Shrimp ID

CAF · Post by **CAF** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 7:17 am

I need some help idnetifying this shrimp. It was sold in the LFS as a Japanses Grass Shrimp. I have not had any luck finding any info about thus far. It is about twice the size of an average "Ghost Shrimp" you find as feeders. I got 5 of these shrimp 2 were females that were berried, but it appears they have since dropped or hatched their eggs.[/img]

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 9:53 am

It's really hard to tell the species for sure from this picture as it is very dark. When you say "twice the size of an average ghost shrimp" what approximate size (in inches or centimeters) are you talking about? The american glass shrimp P. paludosus can get to be about inches big. Judging from the moss in the picture I doubt this shrimp is any bigger, let alone 4 inches.

Most "ghost/grass/glass" shrimp imported from asia are Macrobrachium lanchesteri, but this shrimp is definitely NOT it.

So far it just looks like a "normal" Palaemonetes sp. possibly even P. paludosus. For better identification I would need to see a better picture (brighter), preferably several pictures from various angles and a closeup of the rostrum.

How much did you pay for this shrimp? It would not be the first time that retailers label a shrimp wrongly...intentionally or not. After all, "japanese glass shrimp" sounds a lot better than just "ghost shrimp" or possibly "feeder shrimp." When it comes to shrimp from importers/exporters/dealers I have to deal with wrong names and countries of origin all the time, so it would not be an exception if your shrimp was just labeled incorrectly.

CAF · Post by **CAF** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:05 am

I will get some better pictures of the shrimp. As to size they are approximently 2" in length. I do not believe them to be "ghost shrimp" as they do not have the red bands on the limbs commonly associated with them. They have a greenish color in their thorax area (could be food I guess, but it has not changed even with feeding different foods). I definately agree they are a P. species, it is just a question of which one.

I definately agree about mislabeling shrimp. I purchased some bumblebees and what are possibly "rainbows" under the zebra nomenclature at another LFS. I will put up pictures of all of them as soon as I get some better photos.

CAF · Post by **CAF** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:09 am

They were being sold for 2.99 each. Which I definately would not pay for a 0.29 "ghost"... Then again maybe I was suckered... LOL They are nice looking shrimp tho, and the price was worth it for me at least.

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:11 am

CAF wrote:I do not believe them to be "ghost shrimp" as they do not have the red bands on the limbs commonly associated with them.

They don't always have to have the red bands. Just look at the pictures from my shrimp varieties pages:

http://www.petshrimp.com/glassshrimp.html

There are some with red bands and others without. Could be an individual thing or a feature of different populations.

I definately agree about mislabeling shrimp. I purchased some bumblebees and what are possibly "rainbows" under the zebra nomenclature at another LFS. I will put up pictures of all of them as soon as I get some better photos.

Looking forward to the pictures.

The name "zebra shrimp" is probably one of the most (mis-) used names out there. Anything and everything that has stripes (or doesn't even have stripes!!) gets that name in stores. Totally different shrimp with the same name! Very confusing for the consumer.

CAF · Post by **CAF** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:14 am

That is definately true. One major difference between your photo and mine is the eye color tho. Mine is black whereas yours appears to white. (Flash reflection?...) I will post more photos soon. Thanks!

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:22 am

The ones that I have collected in southern Alabama do not have red bands or spots and look very similar to your shrimp. Mine also reach 2 inches or so in length. I've also found differences between nearly identical looking "ghosts" from populations sesparated by only a few miles and slightly different habitats.

Some of the ones I see for sale in the pet stores have red bands/spots and others do not.

My feeling is that not much attention has been paid to these as far as determining how many species there are that we call the same thing.

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:30 am

YuccaPatrol wrote: My feeling is that not much attention has been paid to these as far as determining how many species there are that we call the same thing.

Exactly!

Quote from their species description on the shrimp varieties page:

Also, there seem to be color differences between different populations. There are individuals with beautiful red markings on their antennae, chelae (claws) and uropods (tail), and individuals that lack these markings. If these differences can to attributed to different populations of the same species or possibly to undescribed subspecies is not known.

Having said that...we can't discount intraspecies variability, which seems to be quite "normal" in various shrimp species. But yes, scientists will have to pay more attention to these guys (and other shrimp species) in the future...that's for sure.

By the way, the glass shrimp you have in your area could very well be Palaemonetes kadiakensis (the "other" American freshwater glass shrimp). I believe you live in an area where both P. paludosus and P. kadiakensis occur.

CAF, the eyes appear white due to the flash. Also, I have seen "normal" ghost shrimp sold as pets for about 2.99 in a LFS here in NYC. I think they are totally worth it and, if anything, they are waaaay underpriced and undervalued at the prices they sell at as feeders.

CAF · Post by **CAF** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:37 am

Ok here are some photos I have on hand of some of my shrimp. None unfortunately are the ones in question. But I thought you might like to see them anyhow.

CAF · Post by **CAF** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:40 am

Mustafa wrote: CAF, the eyes appear white due to the flash. Also, I have seen "normal" ghost shrimp sold as pets for about 2.99 in a LFS here in NYC. I think they are totally worth it and, if anything, they are waaaay underpriced and undervalued at the prices they sell at as feeders.

I totally agree. Unfortunately I am currently at work so photos will be forthcoming unless my wife decides she wants to take some photos for me and puts them up where I can get to them...

Thanks everyone.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:17 am

CAF
Great job on thos pics! You should start a calendar.

CAF · Post by **CAF** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:20 am

LOL... I'll let the wife know. The only photo there I took was the face on Cherry. The rest of the pics were hers. Thanks tho. You can see some other pictures here

http://fish.cecolts.com/TAFGallery/

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:09 pm

I'm getting some sort of network error with that link. Do we have permissions to get to it?

CAF · Post by **CAF** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:53 pm

Not that I am aware of...

Try going to http://www.fish.cecolts.com then click on Photo Albums

My apologies to everyone having problems

The website is the workup location for the Colorado Aquarium Society's webpage. It will eventually (soon, I thought it was going to be done today, be located at http://www.coloradoaquarium.org)

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:24 pm

It is working now.