vernal pool inverts

[iturnrocks]

Here are some microscope pics of inverts I hatched from wild caught dirt at a vernal pool


Tadpole shrimp nauplii 1 day old at 200x

Daphnia (Moina) 2 day old at 200x

These were taken with a Sony Mavica FD90

Fairy shrimp adult

Beavertail Fairy Shrimp

Tadpole Shrimp

Tadpole Shrimp eating carrots (you can see the egg sac in this one just behind the shell)

Vernal Pool where I first discovered these critters

 

[dtknow]

Awesome photos! You seem to be doing a good job raising them. Is the pool water filled right now? If not I would be interested in a bit of dirt or if your shrimps(tadpole mainly...not sure how well fairies would do for me) lay eggs. How'd you raise the fairy shrimp anyhow?

Also, are these Triops T. longicaudatus?

 

[iturnrocks]

Awesome photos! You seem to be doing a good job raising them. Is the pool water filled right now? If not I would be interested in a bit of dirt or if your shrimps(tadpole mainly...not sure how well fairies would do for me) lay eggs. How'd you raise the fairy shrimp anyhow?

Also, are these Triops T. longicaudatus?

The pool isnt filled yet, but weve had a lot of rain recently. I hope to be able to collect some more dirt tomorrow if its dry enough. Not sure on the species of Triops yet, Ive sent some off to be identified. I dont really pick and choose what I raise. The dirt I get contains fairy shrimp, tadpole shrimp, daphnia, clam shrimp, copepods, and hydra. Thats the only things i have identified so far. I usually get about 5-10 triops and 50 fairy shrimp from an ounce of dirt. I havent yet hatched the beavertail species of fairy shrimp, but I did collect those wild. They werent as numerous as the spinytails. I could scoop hundreds of spinytails with an aquarium dip net. The beavertails can see you coming, so you have to chase them down- which is hard when your knee deep in water.

 

[jarvisnake]

fairy shrimp size?

I have caught fairy shrimp like those in your pics, red marks on the tail and all. These were big, I was really surprised at how big, maybe an inch total, but it's been a few years, so maybe not quite that big. How large do they usually get? Also I had found some in another pool that were what I would expect size-wise, about like adult brine shrimp, but they were bright red.
I found the big ones in a large flooded area, while I was catching spotted salamanders, among others. The red ones were in a smallish pool that stayed full except in the driest part of summer that was in thick tree growth, and I knew it as a breeding pool for marbled salamanders.

 

[dtknow]

Interesting stuff! How fast are the beavertails? I'd imagine if you have a net with a long handle you should be able to get them...they must be like brine shrimp on steroids. Are these the ones that eat other fairy shrimp by any chance?

It will be interesting to see if you can keep multiple generations of them going in captivity. Keep us updated.

 

[iturnrocks]

I have caught fairy shrimp like those in your pics, red marks on the tail and all. These were big, I was really surprised at how big, maybe an inch total, but it's been a few years, so maybe not quite that big. How large do they usually get?

The little ones with forked tails that I find max out about 1 inch.

The beavertails get about 2.5 inches

Here is a pic of the largest fairy shrimp, Branchinecta gigas- A friend of mine caught this in Colorado last year.

 

[iturnrocks]

Interesting stuff! How fast are the beavertails? I'd imagine if you have a net with a long handle you should be able to get them...they must be like brine shrimp on steroids. Are these the ones that eat other fairy shrimp by any chance?

It will be interesting to see if you can keep multiple generations of them going in captivity. Keep us updated.

The pool i hunt is quite large and about 1.5 feet deep. The first fairy shrimp I caught were the beavertails, but that was because my net had 1/4" mesh, and all the others would just fall through the holes. Because the beavertail has a flat tail as opposed to the usual forked tail it swims about as fast as a crayfish.

They arent really fast, but they can see you coming and they dive. This makes them difficult to scoop because i usually try not to get a net full of mud.
Since there arent as many of these in the pool, I try to walk around and look for them swimming near the surface. Then I thrust the net as they dive. Ive probly caught about 20 in that pool. Walking around really stirs up the mud and makes it much more difficult to see them.

The nets I use are about standard fish landing net size with a 4 or 5 foot pole. One has a fine mesh (sold as a butterfly net) but much stronger frame than the sissy ones. It used to be funnel shaped but it was hard to inspect the catch because everything was bunched up at the bottom in the cone, so I cut off the cone and rounded it.

Im not sure if the beavertails eat other fairy shrimp. The B. gigas in the previous post does, and the B. raptor they discovered recently does, but they are much larger.

This pic shows the size difference between the 2 species. All the little forked tail ones are about 1" long

 

[iturnrocks]

Below is a list of Brine, Fairy, Clam, and Tadpole shrimp of the United States as of 2001. The species I have found in my kansas pool and had identified are in bold. Some species verification still pending.

If you would like a key to identifying species, enjoy the search and tell me when you find one.

Artemia franciscana San Francisco Brine Shrimp
Artemia gracilis Woodentub Brine Shrimp
Artemia monica Mono Lake Brine Shrimp
Branchinecta campestris Pocked Pouch Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta coloradensis Colorado Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta conservatio Conservancy Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta cornigera Horned Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta dissimilis Dissimilar Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta gigas Giant Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta hiberna Winter Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta kaibabensis Kaibab Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta lindahli Versitle Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta longiantenna Longhorn Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta lynchi Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta mackini Alkali Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta mesovallensis Midvalley Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta packardi Rock Pool Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta paludosa Circumpolar Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta potassa Potassium Loving Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta readingi Eastern Alkali Fairy Shrimp
Branchinecta sandiegonensis San Diego Fairy Shrimp
Artemiopsis stephanssoni Sealed Pouch Fairy Shrimp
Dexteria floridana Florida Fairy Shrimp
Eubranchipus bundyi Knobbedlip Fairy Shrimp
Eubranchipus holmanii Eastern Fairy Shrimp
Eubranchipus intricatus Smoothlip Fairy Shrimp
Eubranchipus moorei Coastal Plain Fairy Shrimp
Eubranchipus neglectus Neglected Fairy Shrimp
Eubranchipus oregonius Oregon Fairy Shrimp
Eubranchipus ornatus Ornate Fairy Shrimp
Eubranchipus serratus Ethologist Fairy Shrimp
Eubranchipus vernalis Springtime Fairy Shrimp
Linderiella occidentalis California Fairy Shrimp
Linderiella santarosae Santa Rosa Plateau Fairy Shrimp
Polyartemiella hazeni Antlered Fairy Shrimp
Polyartemiella judayi Beringian Fairy Shrimp
Streptocephalus dorothae New Mexico Fairy Shrimp
Streptocephalus linderi Spinyfinger Fairy Shrimp
Streptocephalus mackini Chihuahuan Desert Fairy Shrimp
Streptocephalus mattoxi Crenatethumb Fairy Shrimp
Streptocephalus moorei Spinythumb Fairy Shrimp
Streptocephalus sealii Spinytail Fairy Shrimp
Streptocephalus similis Lesser Spinytail Fairy Shrimp
Streptocephalus texanus Greater Plains Fairy Shrimp
Streptocephalus woottoni Riverside Fairy Shrimp
Branchinella acaciodea Acacia Fairy Shrimp
Branchinella alachua Alachua Fairy Shrimp
Branchinella lithaca Stone Mountain Fairy Shrimp
Branchinella sublettei Salt Playa Fairy Shrimp
Thamnocephalus mexicanus Mexican Beavertail Fairy Shrimp
Thamnocephalus platyurus Beavertail Fairy Shrimp
Caenestheriella gynecia Feminine Clam Shrimp
Cyzicus belfragei Great Plains Clam Shrimp
Cyzicus californicus California Clam Shrimp
Cyzicus elongatus Elongate Clam Shrimp
Cyzicus mexicanus Mexican Clam Shrimp
Cyzicus morsei Centerhump Clam Shrimp
Cyzicus setosa Bristletail Clam Shrimp
Eocyzicus concavus Swaybacked Clam Shrimp
Eocyzicus digueti Straightbacked Clam Shrimp
Leptestheria compleximanus Spineynose Clam Shrimp
Eulimnadia agassizii A Clam Shrimp
Eulimnadia antlei Fuzzy Cyst Clam Shrimp
Eulimnadia astraova Star Cyst Clam Shrimp
Eulimnadia cylindrova Cylindrical Cyst Clam Shrimp
Eulimnadia diversa Diversity Clam Shrimp
Eulimnadia texana Texan Clam Shrimp
Eulimnadia lenticularis Euroamerican Clam Shrimp
Lynceus brachyurus Holarctic Clam Shrimp
Lynceus brevifrons Short Finger Clam Shrimp
Lynceus gracilicornis Graceful Clam Shrimp
Lynceus mucronatus Hookleg Clam Shrimp
Paralimnetis texana Pointytop Finger Clam Shrimp
Lepidurus bilobatus Bilobed Tadpole Shrimp
Lepidurus couesii Round Spine Tadpole Shrimp
Lepidurus lemmoni Lemon Tadpole Shrimp
Lepidurus packardi Vernal Pool Tadpole Shrimp
Triops longicaudatus Longtail Tadpole Shrimp
Triops newberryi Desert Tadpole Shrimp

 

[Scythemantis]

I somehow had no idea that various "giant" fairy shrimp existed. Your friend's photo is the most amazing thing I've ever seen...and these guys are predatory?

Why doesn't anyone breed those in captivity? Surely it can't be much harder than other species. I read that they're predatory and feed exclusively on slightly smaller species, but still...

 

[lychas]

where abouts would i be able 2 find dirt that i can hatch shrimp out of, i live in australia

 

[iturnrocks]

where abouts would i be able 2 find dirt that i can hatch shrimp out of, i live in australia

I could send you some. Im not really sure on australias import laws, but its really just dirt, so I doubt anyone would stop it. PM me your address and ill run a quote for you. Im pretty sure itll be about $15-$20 USD for about 1/2 Kg of dirt. Or even less if you dont mind waiting 4-6 weeks.

 

[iturnrocks]

Why doesn't anyone breed those in captivity? Surely it can't be much harder than other species

Im hoping my friend will snag some for me next time hes in the area. I would really like to breed them.

 

[Stylopidae]

I think it's worth mentioning that if you decide to wait 4 to six weeks, they'll be just fine. The eggs will last for years.

iturnrocks: Do you think you could make a map of all the areas that have vernal pool inverts? I'd like to do some hunting in my area (Iowa) but don't really want to waste my time.

 

[cacoseraph]

I could send you some. Im not really sure on australias import laws, but its really just dirt, so I doubt anyone would stop it. PM me your address and ill run a quote for you. Im pretty sure itll be about $15-$20 USD for about 1/2 Kg of dirt. Or even less if you dont mind waiting 4-6 weeks.

you might want to reconsider... OZ is insane about keeping stuff like this out. they are strict about exporting native fauna but they are truly insane about keeping exotic fauna out!

 

[Dom]

you might want to reconsider... OZ is insane about keeping stuff like this out. they are strict about exporting native fauna but they are truly insane about keeping exotic fauna out!

Yeah that's true, there could be serious legal consequences sending things like that to OZ. They have MANY invasive species that are causing serious problems there.

Excellent pics and thread BTW iturnrocks!

 

[dtknow]

Australia has their own Triops species which can be purchased there.

 

[iturnrocks]

Yeah that's true, there could be serious legal consequences sending things like that to OZ. They have MANY invasive species that are causing serious problems there.

Excellent pics and thread BTW iturnrocks!

But really, i wouldnt be shipping it as exotic animals, I would be shipping it as a bag of dirt. If someone were to open the package, they would see a bag of dirt. Unless they have a policy on keeping out exotic dirt, I doubt there would be any consequences. Branchiopods eggs can not be identified short of a detailed examination with a microscope or magnifying glass. I think all customs would see is a bag of dirt.

They might think thats suspicious and inquire about it, but thats as far as it would go


If I ship to australia, I will email the hatching instructions, so there is no evidence of anything but dirt.

 

[iturnrocks]

iturnrocks: Do you think you could make a map of all the areas that have vernal pool inverts? I'd like to do some hunting in my area (Iowa) but don't really want to waste my time.

I think you have me mistaken for someone else. I work in a warehouse for $10 an hour. I dont travel the US mapping vernal pools.

Maybe if this dirt selling picks up i could do that someday.

 

[lychas]

Australia has their own Triops species which can be purchased there.

any idea where i could get some?

 

[Stylopidae]

I think you have me mistaken for someone else. I work in a warehouse for $10 an hour. I dont travel the US mapping vernal pools.

Maybe if this dirt selling picks up i could do that someday.

Look at Cacoseraph's USA scolopendrid maps. He rarely leaves his rialto centiburrow. I'm sure you have resources much better than mine (seeing as how a google turned up next to nothing), since this is your area of interest.