Cleaner Shrimp Help?

[MarbleShark]

Ok I decided to go with a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp because I was told it would help my fish.

A few questions....

1. Should I have more than 1?
   
2. What do they eat?
   
3. Do the fish come to them to be cleaned or do they seek out the fish?

Thanks for the help!

[Gina]

1 should be just fine.
They eat mysis shrimp, brine basically whatever you put in your tank to feed the fish.

The Shrimp are known to sometimes jump on a fish and take a ride while doing their business of cleaning the fish.
The fish may seek out the shrimp even to be cleaned.

[fishmom]

I had two cleaner shrimp in my tank and they hung out together on a rock. Fish come to them and they eat everything I feed the fish. Noticed they really like squid. I do not spot feed them or do anything special. Lost one due to a hitch-hiker CRAB, need to be in the Crabs are evil society. So my one shrimp that I have now, I have had for over a year.

[Rougiem]

Ditto to Gina and Fishmom...

In my opinion they get along well with other shrimp from the same genus -Lsymata (inlcudes cleaner, fire or blood, peppermint shimp). I had all three in a 30 gallon and all got along very well!

[prow]

i have a cleaner and a blood "fire" shrimp. they get along just fine. both are good cleaners. i have had a few pairs of cleaners in the past, they were always good togather. easy to care for. there is however a couple things you need to know about.
1-they need iodine for their molting "sheading their shell much like a snake shedding his skin". regular water changes will take care of the iodine.
2-they do not handle temp. changes well. they die very easy if you allow a big swing.
3-they dont handle salinity changes well. same as the temp. die easy if you allow big swings.
thats about it. once they are established they are very hardy.

[iluvzigz]

ive had several pairs of peppermint shrimp in the past ,but they've never lived past a couple of days... do they need the same treatment as the cleaners?..
was it because i didnt have iodine in for the molting? oh..maybe the salinity too...... ill try them one day again

[BoomerD]

You don't need to supplement iodine...My understanding, is that it can cause shrimp to molt, as a way of them getting rid of excess iodine, not because it "helps" them molt. It's like a defensive action. Unless you carefully test for iodine, you should NEVER add it to the tank. Your water changes SHOULD provide all your tank needs. There is a very fine line between "just right" and "deadly toxic", and unless you are testing, you are only guessing...

IME, the only shrimp that can't be added to a tank with other shrimp, is the Coral Banded Shrimp. They get pretty aggressive, and will most often, kill any intruders...It's not unusual, to watch them try to chase off any fish that gets too close, with their claws waving around...I guess that's why they are also called "Boxer Shrimp"...

[iluvzigz]

thanks for the clarification boomerD the coral banded were the first two that i added... it was a mated pair and they lived the longest at about two weeks or so..... i put my first set of peppers in before they(banded) died so maybe the coral banded killed the first pair of permnts then the second just wernt healthy maybe...i think im gonna try another pair..if that dont work out then i guess shrimp are on the menu not the tank...goodluck marbleshark

[BoomerD]

Zig, how are you acclimating your shrimp? Like most inverts, they are more sensitive to acclimation changes than fish, and it's best to give them a LONG acclimation.

[iluvzigz]

yeah i know now....actually i didnt know about that the first two times but the last pair i had, i did a drip acclimation with air tubing for about 30 min...put em in they seemed fine i woke up that next morning and one was dead then the other one did about 3-5 days later..but not before zapping a couple of my biggest aiptasias...haha id like to get another pair im about to leave for the lfs to see if they have a pair..

[prow]

Originally Posted by BoomerD

My understanding, is that it can cause shrimp to molt, as a way of them getting rid of excess iodine, not because it "helps" them molt.

yes if iodine levels are high it may cause them to molt to rid them selves of extra iodine. but if levels are low they can not molt properly, they need it. it not only helps with molting but is necessary for them to molt. its more than just a defensive action. a quick search cleaner shrimp and iodine will give lots of hits on this. all shrimps are

as stated earlier regular water changes should be good enough to maintain iodine level. that is if your mixing salt mix and FW. if your useing premixed saltwater you might need to dose, from what i understand you can not rely on the test kits that are out there for iodine, best to mix your own salt and not worry about it.