Cleaner shrimp essentials   8/1/11
Hi, I appreciate all you guys do. I'm a frequent reader of the site but I haven't asked a question for at least a year, if not two, mainly because all the answers I already need seem to be here already ;)
<Ahh!>
I have a 100g FOWLR that I do a 10-15% water change on every 3 weeks, sometimes a month. All the fish are doing great, I bought all small fish which seem to adapt really well and they are growing like weeds. I'm attributing a lot of that to constant feeding (auto feeder feeding NLS, ON1 and ON2 pellets four times a day plus I manually feed a sheet of Nori daily and about every 3-4 days a cube of Mysis) and a 3x oversized protein skimmer for keeping the water clean. Also, if it helps answer the question, I use Instant Ocean (not the Reef Crystals) for my water changes.
I want to start keeping a pair of Lysmata amboinensis (Sri Lanka variety) in here. My worry is that with not very frequent water changes and an oversized skimmer, the "stuff" that the shrimp need in order to thrive and continue remaking their shells will not be in a high enough quantity. Do you feel that is so?
<I do not... with (relatively) simple assays (tests, even just colorimetric), you can test the necessary aspects (Ca, Mg, Alkalinity...) and Iodide, similar additions periodically... along w/ careful matching of new water for change outs (for spg) you should be fine>
If so, what do cleaner shrimp need in order to remake their carapace?
<See the above and WWM re Hippolytid care... foods/feeding will make up the rest of necessary nutrient>
I guess of importance is also the fact that I have no other inverts in the tank, these would be the only ones, so there shouldn't be too large of a draw on the water. I know when I had clams, they sucked the calcium out of the water like nobody's business, but for this tank these two cleaners would be the only inverts grabbing their shell building material out of the water.
<To a much smaller degree as you'll find>
Any help you can provide would be great!
Grant
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
Re: Cleaner shrimp essentials   8/1/11
Great, thanks. I'll read up a little more. I did poke around for quite a while and used the search feature, I couldn't find anything (probably my fault) on the specifics of what a cleaner shrimp would need. I'll get the test kits for Ca, Mg and Alk. I don't currently have them, all I test for now is pH about once a month just to make sure and then salinity with a refractometer.
<Ahh, these tests/variables will serve you well... to maintain proper conditions, as well as a springboard for your further edification, enjoyment in the interest>
I'll also look and see what you guys recommend for feeding, I've had cleaner shrimps in the past in my reef tank and never specifically fed anything for them, they seemed to always thrive and produce eggs.
<There is sufficient forage in well-set up and maintained systems for most all livestock>
Grant
<Cheers, BobF>

Damsel compatibility with Blood Shrimp   3/6/10
Hello!
<Hello Shawn>
Really enjoy reading your responses
<there certainly are quite a few interesting and occasionally fruity exchanges for sure!>
and am hoping for some valuable information for my dilemma.
<Ok>
I have an 8 gallon Bio-cube with 7lbs of live rock and 5lbs of live sand,
My original occupant is a Yellowtail Damsel (the bully),
<too small a system for this fish>
I have a green bubble tip anemone hosting a True Percula Clown,
<way too small a system - this Anemone will easily fill this whole aquarium if looked after well>
various snails a couple of hermits and the recent addition of a Blood Shrimp. The Damsel won't leave
the shrimp alone.
<There is not enough space here for the animals you have listed>
It seems to swat it with it's tail, backs up into it, nips its antennae.
It doesn't bother the clown or the Anemone, but it won't leave the shrimp alone. Is the behaviour normal?
<Yes, for a small aggressive fish, housed like this with no space, it will pick on the easiest target>.
Can it pester the shrimp to death?
<Yes>
Or is it trying to get a cleaning?
<The way you have described the fishes actions indicate aggression>
it doesn't act like it's trying to be cleaned. In the meantime, I've sequestered the damsel to the pre-filter sump section of the aquarium until I decide what to do.
<Take it back to the shop>
I think I know that I have to find a new home for the Damsel but wanted some verification of the behaviour I am seeing.
<Consider this action/ behaviour verified! With the Clown and Anemone you have no space for anything else, and not enough space for what you have>
Thanks in advance,
<No problem>
Shawn
<Simon>

Candy-Stripe Cleaner Shrimp Will my candy stripe cleaner shrimp be able to handle lower SG, say 1.018? <tolerable if acclimated to very slowly...no lower please> Also - I have a purple tang that every now and again gets "cloudy" in the side fins, almost looks like Ick, but I am not sure, I always thought ICK was more like a grain of salt?  <correct... the turbidity could be mucous secreted from irritation by a parasite or other pest> They'll be there one day, and gone the next.. just stress?  <something more> Tank "credentials" are all good, and I rarely see him get aggressive with other fish or vice versa... Thanks & have a happy Easter (if you celebrate!) ~bill <yes... thank you kindly. A blessed day to you and yours as well. Anthony>

Thor amboinensis - requirements  - 04/27/06 Hi crew, <Nick> I have a 30g FOWLR tank that has been running for about 15 months. Livestock at the mo is: 2 x Amphiprion ocellaris (tank-bred) 1 x Gramma loreto 1 x Centropyge eibli (still only small but hates my Gramma so its going to a friends new 250g reef) <Too crowded...> When I remove the angel I'm not going to add any new fish as I'm aware I was pushing it livestock-wise. I'm currently thinking of inverts I could add to the tank, I need something that is relatively easy to keep and that preferably isn't a L. debelius or L. amboinensis as I've kept these in the past and fancy a change. I was thinking of maybe a small group of Thor amboinensis but after reading conflicting reports on this species I'm not too sure of its requirements, does it require an anemone or host coral to survive or can it thrive without assuming there are no predators in the tank? <... a risk in this size system... Best kept with host anemone...> Do you think my tank could sustain 2-3 of these shrimps? <Not likely, no> Many thanks Nick <Bob Fenner>

About cleaner shrimp. Hello Robert Fenner. I am wondering if you have additional, in depth info on cleaner shrimps. (the skunk). I have read the ones at your site. Just want additional info. on cleaner shrimps. <Put the family names in your search engines... read over the links (to TMC, the Breeder's Registry, Liquid Life... posted on the WWM links pages and bibliography/further reading sections... on Cleaners> I have a 6-gallon w/ a Sebae clown and 2 glass shrimps. Do you think the cleaner will be ok in such a small tank when it molts? Don't want things to harass it. <Perhaps... if there is enough cover... not too much in the way of hungry predators... enough biomineral and alkalinity, food to help the specimen reform its exoskeleton...> Should I add more rock work? <If it "will fit", sure. Bob Fenner>

Pacific Cleaner Shrimp Hi Bob, I was wanting to get a cleaner shrimp but before I did I wanted to ask you a couple of questions before I do. So my first question is how should you acclimate the cleaner shrimp into my tank. For example how long, should lights be off, <For the day, night that they're installed> those kind of things. And secondly should the amount of salinity in my tank be the same as the store's tank from where I got it from, to avoid shock in the shrimp. Thanks <Yes, important here... and then to be on guard to not change it too much too soon. I am in favor of a "drip" type of acclimation for these and most crustaceans, with the animals ultimately "poured" into the main system (not exposed to the air). Please see the "Acclimation" sections and FAQs and "Cleaner Shrimp" areas of our site: www.WetWebMedia.com for much more. No dips necessary or suggested. Bob Fenner>

Cleaner shrimp escapes powerhead intake! Hi Bob & Crew, <Hi! Ananda here this morning....> I just found my cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) stuck in the intake of a powerhead. I turned the pump off and the shrimp scuttled off under the rocks. He's come out since and looks OK, touch wood. <Indeed. I've heard of creatures going through powerheads... not a pretty sight.> My question is this : do you think the shrimp will be smart enough to avoid the powerhead in the future? <Goodness, no...if it has happened once, it is likely to happen again, eventually.> If not I'll try to place a foam baffle of something in front of the intakes. <If you have a bio-ball, that would work and would not require cleaning as frequently as foam. Also check the pile-o-stuff that came with the powerhead -- the ones I have include a grid-like cover for the intake.> Many thanks for your continuing efforts on Wet Web Media - it's a fantastic resource for learning and research.  John Kellett <And many thanks to you for your kind words. --Ananda>

Better Contact a University >Re: Lysmata amboinensis I need to find out what temperature ranges they can tolerate, and what diseases or parasites they are prone to or are know to be able to carry. >>Alright, "tropical" temps are best, in Fahrenheit that's going to be in the 74F-84F degree range, comfortably.  Let me whip out my Palm with the new conversion calculator (freeware, thank you very MUCH!) to sort out this range in Celsius <tapping away on her Palm> and that would be from 23C - 28C.  Wow! I LOVE freeware!   >I live in Hobart Tasmania Australia, which is an Island State having very strict import controls, and any information I can find about Lysmata amboinensis will further my chances of being allowed to import a few. >>Aaahh.. well, unfortunately, there is indeed a real dearth of this information available to the hobbyist.  I would contact some universities, there's one in Arizona that's done quite a bit of research on a couple of different Lysmata spp.'s, but don't expect too fast a response.   Try some of the contacts on this page, too (seems to me that aquaculture facilities would have a great deal of experience with such things, yeah?) http://www.phone-soft.org/layout-3/cyber-world/make-frame.php3?framename=0876i.htm http://www.ecotao.com/holism/agric/aqua.htm http://cgi.botbot.com/dir/$/Business/Industries/AgricultureandForestry/Aquaculture/ http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/rs/ Best of >Cheers, Simon