Petshrimp.com -- All about shrimp

Common Name:	Caribbean Dwarf Filter Shrimp
Scientific Name:	Micratya poeyi
Size:	???, less than 5cm
Temperature:	???, probably best kept at 75°F-80°F
Water Parameters:	can probably live under a wide range of ph and hardness conditions from acidic to alkaline.
Food:	Filters floating food items from the water, can be given very small flake food or crushed/powderized food. Also takes food from the ground if there is nothing to filter.
Origin:	Caribbean, the one shown in the picture is from Cuba
Larval Development Type:	Normal: larvae go through several planktonic stages before metamorphosing into post-larvae (miniature shrimp) and assuming a benthic lifestyle. For this process they need brackish water to full strength saltwater.

This is one of the most exciting filter feeding shrimp species of recent times. It has just been imported to Germany from Cuba by Chris Lukhaup this year (2004) and there are attempts under way to breed this shrimp and make it available to the hobby. It is a miniature version of the large filter feeding shrimp and has a nice black and white or reddish-white striped coloration.

Since it has never been kept in the hobby, not much is known about the shrimp. However, keeping it should not be much different from keeping its larger African and Asian cousins, which means that they will probably do best in a species tank (just shrimp, other species are fine too) where they can be fed micro-food items.

I hope that the breeding efforts turn out successful since I am planning on getting some of the offspring of this wonderful shrimp species for breeding purposes here in the US and subsequent distribution to the hobby.