Pictured right a Petri dish of these tiny native shrimp. They are only about 2 centimetres long. Their diet consists of algae and detritus. They are totally harmless to fish. Most of their time is spent harvesting algae from surfaces inside the tank with their modified first set of limbs.
Pictured right is a close view of a female carrying eggs under her tail. If you look closely you will notice a little colour on the head, tail and tailfin. Although they are mostly transparent, on some occasions they will display some colour. Green is the most common colour. Sometimes they will display intricate lace patterns in several colours, often white.
As seen in the picture on the right they are very tiny. They will be eaten by medium to large fish. Mature large varieties of Australian rainbows will eat them. Smaller native fish will not be able to swallow them. They will also breed in aquariums making them an interesting, and useful addition to an aquarium.
Macrobrachium Australiensis
These shrimp are great in tanks with smaller fish. Larger fish will eat them. This species will not harm healthy fish. The shrimp will eat algae and fish food. They will clean any uneaten food from the aquarium. Males have oversized nippers which are used to deal with other males, and assist in feeding.
