[APD] Re: Shrimp & algae

["William J. Wells" <wwells1 at concentric_net>]

Scott wrote:
> What freshwater shrimp eat algae and what kinds of algae?  Do the glass 
> shrimp (I believe the ones I can scoop out of the lake in my yard) 
> eat algae?

Caridina japonica (Amano shrimp) - Reaches 2 inches.  Will eat softer 
algae. They are good at eating hair or string algae. They do not like 
black beard algae.

Macrobrachium sp. (red claw shrimp) - Reaches 2 1/2 inches.  These are 
long arm shrimp that are predatory so they can't be kept with small fish 
or small shrimp.  Supposed to be the best of the long arm shrimp at 
eating algae.  They don't really eat a lot of algae, but they will eat some.

Neocaridina denticulata (Red Cherry Shrimp) - Reaches 1 inch.  Eats a 
wide range of algae.  Since they are small you need a fair number to 
control algae and they can be subject to predation by larger fish.

Neocaridina serrata (BumbleBee shrimp) - Another small shrimp that only 
reaches 3/4 inch.  Will eat a good amount of algae for their size, will 
also nibble on very soft plants.

Palaemon hendersoni (Rainbow shrimp) - Reaches 2 inches.  They don’t eat 
live plants, will eat a little algae.  They are reported to eat brush 
algae which most critters won't touch.

If you are in the eastern half of the US the shrimp in your back yard 
are most likely one of the Palaemonetes sp. (ghost, glass or grass 
shrimp).  Although they might nibble on some algae they do not eat 
enough to make a noticeable difference.

Later,
Bill Wells



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