Are freshwater prawn really really aggressive? What would be suitable tankmates for them? Thanks!
freshwater prawn
- Thread starter Archer33389
- Start date
The few that I know are aggressive and are kept by themselves. They are super awesome and very interactive with their owners (at least the ones that I know) though 
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I think Dispatch might be talking about mine. The common prawn in the trade is the Malaysian giant blue prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). This is a spectacular specimen that, when allowed the room, will get to over 12" body alone. They are beautiful creatures. The males get larger than the females and have very long claws that get to be a vibrant navy blue when full-grown. They are extremely aggressive. Aside from a large pleco, I can't think of many fish you would be able to keep with them.
I have one male in a 55 and 75 gallon tank, respectively. Both have provided me with months of enjoyment. They will eat our of your hand (if you let them) and are much more active than any cray I've kept. They each have a unique personality, always begging for food. They almost have a cichlid personality.
If you have a large tank (125 gallon +) that you could devote to a colony of these creatures, I'd highly recommend it. Anyone who's seen my prawn are in absolute awe at their size, shape, color and demeanor.
There are other prawn in the trade that are less aggressive. The red claw macro (Macrobrachium dayanum) is a dwarf prawn that only gets to be about 3". I have some of these as well. They share a tank with cherry shrimp and although somewhat aggressive towards each other, they leave the cherries alone. This might be a more suitable species for a community tank.
There are probably ~300 named species of Macrobrachium in the world. They range from ghost shrimp size to the large ones as described above. Post up if you have any other questions about them. There are a few other members on this board who keep them and have helped me learn more about them. They are a tough species to obtain and really deserve more notoriety in this trade.
The common prawn in the trade is the Malaysian giant blue prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). This is a spectacular specimen that, when allowed the room, will get to over 12" body alone. They are beautiful creatures. The males get larger than the females and have very long claws that get to be a vibrant navy blue when full-grown. They are extremely aggressive. Aside from a large pleco, I can't think of many fish you would be able to keep with them. I have one male in a 55 and 75 gallon tank, respectively. Both have provided me with months of enjoyment. They will eat our of your hand (if you let them) and are much more active than any cray I've kept. They each have a unique personality, always begging for food. They almost have a cichlid personality.
If you have a large tank (125 gallon +) that you could devote to a colony of these creatures, I'd highly recommend it. Anyone who's seen my prawn are in absolute awe at their size, shape, color and demeanor.
There are other prawn in the trade that are less aggressive. The red claw macro (Macrobrachium dayanum) is a dwarf prawn that only gets to be about 3". I have some of these as well. They share a tank with cherry shrimp and although somewhat aggressive towards each other, they leave the cherries alone. This might be a more suitable species for a community tank.
There are probably ~300 named species of Macrobrachium in the world. They range from ghost shrimp size to the large ones as described above. Post up if you have any other questions about them. There are a few other members on this board who keep them and have helped me learn more about them. They are a tough species to obtain and really deserve more notoriety in this trade.
I am a big fan of Macrobrachium as well. I have a species that reproduces in freshwater (not all Macrobrachium do that)and I can even keep them together with my turtles. The main thing is that they need a larger than averagely used tank for inverts.
I caught a giant river prawn (native Texas species) and it was really cool. I let a friend of mine keep it because I didn't have anything bigger than a 20 long at the time. It had a huge appetite and ended up catching and eating a 9 inch Rio Grande Cichlid. I think he ended up releasing it because he couldn't keep it fed.
I bet it was the painted or big claw river prawn (Macrobrachium carcinus). That is arguably the largest and most aggressive of the prawn species. Still trying to get my hands on a few of them.
Yeah, i used to use them as feeders, crazy prawns werent scared of anything... Fun to watch but can be a pain in a planted tank...
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