Marine shrimp are crustaceans belonging to the decapod order (Decapoda). Their main habitat is the sea, but some species have managed to adapt to fresh waters.
Cleaner shrimp
Near the small islands of the Great Barrier Reef, about 250 species of shrimp live and breed safely, one of which is the cleaner or boxer shrimp. This type of crustacean prefers to eat marine microorganisms that have to be harvested on the seabed or near coral polyps. The most delicious dish on their dinner table, however, is fish outside parasites. These shrimps with their long antennae and bright colors lure fish to themselves, and then proceed to cleaning their scales.
In order to attract the attention of the fish to its shelter, the cleaner shrimp begins to actively wiggle its bright white-red claws, while its long fan-shaped whiskers also begin to move. In the process of cleaning the surface of the fish, shrimp eat the ectoparasites living on it. After that, the already cleaned fish secrete a special mucus, as a token of gratitude for the work done.
Tiger shrimp
The homeland of tiger prawns is South China. Here, in streams and small shallow rivers with a rocky bottom, whole colonies of these crustaceans live. Due to climatic conditions in such reservoirs, there is practically no higher vegetation, but filamentous algae grow very abundantly, which tiger prawns feed on. Detritus, which decomposes at the bottom, is also a traditional food product. Very often it is dead plant parts, rotting wood of fallen trees or fallen leaves. It is in this substrate that various microorganisms develop - the simplest algae, fungi and various bacteria.
Stenopus shrimp
These crustaceans live in the warm waters of the west coast of Africa. Their native element is a viscous muddy bottom near river mouths, where the temperature of the water layer is in the range of 16-21 ° C. Here, in the daytime, shrimps hide in the silt, and with the onset of night they crawl out of it and begin to look for food for themselves. Smaller congeners most often become the subject of their hunt. Particularly large stenopuses living in the vicinity of the equator can, actively digging up the soil of the reservoir with their paws, extract the roots of aquatic plants and their organic remains as their daily food. Sometimes shrimps are not averse to feasting on insects that live near the reservoir: polychaetes, daphnia, koretras.
