My big Atya gabonensis ...
Moderator: Mustafa
My big Atya gabonensis ...
Hi!!
I've read a lot here, but I haven't posted anything yet ...
First, I want to introduce myself, I'm from Spain, so please excuse my English ... I'm not really one of those acuarists with a wide experience, but I've tried here to make people want to know more about the other inhabitants of aquariums, specially snails.
Talking about shrimps, I have over hundreds of red cherrys, and I recently started with crystal reds ... I love this little ones ...
... but now I want to show you the biggest shrimp I have ... my Atya gabonensis ...
I bought two Atyas five months ago, luckily they were male and female ... but the male was very weak and died the day after .... But the female has done very well and she has also molted once. It really surprised me ... what she left was just like an empty medieval armor ....
So this is my little one ...
For what I have read, she is supposed to grow bigger ... wow! She's only 8 cm long ... But it's a really peaceful shrimp, very shy ... She doesn't want to get into trouble and prefers to go to a quieter place, in order not to have her "fans" hurt ...
A few weeks ago, I was very lucky to find another Atya in a shop, and when I came closer, yes!! IT WAS a MALE!
And he was very cheap, only 5$ !!...
When I bought him, I thought he was smaller than my female, but when I put him in the tank, I saw I was wrong! He 's quite bigger than her, about 10 cm ... and he has a wonderful colour! Blueish! ....
I read these shrimp can have many different colours, from dark brown to light blue ....
Here's the "little" one:
Here you have the happy pair ...
Hope you like them!
I've read a lot here, but I haven't posted anything yet ...
First, I want to introduce myself, I'm from Spain, so please excuse my English ... I'm not really one of those acuarists with a wide experience, but I've tried here to make people want to know more about the other inhabitants of aquariums, specially snails.
Talking about shrimps, I have over hundreds of red cherrys, and I recently started with crystal reds ... I love this little ones ...
... but now I want to show you the biggest shrimp I have ... my Atya gabonensis ...
I bought two Atyas five months ago, luckily they were male and female ... but the male was very weak and died the day after .... But the female has done very well and she has also molted once. It really surprised me ... what she left was just like an empty medieval armor ....
So this is my little one ...
For what I have read, she is supposed to grow bigger ... wow! She's only 8 cm long ... But it's a really peaceful shrimp, very shy ... She doesn't want to get into trouble and prefers to go to a quieter place, in order not to have her "fans" hurt ...
A few weeks ago, I was very lucky to find another Atya in a shop, and when I came closer, yes!! IT WAS a MALE!
And he was very cheap, only 5$ !!...
When I bought him, I thought he was smaller than my female, but when I put him in the tank, I saw I was wrong! He 's quite bigger than her, about 10 cm ... and he has a wonderful colour! Blueish! ....
I read these shrimp can have many different colours, from dark brown to light blue ....
Here's the "little" one:
Here you have the happy pair ...
Hope you like them!
- Neonshrimp
- Master Shrimp Nut
- Posts: 2296
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 5:37 pm
- Location: California, USA
Thanks for your welcome!!
As you have said, the first pair of walking legs (the bigger ones) are thicker and stronger in males ...
This is the female:
And this is the male (the first I bought, not the one I have now. Both male and female were the same size): I'm sorry the photo's a bit out of focus, I'll take another one of the new male ...
And I have also noticed another difference between males and females ... as many other shrimps, the female's pleopods are much longer than the male's ... I have no pic of this, but I'll try and get!
I'm glad you like them!
Byes!
Yes, that's true! .... I have two more pics I hope you like, they could be helpful for anyone who wants to sex them ...You can see very clearly the differences between male and female (look at the front legs and the body shape)
As you have said, the first pair of walking legs (the bigger ones) are thicker and stronger in males ...
This is the female:
And this is the male (the first I bought, not the one I have now. Both male and female were the same size): I'm sorry the photo's a bit out of focus, I'll take another one of the new male ...
And I have also noticed another difference between males and females ... as many other shrimps, the female's pleopods are much longer than the male's ... I have no pic of this, but I'll try and get!
I'm glad you like them!
Byes!
Last edited by Gaua on Wed Mar 21, 2007 12:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
- ToddnBecka
- Shrimpoholic
- Posts: 363
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 11:12 pm
- Location: Western Maryland
Thanks!
She seemed ok, so I didn't mind ... Two days after, the "layers" in that part got together, and the liquid disappeared. And that odd-looking marking was left ...
I suppose it'll disappear when she molts again ...
Byes!
Yes, true .... she didn't have it when I bought her. When she molted, I noticed that that part of her exoeskeleton was not like the rest of it, it was thicker and different colour .... I wanted to get a closer look and I touched it, it seemed as if the internal and external "layers" of the skeleton were separated and inside filled with water.Nice shrimp and photo's. What is the odd-looking marking on the female?
She seemed ok, so I didn't mind ... Two days after, the "layers" in that part got together, and the liquid disappeared. And that odd-looking marking was left ...
I suppose it'll disappear when she molts again ...
Byes!
-
- Larva
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sun May 28, 2006 5:25 am
- Location: Seoul, South Korea
Those markings are usually caused by damages to their shells. The damage could be physical (the shrimp got cut/bitten/hurt somehow) or it can be caused by a shell disease. I've seen it quite often on wild-caught shrimp, especially the larger species. It should disappear after a while (a few molts) under good conditions.
Gaua wrote:Thanks!Yes, true .... she didn't have it when I bought her. When she molted, I noticed that that part of her exoeskeleton was not like the rest of it, it was thicker and different colour .... I wanted to get a closer look and I touched it, it seemed as if the internal and external "layers" of the skeleton were separated and inside filled with water.Nice shrimp and photo's. What is the odd-looking marking on the female?
She seemed ok, so I didn't mind ... Two days after, the "layers" in that part got together, and the liquid disappeared. And that odd-looking marking was left ...
I suppose it'll disappear when she molts again ...
Byes!
Thanks for your explanation, Mustafa! I didn't know that .... I supposed it was related to the process of molting, because it appeared just after that, but I didn't know anything more ...
Some more pics, a closer look at the female ... She's so beautifully ugly!
I have also noticed that they are very intelligent creatures, not like small shrimp ... they have a good memory and can recognize things and colours (like the food packet) ...
She doesn't hide now when I get closer to the tank, but she does when my mother comes ...
Here you can see the perfect gadgets they have for filtering food. 2 pairs of modified claws, and in each one, two fans, one in front of each other, like the valves of a clam ... They're such efficient tools!
Hope you like them!
Some more pics, a closer look at the female ... She's so beautifully ugly!
I have also noticed that they are very intelligent creatures, not like small shrimp ... they have a good memory and can recognize things and colours (like the food packet) ...
She doesn't hide now when I get closer to the tank, but she does when my mother comes ...
Here you can see the perfect gadgets they have for filtering food. 2 pairs of modified claws, and in each one, two fans, one in front of each other, like the valves of a clam ... They're such efficient tools!
Hope you like them!
- Neonshrimp
- Master Shrimp Nut
- Posts: 2296
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 5:37 pm
- Location: California, USA
Wow, great to know! I wonder if you can teach them some new/interesting behaviors. They are beautiful by the wayI have also noticed that they are very intelligent creatures, not like small shrimp ... they have a good memory and can recognize things and colours (like the food packet) ...
She doesn't hide now when I get closer to the tank, but she does when my mother comes ...
I have more news!!
Last night the female molted again, this morning I found her empty exoeskeleton, wow ... as shocking as the first time!
I took a pic:
As I supposed, the damaged part was left .... I took a pic to get a closer look:
I looked for the female, and finally I found her hiding under the big leaves of one of my Echinodorus ozelot ...
I couldn't get a closer look, because I didn't want to disturb her ... but I think she has a perfect new exoeskeleton, with no damaged parts ... light brown and soft ....
I'll tell you better when she comes out again ....
Byes!
Last night the female molted again, this morning I found her empty exoeskeleton, wow ... as shocking as the first time!
I took a pic:
As I supposed, the damaged part was left .... I took a pic to get a closer look:
I looked for the female, and finally I found her hiding under the big leaves of one of my Echinodorus ozelot ...
I couldn't get a closer look, because I didn't want to disturb her ... but I think she has a perfect new exoeskeleton, with no damaged parts ... light brown and soft ....
I'll tell you better when she comes out again ....
Byes!
- Neonshrimp
- Master Shrimp Nut
- Posts: 2296
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 5:37 pm
- Location: California, USA