Does anyone keep/breed Riffle Shrimp?

Kangus

Member
May 4, 2009
83
0
6
Gosford, NSW
Hey all :)

do any of our australian members keep or breed riffle shrimp?or Australatya striolata, is their proper name. We caught one a few months ago, and added it to the guppy tank. They are quiet an interesting shrimp, changing their colour with their moods/moult cycle, and substrate colour. They are fan feeders, and so like to sit in the current and filter the water that flows past them to get that tasty morsel lol. They can get quiet large, say 5-6cm, and they seem peaceful - i havn't seen it try any cherry shrimp or guppies as snacks lol nor has their numbers appeared to have decreased.

They seem to be fairly hard to find aswell, particularly the further from the north you might be, and very few are offered for sale it seems aswell. We're going to try and catch another one or two from our secret location lol and get a breeding thing going on :dk:

http://www.oceanwideimages.com/enlargeImage.asp?pID=7489&cID=227&rp=search.asp?s=Rifle+Shrimp&p=1

http://postimage.org/image/5ge5ur490/

these are not my pics, our camera doesnt like taking these sorts of pics
 

Kangus

Member
May 4, 2009
83
0
6
Gosford, NSW
hi Moo

ours looked the same as the 2nd pic, but lightened up as our substrate is a lighter colour, our camera isnt good at taking fish pics unfortunately
 

Brengun

Global Moderators
Staff member
Apr 22, 2009
5,041
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Burrum Heads, Queensland, Australia
They can be found in fast flowing freshwater in SE Qld amonst other places.
It has been noted the water temp may be as low as 12C in the dead of winter and the riffle shrimp don't seem to mind it.

They are pretty zany the way they change their colors. I moved mine from a 4ft coldwater tank to a small outdoor pond which doesn't have fast flow, just a fountain and lots of pond weed. They seem to like sitting on the weed just under the water line near the fountain.
 

Kangus

Member
May 4, 2009
83
0
6
Gosford, NSW
Plecoman - i did not receive your pm sorry

Brengun, yeah the colour changing is interesting! we've had ours as high 26 degrees, so they must have a fairly broad temperature tolerance. We recently moved in some crs and glassies with the riffle and they all seem quiet happy.
 

bigbird

Pleco Profiles Moderator - RIP FRIEND
Sep 9, 2010
6,306
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Sydney, AUSTRALIA
got mine from Darwin via post. they are cool looking but live 2-3years. will send you the email address tomorrow where they can be bought etc cheers jk