rock shrimp

[ducksarefun]

Ok, I was talking to my LFS guy about nano planted tanks without filters, and he said he used rock shrimp in a tank as the filtration. So, I found some rock shrimp (which are closely related to wood shrimp) at an LPS, but they are $9 CND each! Now, they are waaay bigger than the usual aquarium shrimp, but are they worth $9? Will they live a long time? Will any of my fish (see 20g in sig) eat them? There doesn't seem to be much info out there on these guys, so any personal experiences would be great!

 

[aquatic-store]

Found this on the krib

Another genus or group within the Atyidae family is mentioned in aquaria literature as Attya or Atya and or Atyoida (bisculcata), several different pictures of which are listed below.

Shrimp in this group are commonly referred to as the Mountain or Rock Shrimp and are closely related to shrimp in the Atyopsis (Wood/Singapore) group. The shrimp pictured at the right, Paratya compressa, may also be similar to the Rock/Mountain shrimp. Unlike Atyopsis, these shrimp can be found in not only Asia, but in South America and Africa. They can get quite large and generally reach an adult size of 8-12 cm. These shrimp are true scavengers rather than algae consumers. A large assortment of shrimp are contained in this group so an adequate generalized description of this species could not be discovered. Environmental information suggests that they require a temperature in the 20-28C range and a neutral pH. They are members of the Atyidae family, so share many of the same characteristics of the Atyopsis shrimp, such as a brush-like covering of their claws and legs.
(Werner provided pictures of some with "filter fans" in place of their front claws and some with "pin cushions" covering these claws. These were from both West Africa and South and Central America.)
Other information on this genus was unavailable to me.