Wild Shrimp

[Liv15]

I was looking in this mini stream (its about a 2ft wide and about 2inches deep) that runs through the woods where I live (I live in South Wales and this stream is freshwater). I was looking for snails I could put in my tank and there are loads of little shrimp in this stream.

Well, they look like shrimp, their bodies are kind of bent - the picture attached shows the shape of their bodies. I am NOT saying the shrimp in the picture is the same as the shrimp I saw, it's just to show the body shape! I couldn't see any more detailes of these shrimp, just that they are tiny, like under a cm long and their bodies are bent in this shape. So are these actually shrimp or are they some sort of insect larvae? And what would their 'purpose' be? Like what do they do?

 

[214jay]

Its not one of these is it? Dikerogammarus villosus
 
Have a look at google images...  If so they are a highly invasive type of amphipod!
 
I could be way off the mark with this but remember an ecologist talking about this recently so rang a bell

 

[SmexxyNick]

It's a ghost shrimp or amano...Just look up river shrimp or something etc

 

[Liv15]

I think I'll go catch one and put it in a jar and take a pic.

It's a ghost shrimp or amano...Just look up river shrimp or something etc

And I know that's what the pic is of, I was just showing what I meant when i said they have a bent body shape, and I'll look up river shrimp thanks!

 

[Liv15]

Its not one of these is it? Dikerogammarus villosus
 
Have a look at google images...  If so they are a highly invasive type of amphipod!
 
I could be way off the mark with this but remember an ecologist talking about this recently so rang a bell

You may be right, they look like that and I found an article which said they have been found in South Wales. I'm pretty sure these shrimp have been here for a long time too because when I was little I remember seeing little shrimpy things in the stream. I will deffo go take another look, it was dark in the woods when i saw them before so I could be wrong..

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Did they look like this?  We caught this at the sea side over the summer (we let it go).

 
Not sure what it is called though as for species.

 

[Liv15]

Did they look like this?  We caught this at the sea side over the summer (we let it go).

 
Not sure what it is called though as for species.

No I don't think so... Hmmm, I shall have to get a picture of one soon. And that's a cool thing to find at the seaside. I never find anything, was it in a rock pool?

 

[PrairieSunflower]

No, we found this one while crabbing at Littlehampton.
 
I also caught some sort of prawn (I think) at Rottingdean but the picture isn't so great.

 

[fm1978]

From that pic it looks like your right hand has 8 fingers...I had to squint and adjust my spectacles to see that it was both hands...hehe!
 
Cool find at the beach!
 
Liv15; really lookin forward to seeing what you've found if you can get a pic!

 

[214jay]

 
Did they look like this?  We caught this at the sea side over the summer (we let it go).

 
Not sure what it is called though as for species.

I love my rockpooling, theres sooooo much no-one ever see's (probably for the best).  I think that is the Common Prawn (palaemon serratus) - A young one at that.  I used to do ton's of rockpooling and those fellas can grow up to about 4 inches!!  They do seem to be declining though as I never see ones much larger than 2-2.5 inch anymore.  I wouldn't have though it would be a common prawn the OP saw anyway as they are Marine, think they can cope with brackish as have caught them in estuaries but not freshwater.
 
My dream would be to set up a british marine tank....ho hum...

 

[sbenbow]

Are wild shrimp (that have been identified) safe to put into tanks with other fish then?  (maybe after a quarantine!)  I'd never heard (or thought) of that before.

 

[214jay]

I wouldn't advise putting the Dikerogammarus villosus in your tank, they are called the 'Killer Shrimp' for a reason.  I don't think there are really any native freshwater shrimp in the UK, maybe the Fairy Shrimp but they are not really the norm...

 

[Liv15]

Sorry I haven't been able to get a pic of one yet, I've been really really busy! I will get one though. Better late than ever!