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I got a new shrimp today from my local fish store, and i'm trying to identify it. its body is about 6 cm long and its arms and claws would have to be another 6cm.

Check the photos on this thread:
http://www.aquahobby.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=22844&highlight=

I know it was collected in australia, probably inland on the murry river or somewhere similar. my suspicion from just googling around is that its Macrobrachium australiense. does that sound right to you guys? has anyone kept this species before? anyone have any info ie: water requirements, lifespan, food, etc.?

thanks in advance for any the help

Last edited by raggamuffin at 28-Jun-2005 07:34

Definately what it is alright.

I bought a bunch while I was in Qld as they sell them as feeders up there the same way they sell cray in NSW.

The thing is though, I have a feeling these guys need a heater. Mine survived for a small while but ended up with some sort of necrosis, and turned orange while still alive, and died shortly after.

I am thinking that maybe it was from the lower temperatures that I was keeping them at (22*C) and that maybe it was a type of fungus.

They will eat almost anything, and will probably cut down your fish population a little as they are skilled hunters, and they can actually swim like a shrimp, not just propel backwards like cray.
keep plants low if you are worried about your fish becoming din-dins

lifespan, well, no idea, and I have packed my reference books i'd guess about 8 years judging by their size.




Last edited by Callatya at 28-Jun-2005 08:27

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Thanks for the info there! at the moment he is being kept in a 25L tank with a few danios, some white cloudes and some ghost shrimp without a heater. if i do put a heater in, do you know whether the ghosties will suffer? what temps are best for them? im pretty sure they are Paratya Australiensis. i know the white cloudes wont like it but i might just have to find another home for them.

edit: just had another thought: i know that some macrobrachium shrimp are brackish for some, if not all of their lives. do you know if this shrimp is a brackish water variety? also, Callatya, could you post the specifics of the tank you kept yours in? (ph, gh, tank size, what kind of plants, tank mates, what you fed, and anything else you think might be relavent) as there just seems to be so little info available on this species as an aquarium inhabitant, ie what they like and what they dont! thank you very much!

Last edited by raggamuffin at 28-Jun-2005 19:54

Most Macrobrachium spp. are brackish only as planktonic larvae (others are characterized by abbreviated larval development, and a very few are wholly brackish or marine); all are, however, generally quite tolerant of variation in ambient salinity. To my knowledge, M. australiense is a freshwater organism from its post-larval stage.