Bad news for shrimp

[Ecir]

I was in Petsmart yesterday and noticed a tank label for something called a "Marble Shrimp" there weren't any in the tank but it had a picture that looked just like Asian Filter Shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis).

The information listed had it as Atyopsis something but said it only grew to about 1", I know those tags are always wrong but if it really is the filter shrimp that's terrible news seeing as they haven't been succesfully bred in captivity all we need is a bloody big box store wiping out the lot of them.

Ecir

[Mustafa]

that's terrible news seeing as they haven't been succesfully bred in captivity all we need is a bloody big box store wiping out the lot of them.

Ecir

Unfortunately, that's already happening. Petco has been selling them for years. They are actually one of the most commonly sold shrimp in pet stores, even more so than Amano shrimp in my opinion. Yes, let's hope that they will at least get commercially bred by asian fish farms, so the wild populations won't suffer. I know I will try to breed them on a larger scale once I have the space.

[Ecir]

I know I will try to breed them on a larger scale once I have the space.

Does that mean you succesfully bred them? I thought that has yet to be done in captivity?

Ecir

[Mustafa]

Does that mean you succesfully bred them? I thought that has yet to be done in captivity?

Ecir

I've had larvae go through several stages, but I did not have a large enough tank to keep the water quality up. Water quality is key when trying to rear larvae. That was a small-scale attempt. Hence, I would like to try it on a larger scale. I'm absolutely certain it's doable, although it will require quite a bit of effort. They're worth it, though.

[hoddit]

The local petsmart here in Destin has them as well. It was boderline funny to read the card with the max size of 1" and look in the tank at 3" specimens. It is a shame that the chains are so clueless....it really hurts the popularity of the hobby along with the animals themselves.

It always bothers me to see people buying fish with their new aquarium in the shopping cart......climbing off soapbox now.

[badflash]

I've read that in asia these are a pest species that live in some of the rice paddies. They are so common people eat them. There are loads of recipes for bamboo shrimp. Many people think of them as roaches. They don't like them crawling on them when they work in the rice fields.

I found this info when surfing the web for info on how to bred them. Pretty strange.

[Neonshrimp]

Pretty strange to us, but when you live in their culture it must be as common as chicken sandwiches (yummie) are to us. I am sure drinking ice cold smoothies is strange to them

[seansd]

First time I tried to look up info on bamboo shrimp on yahoo, came up with recipes for the first entry.
Tempted to try raising them in my 60 gal.
If they're a problem in rice paddies, then outdoor pond may be way to go instead.

[Mustafa]

I've read that in asia these are a pest species that live in some of the rice paddies. They are so common people eat them. There are loads of recipes for bamboo shrimp. Many people think of them as roaches. They don't like them crawling on them when they work in the rice fields.

I found this info when surfing the web for info on how to bred them. Pretty strange.

I think you misunderstood something there. The recipe for "bamboo shrimp" does not describe how to cook Atypopsis moluccensis. It's just a "normal" shrimp dish recipe. In other words, you use "normal" store bought shrimp. Bamboo is added into chinese and other asian recipes..hence the name bamboo shrimp. It has absolutely nothing to do with one of the common names given to A. moluccensis.

In any case, I'd like to see the info about the rice fields. I kinda have trouble believing that information as rice fields have *zero* water flow and filter shrimp naturally occur in faster flowing waters. So, please provide a source so we can check how reliable it is.

Plus, no matter how "common" an animal is it can be entirely eliminated by humans. "Great" examples are the american buffalo, or the passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius). The buffalo is still alive, albeit in reduced numbers, but the passenger pigeon is gone forever. Some sources estimate that there used to be 3-5 BILLION passenger pigeons in north america, which made the pigeon the most common bird species in the world. By 1914 they were all gone as people made a sport of shooting them from the sky during their migrations. "How can you possibly kill BILLIONS of individuals?" Well, it's been done before. The carolina parakeet met with a similar fate. It used to range over most of the eastern united states. The last one died in a zoo in 1918 after all the free-ranging birds had been shot to death years earlier. I could name many more examples, but I'll leave it at that.

Bottom line is, the only sensible way to "utilize" animals, being as pets or otherwise, is to breed them in captivity. Harvesting them from nature is not the solution in the long run. I know others in the "business" don't have a problem with selling wild-caught animals en masse to make a quick buck, but I have always had a problem with it for the above reasons. As I always tell people, I am *not* in the animal trade business, I am in the breeding business. There is a HUGE difference between those two.

[AnneRiceBowl]

You took the words right out of my mouth--err..fingertips?

Any way, when I didn a google search, I found more info listed under "singapore shrimp". They are also called flower shrimp and asian filter shrimp and wood shrimp.

[Jojoyojimbi]

You took the words right out of my mouth--err..fingertips?

Any way, when I didn a google search, I found more info listed under "singapore shrimp". They are also called flower shrimp and asian filter shrimp and wood shrimp.

my local big box retailer lists them as marble shrimp, i asked the employee what they're feeding it and they said, oh they just eat the fish food, i told them that they wouldn't get enough food that way because the particles were too big and they should add some powdered egglayer food that they had on the shelf and she told me they weren't allowed to give any of the tanks anything other than flakes because that's what the manager told them

[badflash]

Bamboo shrimp can pick up food off the bottom, so they won't starve. The bigger problem is the terrible water conditions.

As to the recipe for bamboo shrimp and the eating of them, I'll try to hook up again. Google isn't very good at bringing back stuff you found months ago. Yes, the recipe I found was specifically for real bamboo shrimp. They had pictures.

[Ecir]

Looks like I really opened up a can of worms(shrimp?) on this one....

Ecir

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes ... 52,00.html

[Mustafa]

Looks like I really opened up a can of worms(shrimp?) on this one....

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes ... 52,00.html

Although "bamboo shrimp" is listed as an ingredient in the above link, it's *not* A. moluccensis. It's the same situation as with the black "tiger shrimp" (Penaeus monodon), which is a marine shrimp and a very common food shrimp, but has nothing to do with the tiger shrimp in our hobby (obviously). I can understand how some people can get confused by all these common names though...

[badflash]

When I did a google today (not done yet) google actually found my old post here. Unfortunately I did not post the link back then. I didn't know it would be so hard to re-find. As I recall there was an article on pests to the asian rice fields. Triops was one species discussed as they supposedly ate the rice roots. The other was about the bamboo shrimp which appeared to be harmless but freeked out the women working in the rice fields. There was another article on authentic asian food that included a picture of a mess of real bamboo shrimp with the bamboo shrimp recipe.

Some rice fields are flooded daily, so it is possible there would be enough flow to support them. The rice farmers are also at a near war footing against the shrimp farmers, so I can also see a spill over to harmless shrimp. The shrimp farmers raise salt water shrimp in impound ponds. There are "accidental" levy breaches that end up salting the rice paddies and making them worthless. The shrimp farmers then buy up the "worthless" land for pennies on the dollar. This tactic is being countered by attacking the shrimp farms both physically and politically.