Spiny Beaked Caridina, Ninja Shrimp
Caridina serratirostris
General information: It is a very small species of Caridina that lives among Vallisneria beds and leaf litter in its natural habitat here in the top end of the NT. It is described in the reference material as a scavenging omnivore and will eat periphyton, the layer of algae and bacteria adhering to the hard surfaces in a submerged environment. In the wet season floods it leaves the river bed and can be found in the grassy areas in shallow water at the edges of the flood.
Cultivation notes : Best kept in a small aquarium without any fish. It is a small species and would be easy pickings for any fish especieally during moulting time when crustaceans are most vulnerable. The petshrimp web site suggests using weathered leaf litter, http://www.petshrimp.com/serratirostris.html , as a source of nutrition. The shrimps will also take flake foods and have been observed gathered over a small piece of fish flesh. Be very careful with tap water and other chemicals, always prepare your make up water a week before you need it and keep it in a shady place in the garden where mother nature can add the final preparations to making it safe. The practise of doing a waterchange from the tap and adding chlorine remover as you go is not recommended.
Distribution : In Australia it is found in the NT and Qld, elswhere it occurs from Madagascar, Japan through Asia to Fiji.
Selling details : Sold as individuals at or over 1.2 cm (half an inch)
Reference: CSIRO on line fauna check list, Petshrimp web site http://www.petshrimp.com/serratirostris.html, personal communication with Sue Horner at the NT Museum.
