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SnailsIndian whisker shrimp | Macrobrachium lamarrei care & info
Most of the shrimp we discuss here on the Shrimp Farm blog are dwarf species that stay very small. If you're looking for something a little bigger for your freshwater aquarium, though, you've still got options! How about an Indian whisker shrimp (Macrobrachium lamarrei)?
Keep reading for everything you need to know about this Macrobrachium species and its care in the aquarium!
| Scientific name | Macrobrachium lamarrei |
| Common names | (Indian) whisker shrimp, Kuncho river prawn |
| Difficulty level | Easy |
| Origin | India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan |
Table of Contents
Indian whisker shrimp appearance
As mentioned in the intro, Indian whisker shrimp grow larger than most freshwater shrimp species: up to 3". The species is a distinctive milky white to light sandy brown in color.
Indian whisker shrimp vs ghost shrimp
Yep, the Indian whisker shrimp is often confused with the more commonly kept freshwater ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.). A trained eye shouldn't have any problem telling them apart, though, as the ghost shrimp is translucent whereas whisker shrimp coloration is opaque.
If you're unsure which of the two to go for in your aquarium, the usual and easier choice would be ghost shrimp. They are smaller and less aggressive, making them suitable for more types of tanks.
Indian whisker shrimp are also commonly confused with "regular" whisker shrimp: Macrobrachium lanchesteri.
Setting up an Indian whisker shrimp aquarium
Requirements
Indian whisker shrimp really aren't picky when it comes to their aquarium. Due to their adult size, we'd recommend going for a 10 gallon tank as a minimum. The aquarium should always be fully cycled before you introduce any livestock. A heater may also be a good idea, as the areas this shrimp naturally occurs in are known to be pretty toasty year-round. They're a decidedly tropical species and probably don't respond well to cold.
Decoration isn't much of a concern, so you can decorate the tank however suits you. Just include a few hides, like shrimp flats, so the shrimp can molt in peace.
Water quality
One characteristic that makes the Indian whisker shrimp an attractive choice for beginning shrimp keepers is that these guys really don't care very much about water values. Unless your water is of very low quality, you should be able to keep them in whatever comes from the tap. Just use a water conditioner and you'll be good to go.
Make sure the aquarium is fully cycled to prevent toxic ammonia and nitrite spikes, and perform weekly small water changes to prevent nitrates from building up too much.
pH: 6.8-7.8
Temperature: 75-88 °F
GH: 2-14
KH: 1-8
Total Dissolved Solids: 100-300
Tankmates
Most freshwater aquarium shrimp are peaceful detritus feeders that don't bother their tankmates. With size clearly comes feistiness, though, because Indian whisker shrimp are known for being on the aggressive side. They're similar in this to larger freshwater crayfish. The species is omnivorous, after all, and may go after live prey if it's weak or slow enough.
What we're trying to say with all this is: keep your whisker shrimp alone or with nimble species, like quick schooling fish, that can avoid getting caught. Multiple shrimp can be kept together, but keep in mind that if one weakens it's likely to be killed off.
Indian whisker shrimp diet
This species is naturally omnivorous, eating pretty much whatever it can find. Food sources range from algae and detritus to dead creatures and even live prey. Keeping your Indian whisker shrimp well-fed in the aquarium should be no problem whatsoever!
You can feed normal fish flakes or sinking pellets. Supplement with whatever you can find: calcium-rich specialized shrimp foods to aid in molting, frozen fish foods, blanched vegetables and much more. You'll find this shrimp isn't picky at all.
Breeding Indian whisker shrimp
Like the more well-known ghost shrimp and the popular Amano shrimp, Macrobrachium (including the Indian whisker shrimp) is a lower-order genus. This means that rather than hatching tiny copies of the adults that can fend for themselves from the start, they produce baby shrimp that go through a vulnerable larval stage. This unfortunately makes them more difficult to breed.
If you'd like to grow your whisker shrimp population, you can place berried females in a separate breeding tank until the eggs hatch. How long that takes can vary, but it's usually roughly three weeks. After this, you can remove the mother to make sure she doesn't end up eating her own larvae.
The larvae can be reared on a small, meaty diet like Artemia nauplii. They apparently grow quicker than most other Macrobrachium larvae, but we haven't had the chance to try this for ourselves and couldn't find exact information on when they metamorphose.
Buying Indian whisker shrimp
This species is popular in the areas it naturally occurs in as a food item, and is reared for this purpose on a relatively large scale. You're a lot less likely to come across them in your local aquarium store, unfortunately, but you may be able to ask them to order a few in for you.
