please ID this

[Fishyfins]

ok, finally, here is a photo of my shrimp. its cureently about 1" - 1.5" long, and possibly came on a piece of live rock from java if that narrows it down (if not then it came from fiji, its one of the two)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/fishyfins/mantisshrimp.jpg

i want, if possible, to know breed, and eventual size.

thanks

 

[Fishyfins]

can no one identify it

 

[Ms. K]

Try to get a picture of its telson (tail) and the spots inside his raptorial appendages (wrists). They're the parts used to identify species.

 

[Fishyfins]

well, i can see the spots on its raptorials very well when it is trying to look threatening to me. they are very much a mauve/purple colour. i will try to get more photo's soon.

 

[Gonodactylus]

That was what I suspected, but I didn't want to give an ID until I knew the meral spot color. The animal is a female Neogonodactylus oerstedii that would appear, given the body color, to have been in captivity for some time. Female N. o are the only Caribbean animals to be covered by lots of black spots. There are Pacific species that have this pattern, but none of them have the purple to purplish grey meral spots - so the combination is diagnostic.

Roy