How tough are Riffle shrimp

[northboy]

This morning I was watering trees in my back yard, as I was watering the Longan what I thought was a grass hopper jumped into the pool around the tree, I have small banks around my trees to hold the water and that allows it to soak in, any way this grass hopper?? stayed in the water?? so when the water soaked in I picked up said grass hopper, NOT it was a 3cm Riffle shrimp, what the F.

 

For the last 2 days I have had 30 Riffle shrimp in a bucker with a loose lid getting ready to ship= no food. The bucket is 30 meters from the trees, it is a 20lt bucket that is 1/3 full, when I looked at the bucket after finding the Riffle, there is about 10 missing, this means they have climbed the bucket, I already knew they could do this, but they got out under the lid? pushed it up? and this one walked through the grass in the direction of the Mulgrave river, the river is about 150mts from my house.

 

What I want to find out is how long can they stay out of water and how far can they travel with there gills full of water like a lot of land based crabs and mud skippers do??

 

If they lend them selves to being dry but moist, shipping gets a lot easier.

 

I know they climb a local water fall that is 90mts straight drop, this fall is right beside the Barron falls and connects to Streets creek near Kuranda.

 

Wow, that opens a whole new can of worms, now to get one of the local Scientists= Boffins interested.

 

Now I wonder, where are the others and will they make it to the river, they do how ever have to cross two roads and a rail way line to make the first part of the river.

 

DAM I have to go to work, I will add this arvo.

 

Shrimp are tough

 

Bob

[jayc]

Wow!

Never knew that about riffles.

 

I have had a few CRS climb out of my open top tank though.

I usually find them dried out on the floor  

Edited March 23, 2015 by jayc

[northboy]

Just to add to the Mystery. I was watering the Birdwing vine in the afternoon after work, there was 2 more there??? so that is at least 12 hours out of water, there is heavy shade from the wooden fence and the vine, so they have found shelter there some where, it is also on the way to the Mulgrave river.

My 150mts to the river was a bit short, it is more like 250mts to the closest side creek of the main river.

 

So there is still 7 missing from the 30 that were in the bucket, I still can not get my head around the fact that a 3mm Riffle was able to push up a bucket lid, it was not clipped down just placed on, no air line to climb either???

 

 

Bob

[kizshrimp]

That's crazy Bob, I wonder if there was a bit of water under the vine somewhere. Either way they must be incredibly tough. 

 

I assume the bucket is old and a bit scratched up inside? I don't want to think they could climb up a new clean one. Maybe lifting the lid was a team effort... 

[fishmosy]

I find it not so surprising, although it is amazing. Riffles travel upstream as juveniles, often returning from brackish waters to their freshwater adult habitat. In doing so, they must travel up waterfalls and through fast flowing sections of rivers. One way to climb waterfalls is to climb the wet rocks beside the waterfall. I'm sure riffles have evolved to be able to do this and can therefore experience long periods of time out of water without dying, as long as they have some sort of moisture available so they dont dry out completely.

Riffles must also have strong swimming ability simply because of the conditions they live in (fast flowing riffles). I've measured water flow rates in freshwater creeks where riffles occur at 0.5 - 1 metre per second, and thats not even when the creek was flooding. For a 3cm shrimp swimming against a 1 metre per second current is the equivalent of a 180cm human running at more than 200 kilometres per hour. I've seen the riffles do this in short bursts trying to escape my net. Amazing. I suspect this swimming ability would give them the ability to jump in still water.

[northboy]

Yep Ben, I can not get my head around how they can swim head first not even a flick, into a fast water flow.

Next time you are up Ben I will take you to where they are all 6cm+ and swim like you will not believe, it will do your head.

 

I have heard from the Scientist but the Cyclone tore a 100km path right through one of the areas we were going. So waiting to find out how bad it is and may be make other plans, on the subject of Riffles, Riffles is one we were after and possible a new species all together.

 

Bob

[fishmosy]

Sooner the better. Itching to get up there again.

[inverted]

I guess that Australians should get riffles tattooed on their body's like the Japanese get koi. Do they turn into bunyips when they reach the dragon gate?.... They sound like a truely durable species.

[Grubs]

@inverted - I love that idea.

 

Riffles are certainly bloody fast swimmers in the forwards direction.  So are C. typus.   Most other shrimp need to rely on the tail flick for a quick escape.  Chasing them around a tank with a net sure brings out the expletives!

[northboy]

Bunyips?? blood heck where I go for the big ones is in the Mountains in the middle of no where, you are putting me off going back.

 

Seriously though. the swim like you have never seen, faster than the rainbows in the same place and they hit a log or rock and do a vanishing act.

 

Tried to down load a photo from the net but could not, if you google Barron falls and have a look to the right of the main falls, you will see another small fall coming in to the Barron falls from the right at the top, or the same height, that is Streets creek falls, the one the Boffins spotted the Riffles climbing, its a long way and they climb to the side of the falls out of water a bit like cling gobies do only the gobies don't climb as steep a fall as the shrimp do. I have seen photos of cling gobies from OS climbing around falls in there thousands.

 

Bob

[yeswaitnosorry]

Wow! That is really interesting. Riffles are so cool!

[fishmosy]

Here is another bit of evidence to show how tough riffle shrimp are.

Here is one of my favorite spots to find riffles.

Usual.

Over the weekend after some heavy rain - look closely above the log at the edge of the creek. Thats leaf litter sitting at least two metres above the current water level.

Note the log that wasn't there in the previous pics.

And riffles, Paratya and macros (amongst other aquatic creatures) live here year round!

[ShrimpSilly]

Interested to know about the riffles that are all large I have found riffles in very high altitude and there was always young males however there seemed to be a lot more large females but never found a place that was all the same size a new species would be ?