1. SHRIMP COMPATIBILITY? The most common question we are asked about our shrimp is...."Can I mix these shrimp with other species of shrimp?" The Answer: YES. You can mix any of the shrimp we sell here at our website, as they all co-exist with each other just fine, however, you may want to use caution mixing these species as some may inter-breed with each other causing hybrids.

2. TRY SOME SPINACH AS A GREAT SUPPLEMENT FOR YOUR SHRIMP!-Next time you run to your local grocery store, remember to stop at the freezer section and pick up a package of frozen "chopped" spinach for your inverts! It costs about a buck or less and should last a while. Make sure the ingredients on the box say: Ingredients: Spinach. Bring it home, and smash it with a hammer into little chunks. Here at the nursery, we usually re-bag it into a fish bag and store it in our deep freezer. We feed ALL of our shrimp and snails this as a very healthy snack about 1 or 2 times per week. Don't forget that shrimp MUST have protein in their diet, this is why you might see them eating other dead shrimp or fish. They are not just herbivores, they are omnivores. Make sure you supplement their diet regularly with a good source of protein.  We use New Life Spectrum Foods and Shrimp Cuisine here at the nursery.  These items all available for purchase right here on our website under "FISH FOODS"

3. ICH TREATMENTS AND COPPER USUALLY WILL AFFECT YOUR SHRIMP! Shrimp, inverts and most scaleless fish are sensitive to Ich medicatons and other chemicals containing copper...Read on....Amano shrimp and Brazil shrimp can sometimes handle Ich treatments when used in 1/2 dosages, the tough will usually survive, the weak ones will expire. The tough ones will molt shortly thereafter, so you won't want to treat again too soon. A better idea, buy a small hospital tank for your sick fish. (i.e. Eclipse makes great, inexpensive, and complete 2 and 3 gallon tanks) 
Check for additives like methylene blue, and malachite green that you put into your aquarium (usually ich meds), that also goes for ingredients in your fish foods too, check the ingredients label on your fish food container.  If Copper is near the top of the ingredients list, it is usually going to harm your shrimp and shorten their life!  Shrimp require a very trace amont of copper in their diet to survive.  Yes, too much copper in their diet will kill shrimp, but shrimp need a very small amount of copper in their food for good health.  Let us explain.

Unlike humans, animals or fish, most shrimp use copper to deliver oxygen inside of their body. For example, humans have red blood cells which contain hemoglobin. Hemoglobin contains iron metal, and this iron actually absorbs oxygen in large amounts and delivers this oxygen to every part of
body and organs, however, in the case of shrimp, they have Hemocyanin in their blood cells, with copper metal.  They use copper to deliver oxygen to their vital organs and circulatory system.  That is why their blood is clear or green color rather than red.  The trace amount of copper in specialty algae foods or shrimp foods is harmless.  There is a food that people have confused for a very long time called Shrimp Pellets.  This is not food for your shrimp.  This is a food made "FROM" shrimp, for fish.  You are better off using products like, Hikari Shrimp Cuisine, New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula, New Life Spectrum H2O Stable Wafers, and many other brands of quality crustacean foods, these are a great protein packed food that will keep your shrimp healthy. 

Copper can be introduced from your tap water's HOT side, so never use it, instead, if using tap water, use the COLD side only. We now offer an Ich Treatment that is safe for inverts called Herbal Ich Attack.

4. SEXING SHRIMP & THE MORTALITY OF SHIPPING SHRIMP! All too often customers will order a small sampling of assorted shrimp, or want an even mix of males/females. This is fine, but please think about this--you may have some losses during transit or in acclimation to your new tank.  Usually these guys will ship fine, but you should count on some losses from the stressful transit. It sure won't be worth it for you to have to pay for the shipping on replacing a few dead shrimp.  If you were counting on having 2 or 3 pairs of a particular kind of shrimp and some die, then in this case you will wish you would have ordered more.  We always suggest purchasing a few more than you need. The shipping won't be any more if you bought 2 shrimp or 10. This is not a sales ploy, but the reality is that fish and shrimp do die in transit. We offer live arrival guarantee and we'll credit your in-house account for losses or replace them, but the customer is always responsible for the shipping fees. Lastly, all too often we are asked to send pairs of shrimp, but we DO NOT sell sexed animals. It is far too difficult to sex shrimp, it is about as easy to sex a gnat or a flea than a shrimp.  In a case with Singapore Shrimp, which you can sometimes tell the difference at a glance, we will send a mixed amount of males/females.  We regularly get orders from customers asking us to send them 1 pair which is just not likely, or our personal favorite: "Please send me 1 pregnant female." This kind of request is ridiculous and will not be honored with a reply. Thank you for understanding.

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How many shrimp do I buy?

• We can't stress this to you enough, don't waste your time buying just one shrimp, or buying one shrimp of each species. Consider this: These shrimp live in huge colonies, so plan on buying a group of each variety for best results. Also consider that you may lose some shrimp in transit, or during acclimation. Some people think that if they order 2 of each kind of shrimp they will get pairs, not likely, we don't sell sexed animals, and again, you may lose some during transit or acclimation. Lastly, in every table of each shrimp we list a stocking ratio, this may help you determine how many shrimp to purchase.

What to feed your shrimp?

• For a great selection of food to offer your beloved shrimp Fish Foods

  Try New Life Spectrum's H2O Stable Wafers & Hikari's Crab Cuisine

  IMPORTANT: DO NOT OVERFEED YOUR ANIMALS!!! They are not built like humans, they metabolize food slowly and overfeeding them will KILL them, feed them very infrequently. You are hiring great Janitors that know how to to take care of themselves, let them do their job and leave them alone. :-)