Need advice on housing and caring for a single Macrobrachium rosenbergii

[Echostatic]

Hello everyone, a couple weeks back, I picked up what I thought were some ghost shrimp, but were actually Macrobrachium. Someone said they look like juvenile M. rosenbergii. I will return most of them, but I really want to keep one, as they're pretty cool guys.

I currently have him in a 10 gallon aquarium as he is just a couple inches in length. I've read some posts about them here, but I haven't been able to figure out what size aquarium I would need to keep a single one by himself as an adult.

So if anyone has these, or has had these, I'd like to hear from you! What aquarium could I keep one of these guys in? What kind of filtration do they need? How much and how often do you feed the adults? What do they eat? Anything else?

I've never kept an invert this large before, so I would love to be able to go into this well informed. (I'm keeping him up at work. I don't know how, but somehow I managed to get permission to drag a larger aquarium up here for him. Yay for office tanks!)

Edit: I forgot pictures!

His current aquarium. http://i.imgur.com/3ZNMkWF.jpg
The little fella. http://i.imgur.com/mRBoao4.jpg
Why I think he is a rosenbergii. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MacrobrachiumDacquetiJuvinile.jpg

 

[Veneer]

Nice, and your ID is spot-on. Are you by any chance in Texas? A disproportionate share of these "surprises" in the US seem to take place in that state -- guess some aquaculture operation is diverting excess postlarvae into aquarium trade as feeders.

For an adult, you could get by with a 40 breeder, 55, or 75 gallon, though larger is really better if you have a fully developed male with those unwieldy arms. Can make really interactive pets -- will stick their claws out of the water for food ... eat just about anything, including live fish -- a mix of prepared foods should be fine. Meaty frozen like bloodworms are usually especially relished, but include vegetable matter too. HOB or canister (err on the side of over-filtering) and decent circulation is best. Some sort of hide (could just be appropriately arranged wood or rockwork if you don't want a PVC pipe or the like in the tank) allowing it to conceal most of its body will make it feel more secure.

 

[Echostatic]

I am in Texas, yes. I had read they show up often here as feeders. I was at the LFS yesterday and saw a lot more of these guys in their feeder shrimp tank.

40 breeders, 55s and 75s are all fairly narrow on the width, would a 60 gallon cube be a better fit at 24" LxWxH? I'll get him a good strong canister filter when the time comes.

 

[Veneer]

40 breeders, 55s and 75s are all fairly narrow on the width, would a 60 gallon cube be a better fit at 24" LxWxH? I'll get him a good strong canister filter when the time comes.

Could do -- in that case be sure to arrange hardscape so vertical space can be utilized more fully.

 

[Echostatic]

Alright, with the Black Friday sale and a surprisingly cool boss, I bought a 120 gallon aquarium (18"L x 60"W 26"H) and got it put in place at work. It'll be a while before it is ready to house anything, but it should be plenty of room for this guy.

So now I'm wondering if this would be large enough to add one or two more of these guys, or if that would be pushing it too far.