ID'd my "prawns" m. Rosenbergii

[Srkoe]

I posted about my prawns in another thread and some other members and I we trying to id my prawn in my Fahaka tank. After much research tonight I found out it is actually a shrimp. M. Rosenbergii aka giant river shrimp. He is currently about 5" and can get up to 12"!!! Well, these guts are horribly aggressive and I read they should not be kept with fish because they will kill them. The four I have always stay well hidden because Ares harasses the crap out of them! When the largest one is out in the open and Ares messes with him he fights back as he retreats into his hiding spot behind Ares' tube. Should I be concerned and find him a home, or keep him and just watch things? I think he might have got hold of Ares' bottom "lip" today because he has what looks like a pincher mark.

[xrayjeeper83]

where do you live? Id love to get one.

[Srkoe]

Texas. I read that occasionally they get mixed in and sold as ghost shrimp...this was the case with the lady owners, they were told they bought ghost "ghost shrimp". I found an old post by RTR where he said he kept one in a 55gallon and it wasn't a big enough tank!!! Maybe he will chime in here.

[RTR]

LOL! I love that shrimp! They are, as said, nasty critters in that they are fierce and strong. My big one was long, but not as heavy bodied as they can get. If I can dig out the old photo from one of the commercial breeders I'll post it at the end of this note - that one had to be exceoptional, that extreme is not common.

These, as with almost all Macrobrchium species do have a planktonic stage where they require BW to SW and feed on smaller plankton. They settle out in bays and estuaries and continue migrating up-current into FW. They must fill a niche comparable to normal prawns in the wild. They are cultured/pond reared as prawns and harvested young and tender for that culinary use. Only breeding stock is allowed to fully mature.

Macrobrachium shrimp in general are kept as single specimens or at least in species tanks - they are not trustworthy with fish. The Red-claw macrobracium is the only one I know with no or a very brief and undemanding planltonic stage, it can and does breed in FW. Most sites suggest it is not safe with fish. Many Cichlids will kill and consume that sprimp, so I assume the larger and even mid-sized puffers will do the same, but the is a real risk from the claws of the larger species.

Yup, a 50 is too small for a singleton. I would use a 120 or 180 with a 24" cross section at least, larger would be better. We are talking body mass comparable to biggish lobster and a lot longer. I had human females scream and males close to same response with at least a string of profanity when that big shrimp came out from behind his slate baffle.

http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~prec/aqua ... sld013.htm

Do note the gloves - these are serious shrimp/prawns.

[xrayjeeper83]

that is awesome

If you ever think about getting rid of one let me know. Im in Fl and would love to get one

[Srkoe]

I don't know the first thing about shipping live critters. If anyone could give me info on how to do so I will try to send you one (assuming I can catch it) for the cost of shipping. It will have to be soon though as the temps are already getting high here in Texas! I'll probably see in a LFS will take the rest for some credit....or maybe I will grow them out and have a nice dinner one night...lol!!!

[Srkoe]

These things give me the chills everytime they come out of hiding...they are ugly! I thought Ares caught the big guy the other morning. I saw him laying on the opposite end of his tank then he usually does. When I turned on his light he was laying on one...or so I thought. After closer inspection I realized the large one had just molted and he was laying on the exoskeleton. He always lays on uneatin food, think it's his way to claim it and save his leftovers (silly fish). The creepy part about the whole thing is that all 4 shrimp were hanging out above Ares on a decoration glaring down on him like they were mad and ready to attack...they are just creepy!

[RTR]

Hey, they are cool! You can really see all the detail of crustacean anatomy without needing a magnifying glass.

Those shrimp wanted the exoskeleton - they do recycle them you know - for the minerals.

[Srkoe]

Oh, I know. They were determined to get it! The largest guy has the bright blue legs now. I put two Danios in the tank since they like to hunt and eat fish, thought it would be interesting to watch. The only one doing the hunting is Ares though...he's so angry that he can't catch them

[Srkoe]

Just looked in the tank...the Danios are gone...not sure who got them, but Ares looks guilty!

[J-P]

are these the "scuds" that we found before?

shipping them should be pretty easy. A good (small) bag, 1/2 full of water, a tupperware dish, a box, and bubble pack.

Shipping juvies is the easiest, but you can put them in the fridge and let them go "dormant" prior to shipping. They should perk up in transit. I haven't tried that trick myself, but when my crays came in that was the state they were in.

Edit: we definitely need a pic

[Srkoe]

Oh no!!! Not the scuds...those are tiny! The one we are talking about here is about 5+inches! The scuds are in the snail tank. The river shrimp are in my Fahaka tank. I posted a pic in another thread...let me find it.

[Srkoe]

This picture does this thing no justice!!! It is big! It's legs are now bright blue since last molt. The other three are much smaller.

[xrayjeeper83]

That thing is so cool

[Srkoe]

Next week I'll figure out about the shipping and let you know. I wish I would have saw who caught the fish. Not sure if it was Ares...he moves kind of slow.