Variations
1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Bamboo shrimp
Peaceful; needs flow and fine food particles.
- Tinfoil barb eats animals up to about 5 cm. Bamboo shrimp only grows to 7 cm.
- They need different temperatures (23–28 °C vs 14–22 °C). No setting suits both.
- Giant gourami eats animals up to about 10 cm. Bamboo shrimp only grows to 7 cm.
- Congo tetra will eat baby bamboo shrimp. Add lots of moss and plants so some survive.
- Tiger barb will eat baby bamboo shrimp. Add lots of moss and plants so some survive.
230 species in our list are a good match.
Care and water
Behavior
Peaceful; needs flow and fine food particles.
Food
Powdered foods in the current.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Male or female
Males are larger than non-gravid females, with much chunkier walking legs; large males have a big spur on the third leg.
Health
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Breeding
Females carry eggs that hatch into tiny drifting larvae; the larvae must reach brackish water to develop and die in fresh or full sea water. Rarely bred at home.
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →Where it lives in the wild
The story of the bamboo shrimp
A filter-feeder that holds its feathery 'fans' (modified front claws) into the current to catch food particles.
Dutch zoologist Willem de Haan described this shrimp in 1849. Instead of claws, it has fan-like 'hands' that it holds open in the current to catch floating food. In aquariums it needs water flow and plenty of fine particles to feed on.
First described by Willem de Haan in 1849.
- It feeds with fan-like hands.
- It sits in strong current to catch drifting food.
- Its larvae need brackish water.
Sources
13 facts checked with sources
- Scientific name
Invertebrate (freshwater atyid shrimp). Atyopsis moluccensis (De Haan, 1849); still valid. TRADE WARNING: the near-identical A. spinipes is also sold as 'bamboo' or 'wood' shrimp; The Shrimp Farm says even professionals mix them up and sells its stock as A. spinipes. Care is the same for both.
Hamasaki, Tanaka & Dan 2024, Hydrobiologia 851: 2041-2052, Larval performance of two amphidromous atyid shrimp species in the genus Atyopsis · Chace 1983, The Atya-like Shrimps of the Indo-Pacific Region (Decapoda: Atyidae), Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 384 - Familycorrected
Legacy has no family; recorded as sourced.
Wikipedia: Atyopsis (cites Chace 1983; WoRMS) - Sizecorrected
Body length. The only sourced figure is Chace's note on a Sri Lankan population presumed to be this species. Legacy 8 cm is a little above it; hobby sites often say 8-10 cm but are not citable. Low confidence; reviewer may keep 8.
Chace 1983, The Atya-like Shrimps of the Indo-Pacific Region (Decapoda: Atyidae), Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 384 - Temperature
71-82 °F = 21.7-27.8 °C, about 22-28 °C; legacy 23-28 lies within it. Hamasaki et al. found larvae survived to juveniles at 24-32 °C (larval rearing, not adult husbandry).
The Shrimp Farm: Bamboo shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis) care & info (established shrimp breeder/retailer) - pHThe Shrimp Farm: Bamboo shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis) care & info (established shrimp breeder/retailer)
- Hardnesscorrected
GH 6-10 (KH 3-6). Legacy had none; new value.
The Shrimp Farm: Bamboo shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis) care & info (established shrimp breeder/retailer) - Smallest tank
20 US gal x 3.785 = 75.7 L, about 76-80 L. Source also says they don't do well in nano set-ups and need spots with moderate to heavy flow.
The Shrimp Farm: Bamboo shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis) care & info (established shrimp breeder/retailer) - Lifespancorrected
Hobby source only.
The Shrimp Farm: Bamboo shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis) care & info (established shrimp breeder/retailer) - TemperamentThe Shrimp Farm: Bamboo shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis) care & info (established shrimp breeder/retailer)
- Where it livescorrected
Legacy has no range; recorded as sourced. Chace marks Sri Lanka and the Philippines as uncertain. The related A. spinipes is the species of Taiwan, southern Japan and the Pacific islands.
Chace 1983, The Atya-like Shrimps of the Indo-Pacific Region (Decapoda: Atyidae), Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 384 - Male or female
The leg spur is described for the genus (Chace).
The Shrimp Farm: Bamboo shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis) care & info (established shrimp breeder/retailer) · Chace 1983, The Atya-like Shrimps of the Indo-Pacific Region (Decapoda: Atyidae), Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 384 - Breeding
Amphidromous. Lab larvae needed about 17-25.5 ppt (roughly half to three-quarter sea water) and died at full-strength sea water (34 ppt), so 'brackish' is right, not 'marine'.
The Shrimp Farm: Bamboo shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis) care & info (established shrimp breeder/retailer) · Hamasaki, Tanaka & Dan 2024, Hydrobiologia 851: 2041-2052, Larval performance of two amphidromous atyid shrimp species in the genus Atyopsis - StoryWikipedia: Atyopsis (cites Chace 1983; WoRMS) · The Shrimp Farm: Bamboo shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis) care & info (established shrimp breeder/retailer)