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I.D. Local Marine Crustaceans.


livingart

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Red crayfish

Jasus edwardsii

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Difficulty:  Easy

Description:  New Zealand's red rock lobster (koura) grows to around 8 kg and 60 cm in length, and is a reddish coloured crustacean with long antenna.The packhorse or green rock lobster (pawharu) is far less abundant as they are mainly found in Northern New Zealand. It is the largest rock lobster in the world. Reportedly reaching up to 20 kg and 70 cm in length.

Habitat:  They are commonly found on reefs and areas of rough seabed throughout the country.

Temperament:  Destructive and will eat sleeping fish of a night time.

Minimum Tank Size: 1,000 litres preferably larger.

Tank Age / Maturity:  At least 6 months

Diet:  Very easy to feed - will accept any shellfish or meat that it finds,

Special Requirements:  If kept, you'll need to provide a cave and stable glued together rockwork, with a large skimmer as these are messy animals, doesn't bother any fish, but will eat anything with a shell. Cool to watch eat and roam around the tank, but be warned

Incompatibilities:  Not recommended, a pain in the butt to keep. but a very destructive animal which will move around your tank knocking over everything in its path. Occasionally spooks and swims away at speed damaging itself and anything it connects with in its path.

 

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Painted prawn 

Alope spinifrons

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Difficulty:  Easy

Description:  The Painted prawn grows to about 4 - 5cm, it is covered in small longitudinal red and blue lines giving it a brownish appearance.

Habitat:  Found along the coast of New Zealand Found in amongst boulders and rock pools at low tide.

Temperament:  Peaceful

Minimum Tank Size:  100 litres preferably larger.

Tank Age / Maturity:  At least 6 months

Diet:  Readily accepts most meaty foods.

Special Requirements:  Usually spend the day hiding so feed just after lights out.

Incompatibilities:  Wrasses find these a nice meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Banded Coral Shrimp

Stenopus hispidus ,

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Difficulty:  Medium

Description:  The Banded Coral Shrimp has striking colouration with the body and tail banded in red and white and covered in small spines, they can grow up to 60mm in body size with the antennae and periopods extending further.

Habitat:  They are found on rocky reefs off the northern coast of New Zealand in the intertidal zone to a depth of 15 metres.

Temperament:  Peaceful, they are a cleaner shrimp and remove parasites, fungi and damaged tissue from the fish.

Minimum Tank Size:  100 litres, more as it matures.

Tank Age / Maturity:  At least 6 months

Diet:  Readily accept all frozen Pods, mysid, raw mussel, prawn and meaty foods.

Special Requirements: N/A

 

Edited by livingart
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There are over 60 species of Hermit crabs known in New Zealand. Hermit crabs have a very soft, vulnerable abdomen so inhabit empty shells of marine snails for protection. As the hermit crab grows, it needs to find larger shells in which to live.

 

NZ Hermit Crab

(Pagurus novizelandiae)

The NZ hermit crab has blue nippers with rows of bumps on them its antennae re smooth.

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Plankton hermit crab (Paguristes setosus)

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Similar to Pagurus novizelandiae but main distinguishing feature is the fine long hairs on its antennae, it uses these to catch plankton in the water.

 

Halicarcinus whitei

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Easy to keep

Does not create permanent barrows is nomadic and probably feeds on polychaetes

I have seen mine eating mussel that i have dropped in to the tank. Must be a hardy species as has survived the cycling of my tank and having a Olive rock fish for a temporary flat mate.

Can be found under stones or Buried in the substrate all over the intertidal zone

:)

 

Glass shrimp

(Palaemon affinis)

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The Glass shrimp grows to 3cm it has a clear body and its internal organs are visible.

It can swim forward and backward using its pleopods or rapidly with a flip of its tail, the Females hold their eggs under the tail between its pleopods . This shrimp is commonly found in habours and rockpools and is easy to keep.

They will eat almost anything that you feed them and dont need to be fed to often eating dead animal and plant matter also seen them eating Brine shrimp and probably pods.

Palaemon affinis has a wide range of salinity tolerance and regulates the osmotic concentrations of its body fluid.

 

Reproduction:

The male deposits spermatophores on the sternum of the female, Eggs then issue from the females genital openings.The eggs pass over the spermatophores and most are fertilised.

eggs are attached to special setae on the four anterior pairs of pleopods (on the female).

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Unfertilised eggs fall off after a few days and the fertilised eggs remain until the planktonic stage hatches..

 

 

 

Camouflage crab

( Notomithrax peroni)

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The camouflage crabs get their name for their habit of nipping bits from seaweeds and gluing these onto their hairs. They eat almost any food and can damage anenomes by using their claws to pull food out of them.

The Peroni has bigger nippers than ursus and is larger overall.  One i had was about 12cm along the carapace.

 

Hairy Decorator crab

(Notomithrax ursus)

Similar to decorator crab but smaller with smaller nippers and the carapace is covered in stiff hairs

 

 

 

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