# Cleaner shrimps in hawaii



## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

The term "cleaner shrimp" is generally synonymous with marine tanks. You are looking for fresh water shrimp correct?


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## pimptempura (Jan 26, 2008)

yes looking for fresh water shrimp...any common ones to look out for?


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## milesm (Apr 4, 2006)

hey brah,

the "glass"/"feeder" shrimp sold in most stores (petland, modern, pets plus) are wild versions of the red cherry shrimp. they are opae from streams.

yes, we cannot import any inverts to hawaii, a very good law, imho.

a word of caution, i think the barbs will try to eat the shrimp. they do better with tetras and smaller livebearers.


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## pimptempura (Jan 26, 2008)

thanks..i did buy a batch of feeder shrimp for this tank and they did their job...by feeding my fish..hehehehe.:icon_wink..was wondering if i can get any other types of shrimp? i noticed on the dlnr website there's like 3 different types of opae...some are 2 in long..i think that may be too big:bounce:...but i was thinking of raising the glass opae to be a bit too big for the barbs to eat...*shrug* i was just gonna go down to the ala wai and go catch some of those glass opae we use for bait when we go oama fishing...but if anyone knows of any other types of shrimp available in hawaii for aquariums that would be awesome.


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## aesthetics808 (Dec 29, 2002)

i heard the shrimp from the streams can have parisites.just buy the cleaner shrimp from the lfs.
btw i got some flourite in not using.probably enough for a 10 gal. if you want it its yours.


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## wili_wili (Aug 4, 2010)

i'm an entomologist from Hawaii, new to the PT hobby. I was interested in keeping native opae (and o'opu) in too, but i've read that they all need to spend a few months in the ocean as part of their life cycle. Sounds too complex for my setups! The non-native "red cherry shrimp" are the most common shrimp in the streams, at least in the more accessible lower reaches of streams. I've had good luck keeping them and breeding them in my aquaria and outdoor water garden tubs, without large fish. I'm setting up a new planted tank, and was thinking of starting with shrimp, amphipods, and any other invertebrates I can find in the streams, then introducing smaller fish once the inverts are pretty well established. I'm planning to provide lots of artificial burrows and caves, in the form of bottles and vials buried in the substrate. I put silicon mixed with substrate around the rims of the vials/bottles to make them look like natural burrows, and then bury them. I've done this in the past for loaches, but I'm thinking it will provide good hiding places for inverts as well, along with lots of plants, rocks and branches. We'll see.
Will


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## nokturnalkid (Apr 3, 2007)

Opae can live in fresh water but do much better in slight salt water. They do need full strength salt water to breed though, kind of like amano shrimp. I've bred them once but was just too lazy too keep up with a sw tank.

The feeder shrimp in the stores can easily be bred. I've done it in a bucket with a sponge filter. They were pretty prolific at breeding once you get a nice healthy stock. For me, they turned a more brown than the red that they are known for. Yes they are just wild rcs. Worked out great when i was into cichlids and stuff. I've actually seen them in streams at the bottom of the pali and the pond at the bottom of the palisades trail. Got some nice driftwood there too. 

There are a bunch of local people here that have rcs and crs if that is what you are looking for. I was told that the lfs on ward ave(Pets Plus?) were selling some.


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## deleted_user_6 (Jun 19, 2010)

milesm said:


> hey brah,
> 
> the "glass"/"feeder" shrimp sold in most stores (petland, modern, pets plus) are wild versions of the red cherry shrimp. they are opae from streams.


The glass/feeder shrimp sold in most stores are Palaemonetes Paludosus, is not in any way a wild Cherry Shrimp. Wild Red Cherry shrimps are Neocaridina Heteropoda.

Ghost shrimp info:
http://www.planetinverts.com/ghost_glass_grass_shrimp.html

Red Cherry shrimp info:
http://www.planetinverts.com/Red%20Cherry%20Shrimp.html


Sorry pimptempura.. I have no idea what shrimps might be available. If you can get ahold of ghost shrimp, they are excellent cleaners.


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## dhavoc (May 4, 2006)

feeder shrimp in Hawaii is different from the glass shrimp in the states. and as everyone mentioned before they are neo heteropoda. they have been established/invasive in Hawaii for decades (i have a breeding colony still going strong from the late 80's). our mild climate and lack of direct competition in streams means they have pushed out the natives. the feeders in stores are caught in streams locally and are tough as nails. but also may carry parasites as they are wild. they tollerate varied water conditions much better than RCS or any other hetero. that said, they are NOT very good algae cleaners if that is what your looking for. they are great at eating left over food, dead vegetation or even dead fish, but not so effective at algae control. the only algae i have found they eat with gusto is brown diatom. 

opae kala'oe is a filter feeder, and is the most common of the natives still accessable. though you wont find them in any numbers in the lower stream sections on Oahu, you need to go into the upper stream areas in the mountains. they are pretty common on the outer islands though and actually are pretty good eating when sauted in butter...

the other natives are pretty big (more like small prawns) and i have yet to see them on Oahu. they need salt water to complete the larval cycle, but on the other hand they live pretty long (longest i had one was almost 4 years).

Hawaii quarantine laws basically ban any and all inverts into the state, the only exceptions are for research (universities/labs) and even then they need to file a ton of paperwork and get import permits (i asked).


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## deleted_user_6 (Jun 19, 2010)

Ah, my bad.. different place, different name. Sorry, didn't mean to be too matter-of-fact :biggrin: 
Kinda cool you can catch them wild locally though.


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## dhavoc (May 4, 2006)

yeah, hard to picture people on the mainland paying more than a buck each. here they are 8-10 for a dollar......


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