Integrating shrimp into an aquarium tank is becoming increasingly common in all levels of the fish keeping hobby due to how great shrimp can be at eating left over food, detritus, and algae in a tank.
This can drastically reduce the amount of time and effort that is required to maintain your tank by decreasing the frequency of your tank maintenance as well as how frequently you have to clean the tank fully.
One problem that many people within the fish keeping hobby do seem to be having is with problems about keeping shrimp with various types of fish due to so many species of fish seeing shrimp as a food source.
With angelfish also seeing a spike in their popularity right now, we have also noticed more and more people asking about keeping amano shrimp and angelfish in the same tank.
Will Angelfish Eat Amano Shrimp?
Most types of angelfish are too small to be able to eat an amano shrimp whole but this doesn’t stop your angelfish picking at your amano shrimp to try and find weak spots to eat the shrimp.
That said, some of the larger species of angelfish can easily eat an amano shrimp whole with minimal issues, usually, people tend to keep the smaller species of angelfish though.
You have to remember that your amano shrimp will usually molt once every two months or so with the shrimp being very vulnerable after a molt and many angelfish species being able to rip into a freshly molted amano shrimp.
If you have baby amano shrimp in the tank then the majority of angelfish species will eat the shrimplets as angelfish are omnivores and eat both plant and animal based foods.
If you are looking to breed your amano shrimp in your tank then an angelfish is definitely a poor choice of tank mate as they will eat large numbers of the baby shrimp.
We would recommend that you try to set up a 1 gallon shrimp tank or a 2 gallon shrimp tank as a breeding tank as you can easily keep your shrimp in a predator free tank to let their babies mature without issue.
How Can I Keep Amano Shrimp And Angelfish In The Same Tank?
If you do just want to keep a single community tank rather than keep a dedicated shrimp tank then there are a number of steps that you are able to take to reduce the chances of your amano shrimp being eaten and picked at by your angelfish.
Depending on your tank setup, you may already have a number of these options in your tank.
Shrimp Hides!
The most important thing for your shrimp is to have plenty of places to hide away from your angelfish as this will give your shrimp the time they need to molt and grow without being eaten.
There are a number of great shrimp hide options on the market these days but we would usually recommend that you go with ceramic shrimp hides as the holes are small enough to prevent your angelfish from getting in but large enough to let your amano shrimp get in and out of the shrimp hide whenever they need.
Live Plants!
Live plants are great at providing both food and hiding places for your shrimp whilst also looking amazing in your tank, we would recommend that you go with plants that have small leaves such as java moss or Christmas moss.
These types of plants are great at providing hiding places for your shrimp whilst also being easy to care for, some people do seem to have issues with their live plants being eaten by their angelfish but this can usually be avoided by keeping fast-growing plants.
Cave Structures!
Cave structures are another great way to provide hiding places for your shrimp as well as looking great in your tank, there are a wide variety of different cave structures on the market these days so you should be able to find something that matches your tanks décor.
You do need to be careful with some of the cave structures on the market these days as some of them can have large holes that your shrimp may be able to get stuck in or that your angelfish may be able to fit into.
We would recommend that you go with cave structures that have smaller entrance/exit points as this will help to keep your shrimp safe from being eaten by your angelfish.
Rocks!
Rocks are another great way to provide hiding places for your shrimp as well as looking great in your tank.
Many people think of going out and getting random rocks that they are able to find in their local area but we would actually recommend against this due to the rocks being able to change your tanks water parameters.
Still, you can usually arrange your rocks in your tank in a way that offer plenty of hiding spots for your amano shrimp to prevent your angelfish from being able to eat them.
