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Re: cleaner shrimp

Hi Wright,
	The ones I was thinking of are bright scarlet -red and perhaps.25-.5
inches at the most.  This group of shirmp are odd in they inhabit areas
near the ocean, fringing relatively new (about <200 years old)lava fields.
These pools are spring fed, but also affected by the tides and thus vary in
salinity.  It is theorized the the larvae are small enough to move through
the pores of the lava to colonize new pools.  Really neat,  I am working
with them to see how well they will co-exist with P. cyanodorsalis a
brackis water  blue eye that doesn't get too large.  Figured it would be
neat to see them living in a tank with Java moss and Java fern.  Biggest
problem is they get sucked up by the power filter and live there happily
and I never see them.
	The cleaner shrimp that went to the IBC are probablly the common river
shrimp that ends up at the pet shops for feeders. (20 + for $1).  I have
considered working witht these also.  They do clean up algae (fillmentous
green) from plants fairly well and the manager at the pet shop I frequent
uses them to "scrub" algae off of plants as they are waiting to be sold for
someones meal.  Now that I have more info, I am not sure if this shrimp is
one of the endemic/indigenous species that requires their larvae to spend
time in the ocean.  Need to do more research.  Can always go look at them
in the pet shop and see what things I can find out.

MTF


>Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 08:09:44 -0800
>From: Wright Huntley <huntley1 at home_com>
>Subject: Re:  cleaner shrimp
>
>> Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 16:56:41 -0600
>> From: "David W. Webb" <dwebb at ti_com>
>> Subject: cleaner shrimp
>> 
>> Non-member submission from [klaus.schoening at jungle_org (Segeberger)]
>> Subject: cleaner shrimp
>> 
>> Where on earth do you get cleaner shrimp except by going to Hawaii and I
>> thought those were strictly saltwater.  Tell me more, do some fish eat
>> them?
>
>They were brought to the International Betta Congress Convention in
>Sacramento last summer by a Betta breeder from Hawaii. Quite a few
>people got 20-30 of them, but my rumor mill is that not many were able
>to keep them going.
>
>These are a purely fresh-water species that I have had reproducing in
>water with <300 ppm tds. That was a surprise to even one Hawaiian
>aquarist. He thought all their species required a larval salt-water
>stage, too. I used a 25G long with very coarse gravel over UGF. Feed
>fish flake foods primarily, with some veggie flakes, and Nori flakes to
>keep up with their iodide needs. Despite brief direct sun on the glass,
>they generally kept the glass surface essentially algae free all through
>the fall. Plants were mostly Java moss, nitella and some hornwort (that
>they ate completely, at one point as it was in "meltdown" mode).
>
>Not counting feelers, a really big gravid female might be 3/4" long.
>Color is an attractive verdigris greenish with a bright brassy-gold
>stripe running the length of the body.
>
>They are active busybodies, eating detritus, algae and (if starved)
>softer plants like hornwort. As they molt, the fish enjoy a meal of
>"soft-shell crab," so yes -- fish do eat them. They swim freely in open
>water at times, too, so the tank looks like it has fish.
>
>I may not have them long, for I now have put small fish in their tank. I
>doubt if the larvae will survive that. I have distributed some to
>friends that, I hope, will keep them going. I'll set up another
>dedicated tank after the holidays, maybe.
>
>Wright
>
>- -- 
>Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679  huntley1 at home dot com
>          *********   Eschew obfuscation   **********

Mach T. Fukada, Editor
fukada at hawaii_edu
Honolulu Aquarium Society
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/2948/HASF.html