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Background:

Several months ago (before I fully appreciated this species' uncanny ability to master aquarium dividers), I discovered one of my largest Macrobrachium carcinus in the process of consuming a conspecific. Within the space of what was probably just a few minutes, the victim had lost all of its pereiopods, an antennal spine, much of its rostrum, and the forward fringe of its cephalothorax.

Hoping for the best, I immediately isolated it in a 10-gallon tank. Even in this grublike state, the shrimp was able to flutter clumsily forward; thankfully, neither gill tissue nor eyes had been scathed. Though the pearly gray of its wounds acquired black edges of necrotic tissue, the recovering patient remained as voracious as ever, first clutching food placed directly beneath its mandibles and later scooting about with its pleopods to secure sinking pellets.

Within three weeks, limb buds made their appearance. Shortly afterwards, the shrimp underwent its first regenerative molt.

Premolt (note limb regrowth):







Postmolt:

Really good pics and well documented. Its amazing how they can regenerate. I have a Cameroon shrimp I got with a middle leg missing, it took two moults but he got his leg back.
Thanks for showing the excellent pics.

Good pics indeed. Now if only we humans could learn how to do that.

thats excellent thanks for bothering to post that.

oh and by the way hi I am NEW

Great photodocumentation of invertebrate regeneration.

I guess if an animal is going to be so quick to get into dismembering fights as these large Macrobranchium species do it would behoove them to have the capacity to put all the parts back togethe againr. Very interesting shrimp but these large species are such ferocious predators that regenerative powers or no,t about one to a tank is the only way to keep them long term and in one piece.

I was amazed at the size a friend's "pet" M. rosenbergi grew to. It quickly worked it's way up from a few 2 inch interesting shrimp to just one that filled a 10 gallon then a 20L. It stopped there as far as tank size but the shrimp(I have hard time calling it one) almost overflows the boundaries of the 20L.
It's more of FW lobster.

Great post, poor little guy, but that is truly amazing recovery it made! Thanks for the great pictures