Shrimp id questions

[Ludwiggg17]

Hello everyone, recently I got a clip-on macro lens for my phone and I started trying macro photography. I have on hand quite a few unidentified shrimp I caught from a mountain spring a year ago. All of them look quite nice in the pics with similar shaped rostrums but I noticed some have different numbers of spikes on their rostrum. Since I don't know much about shrimp morphology I need some help answering these questions:

• Do different number of spikes on the rostrum mean different species? or do the number of spikes vary in the shrimp's age?
• Is color in shrimp not that important in identification?

[jayc]

27 minutes ago, Ludwiggg17 said:

Do different number of spikes on the rostrum mean different species?

Yes, it usually means they are different species. They might be very closely related, but are considered different species.

 

27 minutes ago, Ludwiggg17 said:

Is color in shrimp not that important in identification?

Correct. Colour cannot be used to consistently identify shrimp species. Take the humble RCS Red Cherry shrimp for example. You can get super bright red RCS, to dull splotchy red RCS and even no colour transparent (aka wild type). RCS vary in colour, but they are still all RCS. 

There might be species specific spots or stripes that can be used to distinguish different species however.

Physical shape of the body can also be used as an ID.

 

Would love to see your pics. 

But be mindful, that the free SKFA account has a limit of the size of photos that can be uploaded. The paid accounts don't have that issue.

Edited August 11, 2020 by jayc

[Ludwiggg17]

5 hours ago, jayc said:

Would love to see your pics. But be mindful, that the free SKFA account has a limit of the size of photos that can be uploaded. The paid accounts don't have that issue.

Well I wouldn't be able to pay for one because i'm still in junior high and my parents are a little bit strict when it comes to online transactions.

But anyway, here are some pics:

8 spikes adult (24x @ 12 MP)

10 or 12 spikes juvie (24x @ 12MP)

10/12 spikes juvie (24x @ 12 MP)

Gold Spots unknown # of spikes (12x @ 16MP w/ horrible lighting)

 

I had another photo which i couldn't send but here are the links to them:

https://imgbox.com/ylr0MOXC#

https://imgbox.com/KsBUQDVJ

https://imgbox.com/p9ZoBmRn

Edited August 11, 2020 by Ludwiggg17
changed imgur link to imgbox because imgur compressed it too much

[Crabby]

...wait so why are the photos taken out of water? I think it would be easier to see the spikes, and much less stressful for the shrimp, if the pics were taken with the shrimp maybe just in a little photography tank (like a 4x2x4 [LxWxH] inch-ish little glass tank, with a black or white back and bottom), which is pretty easy to do DIY. I mean... I haven't made one before lol. But it seems easy enough. Or alternatively you can just do it with them at the front of the tank!

[Ludwiggg17]

On 8/13/2020 at 12:39 PM, Crabby said:

...wait so why are the photos taken out of water? I think it would be easier to see the spikes, and much less stressful for the shrimp, if the pics were taken with the shrimp maybe just in a little photography tank (like a 4x2x4 [LxWxH] inch-ish little glass tank, with a black or white back and bottom), which is pretty easy to do DIY.

Yes i guess you would be right in that the shrimps would be stressed out of water, i did put them back in the tank every 3 shots. Though it would be easier for me and the shrimp if I did have a small photography tank.

[sdlTBfanUK]

Any clear container or an old jam jar would do. 

It is very difficult to see anything when they are out of the tank as all the legs etc will be clamped to the body, and as crabby states they will be extra stressed!

Simon