White Opae???

[Harry]

I have my Supershrimp in a shared tank with other Opae. The Supershrimp have been in there for a little over three weeks and seem to be well acclimated. They constantly feed and I don't think any of them have died. But they have never come up to color. Using a magnifier, some have red spots that can't be seen without the magnifier. A few have a pinkish appearance. But most seem completely transparent. Below is a photo of a transparent one, next to other Opae from a different source. Those other Opae are a brilliant red. Do you think my Supershrimp are of a mutant variety, possibly what you were referring to as white Supershrimp?

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[Harry]

Here's another shot of two of the "white" Opae. Actually, they are clear.

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[BostonJill]

Great question Harry. I have had my tank of Opae's since November now and I see about three or four out of the 60 to 70 shrimp are that transparent clear color. I was also wondering if they are another color morph or a different sub species.

[Harry]

In my case, I'd say 14 out of 16 are like that.

[Harry]

They pale ones are definitely a variation because their claws are different. The pale ones have thin "arms" for their claws, more like their legs. The red ones have beefier claws, more like a lobster. I have a macro lens, but it would be difficult to capture the right comparison shots to show this. Maybe I'll give it a try when I have some time.

[KenCotigirl]

Please do use your macro lens Harry. I have used a hand lens 7x and found most white Opae are just pale. I have seen pictures of white/clear Opae with yellow eggs taken by Mike Yamamoto.

[BostonJill]

My thought was they were just opae ula's with less pigment. I was reading an article about why lobsters can be different colors. It certainly can apply to shrimp since they are both crustaceans. Here is the link
http://mainelandings.org/2012/05/21/so- ... nt-colors/
Being from Boston I have seen cobalt blue lobsters at the New England Aquarium, it was very cool. Now if we could only get the opae ula's that color.

[Harry]

BostonJill, good article.

[Harry]

COTIGIRL, I have checked my colonies of brilliant red Opae with a magnifier. Seems many have the thin "arms" for their claws, just like my pale ones. But some of the red appear to be "beefier" in the arms for the claws. And I wonder if they are M. Lohena? I believe my two colonies of bright red Opae were likely farmed from ponds and not captive bred. These red ones behave in the manner that Mustafa describes. When disturbed, they go pink but not white or clear. Then they go right back to a brilliant red. The Opae I received from Mustafa remain pale or transparent all the time. Perhaps that's the difference between captive bred and wild. I'll try to photo one of the red ones with the beefier arms.

[Harry]

One of the Opae with the thicker arms came to the surface and stayed for a while. I'm attaching the clearest shot I could get. It's the one farthest to the right.

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[AndyH]

Harry, from what pictures and videos I've seen and the things I've read on the internet, I think it would be obvious if they were M. Iohena. They're noticeably bigger and the claws are noticeably bigger and longer.

Instead of thinking these guys are different species (or even mutations), I think what we're seeing in our tanks with the different redness/paleness and size of claws is just natural variation in the Opae Ula. Or maybe we all have a good mix of Opae from different islands since they're said to be slightly different in each place.

EDIT: Now that I see the picture you posted though... hmmm. It's kind of blurry but the arms do look bigger than any arms that mine have.

[Mustafa]

And I wonder if they are M. Lohena?

--Nope...M. lohena looks very different.

I believe my two colonies of bright red Opae were likely farmed from ponds and not captive bred.

--Nobody is farming these shrimp (besides me), no matter what people claim. Your shrimp were most likely illegally caught in protected habitats and illegally shipped out of Hawaii...you need a permit for every shipment out of Hawaii..and a permit to collect them..all these permits cost money. There is only one place that *legally* (unfortunately) collects them from their own hole that they dug in the ground (and that naturally fills with shrimp from all over the island since the island's pools and underground shrimp habitats are interconnected through pathways in the lava rock or limestone). They claim they are farming these animals, of course, but anyone with any knowledge (including all scientists) know what's really going on there.

These red ones behave in the manner that Mustafa describes. When disturbed, they go pink but not white or clear. Then they go right back to a brilliant red. The Opae I received from Mustafa remain pale or transparent all the time. Perhaps that's the difference between captive bred and wild. I'll try to photo one of the red ones with the beefier arms.

--There is absolutely NO difference between captive-bred and wild-caught ones in terms of color and shape of chelae ("claws"). The only thing I noticed is that wild-caught animals do tend to initially come in very red, and even stay red for quite a while(this can take months) before they are completely indistinguishable from captive-bred ones. I can only speculate as to why that is...natural food sources rich in astaxanthin or similar may be the reason. Having said that, in an established, mature tank that is set up exactly like I describe on this website, you'll see shrimp that get just as red as the reddest wild-caught shrimp...lots of them, too. They won't all be like that, but there will be a good number of them. Having said that, all of your shrimp should at least be some sort of red if they feel well and haven't been spooked. As you see in most of my pics, even the shrimp in the background are all red...and all captive-bred..over several generations, too. I have attached extremely red captive bred shrimp pictures (just taken today, I apologize for the dirty glass) so you can see for yourself. *All* of my tanks have quite a few super red shrimp like that. The shrimp you got from me are not white Supershrimp...they are pale in your tank for some reason, but over time (can take months) they can become super red like the photos you see below...the larger they get, the redder they seem to get, too. Maybe they need time to find the right amounts of pigment in their food in captivity. Additionally, as far as I know, and as far as I can tell, you cannot distinguish different populations of these shrimp by just looking at them. They need to be analyzed for genetic differences.

Finally, the "larger claws" are just an optical illusion. As you can see in the pictures below only the super red animals seem to have them. Every single one. In reality, all the Supershrimp have chelae that are shaped like that, it's just very hard to see if they aren't deep red like the chelae of the super red animals.

[Harry]

You are correct, it's hard to see that claw shape if they are not red. And I appreciate all the info you are providing, especially the recent post on the lure of the wild shrimp.