Dr A Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 Hi there, Went shrimping earlier this evening at a small stream/outlet on the north shore to see if I could catch this oft discussed NZ Freshwater shrimp, started off at sea level and worked back up the slope, found eels, whitebait and larger fish, and eventually lots of shrimp. Nice to see a somewhat healthy ecosystem. I only managed to catch three but saw loads. Most where small, two of them I've got have "berried" (seems to be the common phrase), so presumably they're female... however the third one we caught is much larger and has distinct blue coloration over it's shell. It's nearly 50% larger than the others... Is this out of the ordinary? I can't find any pictures of blueish ones on the internet? If it's a new species do I get to name it? I've tried to take photos but again I'm let down by a camera phone, and it's not easy trying to photograph something that's essentially opaque at best. Can't be bothered editing out the duds, I'll upload them now. Even if they're not special, do I need to a quarantine them at all before putting them in why my betta? They're not known to carry any harmful parasites or diseases are they? They're overnighting in ice cream container. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr A Posted September 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 Pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sup42 Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 I'm currently cycling a tank with my kids that is intended for Shrimp keeping....Like you I will have to get out there and find somewhere in Auckland that holds these wonderful little guys. Did you net during the Day or Night time ? Anyone had any joy netting them during the day ? Will a Cheap largish Butterfly net work ? Sorry to Hijack the thread but there is so little info out there on Native Shrimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 Dr A, I've seen then almost that blue and redish/brown. What temp is the betta at? shrimp dont like over 26 deg and will have to be acclimatized slowly from the probably chilly 10-12deg of the stream. sup42, you can catch them during the day with a sturdy net pulled through weeds/grass/cress etc in the stream but they are easy to see at night as their eyes glow in the torch light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 I hope you released the berried girls, they won't breed in your tank and IME they die a lot easier as for the blue one, I hve found one that was a dark green before, not translucent either, but they tend to ID shrimp species by their rostrum (the spikey thing between their eyes) and their tails. good on you for getting out there in this weather :yaw2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr A Posted September 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 Righto, well I'll have to get them out of the ice-cream container. Betta's @ 25 degrees, I'll warm them up anyway over today, double ziplock bag with some of the colder water in the outside jacket should slowly warm them up. @F15, didn't know that, that's a shame, unfortunately I can't do much with them now short of keeping them in a icecream container until Sunday. I netted them at night with just a small fish net (3" or so wide). Wasn't very easy as these guys were free-swimming among the rocks in the bottom of the stream, they didn't seem to be near the edges/weeds. Went at night, suspect you wouldn't see them at all during the day. I'd recommend the Chelsea Sugar Works, where I went was near there (so therefore I assumed would harbor them too), but it wasn't "easy" to access, the bush was so dense I was liberality walking up the clay banks of the creak from the sea. I should be able to wrangle some better photographs of the blueish one once it's in situ... I had these crazy visions of MAF coming and sterilising the tank due to a foreign species being found, good to know a few color variations exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickyfish Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 they are redish and blue in taranaki to eazyer do catch them in the day time they seem to hide in the shadows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr A Posted September 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 He's tripple-bagged in the tank now. I know it's slowly warming up as lots of micro-bubbles are forming. Anyway he's picked up a long dark stripe along his back now as the water is getting warmer... Pic. Hopefully my betta doesn't get strangled in the plastic and die while I'm at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 btw SHE they are inteesting as they change their sex as they get bigger, its not dependant on age as much as size Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 I can't seem to find any down here whenever I go looking, found some good sized crawlies though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr A Posted September 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 Well they're in the tank. One of them (the one that was super berried up) died and went pink. The big / blue one still has that stripe. Anyone seen any like that before? He(or She) is almost as big as the betta (tail and all). I'll dig out the digital camera and get some photos this evening. I think my brother wants to go with me tonight to see if he can wrangle some. I could put some in my outdoor pond too we'll see what happens there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr A Posted September 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 Went back, didn't collect anything, but noted that there seemed to be far less shrimp around, although climatic conditions were almost identical. Also noted that that there were more of the larger "blue" ones, none of which were berried. Only smaller ones were. Did manage to snag one of the fush long enough to take a photograph though. Presumably this is what the whitebait that was in the stream will turn into? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted September 21, 2012 Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 indeed, one of the 5 species that make up whitebait, looks like a banded kokopu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr A Posted September 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 No match for the fearsome kitchen sieve anyway. Are they quite territorial? This particular stream is very much a series of pools separated by gradients, each pool seemed to have one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted September 21, 2012 Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 They can be, but not too bad. Like any drift feeder they will each have their favourite spot. I've seen 4 kokopu in the same 3-4m x 1.5-2m pool, each had their own spot with the bigger fish at the top and the smallest at the tail. Sounds like there were good numbers of them which is good to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr A Posted September 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 Indeed, there was also quite a bit of fry/whitebait in the lower reaches which is a good sign as well. The only thing I haven't seen in there is koura. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted September 22, 2012 Report Share Posted September 22, 2012 Proof Trademe does work, I reported the listing of the freshwater shrimp as it is illegal to sell native fauna and I do not believe he has been breeding them himself and this is their response; "Dear Jamie, Thanks for reporting the listing for: FRESH WATER SHRIMP COLD & TROPICAL. The Trade Me Customer Support Team have reviewed the listing and has deemed that it is in breach of our terms and conditions. As a result the listing has been removed from the site. Thank you for bringing this listing to our attention and making Trade Me a better place to buy and sell. Happy trading Trade Me Customer Support" Now I wonder how long till he just starts another auction :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 22, 2012 Report Share Posted September 22, 2012 interesting, I have got one of those as well..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sup42 Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 Great Fish Dr. Can't wait to get out and have a crack at it. Tanks a week away from being ready I would say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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