Cleaner shrimp pair?

lbiminiblue

lbiminiblue

Well-Known Member
I have a big cleaner shrimp right now, he's been in the tank a bit, hasn't done much, cleans the tangs, chromis are still hiding, wrasses ignore him, he's still kinda shy. My question is can i add a smaller one (price is one reason i want a small one.) without the big one attacking him? I just don't want him to get eaten. I heard these guys do great in pairs. Is there a way to tell if they're male or female?
 
ReefApprentice

ReefApprentice

Well-Known Member
If it is the same as perpemint shrimp i just added two and the repoduced like crazy
.Also no i dont think it would attack the smaller one as long as it isnt too small.
 
Roots

Roots

Member
I added a much smaller cleaner shrimp to my tank and I already had a large one in my tank for a long while before that. No problems at all. They hang out together all the time. My little one is almost as big as my big one now. They grow quickly.
 
JamesFitz

JamesFitz

New Member
well this is all going to matter on the size of the tank in question. while cleaner shrimp are not normally known to be agressive, they are somewhat territorial in that they set up "cleaning stations" that are familiar to fish. They can definately be agressive towards other species of Lysmata or other shrimp. However if in a proven pair, they are known to be much more friendy and less cryptic than if kept singly. honeslty, im not sure as to sexual dimorphisms but i believe the female is generally larger. could be wrong. I am a huge fan of the fire shrimp Lysmata debelius. In a pair, they are willing to clean anyone scrubbing algae or passing submissive fish. But come with a price.
 
JamesFitz

JamesFitz

New Member
and the normal "cleaner shrimp" are most likely not the "peppermint shrimp" Lysmata wurdemanni. damn i think being a nerd and studying species names hath paid off lol. Seriously trhough, most likely you have the "skunk cleanr shrimp" Lysmata ambionensis which is going to have a larger max size of about 2-3 ". unlike Lysmata wurdemanni, these guys dont do as well in groups. Pairs are deffffinately reccomended. I always start a reef-safe (ornamental shrimp safe) tank with 3-5 peppermint shrimp in order to control possible aptasia and provide some stirring of the substrate. unfortunately, the skunk cleaner is much more reclusive and less active in anytrhing less than a mated pair.
 
JamesFitz

JamesFitz

New Member
i know the real aquarists will agree.............FIND OUT THE SPECIES NAME! it helps more than you would think
 
bmplank86

bmplank86

Has been struck by the ban stick
I wish mine would hide. He steals food from everyone. I have him with a fire shrimp and they do great together


"No rain, no rainbow"
 
JamesFitz

JamesFitz

New Member
not reccomended in a smaller tank most deifnatelty. it could work in the right conditions with the right rockwork and territorial zones but the coral banded Stenopus hispidus is a verrry hardy fish. in my experince, they will snatch up small resting fish in smaller tanks. however, in big tanks, they tend to live their lives out and do their thing lol.
 
JamesFitz

JamesFitz

New Member
like i said earlier, the Lysmata and Stenopus are not considered aggresive anaimals. however you must know that these animals provide a service and in a smaller tank they are going to be extremely aggresive or terrritorial towards other species or same sex same species of shrimp. Like i said, tank size and rock work are absolutely key
 
Roots

Roots

Member
Mine are Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp and they are usually fine in pairs or small groups. I had a single one in my Nano tank, but when I went up in size to a 55 gal. I added a second one that was about 1/3 the size of my first one. They never fought, they share the cleaning stations and basically pal around all day every day since the first day I introduced them. Ohh and I have 2 peppermint shrimp as well and they stay hidden most of the time, not that the Skunk Cleaners bother them at all.
 
dmatt88

dmatt88

Has been struck by the ban stick
Ah. Why not. Introduce at night away from ur other shrimp. Cross fingers. Mine stay together.

..........rarely am I speechless
 
dmatt88

dmatt88

Has been struck by the ban stick
lbiminiblue said:
k. Gott alove your attitude matt...when it comes to tanks...ah why not?? LOL
Click to expand...

Its always a crapshoot. My buddy keeps a copperband in his tank n no problems. I keep two triggers n no problems other than knocking stuff over. Yet I had a mimic tang (reef safe right) early on that ate everything. These things r so animal specific. Ya never know. Hence my statement.

..........rarely am I speechless
 
lbiminiblue

lbiminiblue

Well-Known Member
That's true. I'm keeping a yellowhead wrasse and SD wrasse as we speak. They haven't dared touch the cleaner shrimp. Maybe they saw what happened to a crab after he ate a mandarin dragonet...needless to say he was crushed and flushed down the toilet.
 
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