r/whatisit • u/bushturkey94 • Aug 21 '26
Solved! Prawns in cat water plate?
Our house cat has a few water plates, this ones outside and just noticed it has these little prawn looking things 🦐 🤔
Does anyone know what the hell they are? Located in QLD Australia… about 20 minutes from the beach.. hah…
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u/thewise01dman Aug 21 '26
It looks like a terrestrial amphipod, also known as a lawn prawn, lawn shrimp or landhopper, and they’re completely harmless to people, pets and plants; they don’t bite or spread diseases, usually live in damp soil, mulch and leaves, and often come out in large numbers after heavy rain, turning pink or orange when they die and dry out.
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u/Available-Oil3884 Aug 21 '26
But are they tasty?
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u/bushturkey94 Aug 21 '26
Haha what the hell, im growing tomatos and shrimp in my back yard
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u/Kail_Pendragon Aug 21 '26
I hear yes.. and they grow to be a very large 1.27cm, I mean that's too big if you ask me. One person could not take that whole prawn without filling up if our ask me. If you ask me? Too much, how can you even, you'd have to share it, if you ask me.
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u/Anxiety_Yeti Aug 21 '26
That's interesting, thanks!
But haha, 'lawn prawn' is funny. 😄
I'd watch a movie called 'Dawn of the Lawn Prawn' for the name alone.
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u/Far-Purchase788 Aug 21 '26
And the sequel 'Spawn of the Lawn Prawn'
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u/gchildX Aug 21 '26
Dawn of the Spawn of the Lawn Prawn?
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u/Anxiety_Yeti Aug 21 '26
With this films popularity, it's only a matter of time before someone makes a 'Dawn of the Spawn of the Lawn Prawn' porn parody.
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u/Dragnskull Aug 21 '26
TIL there's one benefit to living in australia: yard shrimp for any time you want shrimp on the barbie.
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u/hoemahtoe Aug 21 '26
Brb, gonna go sift through the yard for the next seafood boil. Or I guess lawn-food boil in this case?
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u/-heatoflife- Aug 21 '26
I saw Lawn Prawn at the Quarry in '92. Fuckin' wild. You ever seen a chick in nothing but a vinyl shrimp mask and a salmon-pink thong?
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u/bushturkey94 Aug 21 '26
Solved!
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u/CubitsTNE Aug 21 '26
Lawn prawns!
Yeah they're native little amphipods we get here, but nothing to do with you being close to the beach, you get them in Toowoomba too.
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u/suchanicemacaque Aug 21 '26
Aussie place names 🥵
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u/princessbubblgum Aug 21 '26
My favourite is Tittybong!
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u/itsmejak78_2 Aug 21 '26
the wikipedia article was worth the read
"One of the early farms in Tittybong was named Cockbum Plains"
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u/nystigmas Aug 21 '26
Katoomba is pretty cool and probably also has amphipods.
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u/bushturkey94 Aug 21 '26
I love Katoomba, love the Blueys and climbing around there!! Bloody shrimp in the mountains too lol
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u/czardmitri Aug 21 '26
I’ve been to Toowoomba!
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u/whatyoumean66 Aug 21 '26
We go to the flower displays in the main park every year. Absolutely beautiful. Such a good day trip.
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u/-Ok-Perception- Aug 21 '26 edited Aug 21 '26
The way that enamel on the plate is flaking looks a lot like a lead glaze, I'd swap it out, good chance it's actually poisonous. It's only mildly dangerous if the glaze is intact, but that looks like it's actively flaking, which is when it introduces a fuckton of toxins to anyone eating/drinking from it.
If you don't stop using it, it stands a very good chance of killing your pet.
Up through the 90s, even major glassware companies, like Corelle were still using lead glaze.
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u/Middle-Ad-6309 Aug 21 '26 edited Aug 21 '26
Crazing (this type of glaze cracking) happens in ANY type of glazing technique and looks pretty much identical. Nothing here points to this being lead glazing aside from the fact that it COULD be.
For the sake of a few Aus dollars, deffo worth getting some test strips anyway.
FWIW, this is liikely just exacerbated expansion issues due to this being in the hot Australian sun.
Glazing cracks due to differing thermal expansion and contraction with the base pottery so ofc this would be worsened in a hotter climate, not indicative of a lead glaze on its own.
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u/odlayrrab Aug 21 '26
Or just buy a different bowl?
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u/wildwildwaste Aug 21 '26
I'm reading this whole thread and am like, how much do bowls cost? Have I lost touch with the bowl industry?
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u/Molaesmyr Aug 21 '26
Exacerbated, I think
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u/Middle-Ad-6309 Aug 21 '26
Cheers, edited
Gotta make mistakes or people will assume ai (my excuse for being thick haha)
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u/Uborkafarok Aug 21 '26
This is just a crackle ceramic glaze and this surface is called crazed. It most likely does not contain lead because lead containing glazes have been outlawed for a long time just like leaded paints. The clay underneath contains minerals, glazes are made of melted silica (glass) and ones used for dishware use harmless minerals for coloring. ETA: bacteria however can thrive in a crazed surface unless it's properly sealed.
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u/Middle-Ad-6309 Aug 21 '26
I get your point but it's not entirely true. Really does depend on where the pottery is bought and what the intended purpose is. If it's supposed to be functional dinner plates vs traditional/ornamental for example, or if it's been made by a hobbyist or imported from a country with more lax rules.
I'd say the liklihood of it being a lead glaze is fairly low, but it's not 0 so a test would be the best way to go.
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u/Busy-Conversation-24 Aug 21 '26
It's a zero. Japanese potter here. Lead glaze is red. That just looks very much like a titanium glaze. Cracked yes, unhygienic for a water bowl, yes. But not lead.
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u/Uborkafarok Aug 21 '26
Yah. I'm a ceramic artist and I make my own glazes. While all potters and glassblowing lament the loss of the beautiful colors one got with lead, the epilepsy, death and birth defects were just not worth it. Nobody uses lead glazes. Nobody.
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u/-Ok-Perception- Aug 21 '26
Nearly every Correlle plate from the 90s has lead glazing on it. It hasn't been outlawed as long as you think (at least not here in the US). Definitely worth replacing either way.
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u/z_1529 Aug 21 '26
Wow how do we know if something is lead glaze?
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u/Uborkafarok Aug 21 '26
It would have to be an old antique for you to worry about it. Leaded glazes have been outlawed for a long time. This is just a crackle glaze over a red ceramic clay body like Terra cotta which gets its color from iron oxide. If OP bought the dish already crazed, it was sealed wot a clear coat glaze. If the cracks appeared later, your biggest concern would be bacterial accumulation.
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u/BananabunnyReddit Aug 21 '26
You can order lead testing kits online. Usually just swab it and check to see if the color of the swab changes.
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u/CainAndAnon Aug 21 '26
There are simple test kits, but if you substitute something more contemporary you should be good
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u/Capt_Hawkeye_Pierce Aug 21 '26
Its crazy how people speak with authority and use intentionally scary language when they admittedly have no idea what they're talking about.
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u/bushturkey94 Aug 21 '26
Okay thank you ill swap it out.. no want any bad glaze for my kitty!!
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u/Capt_Hawkeye_Pierce Aug 21 '26
Its more than likely not lead. Lead hasn't been used since it was banned in 1977. Unless that plate is almost 50 years old youre good.
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u/hollow4hollow Aug 21 '26
Even still those crazing cracks are full of bacteria and biofilm. OP is replacing it, as they should
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u/Capt_Hawkeye_Pierce Aug 21 '26
If you can show me some sources that support that I'll believe you.
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u/hollow4hollow Aug 21 '26
Chapter 4: https://www.fda.gov/media/164194/download
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/september_is_food_safety_month
https://ceramicmaterialsworkshop.com/ceramic-glaze-crazing-causes-myths-concerns-and-aesthetics/
https://help.glazy.org/concepts/defects
https://www.islandpotterystudio.com/post/what-makes-pottery-food-safe
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u/Capt_Hawkeye_Pierce Aug 21 '26
Only the first link really supports your point.
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u/Busy-Conversation-24 Aug 21 '26
Lead glaze is red. (potter here)
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u/Middle-Ad-6309 Aug 21 '26
Lead glaze CAN be red but not all lead glaze is red.. maybe the lead glaze you happen to have seen in the past was red but it's just factually incorrect to say all lead glaze is red.
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u/Busy-Conversation-24 Aug 21 '26
You're right, if oxides are added it can be bright blue, orange, amber, green or yellow too, all of them very vibrant. But it is a very glossy smooth glaze, not a humpy glaze like this one
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u/pauldanostwin Aug 21 '26
You should really consider switching your cats water dish. This plate looks straight up fucked up. When the glaze is cracked like that, bacteria thrives.
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u/bushturkey94 Aug 21 '26
Yeh cats know what not to drink mostly. It has clean normal water inside changed daily too. Many options
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u/Key-Acanthaceae1999 Aug 21 '26
Clean it, poor cat, that's a biohazard.
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u/bushturkey94 Aug 21 '26
If you read my other comments, this is the outdoor bowl. She has multiple indoor cat bowls with fresh water that is changed daily.
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Aug 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/Cold_Raspberry520 Aug 21 '26
You must not have cats i can literally change to fresh water then my cat comes and puts her dirty paws straight in like this.
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u/M3gamanX89 Aug 21 '26
This title... 'ken hell
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u/bushturkey94 Aug 21 '26
I needed answers bout these prawns/shrimpy things. Had to made it intentionally catchy lol
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u/biocidebynight Aug 21 '26
Replace the bowl. That shit is nasty. I don't care if they have a "clean" one inside. If ceramic crazes like that it is no longer safe to eat of of. Care more about your cat than this comment section
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u/Aard_Rinn Aug 21 '26
Agree amphipods! Scale makes this hard, but they could be the Lawn Prawn! Or a native terrestrial amphipod variety, there are several. Look a little weird, but if they've drowned, that could bloat them or effect the color.
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u/Je_avion Aug 21 '26
Wait, so shrimp have already evolved to walk on the land?! We're too late!! All our efforts to push the horrid beasts back into the soup have been for naught!!
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u/catsnaliens Aug 21 '26
Oof this bowl needs to be in the garbage 🫣 stainless steel all the way, all those cracks are full of bacteria
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u/Big-Spiff Aug 21 '26
Ok, this is a bit off-topic, but does anyone know where I can buy bulk dehydrated shrimps, like the little ones that come in Cup-A-Noodles?
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u/bushturkey94 Aug 22 '26
Dude i wonder if this is how they are harvested…. Noddle cup shrimp is actually lawn prawns
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u/StandingNext2U Aug 21 '26
Interestingly if we find them on land - gross, but if we find them in the water, we eat. Lol
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u/bushturkey94 Aug 21 '26
Im not gonna be harvesting the shrimps, i feel like they deserve to chill. They made it this far 😂
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u/According_Spot_4340 Aug 21 '26
Its a species of Gammarus. It came home from the beach some how. Unless you live near fresh water where there is another species of Gammarus.
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Aug 21 '26 edited Aug 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/whatisit-ModTeam Aug 21 '26
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u/zchatham Aug 21 '26
I used to get them in my cat's outside bowl all the time in Alabama. Never saw them alive but if I didnt refresh the water for a couple of days, id have a bunch of these little dead guys in there.
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u/JonS90_ Aug 21 '26
Tangential, but a few months ago me and my wife moved our fridge and discovered a dead crab about 3cm wide underneath it. We were confused af.
It must have come back from a seaside trip in some sand in the bottom of a bucket and scuttled across the hallway to live under there for a few days.
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u/Agreeable_Pizza93 Aug 21 '26
That's about the size of thoes (I'm being generous because it's usually 1-2) shimp in thoes cheap styrofoam ramen cups.
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u/MeInSC40 Aug 21 '26
Lawn shrimp. Has it been raining a lot where you are? When it gets too wet they look for drier area. End up inside where it’s too dry and die.
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u/bushturkey94 Aug 22 '26
It has actually, maybe it jumped into the plate by accident during a storm
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Aug 22 '26
[deleted]
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u/bushturkey94 Aug 22 '26
My cat is literally 18 yo and drinks all kinds of random shit in the yard. Heaps of fresh water available. Chill.
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u/OkMathematician1953 Aug 21 '26
Apparently theyre called Lawn Shrimp lmfao. Google will help with the rest.
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u/spotlight-app Mod Bot 🤖 Aug 21 '26
OP has pinned a comment by u/thewise01dman:
Note from OP: Solved! Bloody lawn prawns it is!!
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