How Many Amano Shrimp Can You Keep In A 5 Gallon Tank?

With an average size of almost 2 inches, Amano shrimps need more space than the other shrimps to thrive in. If you are going to buy Amano shrimps for your shrimp tank, it is necessary to know how many Amano shrimps you should keep per gallon so that you may not overcrowd your tank. In this article, I will share with you what I have got from my research.

You can keep 2-3 Amano shrimps in a 5 gallon tank. However, the minimum recommended tank size for Amano shrimps is 10 gallons.

And in such a small tank you should not add other fishes as their tankmates but if you are interested you can include a Betta.

As these shrimps are great for cleaning up algae and debris in your tank, you do not even need to get snails if you are going for a 5-gallon tank. But, if you want you can add Malayasian Snails, Mystery Snails, or Nerite Snails as their tankmates.

While theoretically, 3 shrimps in a 5-gallon tank are okay (according to the rule of thumb), if I say practically, you should go for a larger tank and increase the number of shrimps to get a tank full of active shrimps. I am sharing here some more facts that you should know about it.

How Many Amano Shrimps Can You Put Per Gallon? 

Actually, there is not any hard and fast rule about it. But when you google it, you will find a pragmatic rule of keeping 1 Amano shrimp per 2 gallons or around 7-8 liters.

In some places, you will see 1 shrimp per 2.5 gallons that means, 2 shrimps per 5 gallons.  Actually, you have to bring the other things into consideration-the other inhabitants in your tank and the total bioload, how much algae you have in your tank and how much nutrients you are providing, etc, and decide the number.

What Is The Minimum Tank Size For Amano Shrimps?

Amano shrimps have an average size of 5cm. Since it is bigger than the other dwarf shrimps, small tanks will not be suitable for them. As they are a voracious scavenger, they will demand a lot of areas to graze on in search of food.

You should opt for at least a 10-gallon tank where you can put up to 4 Amano shrimps without any problem.

And if you are serious about your shrimps’ well-being and want to maintain the quality of water sincerely, for the smallest group of 6 Amano shrimps, you will want to start with a 20-gallon tank with a 20-24 inches edge length.

Although you can even put double this number in this tank size, it will not be a wise decision.

At Least How Many Amano Shrimps Should Be Kept Together?

You should get started with 6-10 shrimps. As Amano shrimps like to live in small and large groups, I am suggesting that keep at least 5-6 shrimps to keep them stress-free and active. The larger you will keep the troupe, you will discover the less stressful and docile behavior in them.

If you put only 2-3 shrimps in a tank, it might develop a dominant behavior in them. Again, if you are adding them for the purpose of cleaning algae and food debris in your established tank, you will need more than 2/3 shrimps.

The Recommended Number Of Amano Shrimps For Different Tank Sizes

I guess you are not going to just calculate the number from the pragmatic rules and put that number of shrimps alone in the tank. You may also want to add some compatible tankmates, some snails, plants, etc.

Here I’m providing a table for the recommended number of Amano shrimps for various tank sizes. Considering the other inhabitants and bioload you can add or lessen the number of shrimps a little bit than the recommended numbers.

In the cases of larger tanks, the number will be multiplied almost in such proportion. While buying them, always try to maintain an even ratio of female and male shrimps.

There is no need to be concerned about the bioload of the recommended numbers of shrimps for particular tank sizes. It is very insignificant and your tank will not be affected at all.

Note: You may find many guys keep double of these numbers, but for your shrimps’ well-being try to stick to the recommended numbers.

Why Should You Put A Good Number Of Amano Shrimps In Your Tank?

Amano shrimps are mainly wild-caught and they are found in large troupes (hundreds of shrimps) in flowing freshwater rivers and streams(Obviously, you do not need to adopt so many shrimps in your tank). So, naturally, you will find them more cheerful and active while keeping in larger groups.

As you know, Amano shrimps are really peaceful in nature. They generally feed on Algae and food leftovers from the provided food supplements.

When you keep a high number of shrimps together, naturally they will not be afraid of the other fishes and spontaneously thrive and fight for the floating foods and algae.

What Will Happen If You Keep A Lot More Than The Recommended Number Of Amano Shrimps?

But, if you put a lot more shrimps than the recommended number, they themselves may be a threat for the other inhabitants of your tank (if there any).

In most of the cases, you will find them very peaceful with themselves or other species in your tank. To say more precisely, you will find them a little nervous or frivolous in nature. But, while keeping them in a small tank with other dwarf shrimps, keep in mind that the other shrimps will be deprived of food.

As they keep eating all day, you have to provide plenty of food in your tank besides naturally grown algae. If you keep providing enough food in the tank, they will not care about anything let alone bother anyone.

But, if you will provide less food in the tank than they need, you will notice a kind of hurriedness and aggression in them while dropping the food.

The dominant shrimp shows the most aggression and snatches the food from the others, swims away, and eats. Thus, they are not broad-minded while sharing their food!

Conclusion

Whether you want to add Amano shrimps as the algae cleaner or want to keep them as the main species in your tank, you should not overcrowd your tank. Cling to the recommended number of Amano shrimps and get a clean and thriving tank!