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There are plenty of Australian Shrimps not found by hobbyists yet. There are a whole pile of undescribed and different shrimps on the Arhem Land and Kakadu Escarpment CAAB Search 28 756976 .. Leptopalaemon spp. .. Kakadu shrimps 28 756276 .. Leptopalaemon gagadjui .. common Kakadu shrimp 28 756279 .. Leptopalaemon gibbosus .. humped Kakadu shrimp 28 756277 .. Leptopalaemon glabrus .. smooth Kakadu shrimp Parent Codes (if any): 28 708000 .. Order Decapoda - undifferentiated .. decapod crustaceans Child Codes (if any): 28 736901 .. Australatya spp. 28 736005 .. Australatya striolata .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736902 .. Caridina spp. .. [a shrimp] 28 736027 .. Caridina brachydactyla .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736006 .. Caridina celebensis .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736001 .. Caridina confusa .. false zebra shrimp 28 736007 .. Caridina gracilirostris .. slender-beaked caridina 28 736008 .. Caridina indistincta indistincta .. indistinct caridina 28 736009 .. Caridina indistincta sobrina .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736011 .. Caridina nilotica .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736010 .. Caridina peninsularis .. McCulloch's caridina 28 736028 .. Caridina riverstoni .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736012 .. Caridina serratirostris .. spiny-beaked caridina 28 736026 .. Caridina simoni .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736013 .. Caridina spelunca .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736002 .. Caridina spinula .. McIlwraith Range caridina 28 736014 .. Caridina thermopila .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736003 .. Caridina typus .. typical caridina 28 736015 .. Caridina wilkinsi .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736004 .. Caridina zebra .. zebra shrimp 28 736904 .. Paratya spp. 28 736016 .. Paratya australiensis .. Australian paratya 28 736017 .. Paratya howensis .. Lord Howe Island paratya 28 736018 .. Paratya norfolkensis .. Norfolk Island paratya 28 736905 .. Parisia spp. 28 736019 .. Parisia gracilis .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736020 .. Parisia unguis .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736906 .. Pycneus spp. 28 736021 .. Pycneus morsitans .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736907 .. Pycnisia spp. 28 736025 .. Pycnisia bunyip .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736022 .. Pycnisia raptor .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736908 .. Stygiocaris spp. 28 736023 .. Stygiocaris lancifera .. [a carid shrimp] 28 736024 .. Stygiocaris stylifera .. [a carid shrimp]

Personally I have never had an issue with keeping Bristlenoses with shrimp, but there maybe issues with Peppermints as I believe they like a more protein diet. If the chameleon shrimp are Caridina sp WA 4 you might find them a tad delicate compared with hardier cherry shrimp. I keep my chameleon shrimp (and other small natives separate to my cherry shrimp), for my native shrimp tank I always pre-age the new water going into their tank for water changes, where as the cherry shrimp seem to thrive on just using fresh treated tap water. As for fish I have had no issues with keeping Spotted Blue Eyes with my small native shrimp and my black cherry shrimp are breeding well in a tank with Pacific Blue Eyes and even whiptail catfish. In another tank I have Khuli loaches and Dwarf Chain loaches both of which seem to leave the shrimp alone since the tank is always teeming with shrimp and the BN's are always breeding and having fry in the tank. There are also guppys in this tank which also seem to leave the shrimp alone. Most Rainbow fish are going to be a big NO, since most get big and so far my monster ones have eaten every single cull cherry shrimp that has ever entered their tank. Gudgeons are also another no go with shrimp. Threadfin rainbows however should be ok to keep with shrimp since the threadfins have tiny mouths. I have personally seen Siamese Fighters go either way with shrimp, either hunt every single one and eat them or totally ignore them. And even tiny sparkling gouramis I have seen tear shrimp apart. While there are not many shrimp or fish in the tank the shrimp will probably be fine with whatever the BN's don't eat. And yes the shrimp will come out and eat the catfish pellets. My shrimp get a mix of whatever the fish are eating from tropical flakes through to different sinking wafers and pellets designed for catfish and shrimp, they also get Indian Almond Leaves and mulberry leaves and Nori sheets.

your observations on the breeding habits of the shrimps are spot on - except that the ability of shrimp to breed in freshwater limits their ability to disperse. For Shrimp that have larvae that go to saltwater, the shrimp can be swept out to sea where ocean currents can potentially carry the larvae anywhere (obviously currents tend to flow in the same direction continuously, but you get my point). The second point is that there are several currents that travel to the east coast of QLD down from New Guinea and the Pacific. In comparison, the gulf of carpentaria has few currents, if any. So yes, although NT may be close to other Pacific Islands, it's actually harder for species to travel across. Hence why there are many endemic aquatic species (aka found nowhere else) in the Territory, and species on the east coast of QLD that are found through-out the Pacific.

Our current understanding is that it is the same species as found throughout the Pacific -based on morphology. This is not surprising given they have larvae that develop in brackish or saltwater, and should therefore be quite easily transported between islands through the Pacific. However I'm recently started a project collaborating with shrimp taxonomists in France, looking at the genetic linkages amongst this and other widespread species. Similar projects on other animals in the past have demonstrated that one widespread species can be a complex of closely related species. So it's entirely possible the Aussie ninja is a different species to those found elsewhere in the Pacific. I will keep everyone updated as the results come in.