# Japonica vs. Amano



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Okay so crazy story. I went to my LFS Critter Hut and was looking at their planted tanks with the idea I was getting more plants of which I did. I ended up with a nice Quillwort to go into Rembrandt's 3. While I was there I noticed the shrimp, I've been really wanting some shrimp in my 33 but I wasn't sure how my girls would react and how many shrimp I'd lose. I don't want to buy expensive shrimp and find my girls are the best hunters in the world! I figure I should get some yellows or green's so they can blend in at least with the plants since I have black substrate and I really don't want ghost shrimp again.

Anywho, off topic.

I saw they had a tank with "Japonica" shrimp in it and was like, ooh only 2.99! I could get two of them, I've got the money! And I looked at the tank above and it said "Amano" 3.99 ......now if I've done my homework correctly isn't Japonica just the scientific name for Amano's??? Or are they really two different shrimp? They don't look much different other than the "Amano's" seem to have these cute little red dots on their sides and the "Japonica" didn't as much. When asked the lady told me that Japonica get bigger and their stripe down the back is more prominent.

Skeptical but I took them nonetheless because they were cheaper than the Amano's lol and there were only two left anyway.

So I figured I'd ask if they were actually two different shrimp, labeled wrong or the LFS was just being rediculous. Here are pictures:

This one didn't survive the night, I figure that Steve harassed him to death because there was no way he could have jumped out. I searched the other side of the tank and no signs of a fight with the other shrimp and so I figure he's up in the filter somewhere dead.










Here's the one that's still alive and doing well! He's on Tony's side









And just a cute picture of the Ramshorn that came with the plant, I don't mind him at all if he multiplies ;-) and then Tony's shrimp is beside him.


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## peachii (Jan 6, 2013)

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=1075+1843&pcatid=1843

They should be the same thing but pet stores sometimes do their own things when putting names on fish.

I'd guess that the Japonica is wild caught and the Amano has been bred but that's purely a guess as they should be the same. If they look different, I don't know.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah, I'd seen them online before and I use liveaquaria as a reference quite a bit haha

I had google searched it but it all came up as 'Japonica' Amano Shrimp! so I was like....well okay then lol

I'm wondering if it's just the slight differences between males and females between them and that's how they're selling them....their "Japonica" would be females as she told me those get bigger and their stripe is more prominent (I believe that's a feature of female shrimp?) where the Amano have reddish dots on their side although my first picture looks more like their "Amano" and the second a "Japonica"....

I really don't know, just weird and rather annoying if you ask me lol


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

most freshwater aquarium shrimp at least, have larger females with a curved under belly.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Silverfang said:


> most freshwater aquarium shrimp at least, have larger females with a curved under belly.


That's what I thought. So they are most likely selling female Amano's as regular 'Japonicas' then and then the males are their 'Amano's', they made this way too confusing :roll:


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