Some of you probably remember me posting about my shrimp, mainly to help figure out the species. (Click here for a picture). As we figured out it must be of the Macrobrachium family, someone here or at another forum warned about them possibly getting aggressive. I didn't worry about that too much, because my shrimp seemed to get along with my fish just fine.
Well, today I was just doing a partial water change when I suddenly noticed the shrimp holding an Oto in his claws! And the Oto wasn't moving. I flipped out, crabbed the first thing I could find (a net), shooed the shrimp, who released his pray, and the Oto swam away, seemingly unaffected. Whewww. But this means the shrimp will have to go. I'm now starting to suspect the slight cases of "fin rot" I've observed on some Platies and Swordtails living in the same tank may actually be damage caused by his claws. They've all just had small pieces of their tailfin missing, and then having it grow back without medication. I'm not sure if they've had any damage in other fins, but all their dorsal fins have been intact at least. Now, I have Otos (and other fish) in all my tanks, so I'm not sure what to do with the shrimp. He's cool to watch, I'd like to keep him separately, but right now it's not possible. Hmmm. (I realised he was hungry, so I gave him a piece of a fish food tab that he's always loved, and he seemed happy. I'll have to keep his tummy filled until I figure out what to do with him )
Well, today I was just doing a partial water change when I suddenly noticed the shrimp holding an Oto in his claws! And the Oto wasn't moving. I flipped out, crabbed the first thing I could find (a net), shooed the shrimp, who released his pray, and the Oto swam away, seemingly unaffected. Whewww. But this means the shrimp will have to go. I'm now starting to suspect the slight cases of "fin rot" I've observed on some Platies and Swordtails living in the same tank may actually be damage caused by his claws. They've all just had small pieces of their tailfin missing, and then having it grow back without medication. I'm not sure if they've had any damage in other fins, but all their dorsal fins have been intact at least. Now, I have Otos (and other fish) in all my tanks, so I'm not sure what to do with the shrimp. He's cool to watch, I'd like to keep him separately, but right now it's not possible. Hmmm. (I realised he was hungry, so I gave him a piece of a fish food tab that he's always loved, and he seemed happy. I'll have to keep his tummy filled until I figure out what to do with him )