Opaeula.co.uk

A dedicated forum and online store for the Opae ula shrimp! 

This section is to discuss anything Opae ula shrimp and brackish water related. e.g Nerite snails, algae etc..
 #6701  by zlatan2601
 
I noticed some of my opae have really big claws, others have really small claws. Can we learn something of it? Is it age related? Gender related?
 #6702  by Algae In Space
 
I rarely pay attention to their claw size difference but if I remember correctly male claws are bigger than female ones. :grin3:

Are the big claw ones in your tank more translucent too?
 #6703  by zlatan2601
 
Translucent as in being transparant? Possibly, i would need to have a closer look again. I have around 5 mature opae ula, 2 have really big claws. One is really big and completely white, the other is a bit smaller and red/pink. I have also mature red ones without the bigger claws. And i already saw some smaller opae but also with big claws or without the big claws... So it doesn't seem to be age related.
 #6705  by Arnold
 
Big claws supposed to be females, small claws supposed to be males
 #6707  by zlatan2601
 
@Arnold are you sure?

@Algae In Space yeah but unfortunately i don't have a good camera, it's not clear on the pictures I take... Once i have berried females, i will follow it up very closely...
 #6709  by Algae In Space
 
Arnold wrote: 02 Feb 2019 14:31 Big claws supposed to be females, small claws supposed to be males

As I don't have a macro lens I wonder how one can tell if this is true? Have you examined yours? I can't remember if there is something written on it in the holy book. What does OUR say?
 #6710  by zlatan2601
 
Fyi i have examined thel with my eyes (but my eyes are quite good) and with a loop...
 #6711  by zlatan2601
 
They are definetely opae, as they come out of a tank only containing opae for several years. I call the claws big but it's relatively compared to others... For some opae they are more pronounced than for others...