Great New Specie of Pinto, with beautiful color on the back and head, please visit our website at www.aj-aqua.com.

The macrobrachium group of shrimp are characterised by the extreme enlargement of the second pair of pereiopods especially prominent in the males.

They will tolerate a wide range of conditions as they are found in water from salty to full fresh but the variants I currently have seem to prefer a more neutral environment ph around 7, Gh 2-3, tds around 100 for fresh water variants temperature can vary greatly as well. Over summer they survived in tanks above 28 degrees for 2 weeks straight. The first Australinese were caught in water that was about 10 degrees, but they seem to prefer it from 20 to 28 degrees. Their natural environment should be considered, as the tropical guys will like warmer water than guys from the south. There are also brackish and salt water variants to be explored at a later date.

They will eat most foods from peas, oats to commercial shrimp foods, algae wafers etc. Their natural diet varies depending on species from veg based to meatier diets, so keep this in mind when choosing foods for them. They are an intelligent and very inquisitive shrimp that is generally aggressive by nature, so housing them with other tank mates is risky at best. They will happily catch and eat snails, fish, other shrimp etc. They will regrow claws and limbs fairly quickly if they fight and lose a limb. I have the Australinese up to 5 generations tank bred without too many issues. Occasionally one will get in a bad mood and can easily wipe out everyone else in the tank in a few hours. This happened to me with a colony of Bullatum when a female went off and killed a big male and 2 other females overnight. Pay attention to how you setup the tank, and where possible a backup colony is helpful if you want to breed these guys.

This guy was toppled as Alpha and lost his long arms; they are starting to regrow after a couple of days.

The best setup will give them plenty of personal space with caves to hide in and plants to perch on. Try to break up the line of sight so they can keep away from each other to reduce fights and death, especially after moulting. They like to dig to look for food, so some sandy areas as well as finer gravel will keep them happy. Shrimp soil probably wouldn’t be great with them because of the digging.

When selecting a tank keep in mind the size of the adults as they can vary from the very small, like Latidactylus where the adults reach about 5cm total length, to the Rosenbergi & Spinipes that can reach 45cm. They will become stressed if another shrimp comes within claw reach so a minimum of 2-3 body lengths separation per shrimp of floor space is essential to reduce aggression. Some variants are more nocturnal and only come out when the tank isn’t lit. The Bullatum are a good example of this, if they have plenty of cover they will only come out at night. Others, like the Australinese, are more outgoing and rarely hide. Each variant seems to have different sized and shaped claws depending on their preferred food source, from a smaller delicate claw in the Tolmerum:

To the larger crushing claws of the Australinese:

Or the ridiculously oversized claw of the Jardini:

Or a long set of tweezers on the Bullatum:

As long as you can keep the adults happy, breeding isn’t difficult. In the ones that have live young, mating occurs the same as other shrimp around the time of moulting. Gestation varies, but usually takes around 35-40 days. The live born young grow very fast if they have a good supply of food. The parents generally leave the bubs alone but can be removed if you want to ensure maximum survival. The young are generally clear with some patterning to allow them to hide from predators. The babies will eat a varied diet, the same as adults. They will require finer foods for a few weeks until they can tackle more normal foods.

Australinese bub:

Australinese bub:

Berried Tolmerum (larval eggs):

Berried Australinese (normal eggs):

Berried Jardini (normal eggs):

Jardini Bub:

Jardini Bub:

Baby Spinipes one of the more interesting bubs I have:

A few of the variants, like the Spinipes, are larval breeders, so require more specialist care to raise the young through the stages from larvae to actual shrimp. This can be done similar to raising our other larval breeding natives like riffle shrimp (Australataya Striolata), if you want a challenge.

Overall they are a very rewarding shrimp to keep if you have the space for them. They reward you with their antics, and being able to observe all the things you wish you could see the little guys doing is very educational. I have kept these guys now for nearly 3 years and gone from 1 variant to 5; and looking for more to study, as each type is similar in the way they look, but they all are very different in behaviour. Some hide, some are very outgoing, and others are constantly cranky while their mate is very laidback. They are almost human in the way that each has its own personality, but each is a closet serial killer just waiting for the right time to go off.

Document Link: Keeping Macrobrachium in Aquariums.docx

Glass Shrimp:

Paratya from Australia

By: Dr. Benjamin Mos

Paratya are probably one of the most under-rated shrimp in Australia.The common names 'glass shrimp', 'ghost shrimp' and 'clear shrimp' don't do this group of shrimp justice. Nor does their widespread use as live food. This species complex (a group of closely related species that are currently described as a single species) is very suited to life in aquaria, tough, are good algae eaters, wide spread and easily collected, and yet breeding them will provide a challenge for the most hardcore of shrimp keepers.

Why are Paratya so awesome?

In a word, potential. Paratya have a huge amount of potential for breeding new variations, as algae eaters in aquascapes, as tough shrimp for beginners, as a brackish water specialist for biotopes, and much more.

Paratya come in a variety of colours (blue, green, clear, black, orange and even full red individuals) and patterns (dorsal stripes, 'tiger-stripe' patterns, speckles and blotches). There is very little known about whether their colouration can be controlled by diet, stress or other environmental factors, or whether line breeding could result in fixed colour variants, so there is great potential for breeders to work on fixing colours/patterns.

Current status of the taxonomy of Australian Paratya

The genus Paratya in Australia has an interesting taxonomic history. Paratya australiensis was first described by Kemp in 1917. In 1953, Riek proposed several new species and sub-species of Paratya. However in 1979, Williams and Smith reviewed the genus and declared all the Paratya from the east coast of Australia were a single species, P. australiensis. Recent phylogenetic analysis (comparisons of the DNA from individuals from different locations) suggests P. australiensis is probably a group of closely related species - a species complex (Baker et al., 2004; Cook et al., 2006; 2007; Hughes et al., 2003; Hurwood et al., 2003). Currently, Australian taxonomists are working to unravel the Australian Paratya species complex. It appears the 'species' we call P. australiensis will likely be broken up into between 9 and 11 new species. This work may also shed light on the relationships among Australian Paratya and Paratya found elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific. The fact that Paratya from Australia are a species complex has important implications for hobbyists in terms of breeding, hybridization and collecting, and these issues will be examined in detail later in this article.

Where are Paratya found?

Species from the genus Paratya are not limited to Australia. They are found through-out the western Pacific, with "a disjunct northern range in the North Pacific (Japan, Korea, Ryukyu Islands, Siberia) and South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Lord Howe, Norfolk Island)" (Page et al. 2005). The Paratya species from New Caledonia (see Choy & Marquet, 2002) are very attractively coloured and appear in the hobby (see link below). Whilst this article focuses on the Paratya from Australia, the information on captive husbandry and breeding should be useful for species collected and kept elsewhere.

In Australia, Paratya are found all along the east coast of Australia, from the Atherton Tablelands near Cairns in the north to the east coast of Tasmania. They are also found further inland, through the Murray-Darling system.

Approximate distribution of Paratya species in Australia

In these areas, Paratya are found in creeks, rivers and estuaries, but also frequently in static water, such as dams. Juveniles and adults from south-eastern Australia are very tolerant of brackish water up to a salinity of around nearly full seawater (33ppt, Walsh and Mitchell, 1995). However, juveniles and adults also live quite happily (and breed) in freshwater 10's or 100's of kilometres from the nearest ocean (e.g. Hancock, 1998). This leaves almost infinite scope for using Paratya in biotope aquariums, from brackish tanks with sand, nerites and plants all the way through to freshwater tanks with leaf litter and rocks, but no plants.

Some freshwater habitat pictures from the Mid North Coast of New South Wales

Paratya do not appear in the western half of Australia, and 'glass shrimp' caught on the west coast near Perth are likely to be a entirely different shrimp, Palaemonetes australis, although there have been reports of an introduction of Caridina indistincta from eastern Australia into several rivers near Perth (see link below). This is a good reminder why it is important never to release any aquarium organism, including shrimp, into the wild.

http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/Documents/biosecurity/freshwater_pest_fact_sheet_indistinct_river_shrimp.pdf

Also see paper by Harris et al. 2017

http://projectpenguin.com/timcv/Harrisetal2017BiolInv.pdf

How do I know if I have Paratya?

I've realised whilst researching for this article that identification of Australian 'glass shrimp' is no where near as straight forward as what I had initially thought. Paratya can be easily confused with other native shrimp kept in aquaria, and it doesn't help that they have been mistakenly called 'cherry shrimp' in the past.

Two types of shrimp that are really easy to confuse with Paratya are juvenile Macrobrachium spp. and Caridina, particularly species from a group of shrimp currently known as Caridina indistincta. Caridina and Macrobrachium species are found alongside Paratya in the same habitats. In NSW Australia, you will often catch all three types at once!

How to tell Paratya apart from Macrobrachium?

Many of the pictures on the internet which are labelled Paratya are actually Macrobrachium spp., including adults which are at least three times larger than any reported size for Paratya. The mistake is easy to spot if you know what to look for.

To rule out if your shrimp is a juvenile macro, here is what to look for.

If it has 'arms', its a Macro!

Paratya have 10 legs roughly the same length

Macrobrachium spp. have 8 legs roughly the same length and 2 legs much longer (in technical terms, the second pair of pereiopods are very enlarged). In juvenile Macrobrachium, the longer legs are clear rather than black, but are still obviously longer.

How to tell Paratya apart from Caridina?  

NOTE: If you have collected your shrimp from Victoria or South Australia, they are almost certainly one of the Paratya species and not a Caridina. The number of species of Caridina shrimp generally decrease from northern to southern Australia, and have not been found south of around the Shoalhaven River in New South Wales. If do you find a Caridina south of this region, please contact me as I'd be very interested to see it!

Once you've seen Paratya alongside many of the shrimp from the genus Caridina, they are fairly easy to tell apart given differences in their body shape and size, size of the rostrum, egg size, and sometimes coloration and patterning on the body.

For example, one of the closest shrimp in looks to Paratya is Caridina longirostris, but their small Australian distribution in northern Queensland means they aren't likely to be collected by most people and they aren't widespread in the hobby. Note that there is also a species of Caridina (undescribed) from the Northern Territory that looks almost identical to Caridina longirostris - the Darwin Algae Eater (DAE) or Caridina sp. NT nilotica. This species is more widespread in the hobby because it is farmed in the NT and made available to the bobby via a well known supplier.

Caridina longirostris - Note the large body size, very small green eggs, long rostrum and red striations. Together these characteristics can help differentiate this species from Paratya without the need to examine specimens under the microscope.

If you want to be doubly sure about what shrimp you have, then use the method below for distinguishing Paratya apart from any Caridina.  

According to the taxonomic key by Choy and Horwitz (1995), there are two characteristics that distinguish 'P. australiensis' from all Australian Caridina shrimp; the presence of supra-orbital spines and the presence of exopods on all the pereiopods.

Now you are thinking 'what the hell does that mean?' and 'where the hell can I find those things on the shrimp?'

1. Supraorbital basically means 'behind the eyes'. So supraorbital spines are spines that are found behind the eyes. Paratya are the only small freshwater Australian shrimp that have these spines (Choy and Horwitz, 1995; Williams and Smith, 1979), so if your shrimp have these, well done you have a solid ID. All species of Caridina, including indistincta, do not have supraorbital spines.

Here is what the supraorbital spines look like.

Top view

2. Like all shrimp, Paratya have five pairs of legs (10 in total), plus some maxillipeds (arms) around the mouth to assist when feeding. The legs are called pereiopods and are used for walking around and picking up food, ect.

Exopods are basically little 'legs' that are attached to the pereiopods (or the main legs).

Paratya have an exopod on every pereiopod (Williams and Smith, 1979). In C. indistincta and other Caridina, exopods are absent or, in rare cases, found only on the first pair of pereiopods.

In the picture below, red is the exopods, blue is the pereiopods. Yellow is the third pair of maxillipeds (there are two pairs closer to the mouth that cant be seen here). You'll also notice that the front two pairs of pereiopods have chelae ('fingers' or 'pincers'). These are used during feeding to grab food. In fact, Paratya have been recorded using these to filter-feed like the Australian riffle shrimp, Australatya striolata (Gemmell, 1978).

And just to further confirm that the pictures are of a Paratya sp..

Here is the rostrum (nose). There are 9-36 spines on the dorsal (top) side of the rostrum and 0-11 on the ventral (bottom) side of the rostrum for 'P. australiensis'. The one in the pic has 30 dorsal and 11 ventral (yes, I counted them!). The number of spines is so variable because the number of spines increases as they grow (Williams and Smith,1979). C. indinstincta has only up to 8 spines on the ventral side of the rostrum (Riek, 1953).

And heres some pictures of the tail just because the colours look awesome.Notice there are both red and blue coloured spots.

Note also that the presence/absence of spines on and around the tail can be used to differentiate between different shrimp, particularly shrimp in the genus Caridina.

One thing you will have no doubt noticed is that both the supraorbital spines and the exopods are pretty small. The above pics were of a 35mm female, which is pretty much as big as 'P. australiensis' get (William and Smith, 1979), under a dissecting microscope (approx. 10 - 20 times zoom), and these features are still small. I could only just see the supraorbital spines with the naked eye in the right light at the right angle, and the exopods appeared only as a blur of movement above the legs. The point is that you will need some source of magnification to view these features. 

Unfortunately not many people have access to a laboratory spec dissecting microscope, but luckily you don't need to! A lot of the point and shoot cameras available today have built in macro modes. Simply take a picture of your shrimp using the macro mode and zoom in on the photo if you need to. I often use my point-and-shoot camera in the field for getting quick IDs of shrimp, instead of using a portable dissecting microscope.

Here is one such photo - test yourself, is this a Paratya? (Answer at the end).

How to keep Paratya in aquaria?

So now you know you have Paratya. Now how should you go about keeping them?

The answer is easily. Paratya are hardy aquarium inhabitants,  and tolerate a wide variety of pH, TDS and GH/KH, and some even tolerate high salinity - perfect for those with brackish set-ups. I've successfully kept Paratya in a variety of tanks including  planted aquascapes with soft, acidic water conditions to a tank with small African cichlids with hard, high pH water conditions. In my experience, Paratya are peaceful and can be housed alongside pretty much any shrimp. Likewise they are happy alongside fish that are too small to consume them. Like most freshwater shrimp, Paratya live to around two years of age (Hancock and Bunn, 1997; Williams, 1977; Williams and Smith, 1979).

In general, the below water parameters should keep your Paratya happy and healthy.

Temperature: optimal 20-26*C, but will tolerate extremes 8-30*C in the wild.

Salinity: 0 - 33 ppt (nearly full seawater). Note Paratya is not found in brackish water in Queensland, but is found from 0- 33 ppt salinity in estuaries in Victoria (Kefford et al., 2004; Walsh and Mitchell, 1995).

pH: optimal at around 7.0 but handles 6.0 - 8.2.

TDS: not important as long as extremes are avoided

GH/KH: not important as long as extremes are avoided

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: Optimally as low as possible

Feeding Paratya is relatively straight forward as well. They will eat anything that any other shrimp eats, and additionally are good algae eaters. In the wild they have been recorded feeding on biofilms** (Burns and Walker, 2000; Moulton et al., 2012), particularly those that form on leaves (Schulze and Walker, 1997) and on aquatic freshwater plants, like Myriophyllum salsugineum (Piola et al., 2008). In fact, they have been kept alive and bred in the laboratory by being fed on pieces of Elodea that were covered by algae dominated biofilms (Hancock, 1998). Interestingly, these are one of the few shrimp to eat cyanobacteria (Burns and Walker, 2000; Piola et al., 2008), more commonly known as the dreaded Blue Green Algae (BGA), but I'm unaware of any instances where these have been used successfully to treat BGA in aquariums. My opinion is that they would likely go for other easy-to-access foods prior to eating BGA, but they may be useful in preventing BGA out-breaks.

**Note: An informative thread on biofilms (what they are and how they form) can be found here:

How to breed Paratya?

Now comes the tricky part of keeping these shrimp.

In the wild, breeding occurs in the warmer spring and summer months, and stops over winter (Hancock and Bunn, 1997; Richardson and Cook, 2006; Richardson et al., 2004; Williams and Smith, 1979). Breeding seems to be triggered by warmer temperatures and females will not become berried at low temperatures or after a temperature drop. Some females will breed twice within a season (Hancock and Bunn, 1997). It is certainly possible that breeding could occur in aquaria year round.

There is one important tip I can offer for shrimp keepers thinking of breeding these guys that could mean the difference between success and failure. In fact, this may apply to most, if not all, Australian native shrimp.

If you can, obtain 'headwater' shrimp to breed from.

What I mean by this is, try to collect your adults from areas that are well away from estuaries, as far inland as possible and better yet, above a natural block to upstream migration (like a waterfall). The reason for this is that shrimp collected from these areas will have a natural tendency to produce large eggs (Cook et al., 2007; Fawcett et al., 2010; Hancock, 1998; Hancock et al., 1998; Walsh, 1993). Why? Because larvae in these areas have to develop quickly before they are washed away downstream (e.g. over a waterfall).

Why are large eggs important for breeding in aquariums?

Because it means that:

• larvae from headwater adults are more likely to develop completely in freshwater
• larvae from headwater adults are likely to develop quickly before settling onto the substrate and feeding like adults. In contrast, low-land shrimp have longer larval stages and may need to be raised in brackish water to develop properly. This is especially true for larvae from adults found in brackish water.
• Headwater adults may even be a different species from lowland shrimp, and if so, will be adapted to living in pure freshwater and may even have direct-developing larvae (i.e. larvae that hatch out looking like mini adults instead of larvae that develop through a series of stages in the water column before settling onto the bottom as juveniles).

Therefore larvae from 'headwater' adults will be far easier to raise than larvae from adults collected from low-land areas. More in depth analysis of the topic of egg size in lowland and headwater shrimp can be found in Cook et al. (2007), Fawcett et al., (2010), Hancock (1998), Hancock et al.(1998) and Walsh (1993) but this literature is probably too in depth for the average aquarist.

Here are some examples of the difference that having headwater shrimp makes to breeding them:

Hancock (1998) used the following method to culture headwater 'P. australiensis':

• Berried females were collected from freshwater creeks and kept at 11, 18 and 21*C. Females were fed Elodea.
• Eggs kept at 11*C took 60 days to hatch, whilst those at 18 -21*C took 20-25 days.
• Once the eggs hatched, the larvae were fed with algae scraped from the walls of an aquarium kept outside. Water changes were made every two days (no filter mentioned).
• All the larvae kept at 11*C died, whilst those at 18 and 21*C developed normally.
• Larvae took between 15 and 28 days to develop before settling onto the bottom.

In contrast, Walsh 1993 used the following method to grow 'P. australiensis' collected from brackish estuaries:

• Adults were collected from 0.5 - 1.5 ppt salinity.
• Upon hatching, seawater was added to boost the salinity to 15ppt (within one hour). Larvae kept at salinity below 5ppt didn't survive. Survival was highest at 15ppt. Larvae hatched at night on approximately the 25th day from the females being berried.
• Larvae swam near the bottom with their tails pointing upwards
• Water was changed every 2-3 days
• Larvae were fed with newly hatched Artemia (Baby Brine Shrimp or BBS).
• Larval development took 28-45 days, by which time the larvae reach 4-5mm
• The larvae then settled onto the bottom and began feeding like adults.

Other authors (e.g. Hancock and Bunn, 1997) fed larvae using FPOM (Fine Particulate Organic Matter) which is organic matter less than 1mm in diameter. This ranges from microalgae and diatoms to decomposing plants, leaves and wood. With this in mind, powdered algae, like Spirulina, or finely ground shrimp food may make the perfect larval food.

There are also multiple online reports of successful breeding of P. australiensis in aquariums. However there is little variation in the methods used from those I have summarised above and often less detail, so I won't repeat them here.

One final thing with regards to breeding. It is very likely that many of the Paratya 'species' can interbreed. In fact a scientific paper recently published in the journal 'Journal of Heredity' by Wilson et al. (2016) describes such an event occurring in the wild due to an introduction of one Paratya type into a stream where they did not naturally occur.

This highlights the need for aquarists to be responsible with the shrimp they keep. Do not release any shrimp into the wild, even if you collected the shrimp from the same location previously.

I encourage everyone to try keeping and breeding these shrimp. They really deserve to be more highly considered than only as a live food.

Best of luck with your shrimp endeavors.

References:

Baker, A. M., Hughes, J. M., Dean, J. C., & Bunn, S. E. (2004). Mitochondrial DNA reveals phylogenetic structuring and cryptic diversity in Australian freshwater macroinvertebrate assemblages. Marine and Freshwater Research, 55(6), 629-640.

Burns, A., & Walker, K. F. (2000). Biofilms as food for decapods (Atyidae, Palaemonidae) in the River Murray, South Australia. Hydrobiologia, 437(1-3), 83-90.

Cook, B. D., Baker, A. M., Page, T. J., Grant, S. C., Fawcett, J. H., Hurwood, D. A., & Hughes, J. M. (2006). Biogeographic history of an Australian freshwater shrimp, Paratya australiensis (Atyidae): the role life history transition in phylogeographic diversification. Molecular Ecology, 15(4), 1083-1093.

Cook, B. D., Bunn, S. E., & Hughes, J. M. (2007). A comparative analysis of population structuring and genetic diversity in sympatric lineages of freshwater shrimp (Atyidae: Paratya): concerted or independent responses to hydrographic factors?. Freshwater Biology, 52(11), 2156-2171.

Fawcett, J. H., Hurwood, D. A., & Hughes, J. M. (2010). Consequences of a translocation between two divergent lineages of the Paratya australiensis (Decapoda: Atyidae) complex: reproductive success and relative fitness. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 29(3), 1170-1180.

Gemmell, P., 1978. Feeding habits and structure of the gut of the Australian freshwater prawn Paratya australiensis Kemp (Crustacea: Caridea, Atyidae). Proc. linn. Soc. N.S.W. 103: 209–216.

Hancock, M. A. (1998). The relationship between egg size and embryonic and larval development in the freshwater shrimp Paratya australiensis Kemp (Decapoda: Atyidae). Freshwater Biology, 39(4), 715-723.

Hancock, M. A., & Bunn, S. E. (1997). Population dynamics and life history of Paratya australiensis Kemp, 1917 (Decapoda: Atyidae) in upland rainforest streams, south-eastern Queensland, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research, 48(4), 361-369.

Hancock, M. A., Hughes, J. M., & Bunn, S. E. (1998). Influence of genetic and environmental factors on egg and clutch sizes among populations of Paratya australiensis Kemp (Decapoda: Atyidae) in upland rainforest streams, south-east Queensland. Oecologia, 115(4), 483-491.

Hughes, J., Goudkamp, K., Hurwood, D., Hancock, M., & Bunn, S. (2003). Translocation causes extinction of a local population of the freshwater shrimp Paratya australiensis. Conservation Biology, 17(4), 1007-1012.

Hurwood, D. A., Hughes, J. M., Bunn, S. E., & Cleary, C. (2003). Population structure in the freshwater shrimp (Paratya australiensis) inferred from allozymes and mitochondrial DNA. Heredity, 90(1), 64-70.

Kefford, B. J., Dalton, A., Palmer, C. G., & Nugegoda, D. (2004). The salinity tolerance of eggs and hatchlings of selected aquatic macroinvertebrates in south-east Australia and South Africa. Hydrobiologia, 517(1-3), 179-192.

Moulton, T. P., Souza, M. L., Brito, E. F., Braga, M. R. A., & Bunn, S. E. (2012). Strong interactions of Paratya australiensis (Decapoda: Atyidae) on periphyton in an Australian subtropical stream. Marine and Freshwater Research, 63(9), 834-844.

Page, T., Baker, A., Cook, B., & Hughes, J. (2005). Historical Transoceanic Dispersal of a Freshwater Shrimp: The Colonization of the South Pacific by the Genus Paratya (Atyidae). Journal of Biogeography, 32(4), 581-593. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3566210

Piola, R. F., Suthers, I. M., & Rissik, D. (2008). Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis indicates freshwater shrimp Paratya australiensis Kemp, 1917 (Atyidae) assimilate cyanobacterial accumulations. Hydrobiologia, 608(1), 121-132.

Richardson, A. J., & Cook, R. A. (2006). Habitat use by caridean shrimps in lowland rivers. Marine and freshwater research, 57(7), 695-701.

Richardson, A. J., Growns, J. E., & Cook, R. A. (2004). Distribution and life history of caridean shrimps in regulated lowland rivers in southern Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research, 55(3), 295-308.

Riek, E. F. (1953). The Australian freshwater prawns of the family Atyidae. Records of the Australian museum, 23(3), 111-121.

Schulze, D. J., & Walker, K. F. (1997). Riparian eucalypts and willows and their significance for aquatic invertebrates in the River Murray, South Australia. Regulated Rivers: Research & Management, 13(6), 557-577.

Walsh, C. J. (1993). Larval development of Paratya australiensis Kemp, 1917 (Decapoda: Caridea: Atyidae), reared in the laboratory, with comparisons of fecundity and egg and larval size between estuarine and riverine environments. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 456-480.

Walsh, C. J., & Mitchell, B. D. (1995). The Freshwater shrimp Paratya australiensis (Kemp, 1917)(Decapoda: Atyidae) in estuaries of south-western Victoria, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research, 46(6), 959-965.

Williams, W. D. (1977). Some aspects of the ecology of Paratya australiensis (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae). Marine and Freshwater Research, 28(4), 403-415.

Williams, W. D., & Smith, M. J. (1979). A taxonomic revision of Australian species of Paratya (Crustacea: Atyidae). Marine and Freshwater Research, 30(6), 815-832.

Wilson, J. D., Schmidt, D. J., & Hughes, J. M. (2016). Movement of a Hybrid Zone Between Lineages of the Australian Glass Shrimp (Paratya australiensis). Journal of Heredity, 107(5), 413-422.

Further Reading:

Bool, J. D., Witcomb, K., Kydd, E., & Brown, C. (2011). Learned recognition and avoidance of invasive mosquitofish by the shrimp, Paratya australiensis. Marine and Freshwater Research, 62(10), 1230-1236.

Page, T. J., von Rintelen, K., & Hughes, J. M. (2007). Phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of subterranean and surface genera of Australian Atyidae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) inferred with mitochondrial DNA. Invertebrate Systematics, 21(2), 137-145.

Smith, M. J., & Williams, W. D. (1980). Infraspecific variations within the Atyidae: a study of morphological variation within a population of Paratya australiensis (Crustacea: Decapoda). Marine and Freshwater Research, 31(3), 397-407.

Answer to 'Is this a Paratya'? - No. This specimen does not have supra-orbital spines, and is in fact a species of Caridina, most likely in the nilotica complex.

In this short article I will attempt to dispel these fears by a little knowledge about these wonderful creatures.

Ostracoda Podocopida (Seed Shrimp) belong to the major group Crustacea minor group Ostracoda order Podocopida this order comprises terrestrial, marine and freshwater seed shrimp. they can be described as small crustaceans typically round or egg shaped, varying in size from 0.2 to 1mm .

The body of a seed shrimp is encased in a calcified shell consisting of two parts, superficially resembling the shell of a clam The body consists of a head and thorax. unlike many other crustaceans the body is not clearly divided into segments. The head is the largest part of the body and bears most of the animal's appendages, two pairs of well developed antennae, used for swimming and feeding, a pair of mandibles and two pairs of maxillae (mouthparts) Seed Shrimp have no gills instead they take in oxygen through plates on the surface of their shells.

Seed Shrimp can be found worldwide but mainly in Africa and Australia. Australian Seed Shrimp occur in fresh to hyper saline waters from permanent to temporary waterways. They are mostly free living and are often found in or just below the substrate.

Seed Shrimp are "Filter Feeders" using their antennae to filter and search for their food. They live on organic detritus and algae. Seed Shrimp form part of the food chain for other invertebrates and juvenile fish.

In actual fact Seed Shrimp are a benefit to your aquarium , because of their small size and eating habits they are one of nature's best clean up crews for shrimp keepers aquariums. Many people encourage them to thrive in their tanks in the true belief that they are an indicator that their tank and water parameters are healthy.

My personal experience with these fascinating little creatures is that they seem to be self regulating and will disappear from my tank by themselves only to reappear at a later date. I always look forward to their return.

I hope that this short article will help those who fear them to relax a little and enjoy their company Wayne

REF Wikipedia - Ostracod

www.mdfre.org.au identification and ecology of Australian Freshwater Invertebrates.

Scientific name: Neocaridina davidi

Origin: Taiwan

Max size: 2.5 cm

Lifespan: 1-2 years

PH: 6.5 - 8.0

Temperature: 18 - 28°C, Recommended 23°C

Description

Cherry Shrimps are peaceful shrimp which are easy to care for if they have clean and stable water conditions. They are good tank cleaners and will eat algae off your tanks which make them very useful! Cherry Shrimps should be kept alone or with small fishes that are non-predatorial as big fishes would eat them, For Example Neons. They also should not be kept with other variants of cherry shrimp or else they will interbreed, and their offsprings will not be of good quality. However, they can live with other species of shrimp, like the Crystal Red Shrimp, as they are of different species, and there will not breed together.

Food and Diet

Cherry Shrimps will need a balanced diet containing of protein and minerals. They should be fed vegetables, either raw or blanched in boiling water for a few seconds, high-protein and calcium foods, and special shrimp foods which are designed for shrimps. They will also eat algae as a source of food. Cherry shrimps, like all other shrimps should not be fed foods which contain high in copper, as copper can kill shrimps.

Hikari Shrimp Cuisine:

Shrimps eating banana:

Sexing

Sexing of the cherry shrimp may not be determined until they are nearly old enough to breed. Females are bigger, will have a darker colour, a wider abdomen and will grow a saddle behind her head when she is ready to breed. Males are mainly smaller and less colourful and of course will not grow a saddle.

Female:

Male:

Breeding

Breeding cherry shrimp is very easy. As long as the water parameters are stable, and there are both males and females which are ready to breed in the tank. Once the female grows a saddle, the female will release hormones into the tank which will attract males. A male will eventually mate with her and she will have eggs to carry, (also known as being berried). After 3+ weeks, baby shrimp, also known as shrimplets, will appear in the tank as tiny replicas of their parents. A sponge will be needed to cover the intake of the filter so that baby shrimp will not get sucked in, this also provides a good source of bacteria for shrimps to eat.

Berried Shrimp:

Sponge over filter:

Dangers and Extra Notes

• Can be killed by copper, like any other shrimp.

• Juveniles may/will be killed by Pest and Parasites if not treated (A thread can be found in the SKF Library by Dean)

• Can be killed by overdose, such as an overdose of “no-planaria†Which is used to kill Planaria.

• Juveniles can be killed by the filter suction.

• It is important to acclimatise shrimps properly, when shrimps are moving from one tank to another

• You should always have some moss for your shrimps, as it provides food

• You should change/top up about 10-20% of the water fortnightly.

• Filter maintenance should be done around twice a year

• Shrimp love live plants, also they will look nice in your tank

• If keeping two species in the same tank, make sure BOTH species satisfy the conditions.

• Have a few places for the shrimps to hide

Variants

There are many colourations of the cherry shrimp which are kept in Australia.

(For Pictures please refer to the SKF library Cherry Shrimp ID by Nogi)

• Var. Red

• Var. Sunkist

• Var. Pumpkin

• Var. Chocolate(Delight)

• Var. Black

• Var. Yellow

• Var. Blue

Shield Shrimp/Tadpole Shrimp

I kept some of these crustaceans about 15 years ago! I am talking about the oldest surviving crustacean in the word with fossils found dating over 350 "million" years ago, 150 million years before the dinosaurs roamed the earth.

ANY IDEA YET?

Ok more clues, They belong to the class called "Branchiopods" Order " Notostraca" Family "Triopsidae" No I am not swearing at you!

More clue's There are two genera, of these strange little shrimp world wide, Triops and lepidurus both genra are considered living fossils, having not changed significantly in outward form since before the Triassic period.

Both genera are represented in Australia by a single species each, T. Australiensis and L.Apus Virdis Common names :- "Tadpole Shrimp /or Shield Shrimp".!!

The most prominent and easily recognizable feature is the dorsal carapace or shield which covers the majority of the animal.There are a pair of fixed eyes at the front of the shield and two small antennae . The body of the shrimp is long and segmented and carries up to 70 sets of small flattened legs. The last segment on the abdomen has two tails The size of both species in Australia range between 2 to 9 cm. With their broad carapace and long slender abdomen gives them an overall shape of a tadpole ,from which the name Tadpole Shrimp derives.

Triop Australiensis is only found in the north of Australia, both species can be found on the South east parts of the country with an overlap into north Victoria and L. apus virdis is found in the southern parts of the country. The two species can be easily distinguished with T. Australiensis having a smaller rounder carapace and a longer abdomen with L. Apus Virdus has a longer narrower carapace and a shorter thicker abdomen and an anal plate between the tails not found in the triops. However both species share the common names of tadpole shrimp or shield shrimp.

These little animals have a very short life span in the wild, it is estimated that they will live for about 10 to 14 days, or until their water source has dried up. In captivity they can live from 30 to 90 days depending on water conditions and temperature. In the Northern parts of Australia these strange little crustaceans literally explode out of the ground after heavy rains which create temporary pools and ponds for the shrimp to live in.

These little shrimp require male and female shrimp to mate. The female carries her eggs in a modified sack under her body the eggs are retained for a short period only after fertilization before being "laid" some larvae will develop directly without passing through metamorphosis while others will go into a period of suspended animation and will remain in this state berried under the mud on the bottom of a dried up pool until the next heavy rains, when they will hatch directly into fully formed tadpole shrimp.

These shrimp can be kept in captivity and a fairly easy to care for. All you need is a small aquarium or plastic viewing tank that will hold a minimum of three litres of pure water. They need a steady water temperature between 22-29 deg c they don't need a filter or an air pump. They do need " pure" Water, that is water that has been purified for human consumption ( not tap water) or RO water They will eat almost anything smaller than themselves but they are mainly filter feeders feeding on small microscopic animals in the sediment , they sometimes catch small water animals and can be seen grazing on some water plants Even cannibalism of recently molted fellows has been noted.

information sources :- Queensland Museum ,billabongbugs, Notostraca- Wikipedia .

“The final factor in the separation of the Ninja shrimp from serratirostris is based on the length of the stylocerite according to De Man’s works. This element varies depending on the populations of Caridina serratirostris and of Caridina celebensis, the distinction between the two species was questioned more than once.â€

Preferred conditions:

Mean conditions from two collection sites (Northern Territory, Aus):

pH ranges from 6.5 to 8 depending on rainfall and time of year.

GH: 6 to 25

KH: Not detectable at either collection site.

Temperature: 24 to 27°C, some areas get as warm as 29°C.

Size:

1.8 - 2.4cm

Males tend to be smaller like most Caridina species.

Description:

As the name suggests these guys are characterised by the Caridina typical body shape but with a “serra†serrati or rough/serrated “rostris†rostrum. “19 to 26 spikes from which a long segment that comprises 6 to 8 spikes behind the orbitsâ€.

The colouration of the carapace is extremely variable and can range from red/orange through to red, brown and black in some specimens with areas of white or cream colouration on darker coloured specimens.

Activity:

Best in larger groups. They prefer a lower lit hardscape aquarium, or well shaded by plants, as this emulates their natural habitat more closely than a well lit manicured one. They generally seek hides or at least nooks during times of higher light. They are best observed under wide leafed or well grouped plants.

Caridina serratirostris can be found in areas of higher water flow rates and their stocky build and short periopods and antennae are testament to this feature.

Life span:

Around 18 months. Similar to most other freshwater crustaceans of this size.

Feeding:

Omnivorous and opportunistic, with a strong vegetarian aspect.

Dimorphism:

The females are generally larger than the males showing better colouration. Holes in the inside of the third pair of pleopods can be noted with some serious inspection.

This species uses an indirect type of reproduction that comprises larval stages in salt/brackish water, however successful reproduction entirely in freshwater regularly occurs.

By Fishmosy (Dr. Benjamin Mos) and Northboy

Habitat and Water Conditions

Riffles are so named because they are found in riffles, shallow fast flowing sections of creeks. They occur in easterly flowing creeks from Northern Queensland down to Victoria, Australia. Two famous collecting areas are the Atherton Tablelands in QLD and Never Never Creek, near Bellingen NSW.

Riffles can grow to over 6cm, reports of 8cm is not uncommon. However, these shrimp change sex at around 3.5-4cm from males to females. If you want to breed these shrimp, ensure you have both size ranges.

Breeding

Breeding riffles is fairly easy. The entire lifecycle is carried out in freshwater. BBS or brine shrimp nauplii are a great conditioning food for adults. Eggs are carried by the female and hatch out as miniature adults. Shrimplets take the same food as adults, including brine shrimp nauplii and flake food, as well as grazing on algae/biofilm.

Food

One of the greatest attributes of these shrimp is watching them use their filter feeding feet to catch food items wafting in the current. They may even learn 'feeding time' and take up positions in the tank to grab food drifting by. Riffles also become less timid over time, and are often seen out and about in the aquarium.

Adults are also reported to feed on BBA and cyanobacteria (BGA).

General Notes

Riffles are adaptable to most aquarium conditions as long as extremes are avoided, but require highly oxygenated water, temperatures not exceeding 27 degrees C for long periods of time and are sensitive to phosphates and CO2. Stressed riffles will change colour to bright red or dark blue. However, their natural colouration is highly variable, greens to blues, black and white, and stripes, so colour changes aren't always indicative of problems. Riffles also seem to like hanging out on timber.

Warning: These shrimp can and do climb, so keep tight-fitting lids on your tanks.

You can keep riffles with fish as long as they can't fit in the fishes mouths, although the fish may hassle the shrimp. However, riffles can turn the tables and eat small fry.

Further Information

Riffle Shrimp from the Atherton Tablelands by Bob Kroll in AquariumKeeper Australia Vol 1, Iss 2 (Out of print)

Below is some water parameters from a creek where riffles are found on the Mid North Coast of NSW, Australia, near Coffs Harbour.

Time of year: Late Spring (Nov, 2012).

Water parameters were as follows:

Temp - 22.5*C

Ammonia - undetectable

Nitrite - undetectable

Nitrate Undetectable

pH 6.8-7.0

Hardness - KH below 10mg/L, - GH 20-40mg/L

Ca - less than 20mg/L

PO4 - undetectable

Other than temperature, these parameters were measured using a Hagen Nutrafin Master test kit.

Here are some pictures from the area.

This is a typical area where riffles can be found, if you are looking in the shallow pool at the bottom of the picture, you won't find them. Look for the riffles like mid photo (enlarged in the second pic), no matter how shallow it may appear, riffles should be there.

Male and female riffles often congregate in different areas. Here is an area where I found only females. Notice the width of the riffle and the presence of lots of habitat structure (rocks).

Here is a place that was dominated by males. Notice that there are very few points to access upstream areas. The males were quite dense directly beneath the overflows of the concrete river crossing. Up to 6 riffles under each rock was not uncommon. My theory is that males congregate at these 'choke points' to access females (for breeding) which travel through to access upstream areas. This point was 50m or so downstream of the female habitat. Alternatively females may seek out these areas at moulting time (I have found recently moulted females in these areas).

Another interesting point as to why riffles might not occur in shallow pools was because of the amount of eels in this creek. There was literally one per pool. The large pool above the creek crossing contained one that must have close to 1metre in length.

Finally another interesting factor I've found in finding riffles is that they seem to prefer the darker rocks (possibly granite, but I'm no geologist) indicated in this picture by blue dots, avoiding the lighter coloured rocks (red dots). In areas where this light coloured rock dominate, I have found no riffles at all, even if it seems like optimal habitat. Maybe it is a camoflague preference?

Hope you have found this interesting and informative. Best of luck with keeping your riffles.

Authors: Bob Kroll, Dr. Benjamin Mos

All the following information comes from personal observations, captive keeping and breeding.

Longirostris are wide spread and the most abundant Caridina species in FNQ, found from at least south of Tully to Cooktown, and no doubt beyond. They are confined to coastal streams. I have found them up to 300m altitude in some creeks. To get to this height they have had to climb 50m high water falls.

Habitat and Water Conditions

Longirostris occur in both large rivers and small streams. In large systems, they require shelter from predators (particularly fish). Dense Vallisneria beds are their preferred habitat and they are in large numbers in these areas. In small streams at higher elevations, there is no plant cover and they tend to be in places where there is low numbers on fish predators. For this reason they are the dominant species in these areas. They can also be found in small and large leaf litter beds. From personal observations in these locations, they can occur in high densities (50 per 25cm2). The rocks and creek bed are clean of detritus and algae when they are at these densities, probably caused by the shrimp’s constant feeding actions.

Longirostris are fairly forgiving so long as the water is clean and free from ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and high amounts of phosphates (this applies to all aquatic animals to some degree). In the wild, they live in water that is always clear with a minimum visibility of 1 metre up to 5 metres. Hardness ranges from 0 KH and GH to 8 and 10 degrees of dH depending upon season and the creek where they occur. They have been kept at higher KH and GH and prospered under these conditions. pH is the least important parameter as the pH in their habitat changes from wet to dry season; lower in the dry season because of the leaf litter, higher in the wet because of increased water flow. Ranges from pH 6.6 to 7.4 are appropriate in aquariums.

Temperature ranges from 16°C at altitude to 28°C lower down. Temperatures are highly variable year round. In some streams that run from the highest mountains, it is warmer in winter because of lower flow at this time. Similarly, water can be 24°C during winter because of ground water inflow into the creeks. After summer rain, temperatures can be 16-18°C. These tests have been conducted for two years in Harvey creek. Harvey creek flows from the second highest mountain in Queensland. The mountain is covered in rainforest.

The following ratings denote ease of aquarium care from, 1 = easy to 10 = hard

Availability 5

Keeping 1

Longevity 1

Breeding 6

Compatibility 1

Water parameters 2

Food

Longirostris is a good algae eater and will eat anything it is offered. Vegetables are eaten readily, as are raw fish and prawn. All commercial fish and shrimp foods are taken with ease.

Breeding

Longirostris can be sexed by size differences. All big specimens are female (up to 4cm) whilst males are under 2.5cm. I don't know yet if the males remain small or change sex, that experiment is to come. A mature female can carry hundreds of eggs. The eggs are 0.4mm, the same sized egg as C. typus, but Longirostris are easier to breed than Typus.

Aquarium breeding is achievable if they are kept on their own. As the shrimplets are small and free-swimming, they are open to attack from everything. The first food offered to shrimplets should be hard-boiled egg yolk, liquid fry food or spirulina in small amounts so as not to pollute the tank. The egg yolk can be offered through a piece of stocking, or in a small amount of water mashed up with a bar-mix/blender. I also use the bar-mix on the spirulina in a small amount of water. Both the egg yolk and spirulina mixes must be stored in the fridge to keep them fresh, and shaken before use. I use an eye dropper to feed because you have greater control over how much you feed. I also only keep each one for three days before making a new batch.

As the shrimplets are so small, you can only raise a small number at a time. However this will lead to easier shrimp to breed as each generation may result in bigger shrimplets (essentially a selective breeding program where the shrimp cull themselves). Most hard to breed aquatic species get easier to breed through captive breeding, because the fry best suited to captivity survive and pass on these genes to the next generation.

General Notes

The term 'Glass shrimp' will be given to these as well as most common Australian shrimp. I feel it is too broad a term to give our native shrimp. When caught, most species will drop their colour making it difficult to get an accurate ID. However, some species can be quite spectacular when they are kept in the right conditions.

For general ID, Longirostris has an easily distinguishable red vertical stripped pattern. For scientific purposes, the rostrum or nose of nearly all shrimp is how they are primarily identified, although there are many other ID protocols as well.

The Longirostris has a long rostrum, not to be confused with the red nose (Gracilyrostris) which has a longer rostrum. One would think that Longirostris would have the biggest rostrum, but this is not so. Gracilyrostris has a more graceful nose but a bigger nose. Both these species are similar to two species collected near Darwin, Northern Territory, but are genetically different and breed slightly differently.

C. zebra is found predominantly in the head waters of the Barron rv, Tully rv, Johnston rv and the Herbert rv on the Atherton table lands. There is also a population in the Tully gorge and no doubt in other lowland locations, these places are inaccessible for the most part because of the rugged terrain and dense forest. They are a rain forest shrimp and die out on disturbed creeks, most likely from siltation that occurs when they are disturbed.

Average environmental tests from April to October upper Tully gorge

Air temp 25

Humidity 60%

Water temp 21.6

PH 7

KH 0

GH 0

Under water visibility 3mt+

Flow rate: 1 to 2 mt pr second

Microsiemens 35

PPM 18

Height above sea level from 40 meters to 300 meters

No flood readings taken, the access is too dangerous in the wet.

Readings October/ November and March/ April

Air temp 30c

Humidity 85%+

Water temp high flow (not flood) 18c

Water temp low flow 26c

PH 7.4 av

KH 0

GH 0

Under water vis even in high flow (not flood) 2mt+

Flow rate 3mt pr second

Microsiemens 10

PPM 8

Height above sea level from 40 to 300 mts.

These undisturbed rain forest streams run clear even in flood.

There are times of the year when the PH will fall to 6.4 or there about. This is caused by the massive leaf drop at the start of the wet season and the accumulation of leaves from the previous season. The first flood washes the leaf litter away.

These are all personal observations and tests taken by myself.

I have some of the scientific info to add as well like, who described them where they were found and if interested some of the DNA work.

Bob (northboy)

This is a native Australian shrimp species found in the NT that is renown for eating various types of algae, especially string type algae.

The males are smaller and less colorful than the females. This shrimp is a relatively large species and can grow to approx 5cm.

There has been little success in breeding this species in fresh water. The females become berried easily, but the fry do not survive. It is thought that only brackish water contains the food that the fry require.

There are a few different shrimp that fall under the category Crystal Shrimp.

• Crystal Red Shrimp

• Crystal Black Shrimp

• Golden Bee Shrimp

• Snow White Shrimp

Crystal Red​

Crystal Black

Golden Bee

Snow White

Neocaridina davidi (aka Cherry Shrimp) are a non-native species of shrimp which, according to Google search history, have been in Australia for at least 10 years. They are a popular shrimp for hobbyists as they are relatively cheap, hardy and easy to breed. In Australia, the following lines and grades have been kept and bred.

Colours:

var Red

var Yellow

var Sunkist Orange

var Blue

var Blue Velvet

var Chocolate Brown (Delight)

var Black

This is a native Australia shrimp species found in the NT. They are quite good algae eaters but DAS are better.

These shrimp are quite colorful when fully grown, and have a long red rostrum (or nose). This shrimp can grow to approx 4cm but is usually smaller!

This is quite an active shrimp that enjoy swimming about all over the tank often 'floating' in mid water. It has been bred successfully in fresh water.

This is a native Australian shrimp species found in the NT & WA. It is also known as the Ninja Shrimp.

These are a relatively small shrimp, with a maximum size of 2-3cm. Their colour varies depending on originating location, and they also have the ability to change colour quickly to blend with their environment (hence the 'chameleon').

This species has been bred in freshwater.