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Jon in SW Ohio

Reefer, the legal kind
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Messages
998
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Location
Springboro, Ohio
My most recent "moving" addition to the reef, this is a Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata debelius) and goes by many common names. These guys "clean" fish in the wild by picking off parasites, and will try to do the same to my hand when it's in the tank...scared the crap outta me the first time I realized this when he lunged for me. He is the color of fluorescent blood, and keeps all the food scraps off the sand. My fish tries to scare him off, but this guy is bigger than him and doesn't take any lip.

alb4.jpg

alb3.jpg


Jon
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That is cool. If he lunged for me I would probably scream like a little girl. That, or finish him off and make some sushi. :)
 
pretty cool colouring... reminds me of a small lobster...

mmm... lobster :drool:
 
I've never had luck with these guys...they hide right away, and I never see them again...once, I just assumed it was dead...only to see its antennae briefly appear a few months later...then, never seen again...the only shrimp I have had success with is the coral banded shrimp.....Take care, Eric
 
Before I got this guy, all the forums and books complained of their shyness. I was more worried about his face getting bit off by the royal gramma like my skunk cleaner shrimp personally.

The first couple days, he was always hiding and I figured he would remain that way. Then, while spot feeding the corals a blend of frozen mysis shrimp/cyclopeeze/oyster eggs he came running for the tube. I gave him a squirt and his legs were moving a mile a minute gobbling it up. Now when I feed the coral, I have to gorge him and the gramma first so they don't try to rob them. It only took him that one time to realize that my presence equals fine dining, and shows no fear of me what so ever.

To get these pictures, all I had to do was stick the empty feeding tube into the water and he came running for it to pose where I wanted him. The gramma still tries to nip at him when he is near his favorite sleeping hole, but the shrimp always lunges back and then they go back to their normal chilling areas.

Jon
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...I think I've seen either this guy or a similar shrimp that cleans fish with those long arms with tiny pincers... really cool looking guy! Love that red, quite vibrant!

-Pat
 
These are very cool Jon

I used to mess with these and other Lysmata sp. when I was in the business.

Got a fair amount of reproduction out of them, but never got babies to final metamorphis
 
So pretty! One of these days I am going to give into temptation and have my own salt water tank with all the pretty corals and vibrant colors.
 
adiaphane said:
So pretty! One of these days I am going to give into temptation and have my own salt water tank with all the pretty corals and vibrant colors.

Don't forget the fish! :poke: May I suggest a Blueline Angelfish or an Assasi Triggerfish
or Bursa Triggerfish :drool: ?
 
Ah...maybe that's the reason. I gave up trying to intentionally feed my corals years ago.....I just give the tank a dose of phytoplankton a few evenings a week, and that maintains my amphipod population.....which in turn feeds the "LPS" corals....(Caulastrea, Lobophyllum, and Fungia) while the phytoplankton feeds the Montipora and Pavona...Take care, Eric
 
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