Re: NANFA-L-- Raising Ghost Shrimp

dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
Tue, 04 Jan 2005 10:49:38 -0600

I assume that what you are calling "ghost shrimp" are members of the genus _Palaemonetes_, which are decapod crustaceans more commonly referred to as "grass shrimp" than "ghost shrimp" (a term I have never heard except on this list) in the biological literature.

Grass shrimps include both marine and freshwater species, including-in-least 3 obligate cave species that are endangered. At least 3 species are known from Indiana waters. Grass shrimps are reported by Thorp and Covich's _Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates_ to be common in lentic and sluggish lotic (stream) environments. I have collected them in the Elm Fork of the Trinity River in Texas, among other streams with abundant and healthy fish populations. Abundant healthy vegetation, tree root wads, and detritus seem more important than absence of fish. In addition to _Palaemonetes_, another freshwater shrimp-like genus, _Macrobrachium_, commonly referred to as "prawns" in N. America, also occurs in medium to large rivers, including in S. Indiana. These animals grow much larger than grass shrimps, reaching 30 cm in length, not including antennae, and are heavily pigmented, unlike grass shrimps. These last have been investigated in the past for aqua

David L. McNeely, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
Langston University; P.O. Box 1500
Langston, OK 73050; email: dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
telephone: (405) 466-6025; fax: 405) 466-3307
home page http://www.lunet.edu/mcneely

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----- Original Message -----
From: Sajjad Lateef <sajjadlateef-in-yahoo.com>
Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2005 8:00 am
Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- Raising Ghost Shrimp

> Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2005 20:24:00 EST
> From: IndyEsox-in-aol.com
> Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- Raising Ghost Shrimp
>
> Any suggestions on keeping them alive?
> Where do you find ghost shrimp in the wild? Are they found in
> Indiana?
>
>
> Ghost Shrimp are indicators of good water quality and will be
> found in fresh, clean, standing water where there is plenty of
> emergent vegetation and very few fish, if any. I have found them
> in (temporary) shallow roadside ditches in late Spring, early Summer.
>
> To keep them alive, you need to be doing a lot of water changes.
> Wild-collected fish will eat them on sight. Tank raised fish will
> eat them when they molt or as soon as they understand that the
> shrimp are edible. Nice to have around, but, I have found they
> will not survive for long in my tanks.
>
> Sajjad
>
> =====
> --
> Sajjad Lateef e-mail: sajjadlateef AT yahoo DOT com
> Chicago
>
>
>
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