Cleaner shrimp Bob- Which Cleaner Shrimp do you prefer: Pacific Cleaner Shrimp or Scarlet Cleaner? Rob <<The Pacific (Lysmata amboinensis) over the more expensive L. debelius (Scarlet, as in O'Hara)... the former is cheaper and hardier sez me. Bob Fenner>>

Ich in reef tank Hi, Bob I have a problem I just notice that may fish have Ich I have a 200 gal. reef tank. My question is how would I treat the whole tank without removing the fish? Fish consist of 3 Tangs( yellow, purple, Desjardini) 6 Perculas clowns, 8 Lyretail Anthias, flame angel, African flame back angel, Brazilian pygmy angel , multicolored pygmy angel, 10 green Chromis, Flame hawk. and a  pair of saddleback clowns. I don't what to tear down the tank to catch all the fish. tank has 380 # of live rock and a ton of soft corals. The tank has be running for 2 yrs. And I always quarantine all fish and corals before placing in the main tank. But recently the temperature has been up and down hear 75 in the day and 30's in the evening. I think that's how the problem started. So any information would help me greatly.! (I live in Florida) Hope to hear from you soon. Ken  <<Umm, if it were me, I'd try the combination environmental manipulation (lower specific gravity to about 1.018, a thousandth per day... or thereabouts till the invertebrates showed signs of duress... And raise your temperature to about 82F.)... and add some biological cleaners... Lysmata shrimp and Gobiosoma oceanops gobies.... and hope that this does it... There are NO safe and effective chemical treatments for ich/Cryptocaryoniasis in established reef systems. Bob Fenner>>

How many cleaner shrimp - 10/07/03 What is the absolute minimum tank size a skunk cleaner shrimp can be kept in?  <Well, I have seen them in various tanks with as few as 7 gallons (not recommended)> ... and how big do they grow? <Up to 2 1/2 inches in captivity. Here is some information I found from a great many of sources (try Calfo and Fenner's new book "Reef Invertebrates"): " The Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp is also known as the Indo-Pacific White-Banded Cleaner Shrimp, Indo-Pacific White-Striped Cleaner Shrimp, and Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp. It may also be called the Red Skunk Cleaner Shrimp because of the very distinct two bright red stripes surrounding one white stripe running down its back. There are two species usually referred to as striped cleaner shrimp, the L. amboinensis with white spots at the end of the tail and, from the Atlantic, the L. grabhami that has no spots. The L. amboinensis is one of the most popular shrimp for the home aquarium.  Often found in groups, this Cleaner Shrimp will set up a cleaning station on coral reefs or rubble, waiting for fish to come and be cleaned. It feeds on ectoparasites or dead tissue that it picks from the body and oral cavities/gills of these fish (e.g.; Tangs or Groupers) in the wild or in the aquarium. This also helps to protect the fish from contracting diseases and infections. Many fish value its services so highly that they will allow it to clean the inside of their mouths, and not harm it. Some fish, though, such as Hawkfish, Lionfish, and some predatory shrimp and crabs may eat the Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp. It will not tolerate copper or high levels of nitrates in the aquarium, but will require correct levels of iodine in the water to promote proper molting.  In the aquarium, the diet can include freeze dried, frozen, and dry foods. It is recommend no more than 2 per 50 gallons of tank.">