Species Profile: Cleaner Shrimp

Discussion in 'Inverts' started by PackLeader, Feb 7, 2009.

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  1. PackLeader

    PackLeader Giant Squid

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    Cleaner Shrimp Lysmata amboinensis
    Other common names: Skunk Cleaner, Scarlet Cleaner, Scarlet Skunk Cleaner, Pacific White Striped Cleaner, Pacific White Banded Cleaner

    [​IMG]

    Reef Safe: Yes
    Attitude: Peaceful
    Diet: Omnivore
    Care: Easy
    Tank Size: 10 gallons
    Origin: Indo-Pacific, Sri Lanka
    Size: 2-3"

    Personal Observations: My personal favorite invert. Has great personality and is very interactive. Cleans fish of parasites and infections, so the cleaner shrimp is a beneficial addition to your aquarium to consider. Cleaning is done when the shrimp sets up a "cleaning station" within the aquarium, which fish will visit and present themselves to the shrimp. It is not uncommon for the cleaner shrimp to become "obsessed" with cleaning, in which it will service all new additions to the aquarium, including equipment, nets, traps, hands, etc.

    [​IMG]
    (Cleaner Shrimp "cleaning" author's hand)


    Cleaner shrimp do well when kept both as a single specimen or in groups. Will scavenge during the day and join in at feeding time by swimming to the surface, turning upside down, and "walking" across the surface to collect food. Eats both meaty and veggie items. It is important to keep proper iodine levels within the tank to encourage proper molting for long term health. The cleaner shrimp will commonly hide in the aquarium for up to a few days before and after molting. The molt is entire and remains intact, and therefore can commonly be misidentified as a dead shrimp to new owners. It is also important to note that, as with many other inverts, the cleaner shrimp is highly sensitive to copper, and does not cope well with elevated nitrate levels or rapid swings in salinity.
     
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  3. =Jwin=

    =Jwin= Tassled File Fish

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    Good article! Every time my hand goes in the tank...the shrimp jumps on. Every time.

    I remember when our shrimp first molted...scared the ba jeezes out of my mom. :D
     
  4. missionsix

    missionsix Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Would one of these be safe with my Coral Banded Shrimp? What supplements/parameters/temperature do you recommend?;D

    Thanks for the article(s) this month Pack........
     
  5. 10acrewoods

    10acrewoods Fire Goby

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    good artical I am hoping to get one in the next couple of weeks. K+
     
  6. infamous

    infamous Corkscrew Tentacle Anemone

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    There is a 90% chance that the Coral banded shrimp will kill the cleaner shrimp. The article failed to mention the life expectancy of the shrimp and the temperatures in its natural habitat.

    Just keep your tank in reef parameters & temperature. Supply proper iodine and calcium.
     
  7. PackLeader

    PackLeader Giant Squid

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    Sorry, the section for all the other common names took up too much room in the article ;D :p

    General reef parameters are fine. Most cleaner shrimp are now captive bred and are quite hardy and lenient to tank conditions.
    As a personal observation, I do notice mine became much happier after making a personal decision to run higher salinity levels. I keep my tank at 1.026-1.028 and he's much happier than the lower levels that are commonly run. Also, as long as you do frequent water changes, there shouldn't be any need to dose iodine, as any quality salt mix will contain all you need. Mine molts about every 3 weeks.
    Life expectancy is unknown, but estimated at 2-4 years.
     
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  9. stepho

    stepho Panda Puffer

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    I don't dose Iodine at all and my cleaner shrimp is quite happy, and just molted recently without a hitch.

    I do dose calcium, and add garlic and vitamin-c to the food I feed.
     
  10. rogerstammy

    rogerstammy Peppermint Shrimp

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    Wonderful article. Thanks for sharing. My cleaner is my favorite guy in my tank. It's like he has OCD.... pick pick pick.... pick pick pick....
     
  11. Onjinsan

    Onjinsan Fire Worm

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    I've had my cleaner shrimp for about 6 to 8 weeks. Seems happy and has molted twice now.

    I enjoy watching his behavior, he (or she) seems to try to "court" my new Valentini Puffer by lightly stroking him with his antennae, but the puffer isn't interested.
     
  12. Karen

    Karen Flamingo Tongue

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    I thought a puffer would eat a shrimp. What types of fish that would be reef safe (which a puffer isn't) will not be compatible with a cleaner shrimp? I would like to get one of these little guys! They sound amusing..