Amano Shrimp

The Amano shrimp is a small freshwater shrimp native to the rivers and streams of Japan and Taiwan. It became widely known in the aquarium hobby after the Japanese aquascaper Takashi Amano popularized its use for controlling algae growth in planted freshwater tanks, and the species is now sold commercially under his name worldwide. It is a voracious grazer of many types of algae, including some species that other algae eating animals largely avoid, which has made it a staple addition to planted aquariums. Despite living as an adult entirely in freshwater, its larvae require brackish or saltwater conditions to develop successfully, a life cycle detail that makes captive breeding difficult and means most shrimp sold in the aquarium trade are still collected from the wild rather than bred in captivity. It is generally peaceful and tolerant of a wide range of water conditions, making it easy to keep alongside fish and other invertebrates. In the wild it lives among submerged vegetation and rocky stream beds, feeding on algae, biofilm, and organic debris.