Blue peppermint shrimp

[Javeo]

I have never seen nor heard of these until i saw one at a wholesalers and bought it. Just wondering if it is a peppermint or another species or if it's eaten something to make it blue?

It has the same body shape as a pep. but none of the stripes, just a light blue body. The legs and antennea are red and the tail also has the same red pattern as a normal pep.

Any idea?
Thank you

[rshimek]

Hi,

Without an image, particularly, no idea.

Sorry.

[theevoys]

I'd like to see one

[LeslieH]

It's Stenopus tenuirostris, in the same genus as the common peppermint shrimp Stenopus hispidus. There's a nice picture of one at http://www.whiteheadimages.com/album...bandshrimp.jpg

[Javeo]

LeslieH, no i have that one also and i know what it is.
No the one im talking about looks EXACTLY 100% like a peppermint shrimp, on further observation today it does have a few stripes on its body like a normal pep, but they are red, edged with darker blue.

[LeslieH]

Interesting. color in crustaceans can be variable due to environmental conditions, diet, or the health of the animal. Let us know if the stripes develop more over time or the blue color disappears.

[spawner]

Originally posted by LeslieH
Interesting. color in crustaceans can be variable due to environmental conditions, diet, or the health of the animal. Let us know if the stripes develop more over time or the blue color disappears.

In Lysmata color is fixed generally, strip pattern almost never changes. Can be more or less intense, but the pattern remains constant.

Could be Lysmata galapagensis:

http://www.meerwasser-lexikon.de/bilder/tiere/859.jpg

These sometimes have a blue tent to them, but the patter is the same as the one in the picture. Dorsal view can look a bit different.

Can you give me the number, color, width of stripes and the direction on the abdomen of shrimp, color of the telson.

PICTURE WOULD BE NICE.

I have a ton of pictures I'll try to post a few with different patterns in a few days.

Leslie you get a reply back on those lots for me? I haven't heard anything on my end.

andy

[Javeo]

oh wow THAT is a gorgoues shrimp!! but its not mine.
gods i wish i could get a picture, but in short, broke camera, bought new car, severe lack of funds.

ok next time i feed, i'll try and get it close to the glass and I'll get a better description for you.
The patteren seems to be like a normal pep but onlt the thicker lines are visible. only the body, head to abdomen, is blue. the legs, antenea and telson all look like normal red peps

[LeslieH]

Originally posted by LeslieH
Interesting. color in crustaceans can be variable due to environmental conditions, diet, or the health of the animal. Let us know if the stripes develop more over time or the blue color disappears.

In Lysmata color is fixed generally, strip pattern almost never changes. Can be more or less intense, but the pattern remains constant.
Leslie you get a reply back on those lots for me? I haven't heard anything on my end.
andy [/B]

Consider Hippolyte obliquimanus - I have pictures of specimens id'ed by Sammy DeG. which range from bright solid green to brown to solid white, with varying degrees of blotches & filaments. And then there's the species which have distinctly different day-night coloration. the same situation exists with polychaetes. In some species the colors are fixed but wildly variable in others.

No response on my end either. When I get back to the museum next week I'll talk to Jody about the situation.

Javeo -- I'm a little confused. in your first message you said the legs & antennae were red (which means solid red?) but in the last post said they look like normal red peps (which means striped?).

[Javeo]

Are normal pep's legs and antennae striped? man this is getting confusing. Tomorrow i shall look at all the peps closley, i have 2 wurdammani and a californica besides the blue one, and do my best to describe them.
Thank you all

[LeslieH]

Oops, I'm the one confused! You're talking about Lysmata "peppermint shrimp" and I'm talking about Stenopus "peppermint shrimp". Goshdarn common names! SORRY!!

[spawner]

Hippolyte, is known for it's color varation.

What do your wurdemanni look like??

[Javeo]

LOL thats ok Leslie common names are a pain. I also have that stenopus. that you posted a pic of, i thought they where called boxer shrimp or somthing?


Anyway back to the blue lysmata, i overfed today, so everyone was out of hiding and i got a better look at the blue one.

The legs and antennae are red, but a paler red than normal peps (L.wurdemanni), and are almost brown at the very ends.
The body is a pale blue, with only a few of the thick stripes on the sides and a few broken stripes on the back, the stripes are red.
the telson is marked similar to wurdemanni, the edges are lighter but the "eyespots" are the same in colour and pattern.
The swimming legs are clear.
the body shape and size is identical to wurdemanni. The blue extends over the entire head and body.
Behaviour is also identical to wurdemanni, and it stays close to the other normal ones.

If anymore detail is needed let me know! thank you for your help