# ID Macrobrachium Nipponense?



## Geoffrey Rea (12 Jan 2018)

Anyone able to identify this species of shrimp? Acclimating some Amano’s and spotted this guy amongst the bunch.


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## Parablennius (12 Jan 2018)

Any chance of some side-on shots? Particularly the rostrum/head area? Looks similar to marine Palaemonetes / Palaemon. Interesting.
Cheers
steve


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## Geoffrey Rea (12 Jan 2018)

Best I can do with an iPhone Steve. Currently in the isolation tank until I can figure out more.


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## Geoffrey Rea (14 Jan 2018)

Update. This Shrimp caught and killed a neon tetra. It definitely does not play well with others. He’s also done some gardening with those pincers and decimated the pest snail population in under 48 hours. Anyone have any idea what species it could be?


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## Sarpijk (14 Jan 2018)

Are you sure it didn't just eat an already deceased tetra?


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## Tim Harrison (14 Jan 2018)

Crikey, if it eats snails as well I want some...although I doubt it could have taken a healthy adult neon.


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## Geoffrey Rea (14 Jan 2018)

Checked on the tank it’s in, everything fine all inhabitants alive. Check again an hour later after doing a water change on another tank and see tetra surprise for lunch in unidentified shrimps mouth. Can’t say it’s impossible that the neon died in that hour through some other cause, but it seems highly unlikely and I really couldn’t tell you what from to have died so quickly from being in a healthy condition just an hour before. Have a few neons in there whilst rescaping another tank but thinking it wise to move them as this thing has started being aggressive towards them now as well (fin nipping with pincers). Really curious to know what it is as it’s behaviour is so bizarre compared to Amano’s or RCS.


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## Tim Harrison (14 Jan 2018)

That's really amazing behaviour, can you take a video of it.


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## Geoffrey Rea (14 Jan 2018)

Won’t let me upload video. Keep getting a security alert message.


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## MirandaB (14 Jan 2018)

Macrobrachium species should never be kept with small fish as they are well known for this behaviour


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## Geoffrey Rea (14 Jan 2018)

Obviously not well known enough MirandaB  Posted on this forum in the hope someone could positively ID this guy. He was mixed in amongst an order of over 40 Amano Shrimp, he wasn’t deliberately ordered. Hence why he was placed in the quarantine tank until he could be ID’d but unfortunately it was already occupied with the Tetras. The alternative would have been prawn cocktail based on nothing other than a fear of the unknown. I only named this thread Macrobrachium Nipponense as a guess from photo’s on a google search. Very glad this guy never made it in to the main tank, he is very aggressive and pincer happy.


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## alto (14 Jan 2018)

I've often wondered if they don't sting their prey in some way
I had a group years ago & lost several cardinals before concluding (against online advice) the shrimp really were predating healthy cardinals

You mentioned shrimp was in the Isolation Tank - sorry I assumed tank had no other inhabitants


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## MirandaB (14 Jan 2018)

They often came in as by catch with Amano's,often it's M.lanchesteri but I'm not sure what your one is,definitely a Macrobrachium sp.though.
If you don't mind me borrowing one of your photo's I'll see if I can get an id for you on one of the shrimp groups on FB?
A friend of mine also got one as by catch,kept it in a tank on it's own and the bugger would go for him when he cleaned the tank out


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## Geoffrey Rea (14 Jan 2018)

That would be awesome MirandaB, I'm genuinely intrigued 

Alto, I don't normally quarantine shrimp, only fish. Any week either side of this one and the quarantine tank would have been empty. Within the hour between checking on the tank he managed to remove an eye, pelvic fin and the caudal fin on the neon and was well into his meal. Whether it uses a sting is an interesting question  I wouldn't have believed a shrimp could take down a healthy Tetra before today.

Dare I ask how large Macrobrachium can grow?  I know several factors will affect this.


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## Edvet (16 Jan 2018)




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## Geoffrey Rea (16 Jan 2018)

Thank you Edvet.


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## alto (17 Jan 2018)

If it is M lanchesteri, this site has a decent write up & excellent photo 

I ditched mine at large female Amano shrimp size - this was attained fairly quickly from juvenile cherry shrimp size


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