Cleaner Shrimp Disappeared!

RobW · Mar 31, 2021

I have a pair of cleaner shrimp and a pair of blood shrimp. Well, had a pair of cleaner shrimp... this morning I had a pair and now I have one. One of the cleaners melted yesterday. I know because the old shells always end up stuck to the foam surrounds of my mp10's. I can't find him anywhere. I know when they molt they hide for a bit... usually. Mine don't. Further more no matter how hard they try to hide, my rock work is rather open. I can always see the antennae sticking out from somewhere. All of my fish are small. One ocellaris clown, one six line wrasse very small 1-1/4", a coral beauty and a naoko's fairy wrasse. I have a Colorado sunburst anemone, a pincushion urchin and a few emerald crabs. I don't think any of them nabbed him. I have been home all day. I would have seen the crabs eating him or something. I check through the back of the tank and in parts of the filtration. No luck. I have a lid. No evidence of a body anywhere. What the heck?

Unregistered1 · Mar 31, 2021

Wrasse could have got hungry...just a guess but i have heard of it. Six lines are pretty pesky little fish. Hopefully the shrimp turns up. Sometimes they are really good hiders

RobW · Apr 1, 2021

Shrimp was 3 times his size. I feed well.

Mike from TN · Apr 1, 2021

RobW said:
I have a pair of cleaner shrimp and a pair of blood shrimp. Well, had a pair of cleaner shrimp... this morning I had a pair and now I have one. One of the cleaners melted yesterday. I know because the old shells always end up stuck to the foam surrounds of my mp10's. I can't find him anywhere. I know when they molt they hide for a bit... usually. Mine don't. Further more no matter how hard they try to hide, my rock work is rather open. I can always see the antennae sticking out from somewhere. All of my fish are small. One ocellaris clown, one six line wrasse very small 1-1/4", a coral beauty and a naoko's fairy wrasse. I have a Colorado sunburst anemone, a pincushion urchin and a few emerald crabs. I don't think any of them nabbed him. I have been home all day. I would have seen the crabs eating him or something. I check through the back of the tank and in parts of the filtration. No luck. I have a lid. No evidence of a body anywhere. What the heck?

I feel your pain Rob!
Im currently going through the same EXACT thing. My cleaner shrimp has been missing in action for over a week now. No shed anywhere, no predators. I’m so baffled.
He was a good sized shrimp too. I also have a fire shrimp and he was in hiding the first few days that the cleaner went missing. After a few day he came back out and I found his shed.
I have a pair of Snowflake Clowns and a Diamond Goby. Could the Goby have eaten him? Who knows!