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New Zealand glass shrimp


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Paratya curvirostris

  • Ease of care: Experienced to advanced 
  • Conservation status: Least Concern 

A species of freshwater shrimp in the family Atyidae. It is endemic to New Zealand, where it is distributed from North Island to Stewart Island, and including the Chatham Islands. It is the only true decapod shrimp to inhabit freshwater in New Zealand.


Distinguished from all other decapod shrimps by the specialized form of the first two pairs of chelipeds, which possess clusters of brushing setae or small hairs to pick up food. This shrimp feeds mainly by scraping detritus from the leaves of aquatic plants (Elodea spp. and milfoils), sometimes with all four chelipeds, bringing the organic material to the mouthparts where larger particles are shredded by the third pair of maxillipeds. It also eats small invertebrates such as midges.

Adults grow up to 25mm in length. Sex can be identified by differences in the first two pairs of pleopods, the male having larger endopodites. The female carries up to 4000 eggs and once they are deposited, cleans them and provides water flow by beating her pleopods. Eggs took about 28 days to hatch in a laboratory experiment.[2] Larvae are at first planktonic, with fewer limbs and segments. From studies it has been suggested that first stage larvae migrate to the rivermouth to develop in saltwater, moving up the river or stream to less saline water in the later stages.
This species was common to abundant in a widespread range, but is now somewhat reduced with a patchy distribution, largely due to the introduction of trout to certain areas. It is rarely found above 40 meters in elevation.

read here for even more care information

Paratya_curvirostis_copy.thumb.jpg.d802ce66dd3887fb0032a0024f31f5fd.jpg

 

 

 

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  • 2 months later...
1 hour ago, TailsnScales said:

I've been thinking about keeping these in a (semi-)dedicated tank next year when I'm back from my holiday. But where would I get them, I haven't seen any for sale online yet?

If I need to catch them myself, how and where do I do that?

They are native so can't be sold without a permit but you can collect your own

Most streams have these and they can be netted by running a net along the water weeds growing along the sides.

 

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On 11/21/2022 at 4:05 PM, livingart said:

They are native so can't be sold without a permit but you can collect your own

Most streams have these and they can be netted by running a net along the water weeds growing along the sides.

 

if you are successful in breeding them could you sell them? 

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4 hours ago, nomad fish said:

that sounds very complicated how would you even go about it? 

A little light reading LOL

Activities like pet shops, non-commercial domestic aquaponics, and ponds:

  • do not need a fish-farm licence
  • do not need to be registered as a fish farmer.

https://www.mpi.govt.nz/fishing-aquaculture/aquaculture-fish-and-shellfish-farming/setting-up-a-land-based-fish-farm/

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On 1/11/2023 at 1:56 PM, livingart said:

A little light reading LOL

Activities like pet shops, non-commercial domestic aquaponics, and ponds:

  • do not need a fish-farm licence
  • do not need to be registered as a fish farmer.

https://www.mpi.govt.nz/fishing-aquaculture/aquaculture-fish-and-shellfish-farming/setting-up-a-land-based-fish-farm/

i'm sure if some one wanted to breed the local shirmp they'd have quite a few customers and maybe even funding from doc

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