Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

Scroll down to 'Macrobrachium' (serial numbers 137-144) here. Does anyone know of any aquarists having experience with the exquisitely colored Macrobrachium feunteuni? The species was apparently described quite recently – by Keith & Vigneux in 2002 – but, as evinced by the Malaysian “freshwater snapping shrimp” and “mimic octopus”, this does not necessarily preclude aquarist possession (the logistics of accessibility may, however, have proven overly problematic). The website states that M. feuntuni hails from the freshwaters of the Marquesas archipelago (Hiva Oa, Nuku Hiva, Tahuata, Ua Huka, & Ua Pou) – "high-rise volcanic islands" situated approximately 750 miles northeast of Tahiti and characterized by both pronounced peaks and “razor-edge ridges above deep-cut valleys that descend along mountain streams to the sea. Like some of the other high-rise islands of Polynesia, most Marquesan islands drop straight into the sea, with no surrounding fringe reefs. Consequently, the number of good anchorages is limited, forcing materials to be offloaded onto lighters or even "swam ashore." Narrow black sand beaches usually form at the mouths of the streams.” (From http://www.polynesia.com/islands/marquesas2.html)

At an alledged length of "25-30 mm" in adulthood, this species (in all likelihood amphidromous) would seem well-suited (at least size-wise) to the average aquarium setup - perhaps one incorporating "Tahitian Moon Sand" with approximate fidelity to natural habitat milieu.


To go off on a tangent:

Does anyone have experience with the predatory Metabetaeus of Hawaiian anchialine pools? See http://www.fukubonsai.com/M-L2b3.html and the linked articles on http://www.fukubonsai.com/M-L8.html, save the first.

I don't think anyone has ever kept Macrobrachium feunteuni...nobody that I am aware of anyway. It's unlikely that these shrimp got exported from those remote archipelagos. The only way to get them would be to go there and collect them personally.

Judging by the eggs (small, many) and habitat (small island with very short rivers, creeks) I do believe that these shrimp are amphidromous. You are right that these shrimp would be great aquarium inhabitants, but then we would also have to go through the effort of trying to breed them. It would be a shame if such a shrimp were exported en masse because nobody is breeding them domestically. By the way...there are tons of nice, small Macrobrachium who produce almsot fully developed young in freshwater...so it would probably be prudent to concentrate on those species. I actually just received such Macrobrachium from Peru (more about it and some pics in an upcoming thread).

Also to the Metabetaeus, they are definitely awesome shrimp. I do not have them but I can try to get my hands on them somehow. I am convinced that they can get used to substitute food instead of having to munch on Halocaridina rubra. I'll let you and everyone else know if I get those Metabetaeus. Hopefully that will be soon.

Take care,
Mustafa

Aren't metabetaeus a species of alchailine alphaeid(snapping) shrimp?