Shrimp ID

This is an archived forum with lots of information. However, new posts are not allowed at this point.

Moderator: Mustafa

Locked
Sami
Egg
Egg
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:11 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Shrimp ID

Post by Sami »

Wow... Yesterday, for the first time that this awesome site also contains a discussion forum :o :oops:

My first post here is a challenge for all of you shrimp-gurus :wink:

I bought some time ago some cool looking shrimps from my LFS in hope to fins out their species back home. I tried and tried, but no success.
So, now I toss the ball to you...

Here are the identification pics:
female
female
female (backfigure)
male
male
male (backfigure)
male riding on female
male riding on female

Thank you in advance.
theshrimp_123
Shrimp
Shrimp
Posts: 193
Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2004 4:39 pm
Location: Belleville, IL

Post by theshrimp_123 »

Don't know. I would say a Sri Lanka algae eater or a ghostie
theshrimp_123
Shrimp
Shrimp
Posts: 193
Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2004 4:39 pm
Location: Belleville, IL

Post by theshrimp_123 »

Maybe a some kind of caridina, or an amano(maybe)
Mustafa
Founder
Founder
Posts: 6057
Joined: Fri May 28, 2004 2:13 pm
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Contact:

Post by Mustafa »

Anybody's guess is as good as mine. In other words, I have never seen this shrimp before. It's definitely not C. japonica. It does seem to have small eggs so it most likely needs brackish water for its larvae. Correct me if i am wrong about the egg size.

Take care,
Mustafa
Sami
Egg
Egg
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:11 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Post by Sami »

Mustafa wrote:Anybody's guess is as good as mine. In other words, I have never seen this shrimp before.
Any guess is better than no guesses at all :wink:

I went through some older discussions and came up to a site which is considered to be a carbon copy of legendary Aquajapan -site.
There I could find some potential presentees:
-Palaemon paucidence
-Caridina leucosticta
-Caridina simoni simoni (shrimps look the same, but are definately not as small as told on this site)

I'd really appreciate it if you took a look on those and gave me a second opinion. I have a good feeling about Caridina leucosticta.

Mustafa wrote: It's definitely not C. japonica. It does seem to have small eggs so it most likely needs brackish water for its larvae. Correct me if i am wrong about the egg size.
Yeah... I could figure out that it's not C.japonica, for I've had some japonicas before in the same aquarium with these.
It does have extremely small eggs which, like you said, refers to it's need of brackish water for larvae stage. This is vital information for me, because the female has been carrying her eggs for atleast 2 week now, so the fry may hatch any time from now.
My plan is to try these instructions and see what happens :D *fingers crossed*
Mustafa
Founder
Founder
Posts: 6057
Joined: Fri May 28, 2004 2:13 pm
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Contact:

Post by Mustafa »

It's definitely not Palaemon. As to the other shrimp...it's still anybody's guess. By the way...as much as I appreciated Aquajapan, it did have tons of mistakes...so even the species you listed above might just not be the species that were scientifically described as such.

Mustafa
Sami
Egg
Egg
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:11 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Post by Sami »

Mustafa wrote:It's definitely not Palaemon.
As to the other shrimp...it's still anybody's guess. By the way...as much as I appreciated Aquajapan, it did have tons of mistakes...so even the species you listed above might just not be the species that were scientifically described as such.

Mustafa
I knew it wouldn't be that easy :wink:

Can you tell me any references where I could find specifications on the common shrimp-genus (Caridina, Neocaridina, Palaemon etc.)?
(Both internet and literature are ok)

How can you tell, to which genus each shrimp belongs?
What I'm particulary interested in, is telling to which family does the red-nose shrimp belong to - Palaemon (scarletti) or Caridina (gracilirostris)?
Mustafa
Founder
Founder
Posts: 6057
Joined: Fri May 28, 2004 2:13 pm
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Contact:

Post by Mustafa »

Sami wrote:Can you tell me any references where I could find specifications on the common shrimp-genus (Caridina, Neocaridina, Palaemon etc.)?
--You're not going to find reliable info on the internet. You would have to search scientific journals (such as crustaceana) which you can access through research libraries at Universities (if they let you in) or you subscribe to very expensive services that deliver you articles you are looking for. This is not an easy hobby to be in if you want to be exact....

How can you tell, to which genus each shrimp belongs?
--Well, distinguishing between Palaemonid shrimp and Atyid shrimp is actually very easy. Just take one look at a Red Cherry Shrimp and any Macrobrachium or Palaemontes and you will see the differences almost immediately. To figure out the exact species of shrimp is more difficult. One difficulty is that the vast majority of shrimp are not even described yet and the other is that you have to go through tons of old journal literature and compare your shrimp under the microscope with the body measurements and features for the specimen used to describe the species.
What I'm particulary interested in, is telling to which family does the red-nose shrimp belong to - Palaemon (scarletti) or Caridina (gracilirostris)?
--It's Caridina gracilirostris, although there are several Caridina shrimp wtih a long rostrum...so depending on the imported shrimp you might have some other type of Caridina sp. However, it's definitely NOT Palaemon! The Palaemon designation you find is just plain *nonsense* given to the shrimp by people who do not have the slightest idea what they are talking about.

Palaemon are Palaemonid shrimp and the "Red Nose" is clearly an Atyid shrimp (as are all other "algae eating" shrimp and filter shrimp).

To give you an idea....the scientific name for a polar bear is Ursus arctos and for a wolf it's Canis lupus. Bear and wolf are actually remotely related. Now...if a new species of wolf were discovered and "imported", then giving those "wolves" the scientific name "Ursus sp." would be about equivalent to calling an Atyid shrimp "Palaemon." It's just plain nonsense and anyone with half a clue about shrimp would never even think about committing such a fallacy.

Take care,
Mustafa
Sami
Egg
Egg
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:11 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Post by Sami »

Mustafa wrote: --You're not going to find reliable info on the internet. You would have to search scientific journals (such as crustaceana) which you can access through research libraries at Universities (if they let you in) or you subscribe to very expensive services that deliver you articles you are looking for. This is not an easy hobby to be in if you want to be exact....
The university library sounds good, as I study in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science (to which limnology and biology belong).

I made a search to library databases and I found this:
Crustaceana, Leiden : Brill, 1968-1991, ISSN: 0011-216X
Is this what you were referring to? It seems to be a collection of books.

Are there any other publications you could recommend?

--Well, distinguishing between Palaemonid shrimp and Atyid shrimp is actually very easy. Just take one look at a Red Cherry Shrimp and any Macrobrachium or Palaemontes and you will see the differences almost immediately. To figure out the exact species of shrimp is more difficult. One difficulty is that the vast majority of shrimp are not even described yet and the other is that you have to go through tons of old journal literature and compare your shrimp under the microscope with the body measurements and features for the specimen used to describe the species.
Let's see if I got it right.
Statement 1: Palaemonid shrimps are mostly brackish and seawater living shrimps.
Statement 2: Palaemonids mostly live in mid-water than on the bottom.

Would you say this looks like a typical palaemonid -shrimp?

--It's Caridina gracilirostris, although there are several Caridina shrimp wtih a long rostrum...so depending on the imported shrimp you might have some other type of Caridina sp. However, it's definitely NOT Palaemon! The Palaemon designation you find is just plain *nonsense* given to the shrimp by people who do not have the slightest idea what they are talking about.

Palaemon are Palaemonid shrimp and the "Red Nose" is clearly an Atyid shrimp (as are all other "algae eating" shrimp and filter shrimp).

To give you an idea....the scientific name for a polar bear is Ursus arctos and for a wolf it's Canis lupus. Bear and wolf are actually remotely related. Now...if a new species of wolf were discovered and "imported", then giving those "wolves" the scientific name "Ursus sp." would be about equivalent to calling an Atyid shrimp "Palaemon." It's just plain nonsense and anyone with half a clue about shrimp would never even think about committing such a fallacy.
I must say I feel lucky to find this discussion forum :D
Thank you for enlightenment.
Mustafa
Founder
Founder
Posts: 6057
Joined: Fri May 28, 2004 2:13 pm
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Contact:

Post by Mustafa »

Sami wrote: I made a search to library databases and I found this:
Crustaceana, Leiden : Brill, 1968-1991, ISSN: 0011-216X
Is this what you were referring to? It seems to be a collection of books.
It's not a collection of books. It's a collection of journals. You university seems to only have very limited issues.
Are there any other publications you could recommend?
--Tons...however, looking by publication is not the way to go. You have to search by citatations and scientific names and see what journals come out in the search. There are too many journals to mention them all here. Additionally, many countries and museums have their own journals.

Let's see if I got it right.
Statement 1: Palaemonid shrimps are mostly brackish and seawater living shrimps.
Statement 2: Palaemonids mostly live in mid-water than on the bottom.
--Unfortunately wrong. ;) Palaemonid shrimp live in freshwater, brackish and saltwater. They also aren't "floating" shrimp...so they obligatorily live on the bottom, just like most other shrimp.
Would you say this looks like a typical palaemonid -shrimp?
--"Typical" is a tricky word. It's *one* type of Palaemonid shrimp. Macrobrachium are palaemonid shrimp, too.
I must say I feel lucky to find this discussion forum :D
Thank you for enlightenment.
--Glad you like it here. :)

Mustafa
Sami
Egg
Egg
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:11 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Post by Sami »

With help of a german guy Chris Lukhaup I may have a identification for my shrimps. He suggests that it may be Caridina brachydactyla.
They have also a pic of it on their great homepage:
http://www.crusta10.de/index.php?sideid=news_de
(Most of the text on the site is in german, but the news section is partly in english)
Locked