Blue shrimp with orange dots and white face

[Stelioshah]

I found this shrimp while swimming today. What could it be?

 

[chris_pull]

Gnathophyllum elegans

 

[Stelioshah]

Gnathophyllum elegans

Oh that was fast!

 

[Stelioshah]

Gnathophyllum elegans

Are they reef safe?

 

[kjkszpj9]

Quick google search and its a species of bumblebee shrimp. Know as a Spotted Bumblebee Shrimp. So its probably as safe as a regular bumblebee shrimp

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Are they reef safe?

Aside from them harassing the tube feet of echinoderms (starfish, brittle/serpent stars, urchins, cucumbers, etc.), they should be reef-safe, yes. As a note, Gnathophyllum spp. are thought to feed on mucus produced by echinoderms, or on particles trapped in that mucus - I have yet to find any evidence of them actually eating echinoderms (or their tube feet; see the post linked below for more, in-depth info).

Keeping bumblebee shrimp with urchins

Hi all! I was wondering if it was a bad idea to get a couple bumblebee shrimp with my urchins. I know in the wild they have a commensal relationship with one another, and in my tank I have 2 4+ inch urchins and a 3+ inch urchin. Was wondering if it's a bad call to add a pair of bumblebee shrimp...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Stelioshah]

Thank you. I could not find any specifics on the spotted bumble bee shrimp. Based on the normal bumblebee shrimp it will probably kill my urchin, so it is not coming home afterall.. I do not think I am going to risk it.

 

[Stelioshah]

Do you believe it will survive in the sump without spot feeding? If it can survive I might bring it home. But it is purely a carnivore so it probably is unlikely. Otherwise I will return it back into the ocean.

 

[Stelioshah]

The sump is full with baby amphipods.

 

[Unique Fins]

I found this shrimp while swimming today. What could it be?

absolutely beautiful species!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Thank you. I could not find any specifics on the spotted bumble bee shrimp. Based on the normal bumblebee shrimp it will probably kill my urchin, so it is not coming home afterall.. I do not think I am going to risk it.

The post I linked is all about how it likely won't kill (or likely even hurt) your urchin, so I'd guess it's fine to add to your tank.

Do you believe it will survive in the sump without spot feeding? If it can survive I might bring it home. But it is purely a carnivore so it probably is unlikely. Otherwise I will return it back into the ocean.

I'm not sure - since we don't know for sure what it eats, I can't say for certain. If they feed on particulate matter that's stuck in the mucus, then you may be able to feed them with tiny pellets (like TDO Chromaboost Type A or Otohime Type A). If they feed on the mucus itself, though, then they may not do well without being kept in a tank that has echinoderms producing mucus for them.

 

[Stelioshah]

The post I linked is all about how it likely won't kill (or likely even hurt) your urchin, so I'd guess it's fine to add to your tank.

I'm not sure - since we don't know for sure what it eats, I can't say for certain. If they feed on particulate matter that's stuck in the mucus, then you may be able to feed them with tiny pellets (like TDO Chromaboost Type A or Otohime Type A). If they feed on the mucus itself, though, then they may not do well without being kept in a tank that has echinoderms producing mucus for them.

Thank you again, I saw the part about the harlequin getting weaker in the post, so I made the assumption that they need the feet. I saw your follow up post though and it might be true. I will think about keeping it, I was actually trying to catch some flame scallops and came across this guy.

Thank you for all your responses.

 

[Stelioshah]

An update to this, in regards to other posts I have read stating that these shrimps won't eat asterinas since they lack the suction tentacles, my shrimp definitelty does eat some parts of asterinas. It could be slime, I am not sure yet, but I can see it hunt asterinas every night. It is not starvation since it eats pellet food actively as well:

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

An update to this, in regards to other posts I have read stating that these shrimps won't eat asterinas since they lack the suction tentacles, my shrimp definitelty does eat some parts of asterinas. It could be slime, I am not sure yet, but I can see it hunt asterinas every night. It is not starvation since it eats pellet food actively as well:

Like I mentioned with G. americanum in the thread I linked above, these shrimp do display aggressive hunting/"feeding" behaviors toward sea stars (including Aquilonastra stars - inaccurately called Asterina in the hobby), but no damage ever actually seems to be done to the star.

OP, if you can get multiple pics/video evidence documenting if these shrimp are or are not actually damaging the stars in any way, I'd personally appreciate it. It would be nice to know if these guys do or do not actually eat starfish in any way (based on their mandibles, I'd guess they're eating something off of the starfish rather than the starfish itself, but I don't know for sure).

 

[Stelioshah]

Like I mentioned with G. americanum in the thread I linked above, these shrimp do display aggressive hunting/"feeding" behaviors toward sea stars (including Aquilonastra stars - inaccurately called Asterina in the hobby), but no damage ever actually seems to be done to the star.

OP, if you can get multiple pics/video evidence documenting if these shrimp are or are not actually damaging the stars in any way, I'd personally appreciate it. It would be nice to know if these guys do or do not actually eat starfish in any way (based on their mandibles, I'd guess they're eating something off of the starfish rather than the starfish itself, but I don't know for sure).

I have been watching for days (in a qt) and the number of asterinas doesn't seem to decrease, even though it stays on top of them all night long. This is probably true.