LA
Fish (and you) love shrimp. These Rudolph shrimp love African
cichlids.
Name: “Rudolph” refers to the red
nose of the males -- the “rostris” in their Latin name.
But not all Rudolphs have a red nose -- only the males that are mature
enough to grow one. Females pretty much lack the rubrous schnozzola.
Neither sex is allowed to play (or have any interest in) any reindeer
games.
Origin: We’re seeing many more aquatic
critters coming out of India these days. The jury’s still out on
the Rudolph shrimp, but for shrimp fans and mini-tank keepers Rudolphs are
an excellent addition to their menage au miniatures. They
interact well with the other mini-shrimps available. Beware of the
larger shrimps which consider Rudolphs tasty morsels well worth hunting
and harvesting.
LA
Pic to give you an idea of size. The copper in pennies is probably
poisonous to shrimp.
Size: You see Rudolph shrimps for
sale at 0.75 to an entire inch long. Well, some people see
them. Others just walk on by. Some dismiss them as “bugs”
or food, while many just don’t even see them at all. If you decide
to eat them yourself, we recommends lots of breading.
LA
Several Rudolph shrimp sharing a flake of Cichlid flake food.
LA
One Rudolph not sharing a fish food flake. He's not a sharer.
LA
Rudolph shrimp also like pelleted foods.
Foods: In the wild, Rudolph shrimp
evidently live on algae and assorted orts and ends of detritus. Lots
of mini-shrimps live on the same menu. If you put a clump of algae
in their tank, about 25% of your Rudolphs will spend their daylight hours
on that green clump. Sprinkle flake food in their tank, and they
eagerly scurry (or swim) about grabbing as much as they can snag.
Put in a dead fish and they cover every bit of available surface on that
fish.
LA
Color varies in the Rudolph. Males larger and more colorful.
Sexing: On average, male Rudolph shrimp
grow a bit larger and more colorful than the females. Of course, you
usually see them for sale at about 3/4-inch -- awfully small for
sexing. And if you want to breed them, you will definitely want both
sexes. We haven’t had them long enough to breed them, but many
mini-shrimps need salt in the water to inspire their urge to merge and go
forth and multiply. Most of them come from brackish marshes.
LA
Since they're "new," Rudolph shrimps are still a bit pricy.
Substrate:
Most mini-creepers (bugs as well as shrimps) are thigmotactic or
sterotactic.. That means they need crawlable surfaces and like to
hide in crevices. Rudolph shrimp walk on the bottom (kinda sideways
sometimes) but also swim very well. Not the tail-snapping twitches
of many mini-shrimps, but actually a heads-up forward stroke powered by
their back legs. Interesting.
LA
Why the Rudolph shrimp pile? What's the occasion for all these
shrimp and no dip?
Tastiest Food?
We wondered why the above group of Rudolph shrimp were milling about in a
gang. We hoped to see them breeding. However, closer
examination showed us they were arguing over a piece of feeder guppy.
LA
Here's a bigger group tasting a deceased African Cichlid
LA
Probably tastes better than algae.
Last Words:
If you like the looks of these little critters, add them to your planted
tanks. Rudolph shrimp will help mow your algae crop if it grows on
your plant leaves. Or keep them with your guppies. Rudolph
shrimp make great little scavengers with small fish. LA
©
2005 LA Productions

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