Puerto Rican shrimp and snails
- Thread starter Cuvier
- Start date
5 or 5.5-gallon tank simulating a shallow pool in a NE Puerto Rican stream -- passable biotope except for the caged lily.
Micratya poeyi on sponge filter:
Small Atyids on nerite shell, with Atya scabra visible further back:
From another tank (African Atya from online source):
- Fauna: several small Atyids (Potimirim sp., Micratya poeyi), juvenile Atya scabra, Sicydium goby, Puerto Rican nerite (Clypeolum punctulata), MTS (from an introduced population in Puerto Rico)
- Flora: unidentified Puerto Rican moss, Nymphea (in plastic cube), leaf-litter
Micratya poeyi on sponge filter:
Small Atyids on nerite shell, with Atya scabra visible further back:
From another tank (African Atya from online source):
outstanding! thanks for these valuable posts on the shrimp. I have been keeping atyoida pilipes and have just fallen in love with them
Common! i am from Puerto Rico i had been visiting in rivers since i am a kid... and no body ever told me that there are shrimps suitable for a tank in those same rivers... i would love to know in what rivers they can be found, no i dont want to capture them, i would love to see them in wild life... btw... i also live near a Huge brackish water system where had been found a lot of crab species that hobbyist keep in their tanks... but i am xtremely concious and i will never put something wildcought in mu tank nature is to fragile in Puerto Rico due to over construction a pollution
An especially good place is El Yunque, but shrimp can be found in pretty much any rivers or streams that flow unobstructed to the ocean (because their larvae require saltwater to survive, they won't be found upstream of large dams or artificial lakes). Streams that have been artificially channelized with concrete or pipes and those which have lots of introduced fish or chemical pollution are also poor habitat.
The upstream migration ability of some of these species is amazing -- I found Atya and Xiphocaris inland to the Cordillera Central, in Maricao and elsewhere. Both adults and juveniles on their return migration back upstream been known to surmount waterfalls by climbing up steep rock faces or even scrabbling around out of water.
By day, many shrimp will take refuge amongst submerged vegetation or beneath rocks, which can make them difficult to see from shore. However, schools of yellow-nosed Xiphocaris (salpiche) and foraging Macrobrachium will often be swimming or walking in plain sight. Filter-feeding Atya will often congregate on stones in areas of good flow.
At night, a flashlight beam shone into shallow water will often reveal glittering pinpricks of reddish light -- reflective eyes (e.g. see here).
It's sad to hear about the introduced crabs, by the way. Do you know what kind they are?
I did not explain myself right sorry... i ment that certain species that hobbyist in the USA an UK tend to kept as pets are indegenous wildlife in PR. Feedlers crabs i think they call them in the hobby and i know for sure that there a few more species , i am not into invertebrates, so i dont know their names. i live near a upstream system in the west area of the island not far from Maricao, 30 minutes drive from maricao. Is shameful for me as a puerto rican living 2 minutes from a huge bio system not to know that delicate wildlife co exist with me. i think that puerto ricans give for granted our resources... and the new local governement just want to destroy a lot of nature just to build high end tourist compounds. they even want to build in the state owned territories near the YUNQUE!!! i am a finance student and i will lve to see an economy recovery in my island but i also will love to se the nature in my island for the rest of my life.
