Whisker shrimp?

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Snow1576

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Oct 23, 2007
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I just saw these at my LFS was wondering if anybody knows anything about them? Did a google search but not much info turns up on them, just that they grow to 2 inches and like a ph of 6.8-7.0. They were clear like ghost shrimp.
 

Yadokari

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Feb 10, 2008
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I have never owned them myself, however, I have seen info on them about their vicious behaviors. They're meaner than ghosties (although ghost shrimp aren't THAT aggressive). Whiskers will more likely eat a guppy fry or anything small.
 

Snow1576

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Oct 23, 2007
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I bought 5 of them and they seem to get along fine with all my fish although they have an appetite for ghost shrimp. So far I dont see any problems with them. They walk freely throughout the bottom of the tank and occasionaly take a swipe at fish that come to close but thats about it. They also like to hang out in dark under the rock areas aswell. They are about 2 to 2 1/2 inches and have long claws but like I said so far so good.
 

pixl8r

MacroShrimpBreeder
May 11, 2007
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Utah
After watching your Youtube video, I can tell you that your 'whisker shrimp' are a Macrobrachium shrimp species. It is impossible to tell exactly which species, but they show aggressive behaviors similar to M. rosenbergii. FYI, M. rosenbergii get very large and if you have multiple males, the dominate may kill off all of the others. They are also known to be very aggressive towards fish and can grow quite large.

Not all Macrobrachium shrimp are aggressive. Many are very peaceful and can
be kept with peaceful fish. I recommend searching the species page at http://www.petshrimp.com/ for some information on peaceful species. There is also some information in the forums on the more aggressive Macro shrimp species (but you need a forum membership to fully utilize the search feature).
 

Snow1576

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Oct 23, 2007
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After watching your Youtube video, I can tell you that your 'whisker shrimp' are a Macrobrachium shrimp species. It is impossible to tell exactly which species, but they show aggressive behaviors similar to M. rosenbergii. FYI, M. rosenbergii get very large and if you have multiple males, the dominate may kill off all of the others. They are also known to be very aggressive towards fish and can grow quite large.

Not all Macrobrachium shrimp are aggressive. Many are very peaceful and can
be kept with peaceful fish. I recommend searching the species page at http://www.petshrimp.com/ for some information on peaceful species. There is also some information in the forums on the more aggressive Macro shrimp species (but you need a forum membership to fully utilize the search feature).
Thanks for your info Im going to check it out. Like I said so far they seem to get along fine with my fish but if a fish does get to close they do take a swipe at them. Luckily my tank is big enough and their is plenty of room for all them to hang out at.
 

pixl8r

MacroShrimpBreeder
May 11, 2007
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Utah
I've been breeding various Macrobrachium species for a while now. They all display interesting behaviours that dwarf shrimp lack, hence my fasination with them. Even a 65G tank can be dominated by a single alpha male M. rosenbergii. Given the right environment and food, they can grow to over a foot long (not including their claws). I hope that you've got another species of Macros there.
 

Snow1576

AC Members
Oct 23, 2007
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New York
I've been breeding various Macrobrachium species for a while now. They all display interesting behaviours that dwarf shrimp lack, hence my fasination with them. Even a 65G tank can be dominated by a single alpha male M. rosenbergii. Given the right environment and food, they can grow to over a foot long (not including their claws). I hope that you've got another species of Macros there.
I hope they are different to! A foot long? :eek:

Im going to take a couple of shots of them right now and post them on here and see if you can tell.
 

Snow1576

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Here are some shots that actually came out clear..





 
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pixl8r

MacroShrimpBreeder
May 11, 2007
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Utah
I'm about 90% sure that they are not M. rosenbergii. While the young resenbergii shrimp are very translucent, they do tend to have a slight blue hue in their tails, which deepens as they age, and a tint in their claws.

FYI, Macrobrachium shrimp have some common characteristics. They tend to be territorial, particularly among the males. One male shrimp will become the dominate or alpha male. He will develop the largest claws/body and typically has the most color for a male. A male tries to keep as many females in his territory as possible and actively courts females just before they become fertile. The male will hold his claws out wide and walk around the female, and chase any other male that gets close.

Watch your shrimp. If they develop color as they age check this page for possible species matches: http://www.shrimpcrabsandcrayfish.co.uk/Shrimp.htm?Longarm.htm~mainFrame

There are many undefined species of Macrobrachium shrimp so 'Whisker Shrimp' could very well be the generic Macrobrachium sp. (undefined species).
 

Snow1576

AC Members
Oct 23, 2007
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Great and thanks a lot for the info. I cant find any information on these guys such as determening male from female, sensitivity to what, breeding and so on. I went to that site petshrimp.com but not much about them and plus I couldnt register to ask.
 
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