detergent or soap used for cleaning household items, it may be a big reason for your shrimp’s death. These cleaning products contain silicone that is toxic to Amano shrimp.

The remaining soap residues can kill your pet shrimp too. To avoid such poor clean-up, you should clean the tank with vinegar and salt before washing it. A bleach solution can also help clean up the new tank. But, you must ensure not to leave any trace of bleach or soap residues after cleaning the shrimp tank.

5. Wrong Water Parameters

Keeping water parameters ideal is a crucial thing to maintain for any aquatic living. Generally, Amano shrimp thrive well in water with neutral pH. These crustaceans can not survive when there’s an ammonia spike in the tank water.

The ideal water parameters for Amano shrimp are given below.

Temperature	60-80 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5-27 degrees Celsius)
pH level	6.5-7.6
GH (General Hardness)	6-8 dGH (100-133 ppm)
KH	3-10 dKH
TDS	175-200
Ammonia level	0 ppm
Nitrate level	Less than 30 ppm
Nitrite level	0 ppm

If the tank water doesn’t meet these parameters, this can stress your Amano shrimp. For example- the metabolism rate of Amano shrimp will become slower when the pH doesn’t remain neutral. Although Amano shrimp can tolerate slight fluctuations, you should keep the water quality ideal for their survival.

6. Uncycled/ Immature Tank

Keeping your new Amano shrimp in an uncycled tank means killing the shrimp intentionally. You might know that a shrimp tank must have a colony of beneficial bacteria that break down the toxic waste of the tank’s living. If the shrimp tank isn’t completed the cycle yet, there will remain no beneficial bacteria in the shrimp tank.

As a result, there will be no nitrogen cycle. So, when you put your Amano shrimp in the tank, the ammonia and nitrite produced from the wastes will not break into nitrate. Thus, there will be a spike in ammonia and nitrite level in the water.

As mentioned before, the ammonia and nitrite have to be 0 ppm for the survival of Amano shrimp. Hence, your Amano shrimp will die if you introduce them to an uncycled tank. Moreover, if the bacterial colony isn’t sufficient to break the wastes, your Amano shrimp will die in such cases too.

7. Presence of Copper

Have you heard of copper poisoning yet?

Yes, an overdose of copper can kill your Amano shrimp since this is a significant part of their blood. This element is toxic or fatal to aquatic invertebrates like shrimp.

Amano shrimp can get in contact with copper through tap water, fertilizers, and medications containing copper.

When you fill the tank with tap water, there remains a higher chance of introducing copper to the shrimp tank. Usually, copper gets mixed with water through the corrosion of copper pipes that may be uncleaned for years.

Moreover, you may add aquarium fertilizers if you have plants in your Amano shrimp tank. These aquarium fertilizers contain around 3-10 ppb of copper.

Moreover, you’ve to check whether your shrimp medications have copper or not. This copper poisoning can kill your Amano shrimp.

8. Massive And Quick Water Change

You might have noticed a large number of Amano shrimp die after a massive water change. The shrimp are extremely sensitive to any kinds of environmental changes. Massive and quick water changes can be shocking to these crustaceans.

When you change more than 50% water in the tank, the water parameters become different than before. There will be a sudden major change in the water parameters.

It becomes hard for your Amano shrimp to acclimate to the quick shift of temperature and other minerals all of a sudden. As a result, sudden water change is like a big shock for Amano shrimp. This shock makes the shrimp stressed. Eventually, your Amano shrimp may die.

9. Overfeeding

It’s pretty natural for waste to get produced in a tank. A large share of waste comes from uneaten foods or leftovers. In a cycled tank, the beneficial bacteria colony and plants tend to break down the wastage and continue a healthy nitrogen cycle.

When you overfeed your Amano shrimp, the leftovers will spike the ammonia and nitrite level. It’ll cause a bio-load for the tank. Due to the toxic compound build-ups, the Amano shrimp may get stressed and sick. Hence, another prominent reason for Amano shrimp’s death is overfeeding.

You should provide only the amount of food that can be finished by your shrimp within two hours. Also, you should remove the leftovers from the tank. The more time you leave the uneaten foods to decay, the more will be ammonia and nitrite spike.

10. Aggressive Tank Mates

Another reason why the lifespan of Amano shrimp is becoming short is their aggressive tank mates. When you keep bigger fish with baby Amano shrimp, those fish tend to gobble up the shrimp babies.

Since Amano shrimp are peaceful and social creatures, these crustaceans love to live in groups of their species. If you keep fast swimmers or aggressive tank mates in the shrimp tank, their temperaments will not match. Such improper tank mates for Amano shrimp are crayfish, cichlids, catfish, barb, gourami, angelfish, etc.

Some of them may tend to hurt or bully your Amano shrimp. As a result, this makes Amano shrimp severely stressed. In this way, the lifespan of Amano shrimp gets shortened.

You can pay a visit to this article to know about ideal tank mates for Amano shrimp.

11. Overstocking

If you don’t know the thumb rule yet, you should keep a minimum of 2 gallons of water for one Amano shrimp. When you keep a large number of Amano shrimp in a small tank, the water quality of the tank deteriorates fast. Also, the overstocking condition doesn’t encourage shrimp to move freely.

So, overstocking or overpopulation leads to stress for Amano shrimp. It results in a shorter lifespan for your shrimp.

12. Toxic Plants

Plants are an essential part of shrimp tanks. They play a crucial role by breaking down the ammonia of wastes into nitrate. But, these plants can be fatal to Amano shrimp when they are toxic.

If your bought plants are commercially grown in nurseries, these plants must be in contact with pesticides. Also, plants in fish stores can be treated with pesticides and fertilizers, which contain fatal copper.

Moreover, the experts suggest not cutting leaves, roots, or stems from the plants of Crypt, Cabomba, Ceratophyllum, Anubias, etc. The cut part of these plants leaves toxic substances in the water.

After cleaning plants for your shrimp tank, you should detoxify the plants with Seachem Prime. Make the plants safe for your Amano shrimp before adding them to the tank.

13. Failed Molting

Molting is a sensitive phase in the life of all species of shrimp. Failed or unsuccessful molting can lead to the death of your Amano shrimp. Sometimes, shrimp get stuck with their old exoskeleton during the molting.

A common problem occurs in unsuccessful molting which is the white ring of death. In this, the exoskeleton of shrimp breaks down into several parts around the neck area of the shrimp.

As a result, shrimp can partially move out of the old shell. Due to not removing the exoskeleton entirely, Amano shrimp may not move around freely because of being stuck with the old shell. As a result, the white ring of death causes the death of your Amano shrimp.

Amano shrimp might die during the post-molting season too. As the shrimp remain too vulnerable after molting, they can readily get hurt and stressed. The bigger tank mates often nib or attack them in this sensitive period. These often cause the short lifespan of Amano shrimp.

How To Ensure Your Amano Shrimps Live Longer?

As Amano shrimp’s lifespan depends on the external conditions considerably, you have the chance to prolong it by following some basic methods.

• The main fact you should take care of is that you have to keep your Amano shrimps in a single species tank or with extremely peaceful shrimps to allow them a long and healthy life.
• To avoid the death of newly bought shrimps always dip acclimatize your Amano shrimps with your tank water before introducing into the tank.
• Remember that Amano shrimps live in freshwater, seawater, and brackish water during the three stages (larvae, young, and adult) of their lives. So, you have to transfer them to freshwater and saltwater tank as needed.
• Try to maintain the optimal temperature (72-78F).
• As they prefer almost neutral pH water, if your tank water is very hard, they will Amano naturally.
• Stick to small but frequent water changes. They will not tolerate any big water issue as they are wild-caught.
• Again, a little presence of ammonia or nitrite can kill your Amano shrimps quickly.

Don’t Do These

• Do not overfeed your Amano shrimps. Otherwise, it will foul the water quality later on.
• Do not stress them by keeping your tank in a noisy area.
• Do not overcrowd your tank with a lot more shrimps than the recommended numbers.

However, if you can manage to keep them alive for the first few weeks, they are supposed to last for long in your tank. And if you want to allow your shrimps to live longer than their average lifespan always maintain the optimal water condition in your tank.

How Long Can Amano shrimp Live Without Food?

It depends on the tank condition, an abundance of algae and biofilm, etc. Generally, you need not feed your Amano shrimp often since these shrimp are scavengers.

If you leave your Amano shrimp in an algae-infested tank, your Amano shrimp may live up for months. On the other hand, your Amano shrimp will survive only 1-2 weeks in a bare tank with no algae.

You can check out this article about how often to feed your Amano shrimp.

Can Amano Shrimp Live Without Filter?

Like other aquatic living, Amano shrimp require filters in captivity. You might know that the beneficial bacteria of a filter help break down the produced ammonia and nitrite from the wastes.

Otherwise, the level of harmful ammonia, nitrite, and other components increases too high to kill your Amano shrimp. If there are no plants in the tank, your Amano shrimp will live only a few hours without a filter. To help your shrimp thrive well, you should adjust a filter in your Amano shrimp tank.

Can Amano Shrimp Survive On Algae Alone?

Algae can’t be the only food source for the survival of Amano shrimp. A colony of Amano shrimp can survive on algae for only up to 1 week. You must feed additional shrimp food, vegetation, and pallets to keep your Amano shrimp healthy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How to keep the baby Amano shrimps alive?

The baby Amano shrimps are the most vulnerable ones and it is very difficult to keep them alive. The adult Amanos live and breed in freshwater but the baby Amano shrimps need full saltwater. They cannot survive in freshwater for more than a few hours as they can regulate osmosis only in the saltwater.

You have to keep them in a saltwater tank with enough phytoplankton, constant lighting, heater, bubbler, and add marine salt to ensure the extra minerals for the young to survive.

If you can continue the same tank condition as long as they start growing up, the baby Amano shrimps are supposed to survive.

Q. Why are the young Amano shrimps not surviving?

When the young shrimps complete the metamorphosis process, they survive in the saltwater for only up to 1 day. After that, you have to do large water changes (50%) to get them back in freshwater.

If you do not notice and fail to move them before 24 hours once they have metamorphosed, they will die. As they go through the metamorphosis at different times, you have to keep a close eye on them and move them individually once they are done.

Q. If everything goes well how many young Amano shrimps will survive at last?

An Amano shrimp can produce more than one thousand eggs at a time but if you are lucky enough five or a little more will survive at the end.

Conclusion

Therefore, in a fully cycled established tank Amano shrimps are supposed to live up to 3 years on average if you can ensure them the right water and tank condition, diet, and a safe aquarium without any threat.

Amano shrimps are comparatively harder than most other shrimps in the hobby who will brighten up your aquarium with their active appearance only if there is no big issue.