Vampire Shrimp

Atya gabonensis

Also known as: Viper shrimp, African fan shrimp, Gabon shrimp

Water Parameters

• Temperature: 24–28°C
• pH: 6.5–7.5
• Hardness (GH): 143–322 ppm (8–18 dGH)

Values above are general hardness (GH). For carbonate hardness (KH), the buffer that keeps pH stable, see the water parameters guide.

Care Summary

A spectacular and surprisingly large filter-feeding shrimp, reaching 10 to 15cm, that perches in the current and sweeps microscopic food from the passing water with four feathery fans, the same technique as the bamboo shrimp but on a much grander scale. It is famous for changing colour, appearing powder blue, chalk white, or sandy tan depending on its mood, moult stage, and surroundings, which makes a settled adult a genuine centrepiece. Its needs follow from its feeding: a mature, well-circulated tank with enough suspended food, since it starves slowly in a too-clean or low-flow setup. Peaceful, shy, and largely nocturnal, long-lived for a shrimp, and, like all shrimp, killed by copper, it rewards a large, established, fish-safe tank with steady flow. Moulting that large shell takes minerals, so keep a moderate carbonate hardness (KH) and GH in stable water; very soft, low-KH water leads to failed moults.

Tankmates

A large, peaceful filter-feeding shrimp that catches food from the water column with feathery fans, in the manner of the smaller bamboo shrimp but on a grander scale. Too big for most community fish to bother, but it should still be kept away from anything large enough to eat it (cichlids, large loaches, goldfish), and, like all shrimp, it is killed by copper-based medications and some plant fertilisers. It needs a mature tank with steady flow to carry suspended food past its fans and will slowly starve in a too-clean or low-flow tank. It coexists peacefully with dwarf shrimp, snails, and the bamboo shrimp, and a perch in the current near a filter outflow suits it best.

Compatible with

• Harlequin Rasbora
• Neon Tetra
• Bronze Corydoras
• Otocinclus
• Ember Tetra
• Cherry Shrimp
• Nerite Snail
• Bamboo Shrimp

Avoid keeping with

• Betta
• Large Cichlids
• Loaches
• Oscar
• Electric Yellow Cichlid

Common Problems

• slow starvation in low-flow or over-clean tanks
• copper poisoning from medications or fertilisers
• moulting failure from inadequate diet or calcium
• being preyed on by large or aggressive fish

Sources: seriouslyfish.com, fishbase.org · Last updated: 2026-06-20