King, tiger and Atlantic shrimps. Shrimp habitats Shrimp in the wild

Oleg, it’s easy to get lost in all the diversity of the shrimp world. How many types of shrimp are there and how do they differ?
There are about 2000 species in nature shrimp. They can all be divided into two groups - cold-water and warm-water. Externally, they differ in size - cold-water ones are much smaller.

Are cold-water shrimp our usual shrimp?
You can say that. The most commonly found shrimp are northern red shrimp, with northern chilim and red comb shrimp also common. By the way, they are red even when raw. These shrimps are boiled alive in sea ​​water and after cooking they are immediately frozen. You can distinguish a boiled shrimp from a raw one by its tail: a boiled one has a curl, while a raw one has a straight tail. But here it is important to know that to Russia northern shrimp are supplied only boiled frozen, and these have a straight tail - a sign that the shrimp was boiled already dead.

Interesting point - Russian fishermen shrimp caught, but delivered to the USA, South Korea and Japan, and we buy shrimp caught by the Danes and Canadians, they say it is profitable from an economic point of view.

Another nuance concerns the size or “ caliber» shrimp. On the packaging you can find the following numbers - 50/70 ( pieces per kilogram - approx. ed.), 70/90 and 90/120 Than larger number, the smaller the shrimp. So, cold-water shrimp are small, and size 70/90 is already rare for them. Therefore, I advise you to buy shrimp of 90/120 caliber, for all others more ice than meat.

So we have to be content with the smallest shrimp?
Small doesn't mean bad. On the contrary, the smaller the shrimp, the juicier their meat and the brighter their taste. For this reason, I like northern shrimp much more than tropical ones. Moreover, cold-water shrimp are caught in natural environment habitats, and warm-water ones in industrial scale grown on farms.

Are you saying that warm water shrimp are inferior?
I would say that they are not for everyone, and besides, it is really easy to get confused when choosing them. For example, " royal» Shrimp do not exist in nature. All large warm water bodies are united under this name. shrimps, with the exception of tiger ones, so named because of the specific color of the shell.

IN different countries king prawns their own - there are white Pacific, Indian, Chinese, Japanese sweet shrimp, Atlantic red and even giant freshwater shrimp that live in Southeast Asia. But only 20% of the total king prawns are caught in their natural habitat. The remaining 80% comes from farms where shrimp are bred in special ponds.

Where do king prawns come from in Russia?
We mainly source shrimp grown in China, India and Bangladesh. Farmed shrimp are always larger than wild shrimp, and the manufacturer’s packaging should indicate that this is a product of aquaculture. Boiled frozen king prawns are sold in three types - uncut, with the shell without a head, or completely peeled. By the way, despite its impressive size - 25-30 cm in length, the meat in a king prawn is only 30% total weight, the rest is the head.

Are tiger shrimp farmed too?
To a lesser extent than king shrimp, but farmed tiger shrimp are supplied to Russia. Black tiger shrimp are brought from India and China, and ordinary shrimp are brought from Indonesia and Thailand. They differ in color - in ordinary dark stripes on a light shell, and on black ones it’s the other way around.
The size of tiger prawns is even larger than that of king prawns - 30-35 cm, and meat is 50% of the total weight. These shrimp are sold raw, with or without heads. They look very impressive with the head on, and are often used to decorate dishes.

What's so scary about farmed shrimp?
Some people don't like the taste it gets. shrimp, grown on artificial feed. Some are afraid that they are being bred using stimulants, dyes and antibiotics. I just like northern shrimp more - they are tastier and useful substances there is much more in them. But all this is true only if the shrimp is fresh.

What should fresh shrimp taste like?
Fresh shrimp must be properly frozen. The coloring should be even, the ice glaze should be thin, and the tail should be pressed against the belly. White spots on the shell or snow flakes in the packaging mean that shrimps defrosted several times. Pay attention to the shrimp's head, if there is one. Pregnant shrimp have a brown head; their meat is the most delicious and healthy. A green head indicates that the shrimp was feeding on algae and special kind plankton. But a black head indicates a serious illness; eating such a shrimp is dangerous to health. Black spots on the shell are also unacceptable.

Shrimp: a way of life

Freshwater shrimp, where they live, are an important element of the fauna of reservoirs, an essential link in the food chain. Many fish eat them and waterfowl. Freshwater shrimp are also of significant economic importance.

By the end of the 20th century. The freshwater shrimp Exopalaemon modestus was discovered in the Kapchagay reservoir in Kazakhstan, and in Uzbekistan, in the Chirchik and Syrdarya rivers, in the Arnasay lakes, the Chinese shrimp Macrobrachium nipponense has taken root. It was accidentally introduced into fish ponds along with juveniles Far Eastern fish from China. The same shrimp accidentally ended up in artificial cooling ponds at hydroelectric power stations in the Moscow region, then at the Ryazan State District Power Plant, and began to multiply beautifully there constantly. warm water. They were already specially settled in the cooling lakes of state district power plants in Belarus and Moldova. In such reservoirs, shrimp eat lower algae, which develop en masse in warm water, and themselves serve as food for many fish. In particular, they are readily eaten by pike perch. Breeding experiments are currently underway in food purposes giant eastern Rosenberg shrimp in the Volga delta and in warm-water basins in the Crimea.

As observations in Belarus have shown, in the cooling ponds of state regional power plants, the number of shrimp can increase by 8.7 times or more over the course of a year. In Moldova, two years after their settlement, their number increased from 2 thousand to 600 thousand.

Freshwater shrimp are quite valuable product nutrition, which is essential in the tropics and subtropics. They are grown in ponds and rice paddies in two dozen countries around the world. In constantly warm water, shrimp can reproduce year-round and reach large numbers: up to 50 crustaceans per 1 m3 of water. In the USA, India, Australia, and Israel, the number of shrimp in ponds can grow 60 times per season. Mainly 10–16 species of the genus Macrobrachium are grown, some representatives of which reach a length of 30 cm and weigh 150–250 g (for example, the already mentioned giant eastern Rosenberg shrimp, Macrobrachium rosenbergii).

You can learn a lot of interesting things about shrimp by observing them in an aquarium. These creatures get along well in captivity and over the last decade have become quite widespread among aquarists. They cleanse aquarium plants from fouling with lower algae, they act as orderlies, complement the diversity of the population of an indoor reservoir, usually limited only to fish, and decorate the underwater landscape with their original appearance. The aquariums contain Japanese marsh shrimp (Caridina japonica), South Asian bee shrimp (Caridina serrata) and bumblebee shrimp from the genus Neocaridina, Far Eastern freshwater shrimp. Small shrimp, for example, caridina bee, live in captivity for 1–1.5 years, large ones for 2–4 years.

A volume of 7–10 liters per individual is sufficient for shrimp; they prefer a sandy bottom, clean water, feed on detritus, leftover fish food, and microalgae. Large shrimp can sometimes attack sick or, less commonly, fish sleeping on the bottom at night. They usually do not touch healthy active fish. Attacks on fish and cannibalism are more often observed in stressful situations for shrimp - after transplantation, with a lack of regular food, overcrowding, sudden changes conditions of detention, in particular, significant temperature changes for 1–2 hours.

According to some reports, shrimp of the genus Caridina require brackish water for the development of eggs and larvae, and Neocaridina bumblebees also reproduce in fresh water. But the biological features of many species of shrimp have not yet been sufficiently studied, so it is interesting to recommend that schoolchildren keep them, along with fish, in aquariums and observe them. Topics to observe may include the following.

1. Variability of color: lightening and darkening depending on the intensity of lighting, time of day, color of the soil different types. Effect of nutrition on color. Thus, when eating red mosquito larvae (bloodworms), the body of shrimp can turn pink, when eating dark tubifex worms, it can darken, and when feeding on green algae, it can turn green.

2. Observations of the movements and orientation of shrimp are instructive. Walking legs on the cephalothorax help them walk on the ground and climb vertically on plants. Here they are also held with the help of abdominal swimming legs, which in other cases help the shrimp to swim both forward - horizontally, and up and down - vertically. The movements of the caudal peduncles - uropods and the bending of the end of the abdomen help the shrimp not only quickly jump back a considerable distance, but also drive away other shrimp and fish. Also, the molting shrimp, whose legs have not yet hardened, moves with sharp flexions and extensions of the abdomen and pushes.

When searching for food, the shrimp primarily uses its antennae, claws, and jaws, all the while feeling the substrate around it. Its eyes distinguish only relatively large, closely located objects and are used when viewing the surrounding space when swimming and moving and when monitoring the approach of danger. This can be noticed when catching shrimp with a net.

3. Observations of the behavior of shrimp are of interest. Large macrobrachiums and palemons exhibit elements of territoriality, often stay in one corner of the aquarium, and try not to let other shrimp and fish in there. But we did not observe any fights among the shrimps - they, putting their open claws forward, quickly spread to the sides when they meet. Males vying for a female behave in a similar way. Males guard females during molting and mating.

4. Experiments on feeding shrimp, their choice of food items, the effect of temperature on the growth and development of shrimp, and the frequency of molting are worthy of attention. The shrimp quickly begin to recognize the place where food constantly appears, and try to stay nearby all the time. This is how they form conditioned reflex to the place and time of feeding. This indicates a certain development and complexity nervous system shrimp: they have more plastic behavior than arachnids and a number of insects that almost do not form conditioned reflexes.

It is worth paying attention to the structure of the discarded shells - exuviae. When shrimp molt, damaged or previously lost limbs grow back and the process of their regeneration occurs. This is especially noticeable in young ones, as they shed more often.

5. Reproduction of shrimp is a special area of ​​observation. The peculiarities of the female's care for the eggs and the change in their color as they mature are interesting. Females can regularly lay unfertilized eggs, which they then gradually lose. You can trace the influence of temperature and salinity of water on the development of eggs. Finally, the complex development process of shrimp larvae is very interesting. If you manage to grow ten young shrimp from larvae in an aquarium, that’s already big success. You can feed the larvae with particles of milk powder, yeast, boiled egg yolk, ground grain sprayed in water...

We eat this sea ​​creature, and what do we know about him? Today we will tell you how he lives shrimp V sea ​​depths, where it lives, what species exist and much more.

Description of shrimp

Shrimp is a mollusk belonging to the decapod crayfish, with a body length of only 10-12 cm (a maximum of some individuals reach 30 cm) with a body weight of 20 grams. Life cycle of a shrimp varies from 1.5 to 6 years.

Did you know that the mollusk is a unique creature? These creatures are able to shed their shell, replacing it with a new one. But the most interesting thing is that the sea creature’s heart and genitals are located in the head area, where the digestive and urinary organs are also located! Like all crustaceans and fish, the shrimp is breathing with the help of gills, which are located next to the walking legs and are protected by a shell. By the way, no matter how surprising it may be, but in in good condition blood shrimp blue color! And only from a lack of oxygen does it become discolored. These creatures live in almost any body of water in the world, except for the Arctic and Antarctica, focusing on areas of the equator.

Types of shrimp

Scientists identify more than 2,000 species, which they divided into subspecies:

1. Freshwater

2. Cold water

3. Warm water

4. Brackish water

HABITAT, REPRODUCTION AND NUTRITION OF SHRIMP

Shrimp habitat

Did you know what exactly shrimps play important role in the ecosystem of seas and oceans? These small creatures clean the bottom of reservoirs from various tubifex worms, fish and aquatic insects. In search of food, the marine inhabitant leads quite active image life, constantly moving through bodies of water. Little cleaners cleanse the body of dead brothers and small algae, sometimes attacking big fish, but only on sleeping or sick people.

Of course, everyone species of shrimp lives in different places. Warm water, for example, live only in southern oceans and seas, and there are about a hundred species of them. Cold water found in the Baltic and North Seas, in the Barents Sea, near the coasts of Canada and Greenland. By the way, this is one of the most common types of shrimp. You probably already realized that brackish water mollusks are inhabitants of salty seas and oceans. Freshwater They also live in Russia, Australia, the countries of South and South East Asia. Chilean inhabit the South American coasts, the Black, Baltic and Mediterranean Seas, and our beloved king prawns V Atlantic Ocean.

What do shrimp eat?

Basis of shellfish nutrition– organic substances and endangered aquatic plants. Among plants, preference is given to succulent varieties, such as ceratopteris. These creatures resemble scavengers who will not disdain to feast on dead shellfish and even young fish. In shrimp There are organs of touch and smell that perfectly help in finding food - these are kind of antennas on the head. Residents closer to the equator even dig up the soil in search, running around the perimeter until they stumble upon food. As soon as mollusk found what he was looking for, he instantly and greedily pounces on food. And only blind individuals of the Black Sea eat silt with their mandibles (jaws), and cold-water ones with pure plankton.

At home, we can add to the diet animal dandelion and clover leaves, cucumbers, boiled carrots, zucchini, walnuts, chestnuts, cherries.

Shrimp breeding

As soon as the female is ready to lay eggs, she secretes a yellow-green mass with a specific smell, to which the males flock like bees to honey. Once the couple has chosen each other, they begin mate, which lasts no more than a minute. One female can lay 20-30 eggs, which develop from 10 to 30 days, depending on environment. During the moment of formation, the shrimp in the caviar changes from 9 to 12 times! First, the legs are formed, and only then the head with all the organs located there. About 10% of the young animals die from predators, but in the aquarium you will be able to save 30%. And all because they are not able to obtain food, eating only the available food.

VIDEO: ABOUT PRAWNS

IN THIS VIDEO YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT HOW THEY ACTUALLY HARVEST PRAWNS FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA

Shrimp are crustaceans, which are representatives of the order of decapods. They are widely distributed throughout all bodies of water in the world's oceans. The length of an adult shrimp does not exceed 30 centimeters and weighs 20 grams.

Science knows more than 2,000 individuals that live, including in fresh waters. Taste qualities shrimp have become the target of industrial exploitation. Today, the practice of shrimp cultivation is widespread throughout the world.

Features and habitat of shrimp

Shrimp are unique animals in terms of their body structure. Features of shrimp lie in their anatomy. Shrimp are one of the rare crustaceans that shed and change their shells.

Her genitals and heart are located in the head area. The digestive and urinary organs are also located there. Like most crustaceans, shrimp breathes using gills.

The gills of the shrimp are protected by a shell and are located next to the walking legs. Normally, their blood is light blue in color; when there is a lack of oxygen, it becomes discolored.

Shrimp live in almost all large bodies of water in the world. Their range is limited only to the harsh Arctic and Antarctic waters. They have adapted to life in warm and cold, salt and fresh water. Largest number shrimp species are concentrated in equatorial regions. The further from the equator, the smaller their population.

Character and lifestyle of shrimp

Shrimps play an important role in the ecosystem of the seas and oceans. They clean the bottom of reservoirs from the remains of tubifex worms, aquatic insects and fish. Their diet consists of rotting plants and detritus - black silt formed as a result of the decomposition of fish and algae.

They lead an active lifestyle: they surf the bottom in search of food, crawl along the leaves of plants, cleaning them from snail leeches. Shrimp maneuverability in water is provided by walking legs on the cephalothorax and abdominal swimming legs, and the movements of the caudal peduncles allow them to quickly jump back and scare away their enemies.

Aquarium shrimp perform the functions of a nurse. They rid the reservoir of fouling by lower algae and feed on the remains of their dead “brethren.” Sometimes they can attack sick or sleeping fish. Cannibalism among these crustaceans is rare. It usually only appears in stressful situations or in conditions of prolonged hunger.

Types of shrimp

All famous sciences Shrimp species are divided into four groups:

• Warm water;
• Cold water;
• Brackish water;
• Freshwater.

The habitat of warm-water shrimp is limited southern seas and oceans. They are caught not only in their natural habitat, but also cultivated in artificial conditions. Science knows more than a hundred species of warm-water shrimp. Examples of such mollusks are black tiger and white tiger shrimp.

The photo shows a white tiger shrimp

Cold-water shrimp are the most common of the known subspecies. Their habitat is wide: they are found in the Baltic, Barents, North Seas, off the coast of Greenland and Canada.

At description of shrimp It is worth mentioning of such individuals that their length is 10-12 cm, and their weight is 5.5-12 grams. Cold-water shrimp cannot be artificially propagated and develop only in their natural habitat.

They feed exclusively on environmentally friendly plankton, which has a positive effect on their quality. The most famous representatives of this subspecies are the northern red shrimp, northern chilim shrimp and red comb shrimp.

Pictured is chilim shrimp

Shrimp, common in salty waters seas and oceans are called saltwater. So, in the Atlantic Ocean live red king prawns, northern white, southern pink, northern pink, serrated and other individuals.

The photo shows serrated shrimp

On the South American coasts you can find Chilean shrimp. Waters of the Black, Baltic and Mediterranean seas rich in herbaceous and sand shrimps.

The photo shows a grassy shrimp

Freshwater shrimp mainly live in the countries of Southeast and South Asia, Australia, Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The length of such individuals is 10-15 centimeters and weighs from 11 to 18 grams. Most known species— troglocar shrimp, Palaemon superbus, Macrobachium rosenbergii.

Shrimp food

The basis shrimp nutrition consists of dying aquatic plants and organic remains. In their natural habitat they are scavengers. Shrimp will not refuse the pleasure of feasting on the remains of dead fish or even juvenile fish.

Among plants, they prefer to feed on those with fleshy and succulent leaves, for example, ceratopteris. In the process of searching for food, shrimp use the organs of touch and smell. Turning its antennas in different directions, it looks around the area and tries to find prey.

In search of vegetation individual species shrimp, living closer to the equator, dig up the soil of the reservoir. They run around its perimeter until they run into food, and then, approaching it within a centimeter, they suddenly attack it. Blind individuals living at the bottom of the Black Sea feed on silt, grinding it with their mandibles - well-developed jaws.

For shrimp grown in aquariums, specially developed compound feeds are produced, enriched nutrients and iodine. It is not recommended to feed them perishable vegetables.

As food you can use lightly boiled carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, dandelion leaves, clover, cherries, chestnuts, walnut. A real feast for a shrimp is the remains of an aquarium shrimp or its fellow shrimp.

Reproduction and lifespan of shrimp

During puberty, the female shrimp begins the process of forming eggs that resemble a green-yellow mass. When the female is ready to mate, she releases pheromones into the water - substances that have a specific odor.

Sensing this smell, the males become more active in search of a partner and fertilize her. This process takes no more than a minute. Then the shrimp produces caviar. The norm for an adult female is a clutch of 20-30 eggs. The embryonic development of larvae lasts from 10 to 30 days, depending on the ambient temperature.

During the process of embryogenesis, larvae go through 9-12 stages. At this time, changes occur in their structure: at the beginning, the jaws are formed, a little later - the cephalothorax. Most of the hatched larvae die due to unfavorable conditions or the “work” of predators. As a rule, 5-10% of the brood reach maturity. At shrimp farming in the aquarium it is possible to preserve up to 30% of the offspring.

The larvae lead a sedentary lifestyle and are not able to obtain food, feeding on the available food. Last stage The development of these mollusks is called decapodite. During this period, the larva leads a lifestyle no different from an adult shrimp. Average, life cycle shrimp life lasts from 1.5 to 6 years.

This creature of nature has quite unusual appearance. Shrimp is a resident water world, and it’s fun to watch their behavior while snorkeling, for example, in tropical waters. If you stir the lush algae, these crustaceans begin to jump out like grasshoppers from the grass.

Shrimps. Definition

This animal optimally adapted to living conditions in the depths of the sea, which undoubtedly affected its structure. Shrimp - who is this? Crustacean from the order (there are a total of 250 genera and about 2,000 species). Caridea (as these inhabitants of the seas and oceans are scientifically called) are distributed everywhere in the oceans and seas, they are even found in some reservoirs with fresh water, the most diverse species are represented in tropical waters. They are found in abundance in the Black and Azov Seas. To the question “Is a shrimp an animal or not?” - the answer is clearly positive, since all arthropods are representatives of the animal kingdom.

Structure

The body is elongated in length and slightly flattened at the sides. It is divided into two main segments: the abdomen and cephalothorax. The second section makes up half of the entire body. At the beginning of the cephalothorax shell there is a pair of eyes that are located in special recesses. The cephalothorax is protected by a chitinous shell, hard and durable, formed from 2 plates and attached to the gills. But the lower part of the shell is soft. Dimensions various types range from 2 to 30 centimeters.

Organs of vision

The shrimp is an unusual animal that has different vision: day and night. Each of her eyes consists of a huge number of facets, and with age their number increases. The facet segments are separated by pigment spots. And each element perceives those rays that fall perpendicular to the cornea. Such vision can be called mosaic. It is characteristic that at night the pigments disperse to the base of the eyes, and oblique rays can reach the retina: the shrimp already sees objects in full, but their outlines are blurred.

Shrimp is a decapod crustacean

Despite the fact that these Marine life classified as decapods, in fact they have as many as nineteen pairs of limbs. And each is responsible for a specific action. The antennae, for example, are used for touch, and the thin ones, with small claws at the end, perform a special task - with their help the animal cleans its body and gills if they are clogged. Other legs are used to move along the bottom, they bigger size and longer than the others. And the limbs of the abdomen are used when the crustacean has to swim. At the end of the body there is a wide, strong fin. It bends sharply, making it possible to move in jerks. When a shrimp stops and sits down, for example, on algae, it moves its long antennae in all directions.

What do they eat?

The shrimp is an omnivore. The menu of these aquatic inhabitants consists of plankton, as well as algae, and even soil. Usually, a huge number of shrimp of some species are found near fishing nets: they eat the caught fish so quickly that, if they do not get the gear in time, the fishermen may only get naked skeletons.

Shrimp find their food using their senses of smell and touch. If antennas or eyes are lost, this time can increase significantly. In this case, the animal uses the fingers of its walking legs and the bristles of its mouth appendages - they are highly sensitive.

Reproduction

Shrimp are bisexual, but male and female corresponding glands are formed in different time. At the onset of puberty, the individual first becomes a male, and in the third year of its life it transforms into the opposite, female sex. Females glue eggs onto the hairs of the abdominal legs, and then bear the offspring (literally - carry them with them) until hatched larvae emerge from the eggs.

Delicacies

These animals are also traditionally eaten. Recipes for culinary dishes that include these seafood as ingredients are popular among different nations, mainly living on the coasts. Like many other seafood, these crustaceans are rich in protein and calcium while containing few calories. Dishes containing shrimp are a good source of “good” cholesterol and, as a food, are undoubtedly a tasty and healthy delicacy.