Quick vid of my prawn

[demonte1997]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VbFd39h ... ature=plcp

Finally got a vid of this guy so I wanted to put it up here. He's one of a few rosenbergiis I have. At the moment, he is by himself in a smaller tank. Will need to upgrade the surroundings soon. Nice little guy. Will eat out of your hand. Very friendly with lots of personality. Ifigure his pinchers will turn blue in a shed or two. Very striking color for only a couple inches long.

[Newjohn]

Thanks for sharing the Video.
He is still a little guy, How old is He ?
Please keep the Pictures / Videos coming as he grows.

[demonte1997]

I received him in a shipment of post larval prawn mid-November, so I'd say he's about four months old. Will post up more vids as he grows.

I've seen conflicting information about rosenbergii life expectancy. Some have said a year, others a few years. Anyone know for sure? I was hoping this guy would be around for a while.

[demonte1997]

This is the biggest of my blue prawn. Name is Cloverfield.. Figured it was apt. His body is close to 5" now. He rules his 55-gallon tank with an iron claw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k3fXNdq ... ature=plcp

Next up is the middle child-Prawnasaurus. He has an awesome personality and some crazy pinchers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAxVRux8 ... ure=relmfu

[Mustafa]

Ahhh...this makes me want to get some of these guys for myself. I used to have a Macrobrachium carcinus that we got attached to and that we called "Monster" due to its size and huge claws, but that species is more aggressive than M. rosenbergii. You could not keep anything else in the tank with it. These guys, although still aggressive, seem much more tolerant.

[demonte1997]

I remember trading a PM with you about that guy. Would love to get a carcinus myself.

These rosenbergii are really fun. Prawnasaurus shed last night and grew incrementally. I'll throw up a pic when he's done eating the carapace. The force is crazy with this one.

edit: Pic of him on his cave. Always the character.

[demonte1997]

And he keeps growing...

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/728/ ... scrazy.jpg

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4992 ... crazy2.jpg

This was an incredible shed. Very dramatic increase in size of chelae. There are noticeable spines on the claws. The pinchers measure over an inch alone. Time for a larger tank for this little hellion.

[demonte1997]

I noticed a small brown speck that formed on his shell since yesterday. It's about the size a pinhead and in the middle of the shell (behind the head). Cause for concern? I'm guessing there isn't much I can do either way about it. :/

[demonte1997]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLqyJOMoffw

Don't mind the loud rustling of the food pellet bag. You can see the brown speck on each side of his shell. Seems odd. Just want to make sure it isn't fatal.

[Mustafa]

Brown spots can appear on Palaemonid shrimp, although I usually see them on freshly imported animals. Damage to their exoskeleton, which then gets colonized by opportunistic microorganisms, appears to cause the spots. If the animal is otherwise healthy the spots diappear after the next molt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLqyJOMoffw

Don't mind the loud rustling of the food pellet bag. You can see the brown speck on each side of his shell. Seems odd. Just want to make sure it isn't fatal.

[demonte1997]

He seems to be doing quite well, eating everything in sight. I'll post an update after next shed.

Thanks Mustafa. Much appreciated.

[demonte1997]

Another shed and this creature has seriously outgrown his 20 gallon. Will have a 75 gallon ready hopefully by the weekend.

Any tips for transferring him with the least amount of disturbance? I was almost thinking about draining the 20 down pretty low and removing the decor. Then slowly adding some water from the new tank to acclimate. Then dumping the 20 gallon contents right into the 75. Sounds like a lot of work and stupidity but I feel this may be the best way to ensure the specimen does not stress too much.

edit: After some pondering, I think I'll try to coax him into a large 12" clear plastic bag. That should limit stress. Then I'll float the bag in his new environment, slowly adding new water every 10 minutes or so. It appears I may be getting a 125 gallon tank instead of the 70. Either way, this should be a very happy monster shrimp.

[demonte1997]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBez66fZ ... ature=plcp

^ Hopefully that link works. I love how top-heavy he gets when he flies up to the top and then falls back to the bottom. The bigger tank can't come soon enough. Poor guy is bumping into everything.

[Dante16]

they seems to be so active. constantly swimming and moving around. is it easy to take care of them?

[demonte1997]

They are pretty hardy. The two adult males have slowed down considerably as they grew into their tanks. When they were small, they would shed every two weeks and ate like pigs.

The caveat to these shrimps is they need a lot of room (125 gallon or bigger) and many times it is difficult to keep them with other animals. I think they are worth it. Anyone who sees them is completely dumbfounded by their size and character. They will eat out of your hand and have a wonderful personality. Very colorful as well. Gorgeous blue claws and orange antennae. I'll try to get a recent pic of my biggest. His shell is ~7" long with claws about double that length.