Shrimp
No cocktail sauce here. Shrimp in a nano reef are good cleaners and fun to keep. Some are active while others keep a low profile. Another wonderful thing about these creaturess is that they add such a low bioload, you can add a few. General recommendatiosn are 1-3 per tank. Anyway, here are a few friendly ones.
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (scarlet cleaner shrimp), Lysmata amboinensis
This wonderful shrimp is red with a white stripe and white dots near the tail. One of the interesting aspects of these inverts is that they can help to rid your fish of parasites. A skunk cleaner will set up a 'cleaning station'. They can actually pick ich off your fish. In a healthy tank though, you probably won't see much of this. They do not tolerate high levels of nitrates. Depending on what you keep in your tank, this shrimp is active, fun to watch and will eat out of your hand. It will molt and you may mistake it as being eaten. They will hide until their shell hardens.
Blood Shrimp (Fire shrimp), Lysmata debelius
I find this one to be a bit pricey at the lfs but it's bright red color is eye-catching. It may not get along well with others of it's kind unless it's a mate. The blood shrimp prefers caves and overhangs away from the light. These may clean fish also and will clean up some leftover food. Does not tolerate high nitrates.
Peppermint Shrimp (Veined Shrimp), Lysmata wurdemanni
Peppermint shrimp have the desirable reputation of munching on aiptasia (glass) anemones, unwanted hitchhikers in our nano reefs. They are good in groups and you can keep several in a tank.
These are probably the three most common shrimp you'll find at your lfs. Other shrimp you can consider include camel shrimp and sexy shrimp.
P.O.I. : Look up the symbiosis of a pistol shrimp and certain goby fish, eg, the yashia haze goby and Randall's banded pistol shrimp. It can be an interesting combo for the tank although not specifically for cleanup.
CAUTION:
Coral banded shrimp or boxing shrimp, Stenopus hispidus: Just be aware that this shrimp DOES have the ability to corner fish, small crustaceans and other shrimp, especially at night. I don't recommend keeping one in a nano tank.
SH
No cocktail sauce here. Shrimp in a nano reef are good cleaners and fun to keep. Some are active while others keep a low profile. Another wonderful thing about these creaturess is that they add such a low bioload, you can add a few. General recommendatiosn are 1-3 per tank. Anyway, here are a few friendly ones.
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (scarlet cleaner shrimp), Lysmata amboinensis
This wonderful shrimp is red with a white stripe and white dots near the tail. One of the interesting aspects of these inverts is that they can help to rid your fish of parasites. A skunk cleaner will set up a 'cleaning station'. They can actually pick ich off your fish. In a healthy tank though, you probably won't see much of this. They do not tolerate high levels of nitrates. Depending on what you keep in your tank, this shrimp is active, fun to watch and will eat out of your hand. It will molt and you may mistake it as being eaten. They will hide until their shell hardens.
Blood Shrimp (Fire shrimp), Lysmata debelius
I find this one to be a bit pricey at the lfs but it's bright red color is eye-catching. It may not get along well with others of it's kind unless it's a mate. The blood shrimp prefers caves and overhangs away from the light. These may clean fish also and will clean up some leftover food. Does not tolerate high nitrates.
Peppermint Shrimp (Veined Shrimp), Lysmata wurdemanni
Peppermint shrimp have the desirable reputation of munching on aiptasia (glass) anemones, unwanted hitchhikers in our nano reefs. They are good in groups and you can keep several in a tank.
These are probably the three most common shrimp you'll find at your lfs. Other shrimp you can consider include camel shrimp and sexy shrimp.
P.O.I. : Look up the symbiosis of a pistol shrimp and certain goby fish, eg, the yashia haze goby and Randall's banded pistol shrimp. It can be an interesting combo for the tank although not specifically for cleanup.
CAUTION:
Coral banded shrimp or boxing shrimp, Stenopus hispidus: Just be aware that this shrimp DOES have the ability to corner fish, small crustaceans and other shrimp, especially at night. I don't recommend keeping one in a nano tank.
SH
