Just what are "red shrimp" from Hawaii??

[Beckmola24]

These shrimp are considered a "safe" tankmate for dwarf seahorses, but people just call them "red shrimp". They are supposedly from Hawaii and I don't think they are carniverous because that would compete with the dwarves. Does anyone know the real name for these guys?? Cleaner shrimp are red, as are Peppermint, but I know they aren't referring to either of those shrimp. Thanks for any help!!

 

[wrightme43]

I could be wrong, I think those are not supposed to be collected. If they are the ones from the interconnected tide pools, national geographic did a article.

 

[Wink]

Halocaridina rubra or as the Hawaiians call them Opa'e ula are small, red shrimp found only in brackish water pools in cracks and depressions in the coastal lava on the island of Hawaii and other islands through out the Indo-Pacific regions. They are very hardy and can live in both high and low salinity as long as changes are gradual. They breed very, very slowly - I've had some a year and have seen no signs of population increase.
They are great snacks for larger seahorses and good tankmates for dwarfs (it is possible for a very large dwarf to eat a small red shrimp - but it's rare). They only eat algae (and not much of that).

Do you have dwarfs? How are they doing? I got some on 12/15 - doing great so far.

 

[beaker77]

Halocaridina rubra?

 

[jsmkmavity]

how do you pronounce that?

 

[Wink]

I pronounce it: red shrimp

I hope that helps.

 

[Beckmola24]

lol Wink I don't have my dwarves yet, but I do have the tank setup and ready for them. I'm going with 2 pair to start with. I can't ever get through on the phone when I try and call the seahorse people. I'm probably going to go with Seahorse farms or Aqualand. Any advice on either??

 

[Wink]

I couldn't really recommend either one over the other and haven't done business with either one (but I just get an ugly feeling for a company that offers ghost shrimp for $6.75 each hoping someone won't know any better). I've ordered twice from www.floridacollector.com and been happy. He's an older guy in his 70's - a one man operation. He's very bad about answering emails, hard to catch by phone, sometimes takes awhile to get the orders filled (could take 2 months if weather is bad) but nearly everyone who orders from him is happy.

 

[John Henry]

Beaker 77 Great Link!!

I finally know what my Palaemon elegans is!

Thanks,
Jh