''Caridina multidentata'' is a species of

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

in the family

Atyidae Atyidae is a family of shrimp, present in all tropical and most temperate waters of the world. Adults of this family are almost always confined to fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water conta ...

. It is native to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

.De Grave, S., Shy, J. & Cai, X. 2013
''Caridina multidentata''.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013. Downloaded on 14 June 2016. Its common names include Yamato shrimp, Japanese shrimp, Amano shrimp, and algae shrimp.

Description

''Caridina multidentata'' are freshwater shrimp in the family

and are commonly found in southwestern Japan. They typically grow to 25-35

millimetre 330px, Different lengths as in respect of the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 metre to 1 millimetre. The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, i ...

s. This species of shrimp is

amphidromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...

. Oviposition and hatching occurs in freshwater, and newly hatched larvae drift to saltwater and develop as juveniles, returning to freshwater in their adult forms. The eggs of ''Caridina multidentata'' are rich in

yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...

and are oval-shaped. The species has adapted to live in fast-flowing water, having a wide and short

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit ** podium * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ...

. ''Caridina multidentata'' begin to take in food in the third zoeal stage, relying on internal nutrition longer than distant relatives such as the '' Caridina leucosticta'' and ''

Caridina typus ''Caridina typus'', also known as the Australian Amano shrimp, is a species of amphidromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales r ...

''. They have a large geographic distribution, suggesting high levels of larval dispertion. This species has a translucent body covered with a broken line of reddish brown points on its sides. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

surface has a white stripe that runs from the head to the tail and the eyes are black. Females are easily distinguished from males by their more elongated lower row of dots. ''Caridina multidentata'' fare best in temperatures of 18 °C to 28 °C (approximately 64 °F to 82 °F). They are more active at higher temperatures, but may also have a shorter lifespan. They prefer a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. As with all crustaceans, they are extremely averse to copper due to their haemocyanin blood.

In the aquarium

''Caridina multidentata'' was introduced into the world of aquaria by

Takashi Amano was a professional Japanese track cyclist, photographer, designer, and aquarist. He founded Aqua Design Amano (ADA), a Japanese company that specializes in the design of aquariums and their production. Amano was the author of ''Nature Aquari ...

in the early 1980s. They are usually used in an aquarium because they feed primarily on

alga Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular microalgae, suc ...

e, thus cleaning the aquarium of it when present in sufficient numbers. ''Caridina multidentata'' was previously known to aquarists as ''Caridina japonica'' but was renamed ''Caridina multidentata'' following a study in 2006.

References

External links

*
Amano shrimp (''Caridina multidentata'')
Aquarium Wiki {{Taxonbar, from=Q609311 Atyidae Freshwater crustaceans of Asia Crustaceans described in 1860 Crustaceans of Japan Crustaceans of Korea Crustaceans of Taiwan Taxa named by William Stimpson