Hello from Germany, Information on ghost shrimps ?

[Polypterus]

Hello !
As I'm new in this Forum I want to introduce myself here
I live in Germany and study engineering. One of my hobbys is breeding and keeping shrimps. So when you have some questions to translate some documents from any german page dealing with shrimps you can ask. Also when anybody plan a trip to germany and want to visit a good place to get shrimps - just ask.
Last year a friend bring me some 'ghost shrimp' sold as fish food from USA, sadly she put in something to eat for the shrimp and they died cause of lack of oxygen.... but I get interested in that kind of shrimp. But here we have a lot of infomation about Asian and South American Shrimps, but I cannot find much about 'ghost shrimps' from North America. Is there any good online description .. except the one I know from petschrimp.com ?
Thanks and best regards from Germany

[chlorophyll]

Hey folks, to add to the question hopefully, is there a list of species names for shrimp commonly referred to as "ghost/glass/grass/feeder" shrimp?

I've found it hard to find much reliable info on "ghost shrimp" because many different species seem to come to be commonly referred to as "ghost" shrimp, mistakenly or not. Including my Neocaridina denticulata sinensis (non red variety).

[Mustafa]

Hello "Polypterus",

There is really not much information out there besides what you will find on this website. You will have to go and search in journal articles for more information on these shrimp, but it's mostly about testing their resistance to various toxins. I know that P. paludosus would be a very popular shrimp in Germany, but unfortunately they are not very appreciated here in most cases since they are abused as "feeder shrimp" and sold for very cheap.

By the way...I'm from Germany, too, but I am glad that you volunteered to translate German websites for people. Maybe you should not have said that, since you will probably be getting about a million people emailing you about translations...

If you have not joined the mailing list at wirbellose.de yet, I would recommend that you join. They have an archive there, too, and I have written some information about P. paludosus there before.

Take care,
Mustafa

[Mustafa]

Hey folks, to add to the question hopefully, is there a list of species names for shrimp commonly referred to as "ghost/glass/grass/feeder" shrimp?

--There is no list. Exporters/importers tend to call any shrimp that is mostly "see-through" and small a ghost or glass shrimp. Most of the time it's actually Palaemonid shrimp that people refer to as ghost/glass shrimp. Your mention is the first time that I am hearing about Atyid shrimp being called "ghost/glass" shrimp.

The "ghost/glass shrimp" we refer to here in the US only occurs in the US. Hence, anyone else (in a different country) refering to their shrimp by that name is talking about a totally different shrimp. That's why it is so important to use scientific names, if they are available, to avoid confusion.

Take care,
Mustafa

[Polypterus]

HEre is the similar Problem - most looking through shrimp is called 'glass shrimp' - so many people buy Macrobrachium spec. that get big and eat their fishes. That way I get my Chamaeleon Shrimp
Although Neocardina denticulata sinensis isn't called ghost shrimp, that species people change in Newsgroup and call it Invasion-Shrimp cause it breed so well. Even can stay in freezing pond outside.

I think at time a way to ship some shrimp to Germany, but FedEx is expensive, but should be fast enough... a plan for warmer months.

Thanks, Florian

[Veneer]

A "clear" race of Neocaridina denticulata sinensis is commonly sold as a feeder under the heading of "ghost shrimp" in Hawaii [where they are common as an introduced species in streams].

[chlorophyll]

Yup. I suppose you noticed that's where I am. I tend to assume that pretty much all FW shrimp sold as feeders are also known as "ghost shrimp". They're basically all small, prolific, clearish, and not particularly long on lifespan, so they usually don't sell all that well as ornamentals and end up marketed as feeder shrimp.... though many of us do enjoy them as ornamentals/pets

I don't understand why N.d. sinensis is commonly noted to have invaded Hawaii... they are prolific... and Florian says they may tolerate very cold water. But has it not been able to gain a foot-hold and thrive in waterways of other parts of the U.S. or Europe? and why not?

[Polypterus]

right, I read some days ago, that they can survive in pond, although it's 5°C. But normaly won't find the Neocaridina here in the wild live cause just a few people have in their tanks. Also I read some time ago, Neocaridina dent. sinensis invadet in china the big lakes.
Here in Germany currently can find only three kind of shrimp:
- Hemimysis anomala, a very small nice looking but lot of oxygen needing shrimp
- Limnomysis benedeni also very small and very hard to find
- Atyaephyra desmaresti, easy to keep
this shrimp invaded also in the last decade, and the Hemimysis and Atyaephra can be find in a channel close to me. I heared can be find in the rhone and donau too, but this shrimp are not really natives. The Hemimysis is coming from the Baltic sea and nice floating around, sadly need a lot place to swim, leaves and moos and mud to hide and I guess a lot of oxygen ... for pictures can look at http://www.wirbellose.de -> Artenbeschreibung (description of kind)

[PunaDJ]

Hey/Aloha Clorophyll!

I just closed on a house on the Big Island south of Hilo (moving from ATL area) & will be attempting to bring cherry's, blues & a few other species with me (even my own colony of Hawaiian shrimp - H. rubra) in late March or April. Any advice about "importation" rules in Hawaii?

[samurai]

Hi! I am from Indonesia and located in Jakarta. It is very nice to hear your kind offer for someone like me who surely need help in getting some information available in Germany. It is also nice to know that our moderator also from Germany and always around to answer many questions from newbies like me.

I do see there are many books available in Deutsch about these shrimps we have been discussing here. I wonder if there is any books available that has been translated into English with many colorful pictures.

[Polypterus]

Moin !
Well, there should be the shrimps. crayfish and craps by Uwe Wernen : http://www.aqualog.de/site/produkten/sp ... as010e.htm
else not know yet.
Florian

[chlorophyll]

Hi PunaDJ!
Sorry, I've never tried to import aquatic life into this state so I can't tell you anything solid.
I can say that our pet stores don't have a lot of species of crusacea. Being so secluded, our importation rules may be kind of strict because it's the only way strange species can get here and there's a lot of concern about what alien species will do to the native wildlife.

Then again I've seen a lot of strange things in LFS's that surprise me that they made it in. Like salamanders. But I don't think salamanders can reproduce in the warm weather here so I guess that explains it. I don't know if some of your shrimp are those which are not at all present in Hawaii and thrive in tropical waters... if so, I would think you might have trouble getting them in. But I hope you're able to bring as many as you can!

But I wouldn't recommend trying to sneak them in because as boring as I think Hawaii's wildlife is, some recently introduced species like armored catfish among others have made our native streams less enjoyable than they were just when I was a child (I'm 26 now). It's surprising how fast things change when different things establish themselves here.

[chlorophyll]

re: Neocaridina dent. sinensis invading,
I read this just a few days ago
http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pdf/englund&cai99.pdf

Incidentally, I've become interested in someday keeping and culturing opae kuahiwi (Hawaiian Mountain Shrimp - Atyoida bisulcata). One day maybe I'll hike somewhere and be lucky enough to find some. It's interesting (and troubling) that Nd. sinensis and A. bisulcata don't seem to co-exist in the same areas. But as far as I know, A. Bisulcata is not fully endangered, yet.

Anyway, it's a different topic totally from "ghost shrimp," so sorry to stray off topic in this thread!

[Mustafa]

Moin !
Well, there should be the shrimps. crayfish and craps by Uwe Wernen : http://www.aqualog.de/site/produkten/sp ... as010e.htm
else not know yet.
Florian

Keep in mind that, while Uwe Werner's book was a great book for its time (1998), it has many mistakes and is pretty much obsolete. Much has happened since 1998...actually much has happened since last year or even last month. This hobby is very dynamic.

[Mustafa]

Incidentally, I've become interested in someday keeping and culturing opae kuahiwi (Hawaiian Mountain Shrimp - Atyoida bisulcata). One day maybe I'll hike somewhere and be lucky enough to find some. It's interesting (and troubling) that Nd. sinensis and A. bisulcata don't seem to co-exist in the same areas. But as far as I know, A. Bisulcata is not fully endangered, yet.!

I am interested in Atyoida bisulcata also. I thought it was already on the endangered list, but I might be wrong. The difficulty with breeding that species is that its larvae need saltwater/brackish water. That should not keep dedicated people from trying, though. There are many more species of shrimp out there that reproduce that way than shrimp that produce almost fully developed, benthic young.

Mustafa